Oil burning smell

dougpark714 · #1 01-10-2011, 08:05 PM

for the last couple weeks, I smell a slight oil burning smell after driving around for a while. I checked all around but can't locate any leaks. Any ideas on what it could be? Or where to check? If I have the AC on outside air, I can smell inside the car.

2002 X5 3.0 with 130K. Car has been very reliable.

Werewolf · #2 01-10-2011, 09:22 PM

Try the valve cover gasket

wallyx5 · #3 01-10-2011, 11:19 PM

Or crank case vent valve? Also when was the last time you changed the air cabin filter?

Nik · #4 01-10-2011, 11:41 PM

Guys, I have changed valve cover gaskets and put 10-60w in normal not to max, I get lbl message. I ran 2k miles with it, proppobly half a gallon or less is gone. I drive in Manual, so proppobly more stress, but it's normal right. Sorry iff topic a little.

JCL · #5 01-12-2011, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik

Guys, I have changed valve cover gaskets and put 10-60w in normal not to max, I get lbl message. I ran 2k miles with it, proppobly half a gallon or less is gone. I drive in Manual, so proppobly more stress, but it's normal right. Sorry iff topic a little.

You should really start your own thread, you have different issues.

Do you have an E53? If so, why would you be using 10w-60 oil, when it requires 5w-30?

Are you getting a low oil message?

In 2000 miles, you could expect to use a quart, and you may have used two quarts. That isn't great compared to many other engines, but it doesn't qualify as high oil consumption at the dealer. First thing to do is to fill it properly, and log how much you add so you can accurately measure consumption over several thousand miles. Then we can determine if you have high consumption or not.

dougpark714 · #6 01-12-2011, 02:21 AM

Thx, the car had its major service which I am assuming includes the air filter. But I should double check.

If it's the valve cover, would I visually see the leak? I looked all over and cannot see any leaks.

Also, searching the forum, the oil separator seems like another culprit.

1stE53 · #7 01-14-2011, 10:33 PM

I just received the bad news from my wife that the X may be dead! She started it and it idled very rough. She turned it off, then on again for a few seconds. She turned it off again. I looked under the hood when I got home. I lost about 3/4 of a qt of oil. looked under the car and saw some oil on the right side of the engine, above the plates rite above the exhaust manifold. Looked under the car and found a lot of oil (both old and fresh) on the left side (driver). There is quite a bit of oil there. When looking closer, I noticed some fluid that was a little less dense than oil. I put it on my had and wiped it with a paper towel; it was pink!!!!!! Trani???? Any guesses as to how much damage could have been done?
It has been in the single digits here in MO but the car was in the garage when it happened. It is about 50 to 55 in there. It has been outside a few days over night in St. Louis but it came back from there Wed night without incident.
Thank you.

dkl · #8 01-14-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stE53

I just received the bad news from my wife that the X may be dead! She started it and it idled very rough. She turned it off, then on again for a few seconds. She turned it off again. I looked under the hood when I got home. I lost about 3/4 of a qt of oil. looked under the car and saw some oil on the right side of the engine, above the plates rite above the exhaust manifold. Looked under the car and found a lot of oil (both old and fresh) on the left side (driver). There is quite a bit of oil there. When looking closer, I noticed some fluid that was a little less dense than oil. I put it on my had and wiped it with a paper towel; it was pink!!!!!! Trani???? Any guesses as to how much damage could have been done?
It has been in the single digits here in MO but the car was in the garage when it happened. It is about 50 to 55 in there. It has been outside a few days over night in St. Louis but it came back from there Wed night without incident.
Thank you.

Sounds like your crankcase ventilation valve is going bad.

The pink fluid is most likely your power steering fluid, especially if it's on the driver's side. The synthetic transmission fluid used on the X should be straw in color (similar to fresh new motor oil).

luvmy03E53 · #9 01-13-2012, 08:33 PM

I too have that burning oil smell on my '03 with M54 engine. I have found oil beneath the oil filter housing, so I suspect the oil filter housing gasket, which I've ordered thru the plant. HOWEVER... can oil leaking on that side of the block really cause that burning smell? I would expect the smell to be caused by oil burning on the exhaust manifold, but can find no signs of oil leaking on that side of the engine. I replaced the valve cover gasket last weekend, suspecting oil was leaking there (the car has approx. 110K miles).

Could oil leaking from the hose between the oil separator valve and the dipstick tube be finding its way to some part of the exhaust and burning off then? I have an OSV and the 4 hoses to install, but when I got started with the replacement I ran into difficulty removing the wire junction block, and gave up on getting to the OSV...

(I've since found a nice diagram on TIS that shows me exactly where the last bolt is to remove the block)

Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe just a lil too proud of my E53, but I'm actually enjoying all this... sick, I know...

As always, any and all comments or suggestions are welcome!

DanSanDiego · #10 01-14-2012, 04:05 PM

Oil burning smell is from your valve cover gasket leak.
(leaks oil onto the exhaust pipe on the passenger side of engine)

Oil in the waffle area on lower right side of engine is from an oil filter housing gasket leak.

Red or dirty fluid with a lighter feel than oil between fingers on the drivers side is power steering fluid - check your power steering fluid suction hose (between power steering tank and power steering pump) and the horizontal power steering fluid hose.

I've now changed all of these on my '03 3.0i with 73K miles.