Tony Gull

Casual User
Nov 16, 2015
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St. Albert
VetteCoins
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2018 Z06
After any drive in my '18, when I come to a stop with the windows closed and vent fan running I smell an oil burning smell, very distinctive if you've been around cars enough. It's like the oil smell isn't around as you're cruising but when you come to a stop the vapour gets sucked into the intake grid for the cabin air. I believe this started around the 6000K mark and then I had an oil change and the smell continued. I took it back and had them look at it and the mechanic thinks it's from that shock absorber thing attached to the idler tensioner pulley(and blowing back when moving) and he showed me some leaking from there. I do remember my '14 Z51 having a bit of a leak from there but it never smelled of burning oil and I don't think that a small leak like that could keep on smelling as eventually it would empty out. Any other Zed06 owners notice this situation? I'm going to get it in to my closer GM dealer soon to have them look closer as I think this would be a warranty issue.
 
So far no on my 17. Your issue is an interesting one that I’ve not heard before on a C7.
My car is sitting at 7000km. One thing for sure you should not be smelling oil burning on a new corvette.
The oil on your tensioner would have to make it back to the exhaust manifold to burn. They should have seen oil blown back towards the side of the engine and it would be on everything along the way. Impossible not to notice that.
Is there something leak over one of your exhaust manifolds. Valve cover perhaps? That you may not see so easily without removing some plastic. Been many years since GM had the leaky valve cover issue but perhaps you got a bum gasket.
Definitely a warranty thing either way.

Keep up posted.
 
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I've seen other threads talking about this but most of the talk was goofy stuff about catch-cans and supercharger losing oil and soaking in-cabin filter. To me it seems valve coverish but not seeing any residue around and it seems to only last for a few seconds after stopping so it leads me to believe it's a forward motion thing and being blown back but other than the tensioner thing I mentioned, couldn't see much when the GM guy had me in the pit. I'll find out soon enough just seeing if anyone else has noticed this so I have a narrower place to start looking.
 
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I've seen other threads talking about this but most of the talk was goofy stuff about catch-cans and supercharger losing oil and soaking in-cabin filter. To me it seems valve coverish but not seeing any residue around and it seems to only last for a few seconds after stopping so it leads me to believe it's a forward motion thing and being blown back but other than the tensioner thing I mentioned, couldn't see much when the GM guy had me in the pit. I'll find out soon enough just seeing if anyone else has noticed this so I have a narrower place to start looking.

Sure hope you find it. A good tech who knows the C7 should sort this out for you quickly. 👍
 
Interesting, i was parked at a store the other day and a black z06- z07 to stopped to chat. Asked if i smell any oil burning in mine. None with mine. He said he took it in and was told it was some oil o-ring that they had to rip half the car apart to get to only to find out the smell continues. He didnt provide any other details. Hope things get resolved or are resolved Tony.........
 
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I've seen other threads talking about this but most of the talk was goofy stuff about catch-cans and supercharger losing oil and soaking in-cabin filter. To me it seems valve coverish but not seeing any residue around and it seems to only last for a few seconds after stopping so it leads me to believe it's a forward motion thing and being blown back but other than the tensioner thing I mentioned, couldn't see much when the GM guy had me in the pit. I'll find out soon enough just seeing if anyone else has noticed this so I have a narrower place to start looking.
Hi Tony,

I have the exact issue you are having in my '17 Z51 with the smell of burning oil coming from the vents after the car has been driven, then is stopped at a signal and idling. It started at about 6K miles. It comes on after a few seconds of idling, lasts about 30 seconds, then dissipates. And it repeats every time I stop and idle after driving. Have you been able to get yours repaired? Has anyone found anything?
 
Hi Tony,

I have the exact issue you are having in my '17 Z51 with the smell of burning oil coming from the vents after the car has been driven, then is stopped at a signal and idling. It started at about 6K miles. It comes on after a few seconds of idling, lasts about 30 seconds, then dissipates. And it repeats every time I stop and idle after driving. Have you been able to get yours repaired? Has anyone found anything?
My GM dealer replaced the passenger side valve cover which they said was weeping. I could not see anything but they have it on a hoist so an advantage there. I drove it very little after the repair but it seemed better(still getting wisps of smell but could be my imagination). Spring will confirm it. Last of four free oil changes in late July, I should know by then. I’ll post when I know for sure.
 
Don’t really require a reply if you’re not having the issue. I had 14 Z51 without this problem too and it had 44000k. 😀😀😀

Tony, you asked this in your post "Any other Zed06 owners notice this situation?"

I interpreted it as an invitation to chime in as to having or not having the problem. Seems many others did too.
 
After the repair on the valve cover at Ron Hodgson, where I never did see the leak, the burning oil smell problem appears solved. Not convinced that Northgate didn’t overfill the dry sump causing the issue but either way I had my 4th and last free oil change done at July’s end and car is running amazing. Hodgson installed a clip they broke on the initial repair and engine bay looks like it hasn’t been touched. If anyone else experiences this issue I can send a picture of the warranty repair paperwork so the right thing gets fixed.
 
Mine appears to happen after an oil change, twice now I've smelled it and it goes away after several hundred kilometers--and its not simple residue burning off from spillage.
I'm convinced in my case they are overfilling the dry sump, so will be keeping a close eye on this in future.

@Tony Gull Thank you for the update, and please let us know if you smell it after your next oil service.
 
After any drive in my '18, when I come to a stop with the windows closed and vent fan running I smell an oil burning smell, very distinctive if you've been around cars enough. It's like the oil smell isn't around as you're cruising but when you come to a stop the vapour gets sucked into the intake grid for the cabin air. I believe this started around the 6000K mark and then I had an oil change and the smell continued. I took it back and had them look at it and the mechanic thinks it's from that shock absorber thing attached to the idler tensioner pulley(and blowing back when moving) and he showed me some leaking from there. I do remember my '14 Z51 having a bit of a leak from there but it never smelled of burning oil and I don't think that a small leak like that could keep on smelling as eventually it would empty out. Any other Zed06 owners notice this situation? I'm going to get it in to my closer GM dealer soon to have them look closer as I think this would be a warranty issue.
I just purchased a 2018 Corvette convertible with 11,000 miles. There is a distinct burning oil fume but only when stopped and only with the windows up. The dealer can't find any problem and says there is no exhaust leak. At times, the smell can be overpowering. At other times, it is barely noticeable. But, it only happens when stopped and it doesn't matter whether the car is hot or cold. PLEASE SEND ME A COPY OF THE REPAIR PAPERWORK! THANKS! RPI
 
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