oil burning smell

[DieselMan]

Greetings,

I have tried about a dozen different oil additives to end the oil burning smell I am getting but have not had any success.

Topic

[Mike]

Is this on a diesel? If it isn’t, have you pulled the plugs?

[college man]

I personally don’t think they work as advertised. in some cases it may slow down the burning. Once the engine leaks or burns oil the only
real fix is to repair the problem.

[DieselMan]

Six6vetteguy: no this is a gasoline; new spark plugs were added early Jan 2011

[sickboy]

How did the old plugs look when you changed them? Can you see any visible leaks from the top of the engine? If you have the ability, see if you can see any leaks from the bottom of the engine. Do you have smoke coming out the tail pipe? I would be checking all the areas outside for an external leak before I went on to seeing what’s going on inside. I wouldn’t be looking for additives to help. Hope this get’s you closer.

[dreamer2355]

Those oil additives do not work. There is no such thing as a mechanic in a can.

I would be using a quality brand oil that is rated for your vehicle.

Did you check for any external oil leaks that can be causing the oil burning smell?

Also with that amount of oil loss, i would highly recommend a compression test as well as looking at your PCV system to make sure its functioning correctly.

Here is a video by Eric on compression testing –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tbksFY … t3EVppbf88

Also do you have any signs of blue smoke on start up or deceleration?

[DieselMan]

Sickboy: at this time I can not remember the condition of the old plugs since it was 1+ year ago. I have a new valve cover gasket to install but someone told me that oil would already be visibile w/o having to remove the valve cover if the leak was from this area. Several weeks back I had it on a lift to secure new bellows boots and noticed significant oil under the car; but I think it was not coming from the drain pan gasket. The owner of this diy repair facility, also a mechanic, said he thinks it could be from the valve cover gasket. The exhaust smoke is a white-greyish color.

dreamer2355: Several months back it was in a repair shop for coolant leaks and they said blue smoke was coming out but I have not seen any.

[DieselMan]

OnThe7ThDayFord: mine is automatic; yea i think that it can last awhile. the overhaul interval is 350K in my haines book

i used some ‘rear main seal repair’ product last friday (can’t remember the name of the brand); waiting to see the results

[OnThe7ThDayFord]

What engine is it????
If its a Chrysler and it has one of those 2.0 2.1 or 2.2s its most likely valve seals. You could have the heads redone but in 2k youll have the same problem.
Acutely I think its most of Chryslers cylinder engines seem the have this problems.
The ones i know for a fact are bad. – PT cruiser – Pacifica – Town and country (3.3 v6)

The 3.3l v6/3.6 is the only good engine Chrysler even makes anymore – they all have issues. (NOT 100% sure they really make it)
The 3.3 valve seals are not that bad and sometimes not even noticeable expt for the lose of oil every 500 miles or so.

Im kinda wondering why no one asked….. Type – year – make – engine make model how many miles—– sooo on.

If you have 500k on this engine a little oil smell is normal.

How many miles.
What type of car.
What engine.

[OnThe7ThDayFord]

BTW. For the longest time my mons mini van (2007) dodge caravan with 70k ) was losing oil every 300k or so (About a cort or so)

Its never smoked (So i thought) Iv never paid it much mind. The other night I had to go some wear so i jumped in the van and started it. I went to back out and noticed my truck was kinda in the way soo i got out to move it. As i back down the drive way in my truck the head lights hit the tail pipe area of van (I could see blue mist) The kind you get when you start you car when its cold (Condensation smoke) Most the time its has this condensation smoke but iv never noticed the blue tint tell that night- I thought maybe for a sec it had something to do with the color of the light.. But i debunked that bc the tink is pretty much there in all light -and you can kinda smell oil.

BTW – Blue smoke = Oil = White = water/anit frezee = black = rich to much fuel or improper atomization of air fuel mixture.

[OnThe7ThDayFord]

Do you even have any oil spots under the car?

[OnThe7ThDayFord]

Your a diesel man and burning oil bothers you?lol

[sickboy]

If your seeing a lot of oil under the vehicle, you need to really search for the external leak. Start from the top and work your way down and back towards the rear of the engine. That’s your traditional leak path. From what you said about having to add oil every week, you can always clean off the oiled areas with carb or brake clean because it sounds like you will see the leak pretty quick. Also, if you are seeing a decent cloud of smoke coming from the tail pipe, then yes, you are also burning oil. I have seen a teaspoon of oil fill a shop with smoke. I would clean all the areas real well and then look for a leak or by a small bottle of oil dye. Pour it right into the oil cap and drive the vehicle for awhile. This requires a black light but it is helpful in finding the leak. The smoke concerns me because if you have an internal leak, thats a bit more concern then an external. A compression test will help a lot. Eric has a great video of both the dry and wet compression test. If you can perform this test, do it in that order. Hope this helps.

By the way, what is the make, model, year?

[DieselMan]

Onthe7thdayford: car is mits. eclipse, 1999, 2.0 non turbo, 193,XXX miles

no oil spots under the car, it is just wet when it is above your head and you look up

i am going to a class at a local diy facility on the 17th so i will have the owner help me with the compression test since i dont have a black light and inquire about the valve seals

I hope to get a diesel once I get rid of this; i want a ram 2500 cummins 5.9L

THANKS!

[OnThe7ThDayFord]

What do u want for the eclipse. I had a 1990 with the 2.0.
If your seeing any smoke out the tail pipe it is normal and it doesnt mean anything bad. It more then likely leaking around the valve seals.

My 1990 had 289k (Held 38 – 56psi when warm) she smoked at start up and idl. I took her apart and found the cylinder wall had not waren one bit. I went a head and replaced the rings and all the other goodies. and was good to go.

I made a stupid mistake and had the exhaust felx pipe removed bc it was leaking (We put a straight pipe in it place) Needless to say the first time i jumped on the as pedal -it broke at the welds and had to buy a new flex pipe.

At the time i was only driving in town – a few weaks later i went on the highway and about 50miles down the road the car was trying to over heating. (Lost all the water) I think when the pipe broke it pulled the head just right and (cracked the head or wegged the head just right) I didn notice it right away bc it only did it on the highway. (Never would lose a drop if i stayed off the highway) I drove it in town for over a year like this and never lost a drop)

i miss that car. Is your a 5speed?

anyway like i said.Ur smoke is not a problems dont wast your money on stop smoke or crap like that.. You may try a ticker oil.

I will say the quaker state high mileage (WITH SLICK 50)Did wonders for my engine.

Some engine cleaners will eat away at the valve seals.

I will tell you this much the lighter oils like 10-30 or 5-30 will bring more smoke bc it flows better and can get around the valve seals better.

The slick 50 may bring some but not much.

Like sickboy said. It doesn’t take much oil to make a ton of smoke.

If you take care of that engine is will probably go to 300k over.

[Matt]

Start by cleaning the engine with some brake clean or at your local car was. Put a plastic bag over the dizzy and make sure you don’t hose down the spark plug wires and fill up the tubes. Then, with a good clean engine, start keeping an eye on where the leak(s) are coming from. The rule of thumb is, start from the top down. So maybe put that valve cover gasket on, a new distributor o-ring, etc, and work your way down replacing leaking gaskets. If you are due for a timing belt, do the front seals while you are in there. If the rear main is leaking, that sucks, ‘cuz that’s the hardest one to get too, as the trans will probably have to come out. Good luck bud.

[Author]

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