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Sweet smell?

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Old 05-30-2008, 04:29 PM
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Sweet smell?

Hey guys, lately, and since i bought my truck, i have noticed a sweet smell coming from the exhaust, i have changed the motor, and still notice it a bit, sometimes more than others. i have never smelt burning prestone so i dont know if its that, and also my truck never overheats, or never goes over half for that matter, i never have to add prestone, and it never smokes. so what could it be, its a smell thats hard to describe, but noticeable. any one else experienced this? i do have leaky cam and crank seals i believe.


92 pickup
4x4
3.0l

thanks for any input.
Old 05-30-2008, 04:30 PM
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antifreeze smells sweet. if its a 3.0 headgasket
Old 05-30-2008, 04:31 PM
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ya but did u read where i said it never over heats and never have to add prestone.
Old 05-30-2008, 04:32 PM
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More than likely antifreeze. Time to do a compression/leakdown test.

Edit: It doesn't have to run hot to be a headgasket. Not yet, anyway. If you have a tiny leak from the water jacket to the combustion chamber, it will burn only a few drops (enough to smell sweet) without looking low or causing overheating. A tiny leak leads to a big leak which leads to a ruined engine if you don't catch it quick, so I would check it out as soon as possible.

Get a borescope and look down in the combustion chambers. If they're shiny (ie - no carbon on the piston tops or valves), you have a coolant leak into the chamber.

Last edited by Crawdad; 05-30-2008 at 04:38 PM.
Old 05-30-2008, 04:33 PM
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yes but you gotta undearstand not much eles would smell sweet in your exhaust... and we dont have smelloweb yet
Old 05-30-2008, 04:50 PM
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Antifreeze is the only liquid in a vehicle that smells sweet, you need to do a leakdown and compression test.
Old 05-30-2008, 05:01 PM
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how much is a new head gasket, and how many hours to change it?
Old 05-30-2008, 05:07 PM
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Its a big job. If you can afford to, and you are reasonably mechanically inclined, try swapping in a 3.4L V6.
Old 05-30-2008, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by 1992toyota4x4
how much is a new head gasket, and how many hours to change it?
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-parts-146181/

I recently had a good experince with the local toy dealership
Old 05-30-2008, 05:11 PM
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yeah but it might no be the head gasket sometimes a little gets through.
you have a tiny leak from the water jacket to the combustion chamber, it will burn only a few drops (enough to smell sweet) without looking low or causing overheating. A tiny leak leads to a big leak which leads to a ruined engine if you don't catch it quick, so I would check it out as soon as possible.
as the previous postered said..

IT MIGHT BE NOTHING!!
Old 05-30-2008, 05:26 PM
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has anyone ever heard of or used that "heal a seal" stuff that is supposed to fix any internal leaks? maybe some of that would stop mine, since its such a small leak?

heres the site.

http://www.heal-a-seal.com/
Old 05-30-2008, 05:45 PM
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scratch my last post, i looked into that heal a seal stuff, and no one said it works, ripp off company.
Old 05-30-2008, 05:48 PM
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yeah.. dont worry too much but i would check the compression.. did you say this was a rebuild engine??

i have a 4runner i got from a guy at work 22re and i still dont trust the rebuild he had and i always have thoughts about putting insurance back on the trail rig!! even though its gutted and ugly...and my dd is a bueat
Old 05-30-2008, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by bigt
yeah.. dont worry too much but i would check the compression.. did you say this was a rebuild engine??

i have a 4runner i got from a guy at work 22re and i still dont trust the rebuild he had and i always have thoughts about putting insurance back on the trail rig!! even though its gutted and ugly...and my dd is a bueat
no this isnt a rebuild engine, this is an original engine, its got about 180000k on it. i believe the head gasket recall was done... but i wonder, if it wasnt done on this engine, would i be able to have it done even though its in a different truck?
Old 05-30-2008, 06:02 PM
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it wasnt rebuilt when it was installed??
id look into a 3.4 but i tottal wouldnt have the cash either
Old 05-30-2008, 06:05 PM
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i installed it a few months ago
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