Engine degreaser toxic smell in car

[Pauly288]

Hi
Hoping someone here might be able to help. My very well intentioned mechanic who did me a lot of favours recently to resolve issues with my CLK did a full engine clean and degrease.
Unfortunately however the smell of engine degreaser coming from under the hood is unbearable at traffic lights with the windows down and I cannot use the blower or A/c at all as this just blows toxic fumes into the interior.
I took the car to a detailing place and the guy did a low pressure wash of the entire engine bay with a little basic detergent but the fumes are still horrific.
Any idea how long this will take to go away or should I do something else?
My mechanic said he will clean it again with the pressure washer in a few days but I am unsure as to whether this will be enough.
Any thoughts ?
Thanks a lot.
Paul

 

[Frontstep]

Put cars heater on full heat/fan and recycling, leave running for as long as you can.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Check all rubber seals around engine bay are properly fitted and haven't been unseated by the pressure washing, also check the area around the wiper scuttle panel isn't blocked up with leaves and debris. Some of the detergent may well be still lying in here.
You can also use the recirculate button on the aircon and this will recirculate the air inside the cabin and not bring in the smelly stuff.

 

[television]

I would change the filter for the heater box.

 

[Pauly288]

Thanks all for coming back to me.
@television have changed the filter in the A/c box already but unfortunately that is nowhere near enough to filter out this smell. It is so bad that you can smell it coming out from under the engine grille from 6 feet away from the car. Thanks for.
@xtractorfan that's a good point re the rubber seals. It seems though that the engine bay is totally polluted with this stuff burning off so any air intake from that area is just toxic.
@frontstep unfortunately the a/c only allows recirculate for so long then it knocks off...assuming to prevent you falling asleep. Even so, the initial blast of air would still choke you.

Read a few comments on other forums where people experienced the same issue. Some said the stuff burns off in a few days, others said it was weeks, others said 6 months later it was still coming through the vents.

Nightmare.

 

[star]

Take for a drive down the m.way, the heat and air circulation should evaporate most of the smell.

 

[Pauly288]

I've driven it for 200 Kms and it hasn't dissapated at all.

 

[star]

Get the garage to degrease it with perfumed degreaser??? Or have you got a leak?

 

[davidsw]

If it initially required a clean and degrease was something leaking and is it leaking now and causing the smell .

 

[Pauly288]

The timing chain slipped a tooth about 2 months ago and since the head was re-done there was a smell of burning plastic or oil coming in through the air vents. In an attempt to resolve it my mechanic drained the system, changed the coolant and pollen filter and degreased the engine in case there was oil caked on and burning. The a/c has also been serviced and given ozone treatment.

 

[Frontstep]

A further investigation of the engine is called for then.

 

[ajlsl600]

smell

burnt, melting plastic will give off a fairly toxic smell and wont go away until found and rectified or finally burnt out of the way , suspect pressure washing or issues related to the recent work dislodged something, now melting/ melted/burning follow exhaust manifold and downpipes along ,at least to the first( if applicable ) box . the only way degreaser might cause a smell is if it had pooled somewhere as concentrate and is burning off , 200 miles or k,s and that is unlikely be the case. look at any insulation near exhaust that may have soaked up the degreaser and if need be get the whole area washed off again with just pressure water have the washer on fan jet not point or yr insulation will get wrecked ,thats if you have it . suspect you know but dont use cold pressure wash on hot manifolds ,unless yr good pals with a cast welder.

 

[Pauly288]

Thanks guys for all the info so far. Really
appreciate it. The car is in the garage being fully
checked over so I'll wait and see what comes back

 

[Pauly288]

Hi guys
So the update is I am at a total loss as to how to get rid of this utterly toxic smell. My mechanic has literally pulled the engine bay apart bit by bit looking for anywhere where degreaser has pooled to no avail. He washed it down again with a fairly odour neutral brake cleaner and did a full a/c clean again, even took off the cover under the car and cleaned it, inspected it all along to the rear exhaust
Once the car gets hot and you pop the bonnet the smell of solvent coming from the engine bay is horrific and this is what is coming into the cabin.
I see on other forums people saying this stuff can take months to burn off.
I'm at the stage now where I don't know whether I can keep the car. It rains a lot where I live and using the heater is like a session of sniffing petrol through a soaked rag. Any last ditch advice would be most welcome before I have to do something as drastic as selling the car.
Thanks

 

[television]

This just is not normal, there must be fuel leaking somewhere

 

[Pauly288]

When I say it's like sniffing petrol its because it seems it was cleaned originally with a petroleum based degreaser. There is no fuel leaking. It has been checked multiple times in great detail the past few days by a man who has worked on mercs for 40 years. This one has him stumped though. Even the local main dealer service centre couldn't offer any help.
I am going to see if I can find someone who does hot steam cleaning as opposed to pressure washing. Something has to be able to break down this odour

 

[Craiglxviii]

Has your mechanic had all the engine bay under trays removed and wipred clean?

Has he checked all the exhaust manifolds, downpipes etc?

Has he checked around the sides and back of the engine?

It sounds to me exactly as other posters have suggested, you have a pooling of concentrated degreaser sat somewhere slowly evaporating as your engine gets warm; if it's in the felt or foam type sound insulation this may need removing and soaking in detergent (if possible) or replacing in order to get rid of the smell.

Another thought- detergent (think Fairy LIquid on steroids) will disperse petroleum type degreasers and solvents, so you may want to consider giving your engine bay a VERY GENTLE detergent-heavy washdown or three.

 

[television]

Has your mechanic had all the engine bay under trays removed and wipred clean?

Has he checked all the exhaust manifolds, downpipes etc?

Has he checked around the sides and back of the engine?

It sounds to me exactly as other posters have suggested, you have a pooling of concentrated degreaser sat somewhere slowly evaporating as your engine gets warm; if it's in the felt or foam type sound insulation this may need removing and soaking in detergent (if possible) or replacing in order to get rid of the smell.

Another thought- detergent (think Fairy LIquid on steroids) will disperse petroleum type degreasers and solvents, so you may want to consider giving your engine bay a VERY GENTLE detergent-heavy washdown or three.

Good point on the undertrays , they do come off easily, steam will shift anything in the felt.

 

[Craiglxviii]

And obviously "wipred" is Latin for "cleaned with a rag"

 

[Pauly288]

Has your mechanic had all the engine bay under trays removed and wipred clean?

Has he checked all the exhaust manifolds, downpipes etc?

Has he checked around the sides and back of the engine?

It sounds to me exactly as other posters have suggested, you have a pooling of concentrated degreaser sat somewhere slowly evaporating as your engine gets warm; if it's in the felt or foam type sound insulation this may need removing and soaking in detergent (if possible) or replacing in order to get rid of the smell.

Another thought- detergent (think Fairy LIquid on steroids) will disperse petroleum type degreasers and solvents, so you may want to consider giving your engine bay a VERY GENTLE detergent-heavy washdown or three.

Thanks for the advice. Yes he has pulled the engine bay apart, took off engine trays, removed battery, cleaned he entire bay again with a basic detergent from top and below but still stinks. The next step is looking like we might have to remove the dash to see if it has gone into the vents. The pollen filter was changed but there was signs of a residue splashed up on the inner windscreen from the front window blower. Perhaps when the degreaser was initially applied the blower was on and it sucked it up. I don't know at this stage I could be clutching at straws but the people who re-did the cylinder head are taking it back on Tuesday as it was them that did the cleaning.