Faint Oil Smell in Cabin

Keep vent on recirc

 

Usual leak is at the timing chain cover but I would bet its the OCC venting or the wrong hoses connecting it.

 

I know this is kinda stupid, but just to rule it out, check the oil fill cap?

Don't ask...

 

How much was the crankcase overfilled?

 

Pull the dipstick, wait 5 minutes (say check tire pressures) then do the check. When you pull the dipstick it draws oil up the tube; the delay gives it time to drain back down.

also, check both sides; I find the side towards the front more definitive.

FWIW, my refill technique: drain well, button everything up, add 4.2 liters (4.5 qts), and don’t even bother checking dipstick for a few days.

 

Sometimes you can carefully place the dipstick flat on a paper towel to transfer the level to the paper. I find checking it in the morning before starting is often easier since the oil has drained back on the dipstick. Just pull and check.

It has been reported that overfilling will push more oil through the pcv to the intake but normally you would not smell oil. So a vapor leak in the aftermarket OCC, the hoses used are permeable or there is oil leaking (maybe leaked) on the engine.

 

I don't bother to add 4.2l. Just a 4l bottle and I'm at 75% on dipstick. Good enough for me.

Yep, this is what I'm doing.

 

Also, if you use reading glasses, this is definitely a time for them.

 

The side that curves down and shows the least

 

Do you know how much you put in?

 

Which oil catch can did you use, Rebound?

The one that I used did not come with an o-ring seal on the integral dip stick. The dipstick was threaded M6x1.0.

I added an o-ring to the dipstick in the can before installing it.

 

All four that I have purchased had a dipstick and no o-ring,

I found the dipstick useless, because the oil vapors would hit the colder dipstick and give a high reading. Examining the cup of the catch can revealed only a small amount of oil and yellow mixture on the bottom.

I replace the dipstick wit an M6x1.0 screw and an o-ring. That made the cup easier to screw off, since I did not need to unscrew and take out the dipstick first. The cup never fills much past the bottom of the cup, anyway, between oil changes.

 

If you don't want to get the o-rings, you can get some thread sealant like this. It's non hardening and can be reapplied as needed.

I used it on all the fittings in my OCC installation. It's oil and gas resistant. It's available in a smaller tube as well, but the bottle wasn't much more so I bought the larger size.

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Just found this thread. I'm having the same problem - fairly strong smell of hot oil coming from under the hood - primarily right side near OCC I recently installed (3 months ago). I never noticed it during the first 2 months of operation after OCC but now it's pretty strong, like I smell it when I walk into the garage. Gonna try the o-ring on the dip stick and I'll post my findings.

 

Another option for sealing the (tapered) pipe threads is the silicon tape (typical plumbing dept item in hardware stores). One reason I like it is with right-angle fittings on my OCC: I want them angled a certain direction, and multiple turns of the tape create a sort of buffer; if you got the fittings rotated to the correct orientation, but they're kinda loose, you stand a decent chance of being able to muscle them through one more rev with the tape on there.