# Ford Focus (1999) Shakes, stinks and sounds "ungood". Exhaust smells really bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** focus, ford\ **Created:** [November 29, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196 "2024-11-29T17:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CarNewbie01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@CarNewbie01](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CarNewbie01)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/1 "2024-11-29T17:32:44Z")
As the title Heres a Video of the Engine Starting What should I check? ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/2 "2024-11-29T17:58:46Z")
Does the Check Engine light turn on? Tester ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/3 "2024-11-29T18:01:30Z")
Hard to tell by that video. In this day and age we don’t address engine performance issues by looking and listening as much as we do by looking at data on a scan tool and interpreting trouble codes. Any check engine light or fault codes found? ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/4 "2024-11-29T18:14:06Z")
Sounds to me like a belt-driven component is noisy. As you got closer to the alternator, the noise increased. You could loosen or remove the drive belt(s) and then rotate each driven pulley, feeling for graininess or play. Bad smelling exhaust could be coolant from a head gasket leak, or oil burning from leaking valve stem seals, or wrong mixture when cold, or… ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/5 "2024-11-29T20:46:21Z")
> [@shanonia](#): > > Bad smelling exhaust could be coolant from a head gasket leak, or oil burning from leaking valve stem seals, or wrong mixture when cold, or… +1 Timing that is seriously “off” can also result in really foul-smelling exhaust, and I think it’s possible that bad timing could be the cause of the other symptoms, as well. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-focus-1999-shakes-stinks-and-sounds-ungood-exhaust-smells-really-bad/198196/6 "2024-11-30T22:10:58Z")
Are your outside the USA? If engine is turbocharged, my guess is something is amiss w/that.