man, my s type has the same thing go on. Almost smells like burning tranny fluid or something like that. It is more noticable with the hvac on. It happens as a result of steady accelleration or harder excelleration. It's annoying as hell and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this demon. I thought I was going crazy until I joined this forum!

 

since i fixed my smell by having the missing license plate light replaced. i did see significant holes in the trunk lid for wires etc. these holes are still a cause of smell at times in the cabin though greatly reduced - one day i plan to shoot foam up in there to seal everything - i will use the latex foam so i can wash off the excess. i just know all the problems are holes in the lid - under the trim ect. and or bad trunk seals.

 

it does make sense why this happens more on the r models. With the supercharger, the engine is programmed to run much richer from the factory which would cause the cats to work much harder. In turn there's more smell to make it into the cabin.

 

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I had the problem with the smell in my xkr and had sold it. I have since purchased a 2006 Vanden Plas, and guess what, it has the same fume issues, just under different circumstances.
When I test drove the car I found a very small odor with the drivers window open accelerating very hard then letting off. I enjoy the car so much I deciced that I could live with that. Last week I discovered that when I did the same thing with the sunroof open the cabin fills with strong fumes very quickly.
I noticed a post earlier that there was another member with an xj and the same problem. I can't believe this in such a quality car. Will just have to keep the sunroof closed.
brdave

 

That was me, I located the leak. Its an exhaust leak right after the cat, where it connects to the center muffler/resonator. The clamps loosened up and gas/moisture escapes through there and into the cabin. I havent corrected the part but the smell is all but gone

 

...and its not just Jaguars. My late-model Maserati GT did the same thing. I took to the dealer and they found nothing. Its a quality, recent Ferrari built car so not the crappy ones of the past.
I think it has to do with 'swirl' coming off the back of the car's aero setup ?

 

I've driven my 1992 Maserati 24v Biturbo for 60 000 kmtrs, and I have changed 1 alternator on it, that's it. If taken care of they are nice quick little cars... If you don't take care of it, it will punish you for sure!

Is it the Granturismo you bought? Very nice car!! XK8 and a Granturismo sounds like a nice combo!!

 

Ah, didn't mean to insult anyone ~

Yes, yours was a fuelie and definately a decent car. Mine was a carb'd version and lets just say putting a carb (that sux air) and a turbo (that blows air) causes some issues. Also, the 'pressure box' had plastic/rubber seals and would fail.
I'll say one thing, its one of the nicest interiors I've ever had !

 

2001 XK8, 56K. Lately I've noticed an odor when I get out of the car after a routine drive, but don't smell anything in the cabin.

This odor smells like something is burning under the hood. But there's no smoke and the engine is not running hot. Just this smell, almost like burning paper -- not like rotten eggs that you usually associate with a converter. I see nothing strange when I open the hood....except it looks like a hose down near the rear of the engine (passenger side) is wrapped in some sort of foil, a heat shield of some sort, maybe. It's been too cold for me to do a thorough exam myself.

Not being much of a mechanic, let me ask: is a hose, or any part, with foil wrapped around it normal, or has some road trash blown into my engine compartment? I plan to take the cat in for a mechanic to look but don't want to appear stupid(er) when he finds tin foil trash and charges me an hourly rate to remove it.

 

My wife took her XKR (2000) out a few weeks ago and all was great and when she came home and parked it on the driveway, still running for just a minute or so, there was some smoke coming up from under the hood.

She thought it smelled like oil but never bothered to look under the hood to see if she could see anything . She just pulled it into the garage, shut it off and told me about it later..

Anyway when she told me about it I fired it up and ran it for awhile and can't see anything. She has had it out for another couple of short drives but still nothing.

The common thread here is there is that "oil" smell but I have no idea.

Cheers,

Mark

 

I believe it is normal. I know the hose of which you are speaking and I too have the silver foil insulator. I'd have to look again but I think it is on the passenger side. The hose routes pretty close to the exhaust manifold.

 

Check your motor mounts. They are oil filled. When one of mine started to leak, I got a really strange smell after driving it.

 

Don't worry, the early carbed cars where troublesome. But in hindsight, Maserati really did pretty well with their first mass produced car. Remember that they before this just produced everything from a 100 cars to 600 cars a year. And then suddenly produced 6000 cars a year! And the engines have prooved to go many miles if taken care of.. There is a 200 000 mile Biturbo here in Norway, allways serviced though.

The interior of the XK8 does remind me of the Maser interior. Not many manufactorers can compete with Jag and Maser there.

Was it a Granturismo you had bought?

 

Under hard acceleration the burning smell I'm getting is not quite like burnt oil; my engine has zero oil leakage either internal or external. I've got a good nose and the smell is definitely not gasoline (burnt or raw), sulfur, nor coolant (burnt or raw). I'm thinking it's the supercharger belt that is slipping and burning under prolonged high boost. A belt inspection and trying some belt dressing spray might shed some light on the matter.

Mike
'04 XJR

 

A Miserable-rati Bi-trouble with 200k? That is an accomplishment! Those things did not last long in the US, in fact I haven't even seen one in over ten years. But Maserati sunk even lower with that horrendous 'TC-Chrysler-Lebaron' thing they prostituted themselves into doing in the late '80s. So sad! Glad those days are over.

 

Was the true cause of the oil burning like smell ever found?

Our 2002 XKR Convertible has some odd oil/plastic/fluid burning smell in the cabin. Never really bothered me until I found this thread. I did think it was peculiar though. I'll have to look in to it when I have the supercharger off. See if anything is leaking. Its not an exhaust leak, I know that.

 

I have a 2000 XKR Convertible purchased in 2002 and have never had this problem. I put the top down and got on it today nothing. Most of my driving is in the city. The car has been remarkably trouble free. I've been really pleased with it.

 

In my particular case, the smell was pungent and only occurred at WOT. It was not burnt engine oil either from the tailpipe or from an external leak onto the exhaust manifold, both of which I have had lots of experience with. The smell was more like gear oil burning or burning rubber. I theorized that the supercharger belt was slipping under full throttle.

To test my theory, I sprayed the SC belt with belt dressing, which is nothing more than diluted contact cement. The next day I booted the car several times (with the driver's window open as before) and guess what?! No smell! A few days later (today) I did a few WOT runs and got only a slight smell; far better than the lingering stench I got before. Belt dressing is a temporary fix, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was wearing off and the belt was starting to slip again. Perhaps it's time for a new belt. Does Goodyear make a Gatorback version of this belt?

Mike
2004 XJR

 

Id check the exhaust connection where the header meets the midpipe. That was the source on my XJ8.

 

MY 2003 XKR has the same issue, however I can almost certainly rule out the exhaust as mine has a full custom done including 200 cell cats, from nameless perf.

Im thinking it may be related to some internal engine leakage/blowback from the supercharger.

Symptoms burning oil smell on hard acceleration, and burning smell on start up if parked on a hill or after a quick engine start/stop.

I can rule out the breather hose to the TB as I just recently replaced the hose with a clear one and there is no residue inside the house at all..

Dont think this sheds any new light on the subject, just my 2C