Xantia - Hot oil smell inside

skog77 · Unread post by **skog77** » 17 Oct 2010, 13:57

I have a Xantia 2.0i Automatic,

recently, when the engine is warm and i am idling in intersections or parking after a trip, i get the smell of warm oil inside the car. There does not appear to be any oil loss, no water in the gearbox or engine oil, and i cannot smell any oil in the coolant either.

When i look around the engine, there seems to be more than just a little "sweat" around the spark plugs though. I´m thinking i may have a small leak somewhere, but i cannot see where its coming from.

Any ideas?

Clogzz · Unread post by **Clogzz** » 17 Oct 2010, 14:17

The cam cover gasket is in the habit of leaking, though usually at the back.

atr · Unread post by **atr** » 17 Oct 2010, 17:38

It is possible that oil is dripping on or near the exhaust pipe. that causes quite a smell.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 17 Oct 2010, 18:51

atr wrote:It is possible that oil is dripping on or near the exhaust pipe. that causes quite a smell.

That's the most likely and the cam cover is the prime suspect.

get the car up on ramps and have a look at the back of the engine. It might be a tad damp and give the game away...

A weepy diff oil seal can also spray back on the exhaust and cat and give rise to a smell.

Not sure what burning LT71141 smells but I do know the fresh stuff reeks of cat's pee and since changing my gearbox oil today, everything smells of cat, even the curry I'm eating for dinner

Unread post by **xantia_v6** » 17 Oct 2010, 19:02

Don't ignore it for too long, I had a Xantia 2.0i catch fire from the oil dribbling onto the exhaust manifold. Fortunately I stopped when I saw more smoke than usual, and managed to extinguish the flames before any damage was done.

skog77 · Unread post by **skog77** » 17 Oct 2010, 19:16

(-expletive removed-) right now im studying in Germany. Very little tools and no place but the sidewalk. Guess i should take it to a dealer. Even a dealer can´t make a mess out of something that simple, hopefully.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 17 Oct 2010, 20:24

Doseur leak?

Are you losing LHM?

Unread post by **xantia_v6** » 17 Oct 2010, 21:15

skog77 wrote:Very little tools and no place but the sidewalk.

Changing the cam cover gasket should be very easy (I don't remember any difficulty), only requiring common spanners and screwdrivers, and I think a bit of silicone sealant at the ends of the gasket.

Stepto1 · Unread post by **Stepto1** » 17 Oct 2010, 23:36

Are you sure it's oil that's burning? Mines a 16v 1.8 and I had a strange burning smell that I couldn't trace for ages. Turned out that one of the core plugs in the head, between cylinders 3 and 4 was weeping. It would dry out by the time I took the coils off so was a aid to find. Rather then drilling the core plugs out I just filled the wells with high temperature epoxy. Sealed for good now!

skog77 · Unread post by **skog77** » 18 Oct 2010, 16:20

Well im pretty sure its oil, cause there's actually small pools of fresh oil around the spark plugs.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 18 Oct 2010, 17:04

skog77 wrote:Well im pretty sure its oil, cause there's actually small pools of fresh oil around the spark plugs.

Ahh, that's almost 100% certain it's the cam cover gasket then...