1997 Ford Aspire oil burning smell in cabin

Tiny
GREENTURTLE
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 FORD ASPIRE
  • 1.3L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 80,000 MILES
After the car warms up, I have noticed the smell of oil being burned. This is only when the vent switch is in the fresh air position. I am thinking that oil is leaking from the valve cover and dripping on the exhaust manifold where it curls under the engine block. I don't believe it is from the pan as it never drips oil on the driveway. The oil leak must be small enough to drip on the exhaust pipe and burn up before it gets to the ground.
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Friday, February 14th, 2014 AT 11:40 PM

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Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,689 POSTS
Your suspicions are logical and make sense. What's the question?
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Friday, February 14th, 2014 AT 11:49 PM
Tiny
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Is there anything else I may be missing?
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Saturday, February 15th, 2014 AT 5:32 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,689 POSTS
You have to look for the highest place you see oil on the engine. A lack of puddles on the ground where you park is not a good indicator of anything. Oil can leak from anywhere and end up on the ground, and it can leak from anywhere and pool in an area above the transmission or inside a cross member or frame rail, then blow out while you're driving. Typically you'll find the bottom of the floor is wet under the seat area.

Depending on how fast the oil is leaking, there's two ways to find an elusive cause. One is to add a small bottle of dark purple dye, then you search later with a black light. The dye will show up as a bright yellow stain that you can follow back to the source. For big leaks, you can use a smoke machine to inject a white, non-toxic smoke through the dip stick tube, then you watch where it sneaks out. That usually doesn't work well if the leak is from a pressurized passage that is full of oil. It will find its way out through a leaking valve cover gasket.
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Saturday, February 15th, 2014 AT 3:45 PM

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