The "infamous" burning oil smell - where from ?

[dieselpilot1969]

I use delvac 1 syn, never a smell w/ that one

 

[Matt400]

The odor is a good thing

IMO the odor that the oil gives off is a good thing...

It's a harmless odor that is giving you a heads up of a needed repair.



Underhood fumes should in no way be drawn into the cab. Think of being stuck in slow traffic with an underhood exhaust leak that you haven't fixed yet like a cracked manifold that is on order, or maybe it just cracked on your trip.



CO is odorless and if you don't think its all that bad look at this chart:

• 400ppm = serious headache and life threatening after 2 hrs exposure
  
• 800ppm = convulsions withing 45min, death in 2hrs
  
• 1600ppm = unconscious in 20min, death in one hour
  
• 3200ppm = collapse in 5min, death in one hour
  
• 6400ppm = unconsciousness in a minute or two and death in 25 min.
  

Even with the above vent fix you could get the odor while setting in traffic with the windows down but you won't be pulling it inside with the blower motor.



Heres another ugly thought. . maybe you have no exhaust leak and are stuck in traffic behind another persons tail pipe, if their motor is poorly tuned their ppm will be very high so lets hope your blower is off or on recerc.



If you don't close up those holes for the oil odor out of the crankcase vent at-least close them up for the odors you can't smell.

 

[EEdmondson]

I did the "tape the holes" fix and then drove to Home Depot to get tubing and a hose clamp to extend the crankcase vent. 90% of the odor was gone, but I extended the vent 10' anyway to just in front of the left rear wheel. I don't get the odor anymore except I can smell it when I get out of the truck in the garage. After it's broken in, I'll disconnect the extension and see what happens.

 

[GerryDrake]

Hose size, length

RickE



What length of hose and ID, OD, type of hose did you use ?...



It would save me the first crawl under to measure, etc. if you don't mind...



Thanks. . Gerry

 

[HoofinSoot]

Cummins Reply !

Here's the reply that I got from Cummins on "why" it smells for a few hundred miles. This explains it. It's the additives that the oil manufacturers put in to achieve the CH-4(+) specification. It's also interesting that Cummins engineers were the ones that came up with "Premium Blue", which is now a Valvoline brand. Here it is in Cummins own words.



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Solution:



Thanks for your Email message.



It is the additives!==========



The offending oil smell in some brands of oil is due to an additive that has been added to the oil to enable it to reach the CH-4+ specification. Some oils have it, some don't. This condition may occur after the engine oil has been changed. The odor appears to reduce in intensity, from oil aging, as the vehicle accumulates between 300 to 500 miles following the oil change.



The odor condition is the result of certain diesel engine oil additives. These oil additives are blended with the base oil during the manufacture of the engine oil. Some diesel engine oils with the American Petroleum Institute quality rating of CH-4 or CH-4+ may be more prone to exhibiting the odor condition. The easiest way to tell is to remove the cap and smell the container of oil before you purchase it. We cannot say which oils have the smell and which ones do not.



Cummins does not approve nor disapprove products supplied by other companies. All Premium Blue products are marketed by Valvoline. Some other oils may also have strong odors, depending on the crude and additives packages used in the manufacture of the oil. We do know if the 15W-40 oil sold by Mopar does not have the smell and does meet CH-4 specifications



Cummins Engineers developed their own oil in the late 80's, which was named Premium Blue. They also developed Premium Blue 2000, which is a semi-synthetic (50 percent) oil. Valvoline now markets these oils. These oils enable heavy-duty fleet operators to run with an extended oil drain interval, however the Cummins B5. 9 change interval has not been extended, due to different duty cycles. Also, Mopar oils available from your Dodge dealer are also acceptable.



Cummins, Inc. and Valvoline have been working together in the oil business for many years and also developed a partnership in several racing activities as well. For more information about Valvoline, they can be reached at their website, "http://www.valvoline.com/", or by calling them at 1-800-354-9061.



In the Dodge Ram application, the cowl seal located between the rear edge of the hood and the cowl panel may need to be checked for integrity. Diesel engine oil vapors, which develop during normal engine operation, exit the engine through the engine road draft vent tube. The heavy oil or fuel-like odor may leak past an opening in the cowl seal and enter the passenger compartment through the HVAC system. This may occur more frequently if the vehicle is at a stop with the engine running, and the HVAC system is being operated in any mode other than Re-circulate.



We thank you for your interest in Cummins products. Please let us know if you need assistance in locating the nearest Cummins-authorized Dealer or Distributor Service Provider. For assistance in locating a Service Provider, feel free to use Cummins North America Dealer Locator, which can be found on Cummins website:

http://www.cummins.com/service_locator/index.cfm



Please let us know if you have other questions and if away from your computer or have a time-critical request that needs more urgent attention, feel free to call us toll-free (from North America) at 1-800-DIESELS (343-7357).