Y10 - I'm being slowly gassed!

[murf]

I read Brian's post about being gassed just now and this has prompted me to raise a question about the fumes I'm getting in the cabin of my LX and which are making it very unpleasant to drive. I first noticed the fumes on a trip to London before Christmas and looked over the entire exhaust system without finding any leaks. I also checked the tailgate rubber seal and found a 1/2" gap where the two ends meet but having plugged this with an off-cut of foam there is no improvement.
Has anyone had a similar experience? I would appreciate any suggestions on where else to look for the cause.
Happy new year, Murf.

[ben]

If the exhaust is not the culprit I would suspect the engine breathing pipework.If fumes are present under the bonnet they may be getting into the heater air pickup area if the rubber seal along the edge of the fibre-board(?) bulkhead at the rear of the engine compartment is not doing its job properly.

[LanciAlan]

I get fumes if I drive with the sunroof open but not with it shut or with the window open. I imagine the air rushing out of the roof is being replaced by air drawn in from somewhere else in a manner and/or at a particular rate, that does not occur when the windows are shut or that does not matter when they are open.

If I wanted to fix this I would of course look for the offending entry point but then experiment with extending the exhaust tail pipe beyond the lower edge of the rear bumper as a fair bit of exhaust can get caught up under the bumper and then drawn into the cabin whether by fair means (official vents) or foul (unauthorised perforations).

[murf]

Thanks guys for your comments. I will certainly check out the fibre-board bulkhead around the heater assembly tomorrow when I have more time although at first glance it seems to be ok. Its a bit like does the fridge door light go out when you close the door? The rubber capping appears to be in reasonable condition but I'm not sure how good a seal it provides with the bonnet down.
I will report on any progress made.

Regards, Murf.

[HF_Dave]

Check for a crack in the engine breather hose located beside the air box, I had this problem on my Hf Coupe, it was very smelly until I replaced it. Thanks david.