Hi.
I'm fortunate to have recently bought a low mileage Panda 100hp. Car is fantastic apart from one issue I can't fathom out.
After 5 or 10 mins driving a noticeable oil smell comes into the car when parked at lights etc. Smell is not there when moving. With the engine running and bonnet up there is a mild smell but nothing huge. There is no obvious oil leak and no evidence on the ground where parked. I'd be very grateful if anyone can offer any ideas as what is the likely cause. Prior to purchase the car had oil service and mot.
If it is as simple as a spillage would it have burnt off after 2 weeks of short urban trips? The oddest thing is that the strongest smell enters the car when reversing on my drive. Many thanks in advance for any help.

Hi

Its possible there is a small quantity split.. but odd its not clearing

How much driving have you done

Are the duckbills in place? some people remove them.. then the fresh air intake is open to fumes

Thanks for the reply. Total driving over 2 weeks probably 60 to 70 miles. Not much as car for short trips only and weekends. Car has yet to spend much time above 45mph.

A good run should bake off any spilt oil..
but if its leaking.. then obviously it will just keep going..

Are all the fluid levels holding ok?



Duckbills.. check them anyway

Dont want a flooded cabin

Yeah oil level looks fine and no sign of loss. Good clean oil after service. Not clued up on the duckbills but will look into it. Thanks again.

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/340612-blocked-water-drains-3.html

Aka : duckbills

When I bought my 100HP I was told of a repair that the dealers did due to an oil smell, apparently the diff bearings had worn and the seals were leaking as the diff had dropped slightly. This leak was directly above the exhaust front pipe and was the source of the smell.
The dealers replaced the diff bearings and seals and there hasn't been an issue since.

daiblack said:

When I bought my 100HP I was told of a repair that the dealers did due to an oil smell, apparently the diff bearings had worn and the seals were leaking as the diff had dropped slightly. This leak was directly above the exhaust front pipe and was the source of the smell.
The dealers replaced the diff bearings and seals and there hasn't been an issue since.

Click to expand...

Gear oil dripping onto exhaust.. in front of flexi?

the recent service could potentially be the cause of any burning smell

New discs
New pads
exhaust jointing compound
spilt oil
and so on

can take quite a while to settle down.

its hard to tell with any new vehicle where or whats happening.

clean away old oil will identify where any new leak are as does some newspaper under the car. Funnily enough both my Panders leak like a sieve but never hit the exhaust or CAT.

Finally got the chance to check those duckbills yesterday whilst it was dry. Both in place and both nice and clear. No sign of any leak on the ground or on any obvious drips when getting under the car or looking from above. Complete mystery. Could be the only option to get it in the garage. Again after driving today for 30 mins by far the strongest smell comes from reversing up the small incline on my drive. What could cause that? Thanks.

The gear shift seal wears causing oil to run down the casing. The leak is rarely enough to cause drips under the car but it does smell. Check the slide and twist gear shift shaft on top of the gearbox.

Many thanks for the replies. The more I read into this it does sound as Dave says above that its a gear shift seal. Got the car on a couple of jacks today and had a real good look round but can't see a thing oil leak related. This one is really hiding. Is there an easy way to see if it is this seal that is the problem? I've read that the job putting a new one in isn't that difficult but I'd like to know it is definitely causing the problem.

gear selector is highly unlikely. Even an unloved Panda leaking like a sieve and leaving oil on the drive rarely smell. Why because of the location of the exhaust is to the side.

Gear select oil finds its way to the bottom of the bellhousing as does most of the other common oil leaks places.


if you can smell it regularly you should be able to see it.


I'd start with the oil breather pipe often split or not attached properly. Common fault and is a cause of oil smell in the cabin

then the more unusual, Missing CAT shield, drive shaft and so on. Some photos of any damp patches would help

Is the engine burning oil? Could be from the exhaust.
Your description does indicate that.

All my cars are decatted so their fume smell is more prevalent than most. I sometimes get the smell when at traffic lights or reversing.

If the car is low mileage, there is a good chance it was driven lots or short distances and not very hard. These engine tend to use a bit of oil unless given a hard time now and then!

The gear selector shaft is on top of the gearbox. Mine had run oil down the gearbox and smelled quite bad but was not enough to drip on the floor. A new seal and problem solved.
The shifter shaft is on a removable cover on top of the gearbox.

To check it properly, you will need to remove battery and battery box. You can get a kit of parts (clip, pin and seal) from Shop4Parts.

The more I look at it the more it does seem that the smell is coming from the exhaust. That's the only reason I can think for it being worse when reversing as the car backs up into the exhaust gas. There is a little oily gunge on the gear selector top but looks like it been like that years. Still no sign of spillage or leaks. If the engine is burning oil what is the likely reason? Car is an 09 with 37k miles. Well looked after with good service history. Recent oil service so any chance that too much oil was put in and this is somehow making its way through seals and being burnt? Oil on stick is right to the top. Would a car burning oil pass an mot emission test as it recently passed only a month ago? Thanks

oil being burnt isn't usually a problem unless there is blue smoke from the exhaust or fails the emission test

The oil level would also be going down. Although most Pandas do use some oil


Even if was pumping out blue smoke it doesn't usually come into the cabin as it thrown out the back via a sealed exhaust


are you sure the oil breather pipe is 100% okay ?

Breather pipe looks fine. Small dry oil stain where it connects but no splits.

My MoT said oil leak from drive shaft not a safety issue.But there are for points where gearbox can leak. Driveshafts, gear selector and (very rarely) input shaft.

It's been MoT'd since I did the selector shaft with no comment about the drive shaft "leak".
However, it's entirely possible yours is dripping oil on the exhaust pipe from a drive shaft seal. Personally I would have the battery box out and take a close look at the gear selector before doing the drive shafts. A small amount of gear oil is quite smelly.

MAKn said:

Breather pipe looks fine. Small dry oil stain where it connects but no splits.

Click to expand...

I was think about the little connected pipe


unless its of a different design



normally the oil eventually degrades the rubber


https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=4...68LnoBQ&bih=530&biw=1024#imgrc=9yfjxu1fjmp21M