I've owned my 2003 Z for several months and enjoy using it daily but yesterday I was driving on a rural road and encountered a slow poke so I pressed on the gas and passed the car but immediately afterwards I smelled burnt oil. Thinking the smell came from the car I passed I ignored it but a few minutes later I had to pass another car and after I passed the vehicle I noticed the same smell so when I reached my destination I opened the hood and saw lots of smoke billowing out from the right side of the engine, maybe close to the firewall? and it had a strong smell of burnt oil.

OK , it appears I have an oil leak so maybe you guys can help me with a possible early diagnosis - Only seems to leak under heavy acceleration(i.e. passing another vehicle).
Before I start removing things and searching maybe someone on this forum has experienced the same symptom and can offer clues as to where the leak might be originating from ...

I'd like buy a clue please

Note: I've searched this forum for clues and something that's mentioned often is clutch issues but my car is an automatic ...

 

Pull the engine cover and have a look, without a visual inspection I can’t tell you much except that valve cover gaskets commonly leak externally.

 

Thanks for the comment Ponyryd.
I plan on pulling to covers today and making a visual inspection looking for leaks ...

 

No problem. Have you seen anything under the car? A lot of sudden smoke is usually a coolant leak, but that would smell sweet, not like oil.

 

When you say right side of the engine, is that when facing the engine or driving the car? If you're talking about the driver's side (right side when standing in front of and facing the engine), then a common oil leak location is the dip-stick. Make sure it's fully inserted, make sure it's even there, lastly make sure the rubber grommet seal on the dipstick is also intact. The dip-sticks on these engines require a little extra effort to fully seat them, they are a weird shape/design and the location makes for poor visibility when re-inserting.

If you have an oil leak on the passenger side under the conditions described, then I can only guess that it's the valve cover, loose or leaking cam sensor seal, or PCV valve/hose on the valve cover.
Do some extra searching with a flash light. If you got smoke, it should be easy to trace down, follow from bottom to top until signs of oil stop.
-Icer

 

Like in the prior response if it is coming from the passenger side it is most likely Valve covers. Which if it is leaking it will drip directly on to the exhaust.
I just did a set 2 weeks ago. Make sure you use genuine Nissan valve cover gasket at that point if you have oil in plug tubes you will need new valve covers or use a high grade silicone around the top of the tube which will save you the $700 for new covers. I personally think toyota black fipg is the best for this type of work. Some people claim the silicone around the tubes will not work but I have done several this way for people and never had a leak. Check the oil cooler by the oil filter and oil pan for leaks.

Valve covers is a 5 1/2 hr job taking your time and doing it right. Outside of normal tools you will need an inch/lb torque wrench. Best one for the money Auto Zone sells new for $50.00. It is made by OEM I have used mine tons never had a problem. You will need plenum gaskets. The breather hose from 1 valve cover to the other will probably crack during removal you can use 1/2 fuel line instead of ordering the hose itself plus is it easier to work with Oreillys stocks this fuel line. Outside the rear bottom passenger valve cover bolt nothing is real tricky. You will need a 10mm deep socket and a extension and some type of wobbler 1/4 stuff makes it easier.
Dealership probably wants 1000 plus to do this job.

 

I said passenger side but I meant drivers side(left side)sorry about that.
I removed the throttle body intake, front wheel and other parts so I could inspect that area but didn't see anything obvious.
I only see smoke and smell burnt oil during heavy acceleration. Why only during that condition?

 

I would get it up on jack stands or ramps remove the bottom engine cover and look around the oil cooler area and oil pan to start with. I would think under heavy acceleration is when the exhaust temperatures are at its highest which leads to burning the oil faster. I have seen oil caked up bad on exhaust before that it was continuously burning but much worse under heavy acceleration.

Oil from somewhere is dripping, flowing or blowing back on the exhaust . Getting under it is your next step.

 

Were you able to confirm the dip-stick is intact and fully seated? No signs of it popping out of place or oil leaking from that area? Also, double check the PCV hose that connects up to the back of the driver's side valve cover. Lastly, you may not have an oil leak at all. I've had my cats hot under wide open throttle conditions and I have observed a strong oil burning smell during & after. This is not all that uncommon since some VQs consume oil in the combustion process under these conditions (my RevUp sure did!). The odor/smell would quickly disappear after a short cooldown period. My Z never leaked a drop, but I had to put in 3qts of oil between changes (1qt every 1k miles), it was all being burned!
Good Luck!
-Icer

 

A good diagnostic tool is UV dye. You can get a kit inexpensively on Amazon. It should help tremedously in tracking it down.

Good Luck!

 

Recently when I changed the oil I noticed a small drip from the oil filter housing so I left the splash pan off so I could monitor.
After the burnt oil smell I checked that area and there is a little oil there but not much and it's not in an area where it's dripping on the exhaust.
Under heavy acceleration you can smell oil burning and it definitely appears to be dripping onto the exhaust because there is lots of smoke smelling of burnt oil.

Ideas?

 

Change the oil cooler o ring gasket.

 

The camshaft position sensors on the back of the engine are prone to leak oil past the o-rings. Its a pretty simple job to replace the o-rings.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, a leak in that area doesn't drip onto the exhaust. Correct?

 

The driver's side camshaft sensor, if leaking will hit the exhaust...so will a leaky valve cover gasket.

 

[QUOTE=CFAUVEL;11072536]The driver's side camshaft sensor, if leaking will hit the exhaust...so will a leaky valve cover .

Cam sensors will leak like crazy on older cars.

 

I'm out of town but when I return I'll check out the driver's side camshaft sensor. Thanks guys