I have a 2003 Jeep Liberty V6 with 104,000 miles. Up until now, I have had no major problems with it. This summer, I had the brakes replaced with porcelain pads, the coolant flushed, a tuneup, and a cracked emissions vacuum line replaced (it was making a distinct reptilian hissing sound). About 2 months ago, my car started producing a distinct smell of burning paraffin logs after the car comes to a stop (not every time but maybe two or 3 times per trip to work - a distance of about 15 miles). The smell begins after I pull away from the stop sign. The paraffin smell is also accompanied by what appears to be steam coming from underneath the passenger side of the hood near the right wheelwell. Along with these symptoms, the car had a slight roaring sound as I slowed the car to 35 mph (kind of like what a car with very large tires would make). I decided to take the car to the dealer. They replaced the tires & put in a new hub & bearing assembly (the car still makes the roaring sound - now they say it’s due to an aging pinion gear but I was told that it’s just usual wear-&-tear & I should just deal with it). They checked the coolant - no air in the lines, no burping (according to them). They replaced the radiator cap in case coolant was escaping from there. I’m still smelling the strong paraffin smell. My husband thought it could perhaps be a head gasket that’s going, but the dealer said they checked the pressure/temperature, and he didn’t think it was that. Any ideas on what’s causing the paraffin smell? The only thing I can find when I google this is a suggestion to check the rear valve cover gasket for oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold. In the meantime, I’m getting sick of the strong paraffin smell.
Sounds like 2 problems. Valve cover gaskets is guess 1, easy to spot and fix, problem 2 sounds like a bad wheel bearing. These should be fairly simple to analyze, so it is more a problem with the mechanic, find a new one. My easy way is to call a NAPA dealer, tell them your problems and ask if it was your car who would you take it to.