Smell of smoke

[Frank3188]

Hi all
I have a e53 3.0d 122000 miles
When ever I give it some beans I get a burning smell coming in thru the windows
If the windows are shut I get no smell! It smells like exhaust fumes also
It doesn’t happen all of the time but if I then go back to normal driving for around 10 mins then lockdown again the smell is there! But if I do kickdown all the time I get no smell! I’ve also just had a new manifold and I’ve disconnected the webasto heater as that was draining the battery! I know people will say just don’t bother put your foot down but on slip roads it does come in very handy and when the kids can smell it can’t be any good for there little lungs
Any help much appreciated
Thanks
Frank

[Overboost]

If you can smell oil burning on the M54 engine, it is almost always oil leaking on the exhaust from a VCG leak on the right rear corner of the VCG. Nothing else on the right side will leak on the exhaust to create the smell you are experiencing.

*EDIT* I see you have a 3.0D so I will leave this one to our diesel specialists.

[Frank3188]

The vgc??? What’s that!! An that would happen on kickdown only?
Thanks for the reply

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by Frank3188

The vgc??? What’s that!! An that would happen on kickdown only?
Thanks for the reply

VCG (valve cover gasket) but that was my advice before looking back and seeing you have the M57 not M54 engine. One of our other members Wpoll has your engine and will probably know off the top of his head what to look for on your X5.

[Frank3188]

Do u mean the valve cover gasket? There’s no oil on the floor and I’m not losing any on the dipstick

[Frank3188]

Ahh right! Just seen your reply haha there is the crankcase breather but I’m not sure

[wpoll]

Could be a number of things...

Is the smell diesel fumes or burning oil? They are very different. If you aren't sure of the difference, stand behind you car for a few seconds while it's idling, esp. when it's cold. You can smell the diesel fumes easily.

Burning oil? Hmmm... maybe a tiny drop of engine oil on a stove element!?

Explain it to the wife first, if you are going try that one!

You won't mistake diesel fumes for burning oil once you are familiar with them both.

Once we know if it's diesel fumes of burning oil, we can go from there...

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by Frank3188

Ahh right! Just seen your reply haha there is the crankcase breather but I’m not sure

Since you mentioned the engine breather (which vents into the turbo intake and won't be your problem) when did you last check/replace it?

[Frank3188]

Hi wpoll thanks for the reply
I’ve never done the breather will it need doing?
And it’s definitely exhaust fumes not oil smell
Thanks

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by Frank3188

Hi wpoll thanks for the reply
I’ve never done the breather will it need doing?
And it’s definitely exhaust fumes not oil smell
Thanks

At 122,000miles, the breather will need replacing. Do it next time you replace the air filter, since it's under the same cover. Or when you go back in to the manifold to locate the leak...

The breather was not originally a service item but BMW added it the service schedule after a number of turbo failures related to blocked breathers.

There's a couple of different breather options - a "loo roll" filter type (better at remove old from crankcase vapours but prone to clogging and requiring frequent replacement) or the newer "vortex" type (not as good as the filter type but shouldn't ever get blocked). You pays your money and you makes a choice....

Here's my old (filter type) after 200,000kms and the new vortex type I installed.



The old filter was totally clogged...

Re. the cabin smoke (diesel fumes) - that narrows it down to an exhaust issue. What sort of replacement manifold was installed (sorry if I've asked this before) - an OEM stainless type or a cast iron version? If it's the stainless type, it's likely cracked again. It's a feature...

If it's the cast iron type, it's likely got a leaking gasket, either at the manifold to turbo connection (most likely) or at one of the manifold to head connections.

It's also possibly an exhaust leak at the turbo turbine output port - where the exhaust pipe is bolted to the turbo - or the EGR connection - either at the manifold or on the EGR valve.

Given that all this had to be removed to replace the manifold, it's all possibly a leak source, especially since you say it leaks when you drive hard, i.e. the exhaust pressure increases...

Also note that some of the cheaper cast manifolds are not machined very well - the gasket faces are not well finished.

I used the M57TU-specific manifold from X8R when I replaced mine - this is the one I received...



And FWIW, here's my post about replacing the manifold...

https://xoutpost.com/1142332-post39.html