Burning Smell

[tj_Joe]

I cant seem to find anything that meets my issues, and I have my fair share. So I will start with what you may know of.

I have a 98 TJ, that you all here helped walk me through replacement of my cooling system. Replaced radiator (MOPAR), fan clutch, water pump, Temp Sensor (MOPAR), thermostat housing, thermostat, water pump and all hoses. flushed the system, replaced coolant. I keep smelling a burning smell at the front end of the jeep, My guess coolant. Did a pressure test, nothing. Put in some of the UV stuff, no leaks. but the smell is strong when I park it in my garage after only a 15 minute drive, and it is only 35 degrees here. Coolant level does go down a little, so I am losing it somewhere, I just cannot find it. Jeep stay sat 210, so it is not over heating. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be great as I am lost on this one.

 

[06lj]

Are you smelling coolant or just something burning? With coolant there are a limited amout of places it can go. If you are loosing coolant you have a leak somewhere. Along with your hoses and fitting check all of the freeze plugs and block drain. They are close to the exhaust manifold and any leak may be evaporating before it leave a trail of dye. They can be a little tough to see. If your Jeep is not a daily driver I would just take the 10 minutes and pull the fender. It makes accessing the side of the engine very easy.

 

[Chris]

X2 to the above. Exactly what I would have said in so many words.

 

[tj_Joe]

06LJ,

thanks for the ideas. Made me look where I wouldn’t have normally for the leak. Lols like I have a two part issue. Developed a leak at the rear main seal, which I normally would have noticed with oil on the ground, however it looks like I have a head gasket issue as I have coolant in my oil as you said it is burning off before I notice anything. I am going to have to take it to a shop to verify my thoughts as I do not want to do all that work for nothing. Seeing as it is my daily driver. Hey f it is a head gasket could possibly be a head as well. So probably have a new one on hand for when I tear it down. And since I’m in there replace all the plugs like you mentioned. Looks like a good three day job for me anyway. And that is without addressing the rear main seal as I don’t have the tools for that. Going to have to figure something out for that one. Anyway, thanks for the help on this.

 

[tj_Joe]

Are you smelling coolant or just something burning? With coolant there are a limited amout of places it can go. If you are loosing coolant you have a leak somewhere. Along with your hoses and fitting check all of the freeze plugs and block drain. They are close to the exhaust manifold and any leak may be evaporating before it leave a trail of dye. They can be a little tough to see. If your Jeep is not a daily driver I would just take the 10 minutes and pull the fender. It makes accessing the side of the engine very easy.

06LJ,

thanks for the ideas. Made me look where I wouldn’t have normally for the leak. Lols like I have a two part issue. Developed a leak at the rear main seal, which I normally would have noticed with oil on the ground, however it looks like I have a head gasket issue as I have coolant in my oil as you said it is burning off before I notice anything. I am going to have to take it to a shop to verify my thoughts as I do not want to do all that work for nothing. Seeing as it is my daily driver. Hey f it is a head gasket could possibly be a head as well. So probably have a new one on hand for when I tear it down. And since I’m in there replace all the plugs like you mentioned. Looks like a good three day job for me anyway. And that is without addressing the rear main seal as I don’t have the tools for that. Going to have to figure something out for that one. Anyway, thanks for the help on this.

 

[RHP61]

Probably I'm wrong,

i also had a burnt smell in the TJ, it was a melted plug on the light switch.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

Oddly enough, I only experience a burning smell when my neice is riding with me (she's a CBD biz owner). And, within moments thereafter, I'm involuntarily racing to the nearest Burger King and devouring 2 double-whoppers before I'm realizing what's happening.

I've yet to connect the dots, but will, in time.

 

[Jeffreybomb]

Check your brake calipers. I had the issue a few years ago. My driver's side front was clamped down on the rotor and wouldn't let go. The smell was obnoxious.

If you find that's the case, don't touch the rotor. The constant friction makes it napalm-level hot.

 

[tj_Joe]

Oddly enough, I only experience a burning smell when my neice is riding with me (she's a CBD biz owner). And, within moments thereafter, I'm involuntarily racing to the nearest Burger King and devouring 2 double-whoppers before I'm realizing what's happening.

I've yet to connect the dots, but will, in time.

That seems like a serious issue. You may have to have a few people do ride alongs with you when you pick up your niece to help out decipher what it could be.

 

[tj_Joe]

Check your brake calipers. I had the issue a few years ago. My driver's side front was clamped down on the rotor and wouldn't let go. The smell was obnoxious.

If you find that's the case, don't touch the rotor. The constant friction makes it napalm-level hot.

I’ll keep that in mind. Brakes were recently checked. Think it’s coolant getting into the oil. Bought a pressure today so will be testing soon to see if the gasket gave way.

 

[EzPeezy]

Oddly enough, I only experience a burning smell when my neice is riding with me (she's a CBD biz owner). And, within moments thereafter, I'm involuntarily racing to the nearest Burger King and devouring 2 double-whoppers before I'm realizing what's happening.

I've yet to connect the dots, but will, in time.

That's not how CBD works

 

[tj_Joe]

Ok here’s the update after running a compression test. Keep in mind I did not do cylinder 1 as I could not get to it at the moment.

cylinder 2 120psi
cylinder 3 115psi
cylinder 4 100psi
cylinder 5 100psi
cylinder 6 120 psi

please know these are my readings. Probably going to have it tested to verify my conclusion that I either have a bad head gasket or a bad head. Either way something is coming off.

now I was able to get a better look climbing under as 06LJ said, and saw some of my dye on the drivers side but coming from above the plugs. Plugs looked to be in good shape, almost like they were replaced.

 

[tj_Joe]

Since this is my Daily Driver, I went ahead and purchased a separate head and took it to a machinist to have ready for my install over the weekend. Beyond the gaskets, and new bolts, I am planning to jack up the front end and pull the oil pan to replace the gasket and Rear Main seal since It has had a slow leak from there for a while now. Anything else I am missing or any words of wisdom from the group members?

Side not, Once I pull off the head, I plan on uploading photos so you guys can help me determine the condition of my block if possible. I'm no mechanic, I do everything off YouTube and pointers I get here. So any help is appreciated.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

That's not how CBD works

Oh, now I get it