Recently, I have been noticing that after I have been driving under hard acceleration in the upper mid to upper XX mph(be nice moderators) that I get kind of a turbo under stress burning smell or something like that after I stop accelerating. My a/c is on when this happens and the smell seems to be coming through the vents. I first noticed this when I went to the drag strip for the first time about 4 months ago. I was just wondering if it was normal operation to has this kind of smell. The smell does not linger for very long(maybe 10-20 sec.) and it is much more likely to happen when I use the over boost function. Thanks for any replies.

 

My guess depending on if the turbo is staying under boost or not would be, just hot turbo stink. All metals give off some odor when they get hot, and depending on the metal it can get pretty bad. Not to mention there is a lot of fuel being burnt at full boost and if you let off realy quick your cat can give off a smell.
Niether of theese conditions is realy a bad thing, just make sure to let the car idle for a couple minutes after you park. Or you will cause a BAD thing called coking. coking is where the oil in the center section of the turbo gets barbequed and turns to a thick goo at best, worst case with coking and I have seen it is the oil turns to burnt chunks and eventually clogs the oil lines to the turbo.

 

I think iv smelt this before but only after the engine is shut off.

Is it normal if I can see the exhaust side of the turbo glowing red? I recently just noticed it.

 

-this is definitely true of older cars w/ turbos, yet don't most modern turbos (our MINI's included) have an electric pump that circulates the oil after we park the car? (out of habit w/ my 930 Turbo, I do let my car idle for a minute before parking).

 

In responce to post #3, The turbo on the R56's is relitively small with a thinish casting, it could be a normal occurance which would explain all the melted hood scoop threads. It should be fine as long as it cools to an appropriate level before turning the oil supply to the turbo off.

And #4 I am not sure if the R56 has this feature or not, I own an R53. I know a few manufacturers have gone to a setup like this, it saves turbos when people are unknowing of the special attention that needs to happen when driving a turbocharged car. Thumbs Up for taking care of your turbo, many people don't and have butloads of problems because of it down the road.

 

Pretty sure I hear some kind of pump running after I turn my car off and open the hood. I notice it runs for a certain length depending on how hard I've been running my car. Maybe it goes by some sort of temp reading.

 

It could be because you removed the secondary cat, or has it always had the smell? Speaking of which, do you have any vids under load (take off or drive by) of your car? I found the one at idle + low rev and it sounded good!

 

I guess this means the smell is probably the metal in the turbo getting really hot under full boost. So, I assume this smell is normal operation. I just wanted to make sure I was not burning up my turbo of something like that.

The smell has been there since my car was stock. Also, I have been planning on making a drive by video and will probably do so in the next couple of days since I am borrowing a camera with HD video capabilities from a friend .

 

Many times I have definitely heard a pump somewhere in the engine compartment running after shutting off the ignition. I've had vehicles in the past where the fuel pump has run for a few seconds after I shut off the ignition, but couldn't figure out for the life of me what in the heck could be running inside the engine compartment -- sometimes for minutes on end -- after the ignition was off. In poking around under the bonnet, I found it was difficult to localize the sound, but quickly concluded that it definitely wasn't the radiator fan. Perhaps that's what it is: a circulating pump for cooling the turbo...?

Whatever it is, it seems to be regulated (either by timer or thermostat) to shut off after an indeterminate period of time...

 

I'd like to have a question related to turbo. Is it normal to have oil on the intake side of the turbo? I found oil on the intake port when removing the intake tube connecting MAF and the turbo. I also found oil coming down to the intercool.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

The R56 does have a pump which helps cool the turbo after shutdown. However, as far as I know it circulates coolant, not oil.

Yes, its from the PCV tube that connects to the turbo inlet tube. All of that oil builds up and will coat the inside of your intercooler...making it less effective. A good reason to buy an oil catch can.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I've seen numerous ads/posts on vendors' website and never paid much attention to it. I now know what oil catch can can do and will defiinitely get one.

 

That makes sense. Also jives with my observation that the level in the coolant reservoir seems to decrease slightly while this "mystery pump" is in operation.

 

Another question I have is... is it normal that an oil line that goes to my turbo has a tiny bit of oil coming out? It does not drip but I can tell after I run my car oil will leak out but burn. It looks like someone sharpied a bit of the oil line...

 

my turbo smell was diagnosed as a leaking auxilary oil line from the block to the turbo. fixed under warranty NQA

 

Hmm was this a constant smell while you were driving your Mini or like a after hard accleration/overboost smell?

 

All the time, once the car warmed up. Even in the cabin. Weird: it didnt smell like burning oil, but something more plasticky-electrical in nature.

Oh and a messed-up garage floor

 

Did anyone ever get the burning smell diagnosed as something more? I am currently smelling a burning smell under hard acceleration, i thought it may have just been my car burning oil & fuel under load, but it's strong at time (like someone else said) smells like diesel almost...