Smoke coming from Oil Pan
 

After light city driving, there's visible smoke with a burning smell (in the cabin too) coming from what seems to be a connection to the oil pan. Anyone know what this is? Has occurred multiple times but film was from this weekend.
This is a '13 Scion FR-S ('13 Toyota 86 equivalent outside of the US and Canada). It had an oil pan seal by Toyota (in a different city) 2~3 years ago (paid by me) when they had the engine out for the valve spring recall.

See Facebook link for video.
https://www.facebook.com/10009156216...41608549245775

That's what you're calling a "connection to the oil pan"? Interesting.

Anyway, the dipstick isn't fully inserted for starters. Maybe it's oil leaking out from that and dripping down onto the header and burning up? Or from the dipstick seal where it goes into the engine block? IIRC that was a common issue.

Thanks for responding -
Was the 'connection to the oil pan' incorrect phrasing?
Re: dipstick - Good of you to point that out, I should address that. The dipstick was removed immediately prior to the video to check for the levels for the record, but I should have fully inserted it before filming to not create that ambiguity.

I just didn't know what you meant or what you were referring to, because in the video I don't see any connection to the oil pan. The oil pan isn't visible in the video.

Here's some info about the leaking dipstick seal: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133257

Okay, looks like I misidentified the oil pan, my bad - thanks for clearing that up, will stop referring it as such. Just meant this area.
Also appreciate the link to the thread. The original Google drive link is inaccessible but there's still some good info and although I didn't notice any oil along the tube, I can't 100% rule out an issue there, especially given fx35s's comment. I'll read up more responses to this thread, if any, and go to a nearby Toyota tomorrow to check it out.

Get a bright LED flashlight and shine it around the area where the dipstick tube enters the engine, check for signs of oil leaking.

Here's another possibly relevant thread: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103687

Looks like this guy had a bigger leak.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but the key is going to be identifying where it is coming/dripping from, if it is indeed an oil leak. In the video there's quite a bit of smoke, so I assume you should be able to see it dripping if it's an active leak.

That’s the front O2 sensor. Was work done to the car recently? Looks like something pooled around the indent where it fits into the header.

No, you've been good help, I already picked up a couple of things from our convo already. Thanks again, always enjoy learning more. Looks like identifying the source itself could be tricky depending on the leak, but worth a try.

Thanks for identifying the sensor, and no, no work done recently. The smell was sensed before (but very occasionally and it was never this bad - never saw this smoke before).

You may need to have the engine running while you use a flashlight to look for the leak. Hopefully it's not coming from behind the crank pulley or something.

Will give it a shot after work and update this thread.

Rgr that. Sorry you're getting a face full of smoke just looking into the engine bay. Definitely not a fun experience.

Fun story for you, back when I purchased my first FR-S in December of 2012, I was driving it for the very first time (didn't test drive it - already knew it was going to feel perfectly amazing) off the dealer lot and got a few miles away to a stop light.

Suddenly I notice whisps of white smoke coming out of the right hand side of the engine bay. WTF?! Is my brand new car ON FIRE or something? No no no, that couldn't be. I told myself maybe it's just "release agents" evaporating or something. lol.

It ended up being the leaking cam plate on the passenger rear side of the engine, dripping oil down onto the hot overpipe. Flawed from the factory with 13 miles on it!

I ended up working with Raceseng to test their prototype cam plate before it was released, and I validated their part's successful fixing of the issue!

Wow, sorry to hear about that 13-mile experience! Glad you eventually got it fixed though (sounds like a win-win since I'm sure they wanted to validate their product ASAP after model launch, although at a risk too), but did you try to get it fixed under warranty first?

Just now I managed to take a look at my FR-S. No visible leaks at idle, but after a 10-minute drive to get more of an oil circulation, I did notice the same* burning smell and what appears to be this puddle (but didn't catch any leaks mid-drip).
Edit-add: No visible smoke this time though, nothing out of the ordinary next to the O2 sensor.*
Will wipe it tomorrow morning when the sun rises again and see if it reforms. Will also update the thread after going to Toyota (possibly tomorrow afternoon), just hoping to learn from this experience.
Edit-add: Went back after it cooled down a bit to wipe it (also to see what it was) because I didn't want to burn myself before (should have maybe used tongs or something in retrospect when it was fresh), but it seems dry - now I'm not sure if it wasn't there before.

Again, appreciate your advice, links, and anecdotes.

Haha, no, I actually didn't bother letting the dealership try to fix it. Other people were posting and reporting that sometimes the dealer fixed plate just started leaking again. So, I was much more eager to try a third party fix and was excited to help test a prototype part that could help a lot of owners.

Anyway, looking at the photo you posted, I believe this would fit the description of oil leak from front timing cover, or from the dipstick tube hole.

And it looks to have been going on for a while based on the pooling/residue on top of the header.

Either way, the Toyota dealer should be able to diagnose and quote you for a repair.

Oh that's fair. In that year definitely was uncharted territories for everyone, including the dealership.

Okay, thanks for confirming. Will update after the visit if interested.

Definitely let us know what they say.

Okay, here's the update, since I offered before. Looks like it was a leak from the timing chain cover and perhaps the oil pan that resulted in oil being spread around the engine bay. Mechanic seemed legit, said accessory belt would probably have to be replaced too as the oil would have degraded it along with coolant tube (assuming "HOSE RAD OUT" - it was swollen but not at an immediate risk of bursting).

The prices are Canadian (despite "Labor" being spelt the American way hahaha) - Google says 1CAD = 0.74USD right now. A friend (an enthusiast as well, not a mechanic) suggested paying another shop to look at it as well since Toyota's charging ~$2k, just for a peace of mind. Compared to $2k, the $94.61 that Toyota charged to look at it seems to at least be pretty small.

Well, at least this incident can serve as a good learning experience.

Thanks so much for the detailed and informative update. Interesting how they also want to re-seal the oil pan. I wonder what evidence made them think that would also be necessary.

As your friend mentioned, it could be worth getting a quote from another shop for the work, now that you know what needs to be done. Dealership labor rates are notoriously expensive.

Then again, the dealer might have a more robust "guarantee" for their work, ie they will fix it again for free if it starts leaking again. Don't quote me on that though. But, it could be worth looking into.

@Ultramaroon, thoughts?

Hard to say. Prior work puts into question every FIPG-sealed surface. Clean off the engine and add some fluorescent dye to the oil. Find the source and go from there.

No worries, glad to share given that you looked at my issue earlier. No idea either on how they went back to the oil pan. I did mention that the previous seal was done in Toyota as well (albeit in a different city, but they have a record of it too on some universal database), but I'd assume normally that it'd hold for more than 2-3 years (although it's probably past any shop guarantee).

I'll update again if I can find a shop for that. Guess that's why some other enthusiasts with a less positive experience call them 'stealerships' :)

I get what you're saying as well - if the dealerships admit fault they could do it for free, but if not, might be hard to fight them if something does go wrong. If nothing else, they do at least have an incentive to do it right as well, given they have a reputation and a big brand and more experience/knowledge working on some of the same cars.