[B9M0W]

So lately I've been smelling some sort of plastic or rubber burning smell. At first i thought it was the that ugly prius in front of me but it wasnt :/ this morning i slammed on my brakes and i actually saw some smoke coming from my engine bay. The smell and smoke went away within a min or so, so i decided to slam on my brakes one last time before i made a stop. Once again same thing happened, saw some smoke and my car had that awful rubber smell. Once i open my hood i didn't notice any strange smell what so ever, everything seems normal. And there are no leaves in my engine bay.
Can anyone help me resolve this issue, please!?! ?!?

[mlifxs]

I had something like this. Was oil traveling along the valve cover and slowly dripping on the hot exhaust. Maybe take a look at your engine, on the exhaust side ?

[N8N]

Or collapsed engine mount or other fault causing the serp belt to rub something? (I thought that the crossmember thing was just 335s though?)

[B9M0W]

Idk I'll have to do a full engine inspection this weekend. If i find out anything ill post it up.

[venable_steven]

Originally Posted by B9M0W

So lately I've been smelling some sort of plastic or rubber burning smell. At first i thought it was the that ugly prius in front of me but it wasnt :/ this morning i slammed on my brakes and i actually saw some smoke coming from my engine bay. The smell and smoke went away within a min or so, so i decided to slam on my brakes one last time before i made a stop. Once again same thing happened, saw some smoke and my car had that awful rubber smell. Once i open my hood i didn't notice any strange smell what so ever, everything seems normal. And there are no leaves in my engine bay.
Can anyone help me resolve this issue, please!?! ?!?

I have this same problem on my 07 328i and I looked and smelled my power steering or brake fluid whichever canister is on the right of the engine bay and it smells the same! I think it's overflowing and dripping in the engine I need to research it more but please let me know what you find out!

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by venable_steven

I have this same problem on my 07 328i and I looked and smelled my power steering or brake fluid whichever canister is on the right of the engine bay and it smells the same! I think it's overflowing and dripping in the engine I need to research it more but please let me know what you find out!

If you can see it after simply opening the hood, it's your power steering. The brake fluid reservoir is out of sight.

[Amini77]

Valve cover gasket is probably busted, happened to me too. Usually on cold start but yea its oil leaking onto your headers making smoke and smells like shit, get it fixed costs around ~400

[venable_steven]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

If you can see it after simply opening the hood, it's your power steering. The brake fluid reservoir is out of sight.

Great. Thanks

[venable_steven]

Originally Posted by Amini77

Valve cover gasket is probably busted, happened to me too. Usually on cold start but yea its oil leaking onto your headers making smoke and smells like shit, get it fixed costs around ~400

Ill look at it but I think it's overflow from spilloff of power steering

[B9M0W]

Haven't found anything yet! i took the two front wheels to see if it had to do anything with the brakes, but no luck :/ I now know its not my engine oil because I'm not losing oil or see any engine engine oil dripping on the ground. kind of strange how it happens now and then.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by B9M0W

I now know its not my engine oil because I'm not losing oil or see any engine engine oil dripping on the ground. kind of strange how it happens now and then.

Do not expect leaks to manifest on the ground. I had a massive leak for a month (housing) and it never let a droplet on the ground. I found only due to visual inspection triggered by intermittent horrible rubber bbq smell. Take a flashlight and inspect gasket areas (in particular oil filter housing, VANOS motor and valve cover gasket), all these areas result in oil dripping on the exhaust.

[RectalItching]

Meenie is right . there is a catch pan below so you wont see it on the ground. i had a foul smell last year when i turned on heating/cooling. look at your valve gasket. it should be bright orange. if it aint, theres probably a leak. it may be the gaskey or aluminum bolt cracked ive read. they replaced my gasket under CPO maintenance program

[cb224]

Originally Posted by RectalItching

Meenie is right . there is a catch pan below so you wont see it on the ground. i had a foul smell last year when i turned on heating/cooling. look at your valve gasket. it should be bright orange. if it aint, theres probably a leak. it may be the gaskey or aluminum bolt cracked ive read. they replaced my gasket under CPO maintenance program

Where's the valve gasket located? Have the same problem....when I turn on the heating/cooling. Comes and goes. Very irritating.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by cb224

Where's the valve gasket located? Have the same problem....when I turn on the heating/cooling. Comes and goes. Very irritating.

take a look at the pic here, this is passenger side of engine

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675857

note the oil / grime around the star shaped bolt heads. Those bolts connect valve cover to gasket / head. If you remove the engine cover you can get a better idea of where the valve cover and gasket is located.

I'm leaking a small amount and occasionally drops fall onto the exhaust (as noted by a prev poster here). Stinks quite a bit and sometimes the smoke comes smoldering through the hood. Seems to happen more when my car is ramped, or on a hill, or if I do wide open throttle driving.

From what I've read this symptom can also appear from leaking oil filter housing and sometimes from a sloppy fill during an oil change. In my case, I'm pretty sure it's the gasket and plan to have a shop fix it (not cheap) or DIY it.

[B9M0W]

it's been two months and i still haven't gotten this fix lol. Reason why was because for some odd reason i stopped noticing the burnt smell until... now. But now it's getting worse. I smell that strange odor as soon as i start the car or back up when starting her up. I have extended warranty by a third party and will be giving them a call tomorrow and see if this is covered by them if not, then my wallet is gonna take a big hit :/

Ps. i did see some oil/grime on one or two bolts by engine side.

[B9M0W]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

take a look at the pic here, this is passenger side of engine

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675857

note the oil / grime around the star shaped bolt heads. Those bolts connect valve cover to gasket / head. If you remove the engine cover you can get a better idea of where the valve cover and gasket is located.

I'm leaking a small amount and occasionally drops fall onto the exhaust (as noted by a prev poster here). Stinks quite a bit and sometimes the smoke comes smoldering through the hood. Seems to happen more when my car is ramped, or on a hill, or if I do wide open throttle driving.

From what I've read this symptom can also appear from leaking oil filter housing and sometimes from a sloppy fill during an oil change. In my case, I'm pretty sure it's the gasket and plan to have a shop fix it (not cheap) or DIY it.

THANKS!!! my engine looks a lot like this. just hoping the issue is gonna be covered by a third party warranty

[cb224]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

take a look at the pic here, this is passenger side of engine

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675857

note the oil / grime around the star shaped bolt heads. Those bolts connect valve cover to gasket / head. If you remove the engine cover you can get a better idea of where the valve cover and gasket is located.

I'm leaking a small amount and occasionally drops fall onto the exhaust (as noted by a prev poster here). Stinks quite a bit and sometimes the smoke comes smoldering through the hood. Seems to happen more when my car is ramped, or on a hill, or if I do wide open throttle driving.

From what I've read this symptom can also appear from leaking oil filter housing and sometimes from a sloppy fill during an oil change. In my case, I'm pretty sure it's the gasket and plan to have a shop fix it (not cheap) or DIY it.

Thanks for sharing. Going to look into it.

[07lilredwagon]

Things to check, some as stated above:

Oil filter housing (front of motor, large black round cap). housings leak where the gasket is...bolts to the head of the motor...3 or 4 bolts.....

Power steering reservoir cap, o ring, hoses....(the one you see on the right side towards the back of the motor on the DS)

leaky valve cover gasket....(described above)

Clutch slave cylinder...side of transmission

Automatic Transmission oil pan gasket...under car, just behind motor...(remove plastic pan)

Drive shaft boots and seals....though your car is not an XI...so never mind!

cant think of anything else right now....

JP

[B9M0W]

Originally Posted by 07lilredwagon

Things to check, some as stated above:

Oil filter housing (front of motor, large black round cap). housings leak where the gasket is...bolts to the head of the motor...3 or 4 bolts.....

Power steering reservoir cap, o ring, hoses....(the one you see on the right side towards the back of the motor on the DS)

leaky valve cover gasket....(described above)

Clutch slave cylinder...side of transmission

Automatic Transmission oil pan gasket...under car, just behind motor...(remove plastic pan)

Drive shaft boots and seals....though your car is not an XI...so never mind!

cant think of anything else right now....

JP

Thanks for your advise! But the dealership just took care of it couple days ago. Once in a while i still get that burning smell though. Next time I'll do it myself when its not 10°F outside.