Sticky stuff on catalytic converter???

[Albertcado]

I was driving and smelled something similar to burned rubber from inside the cabin and engine bay, so I looked under the car and saw some sticky dark stuff stained on my passenger side catalytic converter (pic for reference)
I wiped the bit I could reach with some alcohol wipes and it literally looked like caramel, like perfectly caramelized dark brown caramel you would see on Top Chef. Anyone else ever have something get on their cats and cause a burned rubbery smell?
Is there something wrong with the engine that caused this or was it most likely an outside factor,
I just want to be sure it's not a sign of something wrong with the car.

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[905Shooter]

I was driving and smelled something similar to burned rubber from inside the cabin and engine bay, so I looked under the car and saw some sticky dark stuff stained on my passenger side catalytic converter (pic for reference)
I wiped the bit I could reach with some alcohol wipes and it literally looked like caramel, like perfectly caramelized dark brown caramel you would see on Top Chef. Anyone else ever have something get on their cats and cause a burned rubbery smell?
Is there something wrong with the engine that caused this or was it most likely an outside factor,
I just want to be sure it's not a sign of something wrong with the car.

Love the picture anyways at higher speeds I get a slight rubbery burning smell, i checked around and saw nothing, I thought it was my tire rubbing on my fender liners as i do have the car pretty low. Ive read a few threads that have also had that same smell and they say its oil, somehow someway oil might be burning on something. I have no idea, im guessing the stain on the cats is oil residue or something that is burning off when temps climb. Only thing id do if it was me is clean the engine bay and cats and check back in a bit to see if you see anything. Then go from there. Hope this helps

 

[WildHorse]

Probably a plastic bag

 

[Albertcado]

Love the picture anyways at higher speeds I get a slight rubbery burning smell, i checked around and saw nothing, I thought it was my tire rubbing on my fender liners as i do have the car pretty low. Ive read a few threads that have also had that same smell and they say its oil, somehow someway oil might be burning on something. I have no idea, im guessing the stain on the cats is oil residue or something that is burning off when temps climb. Only thing id do if it was me is clean the engine bay and cats and check back in a bit to see if you see anything. Then go from there. Hope this helps

I'm hoping it was just a plastic bag or soda maybe? I don't know if anything like this could seap out the cat from the engine.

 

[905Shooter]

I'm hoping it was just a plastic bag or soda maybe? I don't know if anything like this could seap out the cat from the engine.

Definitely could be, although the cats are fully sealed and it would have to run down the whole header and to the bottom of the cat. Probably a mixture of oil, dirt, road grime, and stuff such as that

 

[Cobra Jet]

Probably a plastic bag

^^^ This 100% - no doubt.

Any type plastic bag or plastic cellophane debris will melt almost instantly to the hot exhaust, especially the cat area where heat is most intense.

Get the car safely up on stands and you'll have to scrape it off as best you can - and the remainder, carefully use a small hand held torch to melt the rest of it off the exhaust.

 

[Louk]

A few months ago while sitting in traffic a piece of plastic went under the car and melted to the cat, even after months when the car heats up i can smell the slight burn! same kind of stain on the under side of the cat

 

[cmxPPL219]

Like others have said, it's more than likely a plastic bag or plastic sheet of some kind.

The cats get real hot during normal operation, and if it gets caught on the cat, it will melt and offer up a putrid nasty smell often. Best to wait till the car is cool, and scrape off the residue like mentioned earlier also.

 

[Albertcado]

Like others have said, it's more than likely a plastic bag or plastic sheet of some kind.

The cats get real hot during normal operation, and if it gets caught on the cat, it will melt and offer up a putrid nasty smell often. Best to wait till the car is cool, and scrape off the residue like mentioned earlier also.

overtime it should burn off on it's own too right?

 

[cmxPPL219]

overtime it should burn off on it's own too right?

Yes, from what I've seen, and in my own experience - depending on the type of plastic or residue it may take a bit for it to disappear - both the residue and the smell.

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