Goodbye exhaust fumes!

[mlaw7]

Prior to restoring my '78 coupe, I - like many of us here - had to deal with some pretty strong exhaust fumes in the cabin.

It wasn't a problem with both windows up and wasn't very noticeable with both of them down. But with one window up and the other down, it was another story.

Sometimes it was so strong I thought I must be crazy to love this car enough to drive under these conditions. After driving the car like that, my clothes and I smelled like an exhaust pipe. :sick: Not at all cool, especially when going to work in an office downtown! I've read many similar stories here.

No more!

Yesterday I had to drive across town to pick up a few items. Other than a few short drives, I haven't been able to really drive my '78 since taking her to paint/body shop back in November. But now that the dash is back in, I decided to lay in the carpet over the transmission tunnel, drop the console in and take her for a real drive.

Besides just wanting to be behind the wheel of my 280Z again, I wanted to see, hear and feel how she drives now, the noise level and how the sound system sounds on the road. At first I didn't even think about exhaust fumes.

Wow! She feels much more solid now and is a lot quieter, even without carpet and padding on the floors. And the old musty odor is gone too. Almost like a new car - seriously! The only thing missing is a few coats of QuietCar to the exterior wheel wells, as I didn't remove the vinyl to cover them inside the car. Road noise is still evident there.

Cruising between 70-80 on the freeway was wonderful, and somewhere along the way I suddenly noticed that there were no more exhaust fumes with the drivers side window open. Same when driving around 35-40.

I am now happy to report that there is indeed hope for even the most fume-ridden S30!

The following seem to have made the difference.

A major part of the restoration involved fixing a number of rust areas in the passenger side floorboard and upper rocker panel underneath the kick plate. Many of these were not evident until I removed the tar paper. Another rust area was found on the front edge of the driver's side door jamb under the door seal. And the beginning of a serious rust issue underneath the battery tray was nipped in the bud and fixed before any real damage had occurred. Among the rust spots in the spare tire wheel well, I didn't see any holes but I think even a tiny pinhole would be an entry for exhaust fumes. They're all history now.

I imagine a lot of the exhaust fumes were coming into the cabin through some of these areas.

New weatherstripping/seals all the way around. Some fumes were probably coming in through compromised areas in the old hatch seals.

Replaced the taillight gaskets. The old ones were SHOT and I understand this is one of the major offenders.

Sealed up the grommet in the passenger side floor for the fuel pump wires.

Also noticed that the parts of the grommet lip for the wiring harness in the passenger side firewall were not properly seated. This left what looked like an ideal entry point for exhaust fumes. So I simply took a flat head screwdriver, carefully reseated the grommet and sealed it with silicone.

New rubber inner shift boot securely fastened in place.

Reseated the grommet for the antenna drain tube and made sure the drain tube was properly in place.

I know that most if not all of these have already been covered in various posts and threads. I just want to add a voice of encouragement to say that this problem can indeed be fixed.

[barth4567]

That is part of what I am going to work on today. My car dosen't have the rust issue's that your car has but it has the smell although not as bad. I am going to replace the tailight gaskets today and seal all around the hoses and any other opening I can find back there. I have to admit the exhaust smell is frustrating to say the least.:sick: But it is one of the little things that go with these cars. I Am glad to see that you got your problem fixed. Love to drive mine "fast" with the window or windows down. Thanks for the update. Thats what makes this site so good. John

[Unkle]

I agree ! Does anyone have a better tailight gasket source other than paying 80 bucks for the ebay ones ?

[barth4567]

I agree ! Does anyone have a better tailight gasket source other than paying 80 bucks for the ebay ones ?

You can get OEM from Motorsport Auto. They are alot better quality than the ones you will get from Black Dragon although they are cheaper. In this case I personally would go OEM. Also, just to clarify, I bought a set from Black Dragon and was not happy with the quality. Anytime I replace parts on my Z I always try to get OEM when possible. I have never been unhappy with a Datsun/Nissan part. There are however good quality after market parts out there as well. My opinion only:classic:

[mlaw7]

I agree - OEM is the way to go whenever possible. As far as the parts sold by Black Dragon, I'll just say that you get what you pay for ...

And don't forget to try Courtesy Nissan or a local Nissan dealer BEFORE buying many OEM parts on eBay or elsewhere. While it is true that many S30 parts are NLA from dealers, you might be surprised at what you still can get from Nissan dealers.

Not to mention that what are held out as OEM parts by some eBay sellers are not always so.

Some items - like center consoles - are actually LESS from Nissan dealers than from MSA or eBay sellers!!! Same with some emblems, body seals and other parts.

And FWIW, I have found that the OEM hatch window seal not only fits better but (as you would expect) looks much more correct than the aftermarket seals sold by MSA and others. The difference is so noticeable, especially around the chrome trim, that I actually had the glass man remove the hatch glass with the Precision seal I first bought and replace it with an OEM Nissan seal.

One of the best things I ever did!