BlueDevilZ51

I'm getting an Intermittent burning oil smell. The car has just over 1800 miles on it. I do my own oil changes and always fill the oil to the middle of the oil full zone on the dip stick. I check the level after warming the engine to 175* then checking the level 5-10 mins after shutdown. I am not leaking any oil from the drain plugs or filter. I also pulled the air intake ducking off and it's completely dry with no oil ingestion. I also looked to for valve cover leaks burning oil off the exhaust manifolds, they looked dry as well..
I don't see any smoke or oil, just an intermediate smell.. Any ideas?

dvilin

When do you notice the burnt oil smell, if after hard acceleration it is normal. Otherwise I have no idea.

JerryU

Since you have a Z51, is it possible that some oil is leaking slightly out of the filler cap? There is an "O" ring seal. Then it would drip down behind the dry sump tank and be hard to see. Unfortunately that is right where the cabin air filter is located and that plastic cover fits loosely and vapors could get in pretty easy.

Mr. Jones

two things I have found are when you add oil to the new filter
don't get oil on the outside of the rubber seal/filter lip and I notice the brakes have an smell similar to oil on the z51.

BlueDevilZ51

I wasn't beating on the car when I noticed the oil smell. I noticed it like 3-4 different times over a 250 mile drive.
I did just did an oil change prior to that drive. I was very careful and I'm definitely not leaking from the plugs or filter. I'll take a look after work to see if I possibly spilled a little oil by the sump tank/cabin air filter.

TNSQUIRE

Mine has done that off and on over the 2 years I've had the car. No reason I can find and it goes away after a few minutes. Especially noticeable during aggressive acceleration.

Kev4

I have noticed an oil smell after using my California duster. It is laden with an oily substance and it ends up giving off a oily odour. Does this happen after using the duster?? Just a thought.

DickieDoo

I have noticed this intermittently on my 2016 C7 as well, gonna take a while paper towel and wipe the PCV lines near the Sump reservoir to see if there are any traces of oil... an old common issue, had it on my C6 as well, but i will mention it when i bring the car in for the first oil change.
I'll keep you all posted on this...

pickleseimer

This has been going on since the C6. The suggestions so far in the C7 forum on what the cause may be indicates the C7 guys are miles behind. Typical pattern is change oil, get the smell for about a 1,000 miles after the change. Usually strongest when stopped, goes away if a/c is set on recirculate, cannot smell it when hood is open, no leaks or spilled oil. Other threads on this topic in the C7 section report a similar pattern.

There is a super-long thread in the C6 section, started by a Chevrolet dealer assistant service manager who was stumped and apparently turning to an online forum of all things for answers. Cause never positively identified. Chevrolet blamed it on the rear seal but that wasn't a definitive answer either.

Some believe it a drain problem causing an excessive pressure surge on startup, some believe it is vapors entering the cabin through the windshield cowl. Interesting that the problem occurs on LS as well as LT engines.

Good luck.

joeking

I would remove the oil filter and replace it with a brand new one. They can leak and you may not be able to see it.

KemahGT

Probably unrelated, but I too had a strange smell in the cabin. Kinda like oil, kinda like plastic. When I put my car on the lift I discovered a black substance on one of the exhaust down tubes coming from the manifold. It appears that I had picked up some sort of plastic bag on the road that had wrapped itself around the pipe and melted.

I could not get the stuff to peel off so I made a couple of high speed runs to cook it off. Problem was solved.

Good luck!

BlueDevilZ51

I was under the car yesterday and I have no leaks and I'm not ingesting oil via the pvc/intake. So at this point it's looking like it may be what others have suggested. The dry sump venting an oil odor into the cabin fresh air intake.

chefcg1

Mine has done it right after oil change, both times were because of a loose oil filter. Nothing noticeable, but after tightening it a bit it went away.

bizzy

Funny to read this. I just had my oil changed at the dealership 3 weeks ago, and I to have that "oil smell."

I chalked it up to the fact that the service tech was a bit sloppy and spilled some oil in or around the engine bay, or some oil residue was lingering somewhere...

I assume after a few hundred miles or 1,000, that the smell will eventually evaporate.

Although its going to be awhile, I don't get a chance to drive it much as of late.

vettebford

Why so?

JerryU

FWIW this has been reported a number of times after a oil change, particularity by folks with a dry sump. Since I change my own oil and did in my C6 and NEVER smelled oil, this is my speculation of one possibility.

First, the cabin air filter (as you mention) is behind the dry sump tank. The thin plastic cover just clips over the filter slot and does not fit tightly.

Second when putting oil in the dry sump tank you have to pour slowly. If not, it will come out the opening as it is slow in going in by baffles in the tank. I put an old towel around the filler neck and pour slowly into a wide mount funnel.

If the dealer mechanics helper, who often work the oil change bay, pour too fast or worse just pulls the trigger on the nozzle with pumped oil from a 55 gallon drum (of hopefully not just some "Oh-So-Peachy" brand oil blend meeting dexos spec purchased for the low price) it can easily overflow and spill. They can clean the oil from the top and front of the tank but since it sits very close to the fire wall it would be very difficult to clean the back of the tank. That is right where the cabin air filter is located!

[Note the tank vent goes through a hose and does not exit near the tank. The tank is always burping a lot of air sucked in from the pan along with the oil and MUST be returned to the engine to be burned. It cannot vent into the atmosphere as it could contain some oil vapor.]

Have posted this several times and had responses of "that is what happened." My C7 Z51 and C6 Z51 (wet sump) never had an oil smell, even at WOT. I am careful not to spill any oil.

snork

I'll add some to this. Car 2015 Z51 7200 miles. Recently had my oil changed by a dealership and I watched him closely. Noticed him drain and fill the oil. Draining the oil some spattered onto the cats and bottom of the engine so I had him wipe clean, should of had him sprayed with a cleaner though and while he was filling the dry sump he was very aggressive with the 9 quarts, the tall opaque funnel was full to the top most the time but didn't see any escape the fill opening. From that time I had a burned oil smell, I looked high and low for drips and evidence of leaks and couldn't fine any. After 100 miles of random starts and shutdown I decided to remove the fill cap and noticed the O-Ring was wet with oil residue so I wiped it clean and the oil smell went away, well, long enough for a return drive to the dealership to trade her in for a 2017 Z06