I have corolla 90 . i smell something like burning inside my car .engine oil was very low.is this normal?

Question

changing oil will do any good regarding this smelly cabin

Answer 1

You most likely have a slow oil leak dripping on the exhaust manifold or the exhaust pipe.

It can happen when a car is old and the gaskets have shrunk or become stiff and don't seal like they used to.

I'd wash the engine down really well, use "Simple Green" on it and let it stand awhile and then rinse it down really well.

This is cheaper than replacing gaskets and usually a good engine wash down will keep the oil from building up for awhile. If it is left to drip on the exhaust for too long then you risk and oil fire when you take it out for a highway drive and the temp's get really high under the hood.

It's also good to rinse/wash your engine once a year in the Spring to get the Winter road salt out of the radiator and off the engine. This also rinses away any oil that has leaked so you can keep track of where it's leaking and how fast or bad the leak(s) are.

Good Luck!

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Me

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Answer 2

Your car is most likely leaking from somewhere in the engine compartment or underneath. Sounds more like its in the engine compartment if your getting a strong smell inside the car. The fact that the engine oil is very low, definately seems to say its a leak, i would get that checked out ASAP before it costs you major $$$ to repair (if it doesn't already) Make sure you put in some more oil though before you go anywhere, always make sure the level is high enough before driving it somewhere...if it gets too low you can do some serious damage to the engine.

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Answer 3

Usually the problem indicates that your leaking oil from the Tappet cover gasket (the lid of the engine where you pour oil in) and it goes onto your exhaust manifold, where you get that burning smell.
You may have to replace that gasket, its not hard to do yourself (if it is leaking), you can see where oil runs down the side of the engine..

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Answer 4

I would definately check underneath the car to see if it is dripping from somewhere. What you are probably smelling is the burn off of an open.

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