Thread: Smelly V8

do you have any oil leaks.......?
if you do....degrease the engine.......so you can pinpoint the leaks......

also check the bellhousing to make sure the rear main isnt leaking.......

when you say you are using oil........how much would that be......
how much oil for how many kms.......?

Originally Posted by Disco95

Hi all,
My 3.9 has recently started to smell like hot oil after driving.
I've looked over the whole thing and can't seem to see any signs of oil leaking onto any pipes.
what I have noticed is that the area around the PCV filter is oily. I cleaned this and so far it's stayed clean.
I've also noticed that there is an oil stain bleeding out from the plenum chamer join. I pulled said chamber off and clead it out (reasonably oily too by the way)
Now the vehicle runs pretty well, just smells.
There's no evidence of smoke frome the exhaust, yet I'm using a little bit of oil.
Oh, and the engine's done about 250 000km's
Any Ideas?
Could it be the wire filter knackered?
Cheers.

Sean, is your oil level dropping, are you using more oil than usual, remove the oil filler cap and see how much blowby you have, you should be able to sit the oil cap back in it's hole and it should just bobble around without being blown out completely, if it does get blown out you may have excessive blowby. First check the PCV system is functioning well, not blocked, if OK pull the plugs and do a compression test or better still a cylinder leak down test to check how well the rings are sealing. It sounds like you are burning excessive oil in the blowby air, check the end of your tail-pipe and see if there is any oily residue, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by DEFENDERZOOK

do you have any oil leaks.......?
if you do....degrease the engine.......so you can pinpoint the leaks......

also check the bellhousing to make sure the rear main isnt leaking.......

when you say you are using oil........how much would that be......
how much oil for how many kms.......?

I agree with defenderzook,rear mains leak often,and the oil can find it's way into the clutch,and burns up between the plate and flywheel.It stinks,especcially after shutdown.Shuddering on takeoff also a dead giveaway.
My Rangie does it,especcially after a long highway haul,or thrashing her through deep sand,(guilty) as the added blowby pressure in the sump forces extra oil out the leaky rear main seal.
It's not serious enough on mine to notice any drop in dipstick level though.

An old caryard trick I wish I didn't know.........is to flush the engine with an Oil Flush product like Wynns or Nulon make,change the filter as well,and refill with 100% synthetic oil.The engine will still leak,but it won't stink half as bad,and it also reduces any visible exhaust smoke.
Ofcourse this isn't really a fix to your problem,just a dodgy bandaid!

Back in the days of 'Super' fuel,we used to even paint the inside of the exhaust tips with grey primer spraypacks so it looked like the engines were running nice and lean,not asthmatic and rich!

You didn't!!!, Regards Frank.

It's common for rocker covers to leak straight onto the exhaust,mine used to do it and it only took a drop or two to stink. Pat

Thanks guys, the clutch is fine, nothing unusual at all in the way it feels. No smoke from the exhaust at all.
I can't see any leaks at all, it's fairly smelly so I'm sure I'd be seeing or feeling something.
The oil usage is minimal but at this stage not exactly sure how much. I'll keep my eye on it.
By the way, the odour is definately coming from the engine bay area.

Cooking an engine mount? Go well with chilli sauce...

Pete

Originally Posted by Pierre

Cooking an engine mount? Go well with chilli sauce...

Pete

I actualy just replaced an engine mount, but it's definately oil not rubber.