3.0T occasional engine oil smell when running/at stoplight.

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Curious if anyone else notices this.... I have the 3.0T 21 King Ranch 4wd and occasionally smell engine oil when running (at stop light). I have no oil loss (drip or burning) so no idea why/how I get this smell. Is this "normal" or common?

 

[fast_dave]

@cwescapexlt4x4

Big Picture : Sounds like you're sucking in oil fumes through your HVAC inlet, which is usually situated at the base of the windshield, on the passenger side.

Suggest checking subsystems that are oil fed (i.e. Turbo Bearings) and located directly around the high heat areas of the exhaust manifolds, starting with the passenger side.

If you don't find anything on the passenger side, move over to the drivers side.

If all seems well in those areas, start looking at the aluminum areas of the intake manifold area.

NOTE: Think about it - It'll take quite some time to see a weeping/slow drip situation on a 6 quart dipstick.
So with that said, I'm not surprised to read that you feel you don't have a leak, but when you smell oil, you have a leak.

It's just enough of a leak that you only smell it when you're idling at a stop light.
The fumes build up under the hood, the radiator ran kicks in, and air gets blown back towards the base of the windshield, HVAC sucks in the fumes...

Good luck!

 

[peterk9]

I wouldn't consider it normal. I'm guessing that you are still under warranty so perhaps it would be good to have the dealer check it out. That way there would at least be a record of the issue regardless if they find anything at the moment.

Peter

 

[fast_dave]

Just sayin'

If you aren't actually sitting in the Ex, with the smell occurring, and able to have the 20 year old tech right next to you (or service manager) and thus be able to say "smell that" - be prepared for Tech Notes exclaiming "cannot replicate customer complaint" after they tie up your Ex for at least 2 days.

The flipside is that you will at least have a record of it for when something does go south -

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

The odd thing is ... no oil under the vehicle on a new square of cardboard and no smoke but obviously it's coming from something.

 

[fast_dave]

That's why I'm suggesting the leak is "up top" - it's burned off (OR sweated off ) before ever reaching the ground.

The oil is going on to a metal part, because metal parts get hot enough to vaporize oil - i.e. Exhaust & Intake Manifolds, and the Turbo housing itself (where the oil feed lines connect into)...

NOTE: It doesn't have to be a "drip" leak - it can be also be a "seep" type leak at the end of a high pressure feed connection = i.e. Turbo Oil Feed, starting at the Turbo Housing Feed Line.

And since you have (2) turbos, you have a literal "network" of oil feed line connections...

 

[DoraAExplorer]

That's why I'm suggesting the leak is "up top" - it's burned off (OR sweated off ) before ever reaching the ground.

The oil is going on to a metal part, because metal parts get hot enough to vaporize oil - i.e. Exhaust & Intake Manifolds, and the Turbo housing itself (where the oil feed lines connect into)...

NOTE: It doesn't have to be a "drip" leak - it can be also be a "seep" type leak at the end of a high pressure feed connection = i.e. Turbo Oil Feed, starting at the Turbo Housing Feed Line.

And since you have (2) turbos, you have a literal "network" of oil feed line connections...

You are on the right track here, if there is an air recirculated vent off the intake/ air intake side it is quite possible it is getting oil vapors off the condensation from the moisture coming off the intake side. This condensation can be sucked into the cabin from HVAC venting off the engine.

Best bet would be to follow the venting off the air intake to inlet sides that go into the HVAC system. You can sometimes clean the air intake pipes from any condensation and smell should go away.

 

[2TonB]

how many miles do you have on it? When mine was new, I had the same smell, but more often than just at a light. The smell went away after a few long drives.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

3k miles now

 

[TBONE36]

Curious if anyone else notices this.... I have the 3.0T 21 King Ranch 4wd and occasionally smell engine oil when running (at stop light). I have no oil loss (drip or burning) so no idea why/how I get this smell. Is this "normal" or common?

You are not alone. We have a 22 ST with 4K miles that is doing the same thing. It’s actually my wife’s car and I drove it the other day and got the smell. I initially thought it was someone else’s car, but she said it had been periodically doing it.

She took it to the dealer today and got the dreaded "cannot replicate customer complaint.” Doesn’t seem like anyone really investigates anything unless it throws a code. It would be pretty ironic if two vehicles were doing the same thing.

I will continue to assess this and will post if I find a solution.

 

[bcarlson]

I’ve had this symptom on a couple of vehicles and it always turned out to be a small oil leak that was ending up on the exhaust system. Valve cover gaskets, oil filter housing and transmission cooler lines are the most common. If it’s small, it burns off before ever dripping onto the ground.

Take a close look at the exhaust manifolds and head pipes, looking for an area that is much darker than the rest of the pipe. Then look for how oil could drip onto that location.

 

[peterk9]

You are not alone. We have a 22 ST with 4K miles that is doing the same thing. It’s actually my wife’s car and I drove it the other day and got the smell. I initially thought it was someone else’s car, but she said it had been periodically doing it.

She took it to the dealer today and got the dreaded "cannot replicate customer complaint.” Doesn’t seem like anyone really investigates anything unless it throws a code. It would be pretty ironic if two vehicles were doing the same thing.

I will continue to assess this and will post if I find a solution.

For something like this, it might be better if you took a tech along for a ride so that you can point it out when it happens. It is very possible that the situation did not occur when it was test-driven.

Peter

 

[Stafush]

I took my 2020 ST in for a catalytic converter recall (left side) yesterday. When I drove it today, I started smelling oil in the cabin. After parking it in garage, I can smell it in the whole garage. I looked over the engine and didn’t see any visible oil leaks and see no oil on floor under car. My vehicle only has 13k miles and my warrant (bumper to bumper) expires in June. I’ve already made an appointment for them to pick up on Monday. Anyone else experience this after getting vehicle serviced for this recall?

 

[Rick]

I took my 2020 ST in for a catalytic converter recall (left side) yesterday. When I drove it today, I started smelling oil in the cabin. After parking it in garage, I can smell it in the whole garage. I looked over the engine and didn’t see any visible oil leaks and see no oil on floor under car. My vehicle only has 13k miles and my warrant (bumper to bumper) expires in June. I’ve already made an appointment for them to pick up on Monday. Anyone else experience this after getting vehicle serviced for this recall?

I would drive it for awhile and see if the smell goes away. Good chance it could be a film burning off the new components.

 

[Stafush]

I would drive it for awhile and see if the smell goes away. Good chance it could be a film burning off the new components.

Thanks. I hope that’s it.

 

[hbalek]

Thanks. I hope that’s it.

Definitely what it is, Mine smelled like burning plastic for a while. It went away after a few weeks.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Stafush.
If it doesn't clear up and since it began after the work was done, the issue is likely related and should be rechecked by the dealer. Let us know what they find. Thank you.

Peter

 

[themishmosh]

I took my 2020 ST in for a catalytic converter recall (left side) yesterday. When I drove it today, I started smelling oil in the cabin. After parking it in garage, I can smell it in the whole garage. I looked over the engine and didn’t see any visible oil leaks and see no oil on floor under car. My vehicle only has 13k miles and my warrant (bumper to bumper) expires in June. I’ve already made an appointment for them to pick up on Monday. Anyone else experience this after getting vehicle serviced for this recall?

Mine did the same thing after a new catalytic converter pipe. Gone after a few days.

 

[Stafush]

Mine did the same thing after a new catalytic converter pipe. Gone after a few days.

Thanks everyone. I’ll post an update once the dealer looks at it tomorrow.

 

[Stafush]

Thanks everyone. I’ll post an update once the dealer looks at it tomorrow.

That seems to be it. The dealership stated the smell could be from the new catalytic converter and after driving it around the smell is gone. The service manager assured me that they will notify customers of this in the future.