Help - Z3

[schnel]

After years of searching, have found a 1999 Z3 2.8 coupe with 66,000. I have drive only 100 miles since purchase with no problems. But this morning I smelled burning oil. No warning lights, no puddles, no use on the dipstick. no smoke from the engine or tailpipe. Cause?

 

[Big Daddy]

I PM'd you this:

I would suggest first that you call the dealer in Flordia and ask them what they are willing to do about this. They should be willing to have a dealership there look at the car and determine if there is a problem. Sometimes when a car is shipped if gets oils etc on the exhaust system and until they burn off you have a burning oil smell. Hopefully this is the case.

You may have a leaky valve cover gasket. You can check this by looking in the spark plug wells and see if there is any oil in them. This is a fairly easy fix and though not common, not rare either.

 

[bimmerZ5]

you know... i've noticed that all my BMWs smell a certain way when I turn the car off after a long drive. i showed my friend this smell in my garage once, and he said it smells like burnt wood. after talking to several people about this, i came to the conclusion the smell is normal. Many tens of thousands of miles have been driven on these cars now without any issue. I do a lot of my own maintenance and probably get under the car more often than I need to and I haven't noticed any problems.

anyway, i don't know if the smell you have is what I have... but just something to consider if this is your first BMW engine.

Toyota smells more like burnt oil
BMWs smell like burnt wood
and Porsches smell like gasoline..

 

[DaddyKuel]

Had a leaky valve cover gasket on my Z3 @ 60K miles also, but was very minor. Thought maybe someone did a sloppy oil change and dripped onto something hot in your case but you would probably noticed that before 100 miles!

MY Z smells like perfume thats why I seldom drive it, but my fiance does!!!

Look around, you'll find it--good luck.

 

[fishhead24/7]

97 z3 2.8

have 97 z3 2.8 would like to know the location of the iat sensor if it has one.

thanks fishhead 24/7 [driving2]

 

[bimmerZ5]

have 97 z3 2.8 would like to know the location of the iat sensor if it has one. thanks fishhead 24/7 [driving2]

Not that familiar with that engine, but I would suspect if there is an IAT it would be somewhere between the filter element and the MAF sensor. Take a look from the intake to the MAF and see if there are any sensors attached. A temp sensor connected to plastic will usually have a 2-wire connector.

 

[White94RX]

could be valve cover leaking. also power steering leaks are common, typically the hose from the reservoir to the pump. maybe its dripping and wind is blowing it back towards the exhaust so you smell it.