Oil smell after cam plate fix? - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

alex87f · 09-12-2017, 04:04 AM

'Morning everybody

I recently bought a used GT-86, and quickly noticed the well-known burning oil smell. Looked under the hood, and the cam plate was definitely leaking.

The car still being under warranty, Toyota did some work on it, and the cam plate leak now seems to be gone. However, when the engine is warm, I can still smell burning oil through the vents, especially when the HVAC's at faster speeds.

Those of you who had the leak fixed, did the smell go away immediately? The car has about 32 000 miles and I suspect the leak was present for most of those, so I was assuming there could be some oil residue on the overpipe / manifold that could still be burning off?

Also, it's worth noting Toyota pulled the engine out of the car and re-sealed a couple other areas.

Cheers,
Alex

humfrz · 09-12-2017, 12:40 PM

Welcome to the forum ..........

I'd suggest you run it for a few miles (like 100) and see if the smell goes away ....... if it doesn't ...... check for more leaks.

humfrz

guybo · 09-12-2017, 01:18 PM

I installed an oil pressure gauge a week ago or so and in the process I must have spilled a tiny bit of oil on the header because I smelled burnt oil for a week (200 miles or so). A little oil takes a long while to burn off, and it flows and can hide in a lot of nooks and crannies down there.

DarkSunrise · 09-12-2017, 02:19 PM

Take a clean rag and wipe underneath the cam plate. If you don't see any oil on the rag, you don't have an oil leak. But to answer your question, it will take a couple of cycles to burn the remaining oil off the exhaust/overpipe. You can speed up the process by getting the exhaust nice and hot (back to back pulls or 4th gear on the highway). I did that and the smell was gone after 2 trips.

alex87f · 09-12-2017, 04:29 PM

Thanks for the responses

I did drive it very little since I got it back, about 30 miles so far, so I'll try running it a little longer.

I checked again this morning and saw no traces of the leak coming back, the bottom of the plate was still dry despite pulling the car higher into the rev range.

alex87f · 11-08-2017, 06:36 AM

A quick follow-up (better late... you know). Oil smell is gone now, although it took a solid 2-300 miles to completely get rid of it.

Definitely an improvement

09-12-2017, 04:04 AM	#1
alex87f Meow Join Date: Aug 2017 Drives: GT86, Volvo 996 Location: France Posts: 532 Thanks: 314 Thanked 444 Times in 236 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Oil smell after cam plate fix? 'Morning everybody I recently bought a used GT-86, and quickly noticed the well-known burning oil smell. Looked under the hood, and the cam plate was definitely leaking. The car still being under warranty, Toyota did some work on it, and the cam plate leak now seems to be gone. However, when the engine is warm, I can still smell burning oil through the vents, especially when the HVAC's at faster speeds. Those of you who had the leak fixed, did the smell go away immediately? The car has about 32 000 miles and I suspect the leak was present for most of those, so I was assuming there could be some oil residue on the overpipe / manifold that could still be burning off? Also, it's worth noting Toyota pulled the engine out of the car and re-sealed a couple other areas. Cheers, Alex Last edited by alex87f; 09-12-2017 at 04:05 AM. Reason: More info

09-12-2017, 02:19 PM	#4
DarkSunrise Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: 22 BRZ (Previously 13 FR-S) Location: USA Posts: 5,794 Thanks: 2,164 Thanked 4,242 Times in 2,220 Posts Mentioned: 48 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	Take a clean rag and wipe underneath the cam plate. If you don't see any oil on the rag, you don't have an oil leak. But to answer your question, it will take a couple of cycles to burn the remaining oil off the exhaust/overpipe. You can speed up the process by getting the exhaust nice and hot (back to back pulls or 4th gear on the highway). I did that and the smell was gone after 2 trips. __________________ "Never run out of real estate, traction, and ideas at the same time." 2022 BRZ Build 2013 FR-S Build

09-12-2017, 04:29 PM	#5
alex87f Meow Join Date: Aug 2017 Drives: GT86, Volvo 996 Location: France Posts: 532 Thanks: 314 Thanked 444 Times in 236 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Thanks for the responses I did drive it very little since I got it back, about 30 miles so far, so I'll try running it a little longer. I checked again this morning and saw no traces of the leak coming back, the bottom of the plate was still dry despite pulling the car higher into the rev range. Last edited by alex87f; 09-13-2017 at 04:17 AM.

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09-12-2017, 12:40 PM	#2
humfrz Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Drives: 2013 FR-S, white, MT Location: Puyallup, WA Posts: 29,868 Thanks: 28,790 Thanked 31,816 Times in 16,425 Posts Mentioned: 708 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	Welcome to the forum .......... I'd suggest you run it for a few miles (like 100) and see if the smell goes away ....... if it doesn't ...... check for more leaks. humfrz

09-12-2017, 01:18 PM	#3
guybo Huge E85 fan! Join Date: May 2016 Drives: 2016 Scion FRS Location: Tampa, FL, USA Posts: 1,850 Thanks: 539 Thanked 1,010 Times in 605 Posts Mentioned: 32 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I installed an oil pressure gauge a week ago or so and in the process I must have spilled a tiny bit of oil on the header because I smelled burnt oil for a week (200 miles or so). A little oil takes a long while to burn off, and it flows and can hide in a lot of nooks and crannies down there.

11-08-2017, 06:36 AM	#6
alex87f Meow Join Date: Aug 2017 Drives: GT86, Volvo 996 Location: France Posts: 532 Thanks: 314 Thanked 444 Times in 236 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	A quick follow-up (better late... you know). Oil smell is gone now, although it took a solid 2-300 miles to completely get rid of it. Definitely an improvement

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