[urq] oil smell

[Buchholz, Steven]

... from my experience, if you've got a very slow leak that lasts a long time you can get oily grime deposits on things like sub-frames, heat shields and exhaust components that don't get hot enough to actually burn the material away.  

I'm not so sure I'd go with brake cleaner for this type of mess myself.  In my case I give a liberal application of "Oil Eater" ... a detergent spray I found at Costco ... on a slightly warm engine.  I let the stuff penetrate for a few minutes and then hose it off.  IME this stuff does a very good job of cutting through the grime so it comes off easily.  I've never found brake cleaner to be a very good penetrant ... 

Assuming that you have addressed the leaks, I would expect that a thorough cleaning with the Oil Eater will resolve the stink issue ... at least it will allow you to localize things a little better ... 

Steve B
San José, CA (USA)
> 
> Methinks you have more of a problem than you might think.  If oil/sludge
> burns off it burns off -- no more stink.  If it still stinks then some leak
> must be feeding/leaking still to cause the stink. Pay particular attention
> to the exhaust area and anywhere oil can drip onto the exhaust.  If you have
> a leak at the turbo hot side, the oil will burn off and you won't have any
> evidence.  In this case, the oil/fluid leak is likely only occurring while
> the engine is running.  I would prefer to use (on a cool/just warm motor) a
> few cans of Brake Cleaner.  It will clean the area and dry it at the same
> time, allowing easier analysis of leaks.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> So my car stinks.  Since the motor swap it has had a couple small oil and
> hyd fluid leaks - so now my tranny and part of the motor have plenty of goop
> on them.  Leaks are now fixed.  I get a hot oily smell in the cabin whenever
> I drive the car - and of course I get home and the wifey says I stink.  So I
> figure I'll try to get all the gunk off soon - probably use Gunk spray and
> then hose off - however I'm hesitant to use the full-on power spray.
> 
> Any other thoughts as to cause of the smell?
> 
> Recommedations on getting the engine/tranny clean?