So I have a 92 miata and I have been getting this really rotten smell lately.
I have about 160k miles on the car.
It does not happen when I start the car and I can let it idle for a long time and not experience the smell. It usually occurs after driving for 10-15 minutes.
I don't notice smoke out of the tailpipe, but I do notice smoke. I have seen it eminating out of the front before and out of the back. It is not a dark smoke though, just a light grey. When I noticed it out of the front it was at night and I saw some smoke in my headlight beam.
I think it could be the clutch, but I haven't noticed any slipping or anything. It seems to still feel pretty smooth, so it makes think that it might be something else.
As far as the engine, it still feels strong. It runs great and has no problems.
Well rotten smell could be a bad catalytic converter. I don't have experience with this, but I have heard that before.
As for the clutch, Clutch smell is pretty distinct (but I wouldn't say it smells rotten), but I have never seen it smoke (unless you burn it completely on the spot?). Generally, you can tell if your clutch is on the fritz and not releasing all the way:
-if you get grinding when you switch gear or
-you bog a little when you put it in gear, but still have the clutch in all the way. In really more serious cases you will get grinding too.
Your clutch would burn under some really strenuous driving. Maybe if you popped the clutch in a bunch of times from 6000 rpms...then one time it slips and you just hold it at high rpms. Thats sure to get a clutch smell out. Another way could if you tried to start it in say 3rd gear and bunch of times and involved you riding the clutch. Lastly, If you are riding the clutch to hold your car still on a hill. All those could be culprits for clutch smell.
NOTE:
I don't think any of those are your problems though... a quick search on google for rotten smell from car got me this from popular mechanics:
SMELLS LIKE: ROTTEN EGGS
WHEN: Any time your engine is running.
THE CULPRIT: Hydrogen sulfide in the exhaust, which is produced by trace amounts of sulfur in gasoline. It's supposed to be converted to sulfur dioxide in your catalytic converter. This may be indicative of a fuel-injection problem, and can be cured by a sharp mechanic. But often it means a failed catalytic converter. The bad news: A new cat is expensive. The good news is it's probably covered under warranty. Check with your dealer.
My car farts too, it usually goes away when I switch gas brands, but this time it is persistent. It's probably because one of my O2 sensors is going bad and creating a rich mixture. That will eventually damage the cat.
check for dead animal somewhere in ur engine bay or inside the dash a friend of mine found a dead mouse in his engine bay it had a terrible smell but only after it had gotten hot could be possible cuz of the cold weather animals looking for a warm place to sleep engine bays are warm http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/images/smilies/icon_xd.gif
Crawl under the car and check for any leaks from the transmission. Buring gear oil is quite obnoxious....hell, it smells terrible even when it's not being burned off.
I'm just throwing this out there but maybe there is a plastic shopping bag melted to your exhaust. I had one stuck to my exhaust and it took a couple of weeks for it to burn off.
Check your shift boots (inner). Sometimes the oil in the turret can spill out onto the tranny/exhaust and stank.
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