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My wife has noticed that on our 2002 SLE that every once and a while there is a burning smell (not oil or rotten egg, just burning). She noticed that when there is a smell sometimes the car loses power while driving at speed. She said if she pushes down harder on the accelerator that the car will come back to life. No codes are being thrown. I have a list of possible culprits:

1. Bad Cat (burning smell, plugged, and loss of power)

2. Misfire (no codes, doesn't explain smell)

3. Fuel Pump (the gas gauge is erratic when it gets below 1/4 tank but doesn't explain the smell)

Any help would be appreciated.

Inspect the engine bay and make sure there is nothing out of place or touching the exhaust. On mine I found the firewall insulation against the rear manifold. Check the rear plug wires and all harnesses around the back of the engine.

Does it do it with the engine war / cold or both. Only when warm suggest a bad cat. One way to check is to put car on ramps or stands and bang on it and listen for rattle.

I'll give that a shot tonight. It just rolled over 182,000 miles this morning. Some other things to consider, I put seafoam in the oil a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if that could cause a problem, but I'll change the oil tonight. Another thing is the compressor clutch has a bad bearing and starting to get louder. I thought maybe the clutch was sticking causing the engine to work harder or even become sluggish. Thinking maybe the belt is get hot/burning and that's what the smell is. I drove it this morning and the cat didn't look hot when I got to work. It did sort of stumble once while I was going 45mph down the road, but was fixed by pushing on the accelerator harder. I just cleaned the throttle body as well.

I checked out the cat this morning and it was solid. No rattling, just a bit rusty on the outside. I have a small oil leak around the oil pan gasket and I think that's what my wife is smelling. I changed the oil and it ran like new! Still think I need to address the A/C clutch issue soon.

The problem is definitely the A/C compressor. The engine runs smoothly with the A/C off, but as soon as you turn it on the clutch/pulley start vibrating and grinding. I ordered a new ACDelco compressor, drier/accumulator, and orifice tube. I will be tackling this project on Labor Day weekend (how appropriate). Total cost for parts is $190 and I have a guy I work with evacuating the system and vacuuming/recharging. Total should be under $300.

Finally completed the AC compressor swap. For those who are wondering, I will give you some tips.

1. Buy your compressor locally. The AC Delco compressor I bought from Amazon was damaged in transit (unbeknownst to me) and I installed it. The swap took less than 2 hours. I spent over 10 hours and $100 in R-134a trying to figure out why the hose block was leaking. Turns out it was a damaged compressor. I went down the street and bought a NEW compressor and put everything in and charged the system in less than 30 minutes. The car blows snowballs now. I'm returning the Amazon compressor.

2. Rent your gauges and vacuum pump at Autozone. It costs you NOTHING.

3. Shop around for R-134a. I found 12oz cans at Walmart for $6.88 compared to Autozone brand for $12.99.

4. Be sure to change out the accumulator/drier and orifice tube. If the orifice tube is caked in shavings, it would be best to flush the system.

5. You don't have to remove the right front tire to get the compressor out. It is fairly easy to put the car on ramps and remove the bottom right side splash shield and remove/install the compressor.

This was definitely a learning experience and the total cost of my project was $310. I had over $500 worth of stuff to return. It is possible to do this on your own!

Glad it turned out good for you. I remember when I took my car to the mechanic with problems similar to yours, they wanted 1100 dollars to replace the AC compressor. Much better to do your own work!