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Technical 500 i.4 Lounge, 16v Oil Smell in cab

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Technical 500 i.4 Lounge, 16v Oil Smell in cab

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gpnico

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OK hello all. Before anyone shouts that we've had this thread before, then hold on, i can't see it and being new is no excuse. I've been using the forum for years but always without signing up. firstly it's a great forum with some great contributions so thanks for it's existence.

Right my issue is that i've an 09 500, 1.4 Lounge 16v. Oil smell in cab. Done it for ages, dealer is crap (jordans in hull) and fobbed me off. I've replaced breather, i've replaced oil cap in case seal was gone, also replaced dip stick seal. Still i get a strong smell whenever the fan's are on. Don't get it when air con is on however. Anyway whenever fan's are on i get the smell, occasionally had smoke come from the engine but it's never been at a time when i've been able to stop and open the bonnet and take the air box cover off. Had air box off last week and guess what, yep, no smoke, even at 3,000 rev's, hot engine, no smoke. Driving me mad. There cannot be only me in the world who own's a 500 1.4 with this issue. Makes me wish i had a 1.2 and had it cured with that new breather that Fiat issued. Please someone out there help me. Rattles, niggles and annoyances i can live with. I like the 500, but this oil smell is crap.

Does it whenever in traffic, hot or cold engine. At speed you don't notice it as much due to airflow i'd say. Once you're back at low speeds it's again evident in the cab. Also it's not air filter or pollen filter as these are new. Anyone had any issues with cracks in manifold? Thats the only thing i've yet to rule out and reluctant to mess about with as it's a garage issue.

Thanks to all for any feedback.
We need a good independent Fiat specialist in East Yorkshire, just in case anyone fancies opening one!
 
gpnico said:
OK hello all. Before anyone shouts that we've had this thread before, then hold on, i can't see it and being new is no excuse. I've been using the forum for years but always without signing up. firstly it's a great forum with some great contributions so thanks for it's existence.

Right my issue is that i've an 09 500, 1.4 Lounge 16v. Oil smell in cab. Done it for ages, dealer is crap (jordans in hull) and fobbed me off. I've replaced breather, i've replaced oil cap in case seal was gone, also replaced dip stick seal. Still i get a strong smell whenever the fan's are on. Don't get it when air con is on however. Anyway whenever fan's are on i get the smell, occasionally had smoke come from the engine but it's never been at a time when i've been able to stop and open the bonnet and take the air box cover off. Had air box off last week and guess what, yep, no smoke, even at 3,000 rev's, hot engine, no smoke. Driving me mad. There cannot be only me in the world who own's a 500 1.4 with this issue. Makes me wish i had a 1.2 and had it cured with that new breather that Fiat issued. Please someone out there help me. Rattles, niggles and annoyances i can live with. I like the 500, but this oil smell is crap.

Does it whenever in traffic, hot or cold engine. At speed you don't notice it as much due to airflow i'd say. Once you're back at low speeds it's again evident in the cab. Also it's not air filter or pollen filter as these are new. Anyone had any issues with cracks in manifold? Thats the only thing i've yet to rule out and reluctant to mess about with as it's a garage issue.

Thanks to all for any feedback.
We need a good independent Fiat specialist in East Yorkshire, just in case anyone fancies opening one!
Click to expand...
are you sure its engine oil? my smell was from gearbox oil. is oil dipstick reading low?
 
Yep it's engine oil.
Gearbox oil is new, engine oil is also new, so leaks anywhere either, no blown seals etc
 
When you say "oil" smell.. I assume you mean "burnt oil"... or do you literally mean "oil"?

If it's "burnt oil" then you need to work out where the oil that is burning is coming from.

There has to be an engine oil leak from somewhere that is working its way onto the exhaust so jack the car up.. put it on stands and get on yer back and under it. I'd do it on a day or two after not using the car so that any seepage won't have been burnt off.

If the exaust is reasonably clean you should be able to see dark stains if/where any oil is dripping onto the exhaust.

Oil on the engine block won't burn - the block is never over 120C. It has to be the exhaust. If you can see where it is.. trace the leak/drip upwards and forwards till you find the source.


If the smell is "exhaust fumes" rather than oil, you could have a blown exhaust. While you're prospecting for oil (above) check out the condition of the exhaust, particularly any mid-section silencers and the flexi. If you see black "soot" marks on the flexi section then it's blowing.

If you're not sure, clean it up with rag dipped in paraffin or petrol.. just to get it clean.. and then have another look in a week or so to see if the black marks are back. If the engine is running (be careful when you do this) get someone to block the tail pipe with a rag while you're next to the exhaust to look/feel/listen for a blow.


If it is literally an oil smell (like opening a can of Castrol GTX) then someone could have spilt some oil in the car. Have a look in the boot (under the spare wheel) and the carpets (use a clean rag to wipe it) to see if it comes up oily. Shampoo. Robert. Your mother's brother.


Ralf S.
 
Cheers Ralf.
All very in-depth, however i've done all that!
No sign of anything dripping, it's all clean, plus it's no oil spilt either, thought of that ages ago.
Think it's manifold, thats why checked on here to ask if anyone had anything similar. Seems no one owns 1.4's with this issue.
The smell is burnt oil yes. Done it since new, and yes it's had oil changes over the time too. Unbelievably frustrating!:bang::
 
Check underneath the car, there's likely an oil leak near the sump, and it's dripping onto the exhaust downpipe and burning off. When you have the aircon on, there's a fan that activates on the radiators, this could be "wafting" the smell away when the aircon is on.

That's my theory anyway
 
Thanks all for the feedback. Think you might be closest portland_bill, how did you get on with the oil seal. Taking the car into a garage next week and i was planing on passing on your information.
 
Diff seal not yet done. Everything fought back, especially trying to get the drive shaft joint out of the diff. Levering it is difficult, there's an exhaust in the way. Once under there, it was not obvious that the diff seal was leaking, gearbox oil level was slightly overfull, (as Fiat filled it), so am now thinking the gearchange seal might be more likely as suggested above. Can't leak much from there, so not urgent.
 
Do you get a burning oil smell though? And only at low speed? I only get it when ticking over and sat in traffic. I'm seeing a mechanic on Thursday and he'll have a look, i just wanted to give him some pointers, i'll print out this whole thread and discuss it with him. Ot's ok if you stick the blowers to recycle the air, BUT you should not have to do that should you really. I never had any issues with old car's on the past so i'm not willing to put up with this. Fiat UK have been in touch, nothing they can do even though i think they should. Pi**ed off with them. If the garage had not fobbed me off when under warranty and fixed it then i'd not have this issue.
 
Yeah checked all the above. Had the car at the local monkeys, still no joys. Possibly a bit of movement in the exhaust flex but no splits in it as far as we could see. Driving me mad, a few people on the USA forum have mentioned similar issues, but i get fed up with reading what Americans have to say. Anyone had any splits in the exhaust flex? Also i believe there to be slightly too much slackness with the dipstick, it does not fell tight, i can't smell anything from there but replacing it might be an option. Again what's other owners dipstick feel like!

That sounds dodgy i know, but please check your dipstick for me, is it tight or slack:eek:
 
gpnico said:
Yeah checked all the above. Had the car at the local monkeys, still no joys. Possibly a bit of movement in the exhaust flex but no splits in it as far as we could see. Driving me mad, a few people on the USA forum have mentioned similar issues, but i get fed up with reading what Americans have to say. Anyone had any splits in the exhaust flex? Also i believe there to be slightly too much slackness with the dipstick, it does not fell tight, i can't smell anything from there but replacing it might be an option. Again what's other owners dipstick feel like!

That sounds dodgy i know, but please check your dipstick for me, is it tight or slack:eek:
Click to expand...
i dont know what you mean by tight and slack.
 
What i meant was:
Tight: The top of the dipstick, the part you pull is nice and tight, close fitting, no looseness, slackness whatsoever. There's some resistance, but not lot's which suggests it's never been pulled out

Slack: There's little resistance. I've never had a dipstick on a car like this, but this is how the one on my 500 is.

Apparently according to a Fiat dealer this is how they are on 500's, so maybe it's just me!
 
gpnico said:
What i meant was:
Tight: The top of the dipstick, the part you pull is nice and tight, close fitting, no looseness, slackness whatsoever. There's some resistance, but not lot's which suggests it's never been pulled out

Slack: There's little resistance. I've never had a dipstick on a car like this, but this is how the one on my 500 is.

Apparently according to a Fiat dealer this is how they are on 500's, so maybe it's just me!
Click to expand...
i would say its 4 times as wide as the dipstick = )
 
Avaxbox said:
Selector shaft seal into box leaks on all of these people change the driveshaft seals in error


Sent from my iPad using FIAT Forum
Click to expand...


My 1.4 500 (with the six speed gearbox) was in for a service today, when I picked it up they told me that there was a leak from the oil seal on the gear selector shaft and that it would be £125 to fix. Is it a DIYable job? I've seen a post on the six speed Stilo box https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=311377 is it similar?
 
Last edited:
staffordmike said:
My 1.4 500 (with the six speed gearbox) was in for a service today, when I picked it up they told me that there was a leak from the oil seal on the gear selector shaft and that it would be £125 to fix. Is it a DIYable job? I've seen a post on the six speed Stilo box https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=311377 is it similar?
Click to expand...
Hi I owned my punto for a year and did 20000 miles and level didn't budge at all even though the box was always damp. I would monitor it for a while, the fiat manual says you have to strip the selector from the top of the box. Easily done just take photos so you get it back together correct.
 
Just a thought, could it be the tail gate seal allowing fumes to be sucked in? On occasions I have driven with the hatch ajar to get something large home and it can be very fumey even with a clean running engine, and this is more noticeable when running slow. We had an Uno from new and ran it for many years, if you had a window slightly ajar you got a strong smell of petrol every now and again being sucked in from the back. I never did cure it.
 
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