It's been a good number of months now and i'm still getting a strong burning smell when driving...no particular timing to it that i can pinpoint and my oil level is still the same along with no noticeable leaks out of the gear case/bottom of the engine bay

i've looked for bags, cats, and any other debris that has been suggested on the forum -- is there anything else that could be leaking and burning while the engine is hot that i cannot see?

do you smell anything with the hood popped open and engine running?

Look for leaks around the exhaust. In such scenarios, the oil will get burned off and leave a little residue. Look for oil burn marks on the headers.
Raj

How hard are you driving the car when you spell burning oil? Right after flooring it?

A. the smell comes from the engine while running only faintly....no where near how it smells inside the car (at the same time it wasn't making the smell at that time but had been earlier during my 10min. drive home)


B. I only drive my car about 10 min. to and from work on small roads -- max i hit is 45 -- but i'd say i do smell it more often when gas'ing often -- actually the only time when i think it is consistent is if i switch into tiptronic mode which i do often

i've found what i possibly think could be the source of the smell -- i have an oily area on the cover under my car ... it starts right where the exhaust begins to show (closest to the engine) on the driver side -- its about 4 inches wide and runs down the exhaust on the cover about 2 ft.

i can't see anything wtih the hood open because its too far back (i can slightly see where it begins but nothing else)

is it easy to put the car up with a jack and remove that cover? just to narrow down where the leak may be coming from?

My mech. says he thinks it might be a valve cover gasket, but i didn't think it went back that far and my valve cover is located on the opposite side of where the leak is

LEAKING GASKETS.

It might be some of my Texas roots showing here, but I happen to LOVE the smell of burning oil! :P BTW, it does seem unlikely that the oil leak could be on the OPPOSITE side of the engine! :geek:

Valve cover gasket i bet my 04 530 was doing the same thing i also get white cloud of smoke coming thru the center vents when the oil hits the manifold about 10-15 minutes of driving doesn't happen every day though

Mine was doing the same, turned out to be a transmission leak. Started out just a smell, then started leaving droplets everywhere, especially when parking overnight.