Burning oil smell coming through A/C vents

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Jan 30, 2007
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Clovis, CA
2000 Buick LeSabre

After driving the car awhile and when it's fully up to operating temperature on the way home, I'll turn the A/C off and then turn the fan on full blast. This is my routine for drying out the A/C ducts before parking the car in the garage overnight. Well as soon as I switch over to the fan, I get a burning oil smell blowing me in the face. I'm assuming engine oil is getting on the exhaust system somehow. The only thing I can think of is the rear valve cover gasket being the culprit. You guys have any idea what else it could be?
 
Oil getting on your exhaust system will most likely produce a white smoke, it only takes a small amount of oil to make a lot of smoke. You could be smelling exhaust that is unfiltered by your catalytic converters. This indicates a possible leak somewhere before your cats, I wouldn't rule out your exhaust manifold gaskets or your manifold to exhaust pipe seal. I had a similar problem on my 08 F150 and it turned out to be a bad manifold gasket.
 
Last month my S2000 had an oil smell whenever I turned on the fan with/without A/C on, it lasted few days I then decided to open the hood to find out what was happening. The oil fill cap was blown off the engine and luckily rested between the valve cover and the hood. I checked the oil level and it was down less than 1/8 quarts, very little oil on the hood insulation pad or on the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: JamesBond
Check under the hood?


Yes I just now did. There's no PCV hose on the engine. The PCV is
inside the upper intake manifold, directly below the MAP sensor.

No oil laying on top of the lower intake manifold, and no oil running from the end seals.

However, if I run my hand along the bottom edge of the rear valve cover where
it meets the rear cylinder head, I get a little bit of wet dirty oil on my finger tips.

Wherever the leak is, it's not enough to cause a rising smoke signal, but
it's just enough to cause an aroma to waft in through the A/C vents.

I think I'm gonna be changing the rear valve cover gasket soon.
 
You should check out the alternator. I've had one go bad recently and just before it died there was a burning electrical smell coming through the vents. Sure enough the alternator had burned out and I was running on power from the battery without the alternator...... before my vehicle gave out and died.
 
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