Exhaust fumes - Consensus?

[IndyMark]

This has been touched on before but I haven't found a definitive group consensus.

After a drive with the top down, instead of smelling the aromas of summer, you smell exhaust fumes and you end up smelling like exhaust fumes. After a long drive you need to change your shirt. I have a new exhaust system in which I've removed tha cat, resonator, and old muffler and replaced with a straight pipe with a thrush type free flow muffler where the cat used to be. I also have twin exhaust tips going straight out the rear of the car.

Does a straight exhaust tailpipe contribute to exhaust fumes in the car? Is it really better to have the tailpipe turned downward? The ANSA tailpipes go straight out don't they? Is there anyone out there running twin tailpipes and does NOT have exhaust fumes? Any ideas? I'm running out of shirts.

Thanks

[124JOE]

i have the anza duel tip exhaust and id expect some smells from my car or things just arent right

hows your crank case brether tube "if its off or cracked it will smell most of the time

[CajunMike]

I have a straight single tip tailpipe and no cat. Never had an issue with exhaust fumes.

[NJFIAT1981]

I have an ansa dual tip and haven't had the dreaded exhaust problem. I did go out for a spin to the beach the other night. On the way home I hit a skunk. Didn't have an exhaust problem but boy did my Spider stink. So did I as a matter of fact. Walked into the house and the wife chased me out Usually I receive a warmer welcome

[azygoustoyou]

You need a front spoiler George so when you hit things the are shot like rockets to the side.

[So Cal Mark]

you need to drive faster so the fumes can't catch up with the car

[124ADDHE]

I too have a thrush glasspack with the ansa header and a custom reverse megaphone collector, it sounds great and I dont have this problem with a single tip but I ran it out kind of far, maybe 8 inches from the back of the car, no tip yet, I just build this exhaust on the weekend.

Check you sealing around the tailights and the trunk seal, also the bumper shock gaskets, any leaks into the trunk seem to make it up front.

Love the sound of the single glasspack!

[fiat218]

i get the fume smell too,. but only around 90 miles per hr. smells like burning oil from the engine

[WYSpider]

Do you have a leak around your manifold?

[Newell33]

What kind of air cleaner are you running? I had the same problem, and then realized that the previous owner didn't have the crankcase breather hose hooked into anything. It was venting into the atmosphere towards the driver's side of the engine compartment. I hooked it into the nipple on my "lunchbox" style air cleaner so the emissions/smell would be forced into the engine to be burnt again. After hooking up the hose the smell went away.

[fiat218]

i dont think that i have a exhaust leak and i see there like a filter on the end of the breathing tube

[IndyMark]

Update: Over the weekend I finally had the time to inspect the whole exhaust path with the engine running. I noticed several spots where the local garage guy had pieced the pipes together and supposedly welded them all around. Holding my hand next to the seams I detected 5 spots where I could feel escaping gases. Evidently he must have done a sloppy welding job. I plan to take it back and perhaps request a one-piece or at least minimize the seams. I could not wait all weekend, so I bought some metal exhaust tape from Auto Zone and wrapped it around all the seams. I also noticed a big leak at the junction of the exhaust manifold and the 4-2-1 header, Gases in the engine compartment would explain a lot. I assumed that I could replace the manifold to header gasket but on a 79 there is no gasket, just a dry connection, so I wrapped tape around that seam also. I took it for a drive and it was a HUGE improvement in fume reduction.

Now I need to figure a more permanent fix for the header joint as I don't think the tape will last that long plus it looks stupid. Any ideas? Make my own gasket? Or, a hi-temp gasket sealer?

[WYSpider]

Würth. Or you could try some Permatex Ultra Copper RTV

[124JOE]

PISH POSH put a gasket in there

a different option
open it up and roll some steel wool long
lay it down with that gasketmaker stuff
pack it in a bit
reassemble

[WYSpider]

Steel wool. For those not in the know we're talking about a hybrid goat-sheep. Feed em tin cans and they give back steel wool.