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when i drive like a civilized person i dont burn or smell oil or if i do it is very little, but if i get on it when passing someone there is a strong smell of burnt oil and a friend who was following me said there was a little bit of smoke coming out of my exhaust. i was wondering what would be causing that and what the repair would consist of? also i have an exhaust leak at my manifold and i am wondering if that could cause the burning oil smell? i changed my oil and 1500 miles later i had to put more oil in my car. i have basic tools to do small jobs like brakes, oil, and general tune-ups…would this be a task for a person with little mechanical knowledge and a haynes manual or a mechanic? thanks
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I would start with a compression test.
How many miles are on the vehicle?
Is the PCV serviceable on that vehicle?
How much oil are you loosing on a monthly basis?
Usually blue smoke exiting the exhaust is a sign of an unusual amount of oil being burned in the combustion process.
Yup, make sure sure the PCV valve is good. Check the radiator cap for oil in the coolant. Could just be a valve seal leaking or something like that. A compression test (and leak down test if necessary) should give you a much better idea of what you’re dealing with.
Check the valve cover gasket and behind any gears or pulleys that attach directly to the engine for oil seepage. Make sure you are full with oil and do some driving and right after riding it hard open the hood and see if smoke rises out.
In my experience burning oil from the inside goes out the tail pipe and you don’t smell it usually, burning oil from the outside is a gasket or a seal going to something that spins..
Quoted From dreamer2355:
I would start with a compression test.
How many miles are on the vehicle?
Is the PCV serviceable on that vehicle?
How much oil are you loosing on a monthly basis?
Usually blue smoke exiting the exhaust is a sign of an unusual amount of oil being burned in the combustion process.
yesss the pcv can freeze in the winter and you gonna burn the engine boy!!!!
the car has 105k and the PCV is serviceable. i have not checked how much oil i am loosing on a monthly basis. i would say close to 4 quarts every month and a half. i recently put an aftermarket intake on and when i was taking the stock one off i noticed oil close to the throttle body and a slight film on the inside of the throttle body. i personally havent seen smoke coming out of my exhaust when i have been driving. there is also no oil in the coolant, that was the first thing i checked. i have not seen any oil leaking from the valve covers.
Your losing 4qts every month?! Ouch.
I would service the PCV and do a compression test. If you don’t have a compression tester, you can rent them from most auto parts stores.
In all honesty though, if your losing that amount of oil per month and the PCV doesn’t help alleviate the issue, i would start to find a replacement vehicle.
Is the valve cover/timing cover leaking? This is a common source of oil leaks but is usually changed out when the timing chain/water pump/head gasket set is changed out.
These engines do not have a PCV valve system. It is called an air-oil separator and the box and hoses can get sludged up on some cars. Then the engine will suddenly burn about 1qt of oil every 3-400 miles. These parts have been obsoleted by GM for years so be carefully when taking the separator box and hoses apart because you will have to get a junkyard replacement if you break the box.
Do not trust the oil level light on the dash; check the oil level manually at every gas fillup. This is because the low oil level light will come on at 1 1/2 quart low on an engine that barely holds 4 qts. 1 qt low is enough to starve the rod bearings on cornering which is why the rod bearings spin and sometimes have a rod through the side of the block (usually #3 for some reason).
I’m with doing the compression test, you need to know what kind of shape the engine mechanics are in, if they’re worn out there’s really no need to go farther.
killman-you are right about not having a PCV…i assumed the air/oil separator was a sort of PCV. i also said earlier that the valve cover was not leaking but i took a closer look and it is leaking. the timing cover is not leaking though. thanks for the info about the air/oil separator it will help a lot when i check it out, but like Eric said i will do the compression test first. oh and i do not have a low oil level light as it never comes on when i am low on oil so i check the oil once a week. i found this out when i first purchased the car and i took a sharp left hand turn and my oil pressure light came on until i was done turning.
Hi, I think I have the same problem on my auto 1991 5th gen Celica gti. From time to time I get a burning oil smell, have a slight engine leak. On the pipe under the ECU temp sensor there is slight build up of burned oil (like burned oil on your fries pan..). The engine works just fine since i cleaned out the throttle valve. Any ideas as to what this is ? I dont have anything nor access to anything to test the car electronics. Help gratefully accepted, regards, Dee
Hi, I think I have the same problem on my auto 1991 5th gen Celica gti. From time to time I get a burning oil smell, have a slight engine leak. On the pipe under the ECU temp sensor there is slight build up of burned oil (like burned oil on your fries pan..). The engine works just fine since i cleaned out the throttle valve. Any ideas as to what this is ? I dont have anything nor access to anything to test the car electronics. Help gratefully accepted, regards, Dee
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