Tbird and Ford, in general

[JRL]

I ranted and raved (on the other site) a couple of months ago about several things so I won't make the same mistake and bore all you people but I would like to say a couple of words.
My Tbird, and several other had a very nasty smell under medium acceleration when new. The Ford rep admitted it was there but refused to do anything about it. Said"drive it for 5000 miles then come back". I was livid, but, you know, it went away. Point here is: if Ford knows (and they do) about this potentially annoying smell, why,1: won't they just make better converters, and 2:they could do their customer relations a whole lot better than to just tell the customer drive it, enjoy the rotten smell for a couple of thousand miles and don't call us we'll call you. Apparantly, this is not just a Tbird isssue, Ford is saving a couple of dollars and making cheap converters throughout the line with a lower than average nickle content and the customer is suffering with this rotten smell. The paint issue(hardtop) is another thing. Give the customer a clear tape kit that has to be changed every time the hardtop goes on and off,
I don't think so.
And to add insult to injury you have to pay for additional kits after the first one is used.
Again, poor relations. I guess I'll add the chrome strips if they become standard on '03's.
Sorry, I went on again. This site seems to be a whole lot better than "the other one" and from now on I'll shut up.
JRL
:pbj::pbj::pbj:

[Gobird]

JRL,:wavey: Ok now I know who you are. I do have some comments on what you have said but right now I have to cook supper on the grill. Get back to you later.:smokin:

[joelja]

JRL, you will find that we are very tolerant here. You can rant about any issues that are bothering you. That is totally your right.

We are fun people here and we are glad to be on this forum.

So please join in on the fun, and every once in a while, if you feel like letting off some steam, have at it. :smokin::smokin::smokin:

[JRL]

Thanks, but I'm done ranting, not worth it anymore and it doesn't come out right- life's too short.
JRL

[Norman]

JRL; I have 3 Thunderbirds and have yet to experience any unpleasant odor. In fact, other than the window memory needing to programmed once in one of the cars, I've had no problems at all. Just pure pleasure.

[RETRO T]

JRL,
I too can smell the smell. It is most noticeable when accelerating at the higher speeds....like passing someone. It is nasty. I'm up to 3000 miles now, so hopefully it will disappear soon.

[02TBIRD]

AT 6500 MILES THE SMELL IS STILL THERE WHEN I PUNCH IT, BUT NOT AS BAD. STILL ALL-IN-ALL, IT IS AWESOME. I FEEL LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE EVERYTIME I DRIVE IT. 02TBIRD

[02birdman]

I am not getting any smell, but I only have 600 miles on the car. Do you think it might be the brand of gas? When my wife has BP gas in her car (Jeep) I can smell it at highway speeds+. We normally burn Shell with no problems.

[Gobird]

02birdman, I don't think it is the gas. I did have the same smell in mine on long drives or if I got on it. This lasted for the frist 3,000 to 4,000 miles. I no longer seem to smell it and I now have over 6,000 miles on the car.

[FordMan7]

I had a similar odor - maybe for the first 1500 miles - especially on hot/humid days. I am now at approx. 3500 miles and have had no reoccurances.....

FordMan7:fordsrule:

[JRL]

Last time.
This smell comes from the catalytic converters. They're made from inferior quality materials (low nickel content) but just make the EPA cut. Some cars will smell and some won't. Brand of gas used, unfortunatly is important. I switched to Amoco and the smell all but went away. Shouldn't have to be this way but it is.
Sunoco is bad, high sulpher content.
JRL:pbj::pbj::pbj:

[tr cruiser]

I agree about Sunoco. It smells awful in any car (IMO). I usually go with Shell, but have been told that the additives in Chevron make it a better choice. Other opinions? :flamingdevil:

[Wajman]

The smell is not limited to the Bird. I have an Explorer that will still smell when you bring the r's up to 5K or so. The Bird will smell worse because you are so close to the source. The Explorer is 3 years old with 12K on it.

[JRL]

We don't have Shell or Chevron in Pa. Unfortunatly every other gas station is Sunoco
here
JRL:pbj::pbj:

[Joybird]

JRL, no smell in my car, but I will tell you my motorcycle smells to high heaven, and there is no help from the MC company at this time. I seem to remember that my bike ran alot better on Chevron(out of state) rather than what we have in Pa.

[AZTB]

Took our Bird on the trip couple weekends ago (will post pictures when I get them...)...watched closely for any "smell"...got nothing...HOWEVER, I only use Chevron...now have 3300 happy miles on my Bird.

[uni5]

If I really wind it up, I have the smell too. It smells like a bad catalytic converter, but it can't be, the car has too few miles. You only smell it for a few seconds, then it goes away.
Rich Hoke:sad: