Hi Im new to this forum. I have a 2004 Ram 2500 with 28,000 miles. There is a really bad odor coming from the engine its like a strong burning chemical smell. The dealer checked it and could not figure it out they verified the smell but could not find the source. They claimed it was possibly the new exaust head that they replaced and needed to burn off the film that is on it. I have put on many mile since and its getting worse. I had to stop driving it due to the fact the odor was causing me to get headaches. Last year in the winter I noticed a neon yellowish greenish color coming from the exaust. Dealer said it was nothing. I drive the truck mostly in the winter months so it sit through the summer. My extended warranty is up in a few months so i need to figure this out soon and the deal seems to brush it off. Any suggestions or feed back would be great. Thanks In advance.

 

coolant burnoff would be my guess.

 

I also say coolant burn off. Inhaling antifreeze would be bad.

 

is your oil milky? Sounds like a head gasket to me

 

Bad catalytic?

 

x3 because of the "chemical" comment.
Would be my guess as well...

 

When I first got my Magnaflows, they smelled pretty bad. I figured it was some sort of chemical used in the manufacturing process. It subsided in a week or so, I think. It's been a while since I did that.

 

Maybe to what Weedahoe said, check your Cat.

Now knowing you have aftermarket exhaust, I would make sure to check all the connections too. Do you feel like you're losing power?

 

Thanks for the response. Im going to look in to all suggestions. Since I had the exaust fixed the truck runs great just the smell is terrible. You can smell it 10 feet away from the truck when its parked. I belive it started prior to changing the exaust prior to then the smell was not as strong and it smells like lawn fertalizer so at first I thought it was coming from my neighbor since he is a landscaper. but since I had the exaust manifold replaced it is much stronger. I hardly drove the truck this summer so I did not realize that it was the truck that was causing the odor. Thank for everyone's help.

 

Maybe vandalism? An animal in engine compartment? Not sure of the smell but unless its the CAT there should be no other chemical smell the engine will produce.