Oil Odor or Smell??? Shell Rotella® T Synthetic SAE 5W-40

[Wickstead]

Please advise if you have had a similar problem or experience with your truck.



I bought my `93 about a month or so ago and thought I should change the oil before my next trip this weekend (didn't know exactly when it was last changed).



After the truck is warmed up, I can smell a burnt oil odor coming from the road draft tube (sorry if I misuse that term for the crankcase vent tube).



Does this have to do with the CI-4 Plus vs. CI-4 discussion that was going on in issue #59 for the newer trucks? Does anyone have a recommendation for a different oil (should I go back to the 15W-40 Rotella or should I change to Tection Extra?)



I'm definitely going to e-mail the prior owner and ask him what he had used in the truck - there was no odor at all with what he was running.



Truck has 292k miles on it... I'm going to keep a close eye on the level and see if anything dramatic happens (for example, if this stuff is burning off rapidly or something).



Here's the oil I bought (for reference only):

Shell Rotella T 5W-40



Thanks,

Kris W.

 

[Makaio]

Kris,



While synthetic oil is great, most of us here in the diesel scene run regular crude. It appears that the synthetic stuff gets past the oil rings and ends up out the exhaust.



Aloha,

Matt

 

[KOG]

I've been using Rotella Synthetic since it came on the market. In the daily driver gassers and the really high dollar lawn mowers. The Cummins, backhoe, bulldozer and gas trucks run conventional Rotella. Don't know anything about a burnt smell with any of those oils. I can't think of any reason for you to drain what's in the truck and replace it for at least a year though. Rotella Synthetic is a great oil, just pricey for something that needs to be changed often on account of fuel contamination (diesel). If you run very high highway miles it could be worth it. Otherwise probably not.

 

[AABEN]

KRIS some oil will have some smell . I would put some miles on it . I thank the smell will be gone after you drive it some. Let me know if it does and the miles it took to stop smelling------BEN

 

[JLEONARD]

If the smell is "burnt" I suggest you look around the exhaust manifold to see if you have a little dribble of oil there. Perhaps the valve cover on #6 has a little "weep" on the backside???

 

[boatpuller]

This has been discussed on the Forum somewhere before, it has something to do with Rotella, the smell will go away after a little while, has something to do with Rotella's makeup. I've had it happen when I've used Rotella instead of Delo. I think it took about 3-400 miles to go away. Only seems to affect certain trucks/people. I'd just drive the truck and see if it goes away.



Good Luck,

Caleb

 

[JTsokalas]

Kris,

Not sure about the burned oil smell, but the Rotella Synthetic does have an odor to it. It will, as has been said, decrease after about 500 miles or so.

I've been running it in the 93 for over 100,000 miles and it's been great.

John

 

[icman95]

I know that this is completely off track from what other people are saying and I'm sure that this probably isn't your answer but here goes:



I had a burning oil smell recently too, but couldn't figure it out. Saw no oil dripping on ground under motor or on the motor itself. I don't use Rotella, but Amsoil Synthetic. Finally, one day I smelled it as I was coming to a stoplight and thought just for a second I saw a whisp of smoke in the passenger side mirror. Checked it out when I got home to find that the axle seal was leaking and spraying fluid on the brake disk. The heat from braking was burning off the axle fluid and this is what I was smelling and seeing. A new set of axle seals sovled the problem. I know motor oil and axle oil smell different, but when driving with the windows down,the wind blows the smell around to confuse the driver as to where it's coming from. It's a long shot, but worth checking out.

 

[Wickstead]

Thanks all... I'm pretty sure the smell has reduced or gone after a trip to/from Boise over the weekend pulling the fifth wheel. Maybe it takes about 500 miles or so to "burn in" all 11 or so quarts?

____________

Also I went to Wal-Mart and noticed their generic Super Tech Brand is still available in CI-4 (not CI-4 Plus). I only bring this up because it was discussed in issue #59 not becase it fixed my problem (again it seems as though the smell has reduced or gone away with a few hundred miles on the truck).



I'll report back to this posting if any further issues.



Thanks,

Kris W.

 

[HookMeUp]

This is a common problem for the Dodges, heck the dealer even sells an additive to mask the smell, lemon I think. Everytime I change mine I get the same smell, goes away after 300-500 miles.

 

[KATOOM]

Your truck has an "open loop" venting system for the engine. Something unheard of in todays overly anal smog restrictions. Simply put, the engine vents directly into the atmosphere therefore the smell is common. As someone already noted, the odor is expected for about 500 miles after changing the oil. Not to worry and depending on the oil manufacture some sink more than others. I understand Delo is the worst.

 

[EDankievitch]

Years ago I had picked up a case of CAT 15-40 oil from a truck supply, Priced right. That oil had a nasty odor at every stop sign you could smell it. The odor the Shell Rotella has is similar but not any where as bad. As long as your engine is not blowing excessively out the crankcase vent I'd just run an enjoy the truck.