Good morning! Yesterday, my sister called me and informed me that the car smells like "a garage"! I drove it and yep! Oil fumes come from the ventilation. It's not a smell of burning oil. It is the smell the oil has when it is very hot inside the crankshaft case. I opened the bonnet and a very intense smell was coming from the engine. No smoke at all. Just the fume smell. The car was serviced 3 weeks ago (including belts). So, it will go back to the garage. In case the mechanic "can't find a problem" do you have any idea what to check? I have already checked the crank case vent hose that goes to the intake and it looks good. So does the oil filler tap. What I know is the oil filler neck is quite loose but so it is since I bought the car, 3 years ago. 

 

Thanks in advance! 

The mechanic has spilt oil all over the engine, just give it a wash and brush up.

I hope it is so simple. But after 3 weeks of everyday use shouldn't the spilt oil have been burned? And furthermore, the smell isn't of burning oil. It is a vapor of used oil. By the way, does anyone know the part number of the filling neck? I should replace it. 

Filler neck parts shown here: https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/fabia/fab/2002-225/1/103-103040/

 

Is oil leaking out of the loose connection between filler neck and cam cover? If it is that could be a sign that the breather module on the back of the engine is clogged up to the point of not really breathing.

The crankcase vent is freely breathing. I have checked it all the way myself. I don't know if the neck is leaking, it could be a "convenient" reason! Any other places to look for a leak? Thanks for the part number! 

I will check the neck for leaks in the morning and I will wash the engine as sepulchrave suggests! I don't want to go to the garage just to wash my engine! It would be quite embarrassing... 

Only the exhaust manifold gets hot enough to burn spilt oil off, oil spilt elsewhere will just get hot and smell horrible for weeks and months.

OK! Thanks, sepulchrave!!! I'll take off the cover and I will give it a good shower! I hope it is something so simple! 

Check the rubber breather pipe - can rot and split, or could have been disturbed when serviced

Edited 13 May, 20206 yr by bigjohn

It was the first thing I checked. It's ok. 

When I bought my car it didn't have the filler neck, it's a convenience, not an essential.

I got one from eBay, from Estonia or thereabouts, and silly expensive for a bit of plastic.

 

The first thing I'd check is the dipstick and the oil level, even mechanics forget things

Ofcourse I did checked the oil level. And the dipstick seals ok. The oil tap is fitting loosely to the neck (that's a new finding) so the neck has to be replaced. I know the tap can bolt on directly to the cam cover but this could be inconvenient cause every time I need to add oil I will have to remove the engine cover. 

So, till now what I have here is a loose filling neck and spilt oil below the oil filter (I guess this happened when the filter was replaced). I have to change the neck and clean the engine. Hope this will work. 

Of course it will.