Diesel Fumes

[JohnnyO]

The 110 is giving me a headache, literally.  I recently purchased a 1998 300 Tdi.  It's in fairly good shape and appears to run fine.  After a few minor repairs I finally got it on the road and have been driving it daily.  Now after 5-6 days in a row to and from work and around town on the weekend I'm getting this nauseous headache that's driving me crazy.  I attribute it to the 110 since something similar happened to me with the previous D90 I had a few years ago.  I ended up selling it in short order largely to avoid losing my mind.  I've regretted that move since that day and now I'm quite enjoying the 110 except for this stumbling block.  I need assistance on where to start looking.  There're no obvious fuel leaks and the exhaust appears to be intact.  I'm sure with the expertise here we can get to the bottom of it and avoid having to trade it for a petro model.

[Rambler]

A first thing to look at is that manifold and seal to the engine block, or the down pipe.  Stick a rag in the tail pipe and check for blowing fumes from around the join.  Might need a new manifold gasket to stop the leak.  Good luck.

I was also told that on a series the heater can draw in fumes from under the hood.  Check the heatercore housing is nicely sealed.

[Red90]

Any possibility it is just the change in weather?

Is there a smell of fuel anywhere?  If so, pressure wash the engine and later check for signs of fuel.  Was is fuel smell that affected you with the other truck?

Agree with the above to check for exhaust leaks and also to make sure the heater intake ducting is not drawing in engine bay fumes. I could always cast and eye and ear on it, if we can meet up.

[JohnnyO]

I've tried a few things:  I covered the heater air intake and there's barely a trickle of air through the vents.  The little bit that's there is likely from the gap under the wing top checker plate.  I removed the grill and feeling around the foam gasket seems to be in place.  I duct taped all the vents on the inside to make sure nothing was coming into the cab.  I seem to think this has helped but its hard to tell.

I pressure washed the engine and will look for fuel leaks.  There was nothing evident after driving home from the car wash.

I plugged the exhaust pipe and felt for exhaust leaks at all the joints.  But again nothing stood out.

We noticed there's a minor fuel leak somewhere on the tank.  The moisture has attracted crud to cling to the tank and there's evidence on the ground.  I duct taped the rear door as well.

Unfortunately I have very little sense of smell so it's hard to know what to look for.  Our 14 year old has the nose of a dog and he claims to not smell a thing!  My one buddy who grew up around Land Rovers in England says it just smell like an old Defender...

I'm going to drive the other vehicle for a few days to clear my head and then dive back into it next week.  ...give me strength.

[ugly_90]

I hope you might enjoy my sense of humor here. Usually its the high maintenance costs and significant downtime that leave land rover owners with constant headaches... any particularly expensive trips to the local garage lately?

On a serious note, there have been some asthmatics in the club who seem to do fine with diesel landrovers, but everyone is different. In this day and age many people have chemical sensitivity of various kinds, and they aren't jostled around in a
loud coil-spring landrover for a day.

A wider question would be how you feel after a day on an old diesel farm tractor, like a grey Ferguson. How does a day of mowing a large lawn go with a gas mower? Second hand smoking is fun for you or not?

It seems like there could be a OH&S reason for your LR headaches rather than a componant failure. Several guys at work can't stand the smell of diesel exhaust, it isn't comforting here in the winter, that's for sure. To have trouble with both a 90 and a 110 physically could mean the vehicle is somehow a mismatch for you.

[Red90]

Except John drove a V8 90 daily for a decade without problems.  It was after changing to a TDI that he had the problems.

[JohnnyO]

Well I hate to admit it but that is a valid point that's been in the back of my mind.   :'(    It might be a diesel issue.  However I had a early Porsche 911 and was constantly bothered with exhaust and spent thousands $$$ without ever getting to the bottom of it.  I got around the issue by always driving with the Targa top off.  In the spring/fall people thought 'that guy is hard core' but I really just wanted to breath!

I am determined this time to take another stab at making sure it's nothing that can't be fixed before giving up entirely.

John B. has graciously agreed to take another look next week.  Thank you John, I appreciate your wisdom!

[Trevor]

You may just be one of those people who are overly sensitive to diesel fumes/exhaust. That isn't uncommon.

If it turns out that there's no obvious leaks, perhaps the next step might be to look at how to better vent the cab and improve air circulation around you. One thing with Defenders, if you aren't moving at speed they really do not move air through the cab well at all. A fan (or fans) on the dashboard may help.

[Red90]

So I guess I could report on what I saw.  Maybe someone will think of something else.  I'll look again next week, so any thoughts would be good.

The was no obvious signs of a fuel leak around the main fuel system in the engine bay.  The head was oil wet, but this looked like a leaking valve cover to me.  There is a Webasto fuel tie in on the return line that was wet.  It did not look bad, but it could not hurt to fix.

The heater inlet looked sound.  FYI, this is LHD, so exhaust fumes through the heater are unlikely.

The exhaust in the engine bay looked good.  I did not crawl under.  Everything looked intact and original.

The fuel tank was oil wet everywhere.  The assumption is there is a fuel leak, but need to look after cleaning.  This was the best guess for the issue.

No signs of obvious leaks into the cab such as bad door seals or loose windows.

I'll plan to look underneath this time.  It is handy that we relocated the office to the same building as John.  :)

[Rambler]

I concur having started to suffer from asthma a couple of years back that the smell of diesel fumes (even just walking past a bus) really hurt my lungs and irritate the hell out of my asthma.  I'm a little worried this year when I get the series on the road that the exhaust fumes might mean I won't be driving much.  At least this is a petrol 2.25 and I have the canvas top for fresh air.

[Matt H]

I'd for sure go after the fuel tank leak. Diesel fuel stinks forever. Then, assuming the exhaust is intact, the wabasto fuel tap and valve cover.

I once changed the fuel bags on a Challenger Tank back in the very early 1990's and got covered in diesel. I had a cassette tape/Walkman with me that day and I happened across it again just last month during a clean out. It still stinks of diesel!

My 2c.

[binch]

I'm a bit confused here.....is it the raw fuel or exhaust that's causing the headaches?   Originally it sounded like CO poisoning to me.....

But it sounded like john checked it over pretty well.    There is a seam between the seat box and floors as well as the standard issues rivet holes in the floor and rear door.   If the exhaust has a bad seal or leak then the fumes could come in through any one of those.   The rear of the truck allows draws a little exhaust behind it as you drive and if there is a leak around the back door or roof...maybe there.   But Johno said he'd taped up the door so that should have eliminated the main culprit.  Any signs of leaking passed the injectors????

I wonder if you could fix up a CO monitor in the cab when you drive to test for the exhaust fumes.    Or maybe leave the 110 with John B. to drive for a week and see if he suffers the same problem....?    Grasping at straws here...but what the hey...

[Red90]

Inspection #2!!   :o

No exhaust leaks.

There is a good fuel leak from the tank somewhere up high in the center front. There is too much fuel leakage to figure out where and need it a bit higher off the ground to really look.  Either the tank seam or the return line are my guesses. I'm guessing this is the cause of the headaches.

The bonnet rear seal was missing and the bulkhead vent seals are not sealing great, so addressing those should help reduce any engine fumes getting in the cab.  What are people's thoughts on vent seals?  Early shaped bulkhead side style, MUC4299?  It has the foam, vent side ones on it now.

[binch]

I have the old bulkhead fitted style on mine which seem to work okay.   But I've heard the vent fitted style are suppose to work a little bit better....but I can't confirm this.    I've heard some folks didn't like the vent leaks at all and have screwed them shut permanently....but that's not something I want to do with my own truck as I like to use them in the summer time.   I don't have the bulkhead to bonnet seal (never did) and it doesn't seem to cause me any grief.  But we all know how well ventilated my truck is  ;D   

[Matt H]

  I've heard some folks didn't like the vent leaks at all and have screwed them shut permanently....

Oh the horror!