I can Smell Burning Oil

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Eurythmian

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OK guys, I need your help.
Here is some background... my '05 V6 only has 30,000 miles on it.
I drive her like she's a cream puff because it has to last me for 4 to 5 more years and the V6 really is a cream puff.

During the summer I mainly drive with the AC recalculating the cabin air to get it as cold as possible in our Texas heat. But lately with the change of the weather, I have turned the AC off and used the vents, or used the AC and set it to outside air. Now I am noticing a burning oil smell when I come to a stop or slow down during turning corners.

I always check the dip stick after every oil change and it has always been on Max. When I noticed the oil smell I checked and it was a quart low. I immediately filled it praying the smell would never come pack... but I still smell it. I've gotten behind the car and can't see smoke coming out of the tail pipes - so I don't think it's using oil that way. My next thing was to visually inspect the engine to see if there is any oil running out anywhere. I took the cover off and looked it all over. Everything is clean and looks normal. It's not dripping oil anywhere.

From my years experience with a FORD V6 in our 2000 Windstar SEL it had to have the head gasket replaced three times. Is this an issue with this engine as well? If this is the case, wouldn't I notice a performance drop or get a service engine light?

Any ideas will help... I have an extended warranty so I plan to take it to the LM dealership to get it looked at. I just wanted to know if I should point them in the certain direction.

Thanks for the help.
 
After reading some posts about a burning oil smell with a V6, I am thinking it could possibly be the PCV valve.

Is this some thing easily changed - could I do it myself and avoid the dealership / rental car cost and run around? If so, how do I get to it and what tools do I need?

I'm no mechanic, but I don't mind small mechanical fixes if they are easy.
 
Eurythmian said:
After reading some posts about a burning oil smell with a V6, I am thinking it could possibly be the PCV valve.

Is this some thing easily changed - could I do it myself and avoid the dealership / rental car cost and run around? If so, how do I get to it and what tools do I need?

I'm no mechanic, but I don't mind small mechanical fixes if they are easy.
Click to expand...

I never smelled oil when my PCV elbow went. The hose is buried under the intake plenum and a bear to do.

I would suspect a leak somewhere. Try the filter and fill tube area. It could be the valve cover gaskets, but with those few miles and only ~4 years, I doubt it. Our V6 has almost 170K miles and it shows no signs of needing new head gaskets. The V6 in your Windstar is most likely the 3.8L which was notorious for blowing head gaskets.
 
So, you don't think it's the PCV... well I guess it's off to the dealership to get it checked out.

Yes the Windstar was a 3.8L and I'm aware of the head gasket issues as well as transmission.
We no longer have that vehicle. :(

Once the dealership has a chance to look at it, I will post the issue for those having the same problem.
 
Yeah, the 3.8 was notorious for the head gasket issue. I had that same problem on my last vehicle (Windstar). I haven't heard of the Duratec having that problem though. I would look elsewhere.
 
...im not sure how this applies to the V6...but my '02 V8 had the same symptoms. I could smell a faint burnt oil odor from time to time, especially under moderate-to-hard braking and/or heavy turns, and for some reason when it was wet out (no idea how the rain caused the smell). I originally had my mechanic try and find the source of the smell, but he had the car for 2 days - drove it and looked under the hood for leaks - and couldn't find anything. I googled the symptoms and came to find the valve cover gaskets on the LS frequently go bad, usually letting oil into the spark plug wells and/or letting the oil drip directly onto the exhaust manifold causing the odor. Now once the oil gets into the plug wells, it starts corrupting the coils which usually causes a misfire - ultimately leading to the discovery of the bad valve cover gaskets. Now my V8 had 2 gaskets (passenger and driver side) the passenger side was bad, and coils 3&4 went bad along with it. Replaced the gaskets and the spark plugs along with coils 3&4 and so far 8,000 miles - no smell, no misfire and she runs 150% better =) ...like i said.. I DONT KNOW HOW RELEVANT THIS IS TO YOUR V6, BUT ITS WORTH A LOOK... good luck!...and by the way there is a "how to" article in the Tech articles - but again its for the V8...
 
Another place to check is the O-ring seal around the VCT oil control solenoid.
 
Well, I finally took it in to find out what the problem was and got it repaired. I was told it had to do with my intake manifold. Evidently there is a valve which controls air flow and has O Rings which had been leaking dripping oil down onto the exhaust manifold. They had to take my intake manifold off and apart to replace the O Rings and clean everything.

I'm not quite clear on what a valve inside the intake has to do with oil... but OK - I'll bite. Can someone explain this to me? How does a Y shaped valve which controls air flow inside and upper aluminum manifold drip and leak oil down on the exhaust manifold on the underside of the engine? Was the real issue a defective PCV? That makes more sense to me than this intake issue.

They replaced the defective PCV Valve (recall).
Replaced my fuel filter (30K miles)

My warranty covered everything and the car seems to handle like new again.

I paid my 75.00 deductible plus the cost of the fuel filter parts and labor.
Totaled out around 175.00.

Now I just need to have the transmission flushed.
179.95 at this dealership.
My mechanic will do it for under 100.00.
 
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