I have a 2000 Z 3 2.3 with about 52,000 miles on it. Recently I have been getting an oil burning smell coming through the vents into the car. I have had the vcg changed, but still the smell is there. I have read some of the forum posts about this and some say to change the ccv valve? Not sure where that is. Has anyone experienced this problem lately and what did you do to fix it?
thanks
tom
Valve cover gasket. Replace it, fixed.
Already did that! It still smells!
I had this problem with a M54 in an e39 -- what I thought was a burning rubber smell (really burning oil) only after going up a steep hill. The root cause turned out to be a crack in the valve cover, probably caused by a shop tightening the nuts in the wrong order (outers before the inners) a few years ago. Diagnosis was complicated by leaks from my first replacement attempt -- a too-thin likely-counterfeit valve cover gasket. That was only fixed by buying a Goetze gasket in the original package w/ hologram sticker from autohausaz.
Last edited by djb2; 07-19-2014 at 12:48 AM.
A faulty Crankcase Ventilation (CCV) valve will cause excess oil burning, but it will be through the exhaust system. You wouldn't notice it while driving, but you would smell it around the back of the car after a good, long drive where the exhaust system is fully warmed. It's more likely that you have an oil leak around the engine, most commonly onto the exhaust manifold or down the back of the engine. A careful inspection usually reveals the source.
The valve cover is the #1 suspect for a burning oil smell. The engine is tilted back and rotated to the passenger side. Any valve cover oil leak follows the gasket down to the rear right corner, where it drips on the exhaust manifold by the catalytic converter. Normally the smoke is blown back by the airflow, but when stopped it rises to the cabin air intake at the cowl.
The other common oil leaks are the oil filter housing and VANOS supply hose, both of which drip sloppily down the cool left/driver's side of the engine.
You said that you had the valve cover gasket replaced; did the mechanic tell you if there was a leak and where it was? Maybe your problem is fixed, but you have to wait for all of the old oil to burn off.
Rear main engine seal?
Do you smell it more in stop and go traffic?
That sure sounds like the valve cover gasket. Did you replace the gasket yourself or did a shop do it? I've done a bunch of them and I like to think I'm a decent wrench head. I changed the valve cover gasket on my girlfriends 330... was all done and was plugging the O2 sensors back in and on one the cable slack had changed. Didn't seemed right so I traced it around the back of the engine... I had the cable pinched between the head and the gasket. If I hadn't found that it would have surely leaked. What I'm saying here is make super sure the valve cover gasket isn't still leaking. Get a light and look at the heat shield that covers the exhaust manifold. Not much room to see in our little cars but look for any wet oil on the heat shield toward the back of the head. Maybe even try to reach in there and try to touch it to see if there's any oil... highly recommend doing that om a cold engine.
Last edited by Cheshire2002; 07-21-2014 at 02:34 PM.
thanks! A shop did the VC gasket and I stopped by and told them it was still smelling. I'm going to take it back next week,
It is hard to see anything on these cars, but I'll get a good light and check it out. I appreciate all the help!!
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