[yonversace]

I ran into an emergency... I drove my car on the highway for about 15-20 minutes to get where I needed to go. I proceeded to sit in the parking lot with the engine running for 20 more minutes and this is where the problem starts 🤦🏽*♀️ I cut the car off for 5 to 10 minutes and instantly turned it back on & started accelerating hard because it was a really bad family emergency and now I’m worried I got to like 110mph on the way back and started smelling burning but i assume that always happens at high RPMs plus my valve cover gasket doesn’t leak on the manifold and never has? Is it normal to smell burning ? And did I do any damage that could cost a ton

[E92_William]

Probably just an oil leak, have a check for the common gaskets that go. Back of the valve cover can leak without being visible and smell

[Vivek.]

One time I drove my e34 535i at over 100mph for over 2hrs straight and when I arrived the engine was visibly smoking from the side of the block with no obvious source. I put another 20k on it (up to 205k) and it was perfectly fine.

[yonversace]

Originally Posted by E92_William

Probably just an oil leak, have a check for the common gaskets that go. Back of the valve cover can leak without being visible and smell

That’s the thing, it’s an on and off smell with no visible smoke ever appearing. I do wanna add I did the oil filter housing gasket but there’s a sh*t load of oil under the manifold and tons of oil covering the front of the engine that I didn’t clean after the OFHG job so that might make it smell burnt up too? I check my valve cover gasket commonly and never found a speck of seepage... It never smells burnt once I open the hood only smells burnt when it’s closed

[JonOhh]

Something may have gotten hotter than normal and exposed a leak or issue, but don't worry about engine wear or anything of the sort. A lot of these cars get driven flat out for 30+mins a day and don't complain...110mph is nothing for one of these.

[Efthreeoh]

OP. It's a BMW for God's sake. It's meant to be driven at 110 MPH for hours upon hours.

[lookalikehuuh]

Yeah when my dad was end of life last year from a heart attack, I got my brother and my mom to the hospital with an average speed of like 125mph+. Covered something like 60 miles in no time and they got to see him minutes before he passed.

This was last year and the car already had 220K, I was running it HARD and it is still just as healthy as ever. Like other said these cars are designed for that kind of punishment, probably doesn't help you have a mess of oil all over the front end of the car clean it up!

[whyzee125]

That's plenty of time for it to warm up, you're fine. Probably an old oil leak or possibly a new one but your engine is fine.

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

That's plenty of time for it to warm up, you're fine. Probably an old oil leak or possibly a new one but your engine is fine.

+1

[yonversace]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

OP. It's a BMW for God's sake. It's meant to be driven at 110 MPH for hours upon hours.

Of course it’s meant to be driven at 110 for hours upon hours until it smells like it’s on fire

[nsjames]

I found with my valve cover leak that there was no visible leak at the edge of the cover. it was leaking under the beauty cover and when driven aggressively the oil would spill out of the molded cavity it was sitting in and onto the exhaust.

pull the plastic covers on the top and you'll probably find oil somewhere.

[muncie21]

Originally Posted by yonversace

there’s a sh*t load of oil under the manifold and tons of oil covering the front of the engine that I didn’t clean after the OFHG job

Dude! You tell us the above and you're wondering about burnt oil smell?? Seems you've ran the car harder than you normally do (not a bad thing, in itself) and tasted some burnt oil...that would be expected based on the above comment.

Clean'er up and take another 100+MPH jog (in Mexico mind you) and see if the fragrance returns.

[M40i4me]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

OP. It's a BMW for God's sake. It's meant to be driven at 110 MPH for hours upon hours.

Or faster if your in Germany on the autobahn!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by 3284me

Or faster if your in Germany on the autobahn!

Indeed!

Autobahn by kevinr1916, on Flickr

10 years ago the first of August. Broken in *properly*.

[Luis561]

You did mention you have oil all over the front of the engine, spray it with degreaser and clean it well because your belt with shred to pieces eventually trust me. Also 20 minutes of driving is enough time to warm up and do whatever you want with the car, I'm pretty sure you just warmed up the car more than you usually do by pushing it hard and it's burning some oil on the engine/exhaust

[mapleleaf1773]

+1

Clean the old oil up. That way you can see if new leaks occur. Always do this when fixing those pesky leaky areas

[Jesda]

Originally Posted by nsjames

I found with my valve cover leak that there was no visible leak at the edge of the cover. it was leaking under the beauty cover and when driven aggressively the oil would spill out of the molded cavity it was sitting in and onto the exhaust.

pull the plastic covers on the top and you'll probably find oil somewhere.

That is 100% what happened with mine. Look for a swimming pool of oil near or under the valvetronic motor or by the coil plugs.