From what I can tell, this is an age-old problem for Z cars due to the aerodynamics at the rear end... MY CAR STINKS! I have the smell of fuel and/or exhaust fumes, and it's nauseating :sick:

I've heard different things about how to fix the problem:

1. longer exhaust tip;

2. seal up all the little holes in the rear floor;

3. check the fuel filler hose that runs to the tank;

4. keep the windows closed and the fan on full.

Well that sounds like a lot of work! :stupid: (except for option 4)

Can anybody honestly report that they've done any of the above and completely eliminated (or at least noticeably lessened) the smells?

Or perhaps you'd like to have a crack at ordering the above "ideas" with the most likely first? Then I'll gradually attack each one and hope for the best (and continue with option 4 in the meantime).

Cheers!

I can't say that I've tried any of the above options, but I have a couple more to add to your list of things to try. Check your rear hatch rubber seals and the rubber seals on the tail light assembly.

You want to check and replace or fix.

Rear hatch seal and outer seal

Tail light gaskets

Rear hatch inside cover

Spare tire drain plugs

Fuel vent lines are all good and not cracked or broken.

Im sure there are more thats what I can think of right now

Keep the windows UP and the floor vents OPEN. That's all that works.

steve77

I've done both 2 & 3 and feel that the effort was well worth it. Then again I also went through and replaced all the vent hoses , the tail light gaskets, the outer hatch seal, the rubber plugs on the bottom of the hatch as well as sealing the hatch.

Too much work? Not as far as I'm concerned, considering the final result. The car is quiet, you can play the original radio at very low levels and still make out what they are saying, you don't even need to have the vents or windows open in order to breathe. My wife is a bit of a Chilly Willy and as a result even the faintest breeze will send her into a shivering fit, so it was important to ensure that I did NOT have to continuously vent the passenger compartment. Add to that my sensitive nose (as well as hers) and you can see that it was a pre-requisite for both keeping and getting her to drive in it with me.

But don't just take my word for it, you can ask Beandip for his opinion.

As far as it being too much work for you, that's one thing that you might as well get used to with the Z. I'm not saying that they are the labor intensive, ultra-sensitive and prone to failure money-pits that some people think of them as (like the mid 80's Jaguars), just that there are some things that you can't ignore, nor let go for a long time before other, and nastier problems begin.

In my experience at another website, the people that complain about the amount of work and money the Z requires, are those who find "creative" and "alternative" methods of repairs for those fixes that have become well documented amongst Z owners.

As far as the Z is concerned, a stitch in time is definitely worth about 3 dozen later.

2¢

Enrique

Fuel smell is one thing. The exhaust smell can be various things. On mine it was an adjustment of the latch on the rearhatch. It didn't take me but about 5 years to find that:stupid: Now that it closes tight no problem. Oh I found those rubber magnets like the ones you get from the pizza place for you frig. work great for closing those floor holes.

The extended exhaust tip makes a huge difference in that smell. I did that first, then can run with the windows down all day and get no head ache

I have not had that problem in my Z. Thankfully! I have replaced all of the weatherstrippig thuogh. Not because it smelled but because I painted the car. I really believe you can eliminate the smell with out having to keep the windows up all the time! Good luck!

ROOPZ

replace the tranny gaskets where the shifter comes through the tunnel, also check the window glass rubber felt gaskets.