No really!

Now, this is not a MINI bashing thread, just looking for ideas here....

I drive about 20 miles each way to work, and about a month ago I noticed when I took the exit and sat a the stoplight that I was smelling oil. I thought I must have a leak, so when I arrived home I checked everything I could see, but nothing was even damp, and the dipstick showed normally. Since then it hasn't left a drop on the garage floor, and when I changed the oil a couple weeks ago I checked the oil pan and all around the engine from below - dry as can be - nothing.

So, where is the smell coming from? It's not oil smoke I smell, but just raw liquid hot oil - like a leak - only it's not leaking.

I took it to my dealer who also found no evidence of leakage, and they replaced the PCV valve and hose assembly. We took a trip that weekend and didn't seem to smell it as much, but now it's back again, so I took it to the dealer and left it with them again. Again, no leaks, and the Service manager drove it home trying to duplicate my situation as he lives about 20 min from the dealership. He says he can't smell anything unusual.

Any thoughts? I thought the PCV valve idea was a good one, just getting vapor vented from the valve cover or something, but that doesn't seem to be it. You only smell it at idle (like at a stop light) and after a longish hiway drive.

 

Are you sure the smell isn't coming from other cars around you?

 

I've got a weird smell that comes from my Mini too after a long drive and I was told it was just normal...

 

Taco Bell?

 

My wife commented the other day as she walked up the driveway that she could smell it just walking by, so no I don't think it was coming from other cars. Plus too and also, I notice it every day on my commute at the same places, and since I have three other cars and don't smell it there when I drive them, I've sorta eliminated that.

It's very distinct, and definitely smells like an oil leak - like raw oil or oil vapor on a hot engine, just like a leak.....only it's simply not leaking anywhere that we can find.

The other day someone suggested that they had a similar odor in their R53 for a few days before it blew a sparkplug out, and that the odor went away when the plug was reinstalled and torqued correctly, so I'm going to put a wrench on the plugs, just because - even tho I haven't heard of any R55/R56 cars blowing their plugs out like on the R53"s....

Sorry Fig, I don't do the Bell.....