Sorry, this is a long post y'all. I recently added a lot of upgrades. One of which was a new exhaust from the headers back. Felpro manifold gasket, spec D headers, Walker downpipe, cat delete (which I've always had), flowmaster muffler, dual pipes out the side. After reassembly I noticed a burning smell that I thought was the belt. I checked the pulleys and replaced the AC compressor and idler pulley. The ac compressor bearing was bad and I didn't want to damage the pulley and clutch and end up spending about the same amount of money when I could just throw a new compressor in there. The compressor was old and probably on it's way out anyway. The belt tension is right, it's lined up and there is no play in anything. So I don't think it's the belt anymore. I realized today it could be my manifold gasket. There is a light visible smoke after driving for a little bit and the burning smell doesn't happen until the engine warms up. I tightened my manifold bolts some more because I know the gasket will burn if they aren't tight enough. I haven't driven it much at all since reassembly because I don't know what's burning and I'm afraid of screwing something up. Maybe a total of 30 minutes. I do all of my own mechanic work and I learn things as I go. This was my first exhaust job. Do new exhaust systems smell like this or do new gaskets burn in a little bit? And if so how long should I wait before getting worried? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks y'all.

Check all along the exhaust. Since this didn't start happening till all of your exhaust work I would doubt the pullies or belt are causing this new smell. My guess is the new exhaust install is pressed up against something or if you installed new hangars and whatnot it could be those getting warm.

How close is the exhaust to the floorboard ? Are you sure you aren't melting the carpet underlayment ??

Thanks for reply y'all. The exhaust is not near the floor. It runs just like the original except it comes out the side. It's definitely coming from the engine bay area. There is a little donut gasket at the top of the down pipe that could be smelling too. I've just got no idea.

If your CPS wires are to close too the exhaust they will burn, same for the upstream o2 sensor harness by cyl 1. I'm not sure where your muffler is positioned but the parking cable on the passenger side will rest on it if the hanger spring is broken.

Thank you. I feel like a DA. It was a combination of the protective clear coat they put on headers and the o2 wires. The protective plastic over the wires was almost melted all the way through. Haven't looked good yet at the CPS because it's dark, but I'll check it good tomorrow. I drove it for a while today because it is not running sick so I hesitantly ran it. After moving the wires the smell is getting fainter. I should've ran it more sooner. Just too scared to mess something up after throwing a lot of money into upgrades. All is seeming well. I'll update y'all if anything changes.