I believe my MOP may be leaking . . . here's the long story.

I have been smelling burning oil (similar to if you were to pour oil onto a hot manifold) when the car is fully warmed up, for about 6 months. I initially thought it was coming from the tranny and rear diff since I changed the fluids and didn't really wash them down. The smell then started getting worse over the past 3 months, right after I changed my oil and had the recall done. I assumed that I had missed a spot when cleaning up the oil filter mess. If I opened the hood after a drive, the smell was pretty strong on the driver's side, near the oil filter/dipstick area. I have never had even a drop of oil on the garage floor.

Two weeks ago, I went to a coin-op car wash and did a VERY thorough engine and undercarriage clean. I went for a 30 mile spirited drive, and then drove onto some ramps, and inspected everything under the car, with no evidence of a leak anywhere. the smell was gone. I chalked it all up to my sloppy oil filter change and stopped worrying about it.

After about three days, I started getting the very slightest odor when stopped in traffic, but would pop the hood when I got home and couldn't really smell it from the engine bay the way I did before. We have had some bad weather, so things under the car probably wouldn't be clean enough to get a good look again. I did look around from above, and may have found the problem.

On the driver's side, between the oil dipstick and engine block, is a round black plastic part that is mounted to the block by a flange with two brass nuts on black studs. It looks like a small oil filter. (SEE Picture) I am ASSUMING that this is the MOP, but I haven't been able to find a picture anywhere to confirm this. There was oil around the studs and brass bolts, coated with grime. I cleaned it off to see if it builds up again.

Can anyone verify that this is the MOP or otherwise tell me what it is? I know I will need to see the dealer to have this fixed, but I want to go there with the right info. Given that there only trace amounts of oil after about 200 miles of driving, I do not think that ALL of the oil the pump handles is leaving the car (which would be bad), but I don't want to wait too long to get this fixed.

 

I have a similar situation to yours. Just had my recall work done and reflash. No major parts changes.
I notice a burning smell when driving for 30 minutes or more at highway speeds.
We have a super dealer shop here in Huntsville and I took it in.
They replaced the seal around the tranny plug....no change.
I had them snug down all of my air dam components too, thinking that airflow into the engine bay could be an issue. No joy.

There is no sign of oil anywhere and three sets of eyes have confirmed.
The only explanation the dealer has at this point is that the new plug wires from the recall have a glue/lubricant that outgases and smells like burning oil.

Hope that helps!

 

I didn't have anything replaced during the recall, not even plugs/wires. I think I may be seeing an oil leak.

 

What you are pointing out is the oil fill tube entering the block. There is an o-ring seal there that leaks quite often. The MOP is on the front of the engine...on the passenger front corner.

The exaust manifold is on the passenger side too.

For the oil inlet to leak on the manifold..you would need a big leak.....

 

Wow, I went back and looked. I hadn't noticed the plumbing coming in from under the intake. Thanks for the info.

I think the housings get hot enough to burn the oil when it gets on there. I only mentioned manifolds out of respect for my 1979 Chevy Chevette (may it rest in pieces) which had a blown head gasket and constantly pumped oil onto its manifod. That car smelled exactly like this. Some people on here have described many other smells, so I wanted to make my olfactory observations perfectly clear.

I just topped off with oil recently, but the next time I do, I'll have to keep an eye on that area while someone else pours. Hopefully, that doesn't leak during normal driving conditions.

 

Check the MOP area too......both spots were leaking a bit on mine....and the MOP is $1300ish to replace....so if it goes you still want to be on warranty

 

So, I finally caught it in the act. After 2-3 days of NOT smelling oil, I began to wonder again if I was just crazy. I had cleaned off the brass nut with a q-tip the other day when I took the pictures. i decided to look and see if it was oily again, and this time I left the engine running. I saw not only a new ring of oil around the top of the stud and brass nut, but it was actually bubbling! (Shown in green circle)

So, now the question is, why do I have positive pressure there? Shouldn't there be negative pressure (fed by the intake manifold) in the entire oil filler neck and oil pan?

 

take it to the dealer

 

Went to the dealer. They initially offered to remove the nut and put it back on with some thread-lock/thread-sealer. I suggested that the oil would just find another way out if the gasket was leaking and after inspecting it, they agreed to order a new gasket.

Before you ask, there is no other dealer for me to go to. I also dealt with a CEL while there. We have been discussing it in the NE forum here, starting with post #45:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...4&page=3&pp=15