ponkotsu
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- October 29, 2012
- Messages
- 620
- Reaction score
- 9
- City, State
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2005 Lincoln Aviator
Finally got this thing resolved, and thought I'd share because it's probably a common problem.
Bought a used 2000 Mountaineer 5.0. Had burning oil smell inside. Took it to the local repair shop and they said it was main seal or pan. I think it was seeping, so I added a bottle of Bar's to it. Cleaned up all the oil residue and thought it was fixed. Problem came back. Upon close inspection, I realized that it was actually the valve covers leaking. It was a very small leak, but just enough to drip down to the cat. So I fixed the valve covers. Problem solved, I thought.
It was definately better, but the oil smell persisted. Even at hiway speeds, I could smell burning oil. It defied logic that oil smoke on the cat could make it's way to the cowl at hiway speed. So logic told me the leak was more direct.
Upon inspecting under the hood I found that the blower motor foam gasket was in really bad shape. And, there was a couple of gaps in the sheet metal between the engine compartment and cowl duct area. Also, there is a hose connected from the blower motor back to the blower enclosure. It appeared that it was half off. So I put everything back together with a new gasket, hose clamp on the vent and sealed the holes.
Burning oil smell is gone. Still smells really musty, probably from 2 years of oil smoke running through the vent system. I sprayed some Ozium in the ductwork which really helped. Probably a few treatments of that will make it good as new.
There are no visible leaks or smoke, but just a little seeping. Probably a few small vacuum and exhaust leaks I imagine. That and its an old car, so it has a right to stink a little. The blower and especially that vent are only a few inches away from where the oil leak was so any residue was getting sucked into the cab. It probably would take a long time for that smell to completely go away.
So the lesson to be learned here is to make sure the blower gasket is in good shape. And look for holes between the engine compartment and cowl. That really surprised me, just sloppy workmanship.
Bought a used 2000 Mountaineer 5.0. Had burning oil smell inside. Took it to the local repair shop and they said it was main seal or pan. I think it was seeping, so I added a bottle of Bar's to it. Cleaned up all the oil residue and thought it was fixed. Problem came back. Upon close inspection, I realized that it was actually the valve covers leaking. It was a very small leak, but just enough to drip down to the cat. So I fixed the valve covers. Problem solved, I thought.
It was definately better, but the oil smell persisted. Even at hiway speeds, I could smell burning oil. It defied logic that oil smoke on the cat could make it's way to the cowl at hiway speed. So logic told me the leak was more direct.
Upon inspecting under the hood I found that the blower motor foam gasket was in really bad shape. And, there was a couple of gaps in the sheet metal between the engine compartment and cowl duct area. Also, there is a hose connected from the blower motor back to the blower enclosure. It appeared that it was half off. So I put everything back together with a new gasket, hose clamp on the vent and sealed the holes.
Burning oil smell is gone. Still smells really musty, probably from 2 years of oil smoke running through the vent system. I sprayed some Ozium in the ductwork which really helped. Probably a few treatments of that will make it good as new.
There are no visible leaks or smoke, but just a little seeping. Probably a few small vacuum and exhaust leaks I imagine. That and its an old car, so it has a right to stink a little. The blower and especially that vent are only a few inches away from where the oil leak was so any residue was getting sucked into the cab. It probably would take a long time for that smell to completely go away.
So the lesson to be learned here is to make sure the blower gasket is in good shape. And look for holes between the engine compartment and cowl. That really surprised me, just sloppy workmanship.
