Hey guys,

I've had my '05 JCW R53 (~70k mi) for about 2 months now. It's in good condition overall. I've noticed that upon hard acceleration and upshifting from 3rd to 4th or maybe 4th to 5th, I get a strong smell of burnt oil or burnt something (I can't tell for sure). It comes on abruptly into the cabin a little after I've done shifting and settled down into the 2K-3K rpm range, presumably seeping in through the vents. If I open the windows I smell it strongly from the engine bay as well. It goes away after about 2-3 minutes -- and I need to air the cabin out before the smell dies out. It's gotten more frequent now in the last week which has me worried.

I had a shop look into it, and they fixed some seals and said it was likely the engine oil, and they said it would go away after a few days. But it's been almost 2 months and it has not gone away.

Just today, I was getting on the freeway ramp and accelerated up to around 6k rpm before shifting up, and rowed all the way up to 6th -- and then the smell came on super strong. This was 30 minutes ago and I still have a headache, and now this is worrying me.

There appear to be others having this same question/problem: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...eleration.html.

Anyone here know how to diagnose this? Is it time for a run of Seafoam through the tank? Is it indicative of something else? Car seems to run great otherwise, cold-starts fine, etc. The shop said they checked my clutch and that it still has at least 10000 miles on it.

Thanks for any pointers!

 

things that can smell after hard acceleration:
clutch (can be tested)
brakes (this would be all the time tho and terrible gas mileage)
coolant (white smoke out tail pipe)
normal exhaust fumes (catless)
oil (blue smoke out tail pipe)
unburnt fuel (black smoke out tail pipe)
broken header fumes leaking into cabin (loud exhaust)

 

Are you losing any oil on the dipstick? Maybe a leaky valve cover or something. Belt burning?

 

If you have a headache....look at the exhaust for leaks....bad smells suck...but health issues are different..maybe a cracked header/slipjoint....or a leaking gasket....it happens...
Yes...leaks happen....things get hot...and stuff boils off making smells on ANY car....but Ii would hope that you can look around for drips...and wash it off.....that move is so basic, I think we can assume you did it before wasting your time making a post....so I'll assume you don't have a new leak.....

What does the smell smell like? A failing clutch can smell like burning brakes....you know the smell from trucks on long hills....that can make one feel ill...lol. Knowing a $2200 bill is coming is what does it though...

 

Mine does this as well. I can only smell it with the windows down. Over the Winter I had forgotten about it, till the other day it was nice enough that I had the windows open a bit.

 

The thought crossed my mind. I'm not skilled enough to figure this out myself but am hoping to learn. I'll look under the hood to see if there's anything obvious.

 

A cracked header sounds scary to my noob ears What kind of repair would that require?

I've owned at least 7 cars and drove at least 3 of them (ranging in age from 0 to 12 yrs old) let's say, "spiritedly". Never once smelt *anything*.

Re: drips -- I had taken it in to a shop just a few weeks ago and they looked over, noticed a few leaks and sealed them all up (the specific repairs escape me, need to dig out the work order). So I didn't really look around, plus even if I did I doubt I'd know what I was looking for.

Sadly I'm unable to place the smell since the only burnt stuff I've smelt is likely the food I attempt to cook It smells like the kind of smell large trucks on the freeway seem to emit occasionally.

 

I popped the hood today ~3 minutes after I smelt the dreaded smell and didn't smell anything from within the engine bay. It's as though it happens when I exceed 3.5k-ish rpms and then disappears as soon as I dip below (I tend to stay in the 3k rpm range normally). I am not very mechanically inclined, so to my untrained brain this sounds like a belt issue (higher revs causing more friction). But the amount of the smell really bothers me and makes we wonder if it isn't something else (like a cracked header).

Anything else I can look for? Would some high res pics of the engine bay give any of you experts clues? Very concerned

 

Pics of the belt and the back of the belt ? Also pics on the manifold near the engine head and at the flex pipe on the manifold.

 

How are your motor mounts, the passenger side in particular? If they are bad, all of the hard pulls are putting a lot more stress on the header/flex joint from the engine movement which could cause it to crack.

 

I had my PCV line had a small crack, I have the same deal, healthy throttle petroleum smell.
That line has been repaired, no smell.

 

Help a noob, pcv line?

I have the same smell, with or without a/c on. Only under hard accel. I figured it was belt.

 

This one. 11151524087

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/11151524087/





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