I get a kick out of people who say my car stinks like a truck, I guess they can't fathom a car being a diesel....it's also extra funny when the gas attendant comes over the intercom and reminds me that I'm using the diesel pump. you'd think pump jockeys would have some sense of these cars....geeze I mean there's enough TDI jettas and Passats out there to know better...

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RIP: 80 300SD
RIP: 79 450SEL
2002 E430 4matic (212,000km)
2002 ML500 'sport'

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i think, that is it! that's what's making the smell, when that oil on the exhaust pipe is heated, it produces the "stinky" fumes that those people smells out of your car.

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'85 300D Turbo - CA Version

Revisiting this thread ... I have actually noticed the smell a bit myself now on hot days, and I also remembered something that for some reason didn't occur to me before. About three months ago I had the brakes redone, and when I got the car back, it reeked of I-don't-know-what. At the time I assumed it was just something the mechs had tracked into the car and ignored it and I really stopped noticing it. I hadn't thought about it since, but here's something: the wheels were very much "stuck on" and the mechs greased the heck out of them to get them off as well as keep them from getting stuck again. Would the grease on the wheels produce a stink because of the brake heat? When I stick my head by the wheels, the smell doesn't seem to get stronger so maybe not. It just doesn't seem to be coming from the exhaust ... it's more noticeable near the front of the car. I'm just curious where smells can come from ... I'm not good enough at this to ID whether it's burnt fuel or burnt oil but I worry that it might be the latter. There's also a lot of leaked oil (collected over a loooooonnnng time because I shamefully haven't cleaned my engine comp YET) ... would that smell when the engine is hot?

None of this is profound, but I'mm always trying to learn about this stuff.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Yep, and by the looks of the rear diff I can only imagine the motor.

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1999 E300DT (131,800) 154,000 Black on Black SOLD

2006 CLK 500 coupe Capri Blue on Grey (zoom,zoom)
47,000mi

04 VW TDI Passat 80,000mi
(Techno)

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