Well this has been my first "big" Land Rover gremilin.

I can't drive my otherwise amazing Disco for more than 10 minutes without getting a headache, feeling sleepy, nose runs, nerves feel odd. etc. All symptoms of carbin monoxide, I'm told. The actual smell is like cardboard.

But after almost a dozen inspections and repairs ... it persists.

What we've done:

- New Heads and Head gaskets
- Exhaust pressure test comes back OK
- Welded crack in exhaust manifold
- changed out a clogged exhaust filter
- extended tailpipe by 5 inches (admit I don't know what this would do)
- added more foam and leather boot to low range lever.

Observations:
- manifold gaskets appear to be missing
- Dash cluster appears to be loose
- thick rubber gasket around Diff Lock had been cut out. Part seems not to be included in the RAVE manual. Nobody has been able to find order this part.

Strongest fumes come from the dash cluster & steering column.
Fumes are immediate, even when all vents are closed and air is set to "recirc".

So.... this is a bigg bummer.

Can anyone offer advice?

 

I'm guessing the weld in the exhaust manifold is not complete. Also interested in what you mean when you say "manifold gaskets appear to be missing". Which manifold? Exhaust?

There should not be that much CO2 exiting the engine outside of the exhaust system.

 

Thanks Walt,

The weld is in a tricky place, so a good weld is tough to make, but it does look OK. It runs over one of the nuts, though. So replacing the below gaskets will take some grinding I think.

Ah, yeah, by "manifold gaskets" I meant exhaust manifold gaskets

Also, I am wondering... since this is an old leaky Rover... should I not direct my attention to better sealing the cabin? Nobody so far has been for it. I totally don't claim to be an expert, but wouldn't other fumes be coming into the cabin, even if this particular fumes issue is resolved?

Thanks again.
AB

 

Funny you should mention fumes entering into the cabin. I can smell my fuel and exhaust at times and oil too. First place to seal up better would be the tail light area, rubber boot thing that is supposed to seal against the housing and corner/cargo door support. Mine doesn't, first place I'm gonna start. The reason I even noticed is because a buddy who was a passenger mentioned it. I've become so used to it I didn't notice how strong it is. It's basically just my transportation to work and back, 20 miles round trip a day and usually have the drivers window cracked open all year.

 

Just had new exhaust downpipes/cats/ gaskets installed.

The same horrible fumes persist... same headache/tiredness/need to pee after 10-15 mins of exposure.

If it's not the exhaust, and not the engine.. then what??? Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated.

What I do notice is that these fumes are concentrated inside the cab under the steering column, and in the glove box. These funmes are never apparent when standing outside over the hood, or rear of the vehicle when the engine is running.

Heater core is not leaking.

Something with the A/C then ??? The vent separator/blender doesn't seem to work great.

Anyone know what nasty chemical can leak behind the dash?

Okay, thank you in advance. Still hunting...

AB

 

Probably the seal at the blend flap, it deteriorates.

 

Try the advanced evap system. Purge valve gets stuck at times and causes a funky chemical smell. Seems to get worse when I select the fresh air opt.

 

Were you every able to solve this? I have the same thing going on with my Disco - not as bad - but basically sense it coming in under the dash area...

 

Following this. I don't get CO2 but rather plain engine heat coming from either
under steering wheel and/or shifter. Comes in intermittent waves.

 

Same here - it's very pronounced - certainly after driving for a while on the freeway it seems worse.