Why is it I always smell like oil!

[cmondialo]

Why is it I always smell like oil after driving my tr4 but not my 74bgt???? I checked the breather, its in place. Dont mind the smell but others in the office always comment. Not true enthusiats I assume!
Any ideas welcome
Charlie
64tr4
74mg bgt
plus a few other msc cars

 

[karls59tr]

Exhaust coming into the car from rusty floorboards or missing firewall grommets? I get the same thing from my TR3 even though I've stopped all apparent openings where engine and exhaust smells could enter.

 

[Brosky]

That's a subtle message from your 64 TR4 to remind you which car you REALLY should be driving.

 

[macino62]

my girlfriend loves my "post-TR4 drive" smell......but then again when she buys gasoline, she puts a few drops on her sleeve because she loves that smell, too.

 

[vettedog72]

Most likely you are getting exhaust fumes and or blow by fumes in the passenger compartment; not a rare occurrence in a Triumph. Also, look at the exhaust pipes while the car is on a rack and see if any oil leaks are making it to the exhaust pipes; look at the pipes around the transmission too.

 

[DrEntropy]

Mike! That woman's a KEEPER!!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

 

[angelfj1]

My TR250 doesn't smell like oil NOW. A couple of weeks ago I was returning from an auto jumble where I bought two of those TR3 shaped Avon after-shave decanters. Well on the ride home one of them opened and the contents spilled in the boot. Man that stuff is (was) rank!!! I prefer the oil smell. Really!

 

[Aldwyn]

My diff leak drops onto the pipes, causing my garage to smell of burning oil when I bring her home. And if the drive has been a long one? The mud room smells like it too.

Ahhh... I love the smell of burning oil in the morning. Smells, like... British engineering!

 

[Brosky]

No self respecting British car owner has a oil free or clean smelling garage. It's part of the "mystique" of owning a part of history.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...when she buys gasoline, she puts a few drops on her sleeve because she loves that smell, too.

Oh... she's a keeper.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...I checked the breather, its in place...

I assume you mean the tube/hoses from the valve cover to the carbs? If so, that early attempt at a breathing system was pretty marginal. My '64 tended to build up crankcase pressure and push oil out of various places. I finally added a true crankcase breather tube (like on the TR3s and earlier 4s and that made a big difference.