Why Does My Car Smell Like Burning Oil?
Oil, a major component to your vehicle, and often times can be leaking from those compartments that holds it. A guest of ours recently came into our shop with the complaint of a "hot smell". Our technician Tony informed me that the term "hot smell" usually always refers to the smell that stems from an oil leak, where the oil is dripping onto another component in the vehicle and burning essentially. In this case, the oil leak was coming from a bad Valve Cover Gasket. Oil leaking from or around the engine can be potentially dangerous. You could significantly damage your engine if you let an oil leak go. You want to avoid fire hazards, but also, future expensive repairs.
He found this leak upon doing a thorough visual inspection, oil residue found coming out of the Valve Cover Gasket.
What Tony found was the oil that was leaking from the Valve Cover Gasket, was running onto a hot exhaust manifold located directly beneath it. Therefore, burning the oil since the exhaust manifold is very hot! If you are unaware of what a Valve Cover Gasket is, I will post a picture below. Inside of the Valve Cover Gasket are intake and exhaust valves that open and close quickly and with lots of force while the engine is running. Included with these valves is a bunch of oil! The oil that shifts around inside to lubricate all parts. The Valve Cover Gasket is what keeps that oil sealed between the Engine and the Valve Cover.
Now lets get into the Spark Plug Tube Seals, they are located in the middle of the Valve Cover in some vehicles. They prevent oil from leaking out of the Valve Cover and contaminating the Spark Plug. Below is an example of what the seals look like. Oil leaking into the Tube Seals could damage the Spark Plugs and the Coil Boots. If this happens you are looking at a more costly repair! Oil leaking from or around the engine can be potentially dangerous, you want to avoid fire hazards, but also, future expensive repairs. You could significantly damage your engine if you let an oil leak go.
Spark Plug Tube Seals (Broken Pair)
It can be quite a process to get into the Valve Cover but even more to ensure the parts are all put back together properly. Let our highly trained and skilled technicians make sure repairs are done right and ensure there are no careless mistakes. We offer a visual and digital inspection of your vehicle while it is here. We go a step above to ensure we are diagnosing the problem you come in for. We send all the recommended services and record them in our system to remind you at the proper time to make that appointment.