Smell of oil after changing breather pipe

[mkellerman]

When I bought my MG ZT V6 160, there was a smell of oil in the cabin. The T shaped breather pipe had fallen to bits and I replaced this with a new one. That improved things a lot, although the oil smell has not completely gone.

I had put this down to residual oil that had spilt, evaporating off the engine block, but today having driven on a motorway and decelerating down to about 55mph while going up a hill at the end of the motorway, I again noticed a bit of an oil smell.

Any ideas of what that might be? Everything else seemed normal.

[trikey]

Sounds silly, but check one of the breath fittings isnt fully home in the inlet manifold, its usually the one near the bulkhead.

[mkellerman]

Sounds silly, but check one of the breath fittings isnt fully home in the inlet manifold, its usually the one near the bulkhead.
Bingo! The one in the inlet manifold wasn't fully in. When I went on a drive today, the smell seemed to have gone.

[derek v]

I have the same smell on my 2.5 v6. How do you change the pipes. Is it just a case of pull them out or is there some special way

[mkellerman]

I have the same smell on my 2.5 v6. How do you change the pipes. Is it just a case of pull them out or is there some special way
You can buy a new breather tube T-piece such as this one, which is the one I bought:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/mg-zs-zt-rover-45-75-v6-engine-breather-pipe-llh102660-genuine-part/1043107883

When removing the old pipes, you must press down on the locking collars where the pipes connect to the engine. This is explained in detail in steps 16 to 22 of the page below. NOTE: these are instructions for changing the thermostat during which the breather pipe needs to be removed--just remove the engine cover and do steps 16-22 only.

http://www.75ztcommunity.co.uk/thermostat-replaced-key-hole-v6-190-t7976.html

[Fusilier]

I have the same smell on my 2.5 v6. How do you change the pipes. Is it just a case of pull them out or is there some special way

Derek

Best way to remove pipes, is the pull lightly, and the a red tab will come up, then press that back down with your finger and pull the Breather pipe out.

Stu

[mkellerman]

On a trip today, I found there was still a slight smell of oil.

Possible causes I thought of are:

1. The air intake pipe behind the nearside headlights is missing

2. The previous owner might have over filled the engine with oil -- when I take out the dipstick clean it and reinsert it, the oil seems to be up to the very top of the green part (up to the fat part of the green part)

Any thoughts???

[Vanbursta]

The oil level should not be more than half way between the high and low marks on the dipstick. Otherwise the inlet manifold gets full of oil.

[mkellerman]

The oil level should not be more than half way between the high and low marks on the dipstick. Otherwise the inlet manifold gets full of oil.

Ok, I think it probably is actually. I'm going to assume this is not a problem as the car has been running well, except for my latest clutch issue.

The oil smell has probably gone away too, so I am going to call this issue closed.

Thanks to all who gave advice!