Smells after driving

There are two problems with my car (they might be related).

First my heating meter abruptly rises to middle (within 1 minute of start, even in morning). I first think it might be the problem of heat sensor but when i turn on the heater, its also blowing hot air. But even after driving more than 1 hour, the needle stays on same level ( i guess a very little high than previous)

Second, I smell something (i can''t exactly express that smell) from the engine. There''s on leaks .. the engine is dry. its peculiar smell.

Any help.. or any more information?

1993 Honda Accord EX. 200K miles

Silver.

Smell is hard to explain over the net...
 
But most fluids in a car have peculiar smells.  Open the various reservoirs & smell the fluids.
 
Open the radiator cap (NOT when its hot) to recognize the small of antifreeze.
Open the fill cap for engine oil when it''s hot but not running.
 

as far as the engine temp. goes.  if you live in a very warm climate this time of year it takes fluids a much shorter time to come up to operating temp.

Check to see if you have a crush washer on your drain pan... i didn''t put one one, and when I push her kinda hard i start to smell a little bit of burning oil cuz a drip or two tends to come out due to pressure...

also check to see if your brake lines are leaking, particularly near the rotors.. that can have a pungent smell as well...



the temp climbing in <1min seems rather fast though... I''ll have to monitor mine a lil better to see how long it takes in this Texas heat.

Experiencing sort of the same issue. I sheared off the Engine Temp. Sending Unit in the cylinder head lining my tranny up after the clutch/flywheel job, didn''t repair it right away. Last week I went and bout a new unit at O''Reilly''s (BWD brand) for $20, drained all the coolant and popped the new sensor in. Filled it with brand new fluid, bled the system and then burped it. The needle climbs faster than it did before and sometimes likes to hang out about an 1/8" before H or sometimes right on H, but other times will stay in the middle as usual, only rising when I''m sitting at lights. Any ideas?

In response to Spaz, to the OP:  .... if your oil is heating up that fast, you are probably losing some.  The temp gauge is for the oil, not the coolant as many believe.  Oil shouldn''''''''t change temp that quickly unless a decent amount is missing.

Brandon:  Have you tried removing the thermostat to see if it''s blown out?

Falk, what years is the temperature gauge for oil?  I wasnt aware of that.  Its for coolant on all the HondAcuras Ive owned.
 

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc191/klrspz/03%20Accord/Odo02.jpg

mine just barely gets over what you see here... just over 1/3

I seriously wouldnt worry about it heating up fast. as long as the cooling system is full, it doesnt overheat, and its not running lean i can''t imagine that a fast-heating up engine would be bad. mine heats up in about a minute in this weather.

Two thoughts. Obtain an infrared temp sensor to check temp of coolant parts (thermostat housing, upper radiator hose return, etc). If they are over 195F, they are too hot, which would indicate bad thermostat or possibly partially blocked radiator. Check that both cooling fans are working.

As you are probably aware - coolant leaking onto a hot surface has a sweet smell.
 
Look very close at the front of the valve cover seal for  slight oil seepage onto the the exhaust manifold.

falkore, one of the few times I''m calling BS on you.

Gauge no worky, replace sending unit, gauge worky. Hole for unit leaks coolant not oil. Sorry short post, lame HAF.

I''m going to check the temp with the infrared next time I''m at g-pas.

no i have not check the t-stat either. everything worked great previous to shearing the sending unit. would expect the same when replaced. will check sooner or later, I know the enigine isn''t overheating. i drove without the unit for a month, not a prob.

Slithersilver (original post)...
Whats new?  Have you identified the smell?
 

First of all thanks for all these discussions.

I haven''t still identified the smell and moreover, yesterday was rainy day so no time for that.. i''ll get back to guys as soon as i find something worth mentioning.

Some of the comments are quite cryptic to me, because i am a way too beginner in components of car.
By the way, i recently fixed the problem of not getting start during hot day by fixing main relay in my Accord 1993. I found useful information in this forum.

As this is 15 year old car with 200K, i don''t really want to spend too much just to diagnoses. think looking at the temperature using Infrared will too much cost.

Any suggestions?

(Note: i check the coolant level in radiator, its full)
Thanks..
Silver
(Nebraska)

Smell of coolant in radiator - not the same as your original question?
 
Which things are cryptic?  We got way off track with some postings.
 
Valve cover is very top cover on engine.  Oil leaking from the front of that onto the hot exhaust manifold?  Oil leaking out ANYWHERE?
 

May be this might be helpful in diagnoses.

There was oil leak from the engine. The oil got into the spark plug. And i Had to change the valve cover gasket.
I don''t see any sign of oil leak at least in the spark plug hole. Other outer engine looks dry.

The car drives very smooth (even its 15 years old).

Hope this helps.

Silver.
Accord 93, 200K

What about a smell like burning rubber?  A little bit of that is normal from tire wear, but maybe the suspension alignment is way off?
 

The temp guage is for coolant NOT oil.

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimBlake

Falk, what years is the temperature gauge for oil?  I wasnt aware of that.  Its for coolant on all the HondAcuras Ive owned.

I guess I''m just wrong on this one ..... could''ve sworn it was oil temp.