its 94 degrees outside and I take a ride then when I park the 2003 Buick lesabre v6 3800 custom , I shut it off in my driveway, then as I walked past the car I notice a rubber type high heat smell through the seam in the hood its like a combination of heater or radiator hose and belt rubber smell yet when I open the hood no leaks no extreamly hot belt and the hoses just feel normal hot the car runs fine ,no noises oil is high on the mark not low on antifreeze nothing , I just got this car in the early spring and never noticed it unlil now mid Summer high heat weather .
is this normal?
Is the temperature gauge on the instrument panel at a normal level? Is the warning light on that gauge working (when you turn the key to start the car)?
Can you check with an infrared thermometer or very carefully by hand that the wheels on each side are at the same temperature after your drive? If one is higher than the other, then you have a sticking brake.
You could have a small oil leak dripping onto something hot. It takes very little oil to make a strong smell. After your drive, take a flashlight and look closely for wisps of smoke.
That would be my prime suspect, as well.
In addition, it is entirely possible to have very minor coolant seepage from a slightly loose hose clamp, and that very minor seepage might not show up as a low coolant level for a long time.
The OP should look around all of the hose clamps for evidence of dried-up coolant residue, and check for a possible small oil leak that could be hitting the exhaust.
It’s probably normal in the high heat of summer as long as you don’t have any engine overheating problems.
no overheating at all even the gauge is dead center where it should be
no overheating at all even the gauge is dead center where it should be
never thought of hose clamp thank you
the brakes are the same temperature so I can rule that out , i really think its a smell from the engine , it may be a characteristic with the GM 3800 v6 engines ,I dont know, now the oil drip onto a hot pipe maybe an issue but I dont see any oil drips just looking at it?
thanks for your help , I think it ws just hot during the summer months when I purchased the car and they spray down the engines with this silicon type of shinner it may have burned off winter now and no smell runs good what more can I say.thanks