Nhurley81

Hey guys. One day I noticed a few small drops of oil under my 03 996 Cab in the garage. Took it in and it was the AOS. Since then, after almost every drive, it smells like burnt fuel and it just smells "hot." I'm assuming it was residual left over in the bay burning off.... Thoughts?

Also, any insight on getting a good cleaning in the engine bay to rid the engine of this superficial sheen on my engine causing this smell? Thanks in advance!!

Schnell Gelb

Hurley,
Don't wash the engine - with water or solvent !There may be unintended consequences
Find out where the leak is and fix it. A good Indie knows exactly where to look.Ask here for referrals.
Meanwhile mop up as much oil as possible to help locate the leak.If you really do have a fuel leak too -this is a fire risk ! TP & curved nose ,long-handle pliers are useful.Does it sound like I have done this before?
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece...set-33202.html
Careful not to disturb vacuum/electrical connections.
Hope this helps

Macster

While I'm not a fan of washing one of these engines, there are times when it is called for.

If an AOS failed and oiled the engine that would be one such time, imho.

I do not like the engine steam clean places. I prefer to use Gunk -- that comes in the aerosol cans -- and give the engine a through dousing with this stuff. I use cans of it.

Let it sit then rinse the stuff away with ideally rather warm water. If you can connect a garden hose to a laundry room faucet so you can get hot water this is good.

No need to use a lot of water pressure either. Just let the water wash/rinse away the gunk.

You could even use a bucket to carry hot water to the engine bay. I did this a while back to rinse my Turbo's engine to remove some anti-freeze that had been spilled and was causing me to think a coolant leak every time I was near the car and caught a whiff of anti-freeze.

After the wash/rinse start the engine and let it idle. Note the belt may slip -- the volt meter will read low as the alternator is not being driven -- but just let the engine idle. The belt will begin to grip and then all will be ok again.

Let the engine idle for a few minutes to make sure all is ok. Oh, the engine might misfire a bit, it depends upon the condition of the coils, but the misfires will stop about as soon as they start. Anyhow, after some idling time then just drive the car around in your area until the engine is fully up to temperature. This will dry the engine.

You can drive the car another time or two to keep the engine quite warm to ensure all the moisture is driven out of the engine compartment.

Oh, note the water/gunk that flows from the engine will be a bit messy. You can use sawdust to soak up the worse of it and scoop this up with a shovel and toss in in the trash, maybe. Depends up the laws where you are.

(The techs at the local dealer use Simple Green, too, which I guess is ok. But I've been a Gunk fan say when I was just a kid and I'm not switching!)

Schnell Gelb

And if you are in California, collect all the rinse water and take it to a HAZmat disposal location .....

Macster

Nah. Feed to the smelt in the delta.

Schnell Gelb

Or to the guys who release millions of acre feet of our drinking water for the 'benefit'(?) of the smelt