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Posted

Hey guys, whenever i turn on my defrost or heat, i get a burning smell, such as oil, and my cabin begins to get smokey........whats should i do? winter is coming and i dont want to have to breath smoke to defrost my windows, thanks


Posted

Nearly any externial oil leak on the engine will find a way to drip onto the y-pipe where it smolders.

The rear valve cover gasket is the most common cause.

Posted

I asked my dad if, since i plan to replace the rear valve cover gasket, if that would solve the problem, and he said NO...so.....is he wrong? or is their more than one thing i need fixed?

Posted

If the rear valve cover gasket is where the oil is leaking from (80% of the time it is) replacing it stops the oil leak.

In any case, oil is slowly leaking out of the engine & replacing whatever gasket is allowing the oil to leak will fix the problem - so your dad is wrong.

Posted

That smell in the cabin AND the "smoke" is due to the fact that your heater core is "busted". On most cars, it is located behind the glovebox compartment - next to the firewall. It usually has two pipes that go through the firewall and has the heater hoses from the engine compartment connected to the pipes. Hope this helps!! ;)

Posted
That smell in the cabin AND the "smoke" is due to the fact that your heater core is "busted".  On most cars, it is located behind the glovebox compartment - next to the firewall.  It usually has two pipes that go through the firewall and has the heater hoses from the engine compartment connected to the pipes.  Hope this helps!! ;)

ford, that might explain a maple syrup smell and a puddle of green or red liquid on the passenger's floor. How would this explain smoke and a burned petroleum smell?

steviej

Posted

I just remember when I had a Mustang many years ago, when the heater core failed, ALL the windows had a foggy "film" as a result of the failure of the core.

The smell is one that you will never forget - it is different. Burnt oil, maple syrup,

call it what you will. I just know that if there is liquid in the floor on the passenger's side, it is a 95% chance that it is the core that is bad.

By the way, that film on the windows is extremely difficult to remove - almost impossible as a matter of fact. ;)

Posted

One other thing, that "smell" will only occur when the heater or defroster is selected. During daylight, the smokey fog it is real noticable.

All three heater cores that I replaced were on American cars in the late 70's & 80's

Posted

I have a burning oil smell sometimes in my car and I've had the valve cover gaskets replaced, didn't help. I'm running synthetic oil too, and the smell never occured when I used regular oil. No blue smoke from the exhaust either, I have a mystery leak somewhere.

Posted

chris, in addition to the valve cover gaskets, the real main seal is often times suspect in burning oil smells.

steviej

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