smell of oil

L

LEE68

Member

Posts

47

Location

East Grinstead

• Mar 25, 2012

• #1

hi all,i can smell oil (smells hot/burnt) coming from the n/s rear of my p38,i cant see any obvious signs of any leaks,this is worrying as i periodically do 400 mile round trips in it and dont want anything to let go on the motorway,i have also been reading mpg figures on here for the 2.5 and mine is only returning 22/23 mpg on a run down to dorset any help is much appreciated.

 

Datatek

Well-Known Member

Posts

45,876

Location

Near Poitiers SW France

• Mar 25, 2012

• #2

Brake binding?

 

L

LEE68

Member

Posts

47

Location

East Grinstead

• Mar 25, 2012

• #3

i never gave that a thought! especially as the rear discs have quite heavy grooves worn in to them but pads look recent,could it be the hand brake? cheers

 

dogsbody

Very senior member

Posts

10,685

Location

Bristol

• Mar 25, 2012

• #4

LEE68 said:

i never gave that a thought! especially as the rear discs have quite heavy grooves worn in to them but pads look recent,could it be the hand brake? cheers

Click to expand...

The handbrake is on the transmission so unlikely to smell one side more than the other. Take it for a quick trip locally then feel the calipers or discs. If one's binding it'll be a LOT hotter than the other.

I did say a LOT so I take no responsibility for an afternoon spent in casualty.

Just had this on mine, bit the bullet and replaced both rear calipers and pads. Simple job and doesn't have to be expensive, could be done for about £100 if you're willing to use aftermarket calipers. Add another £50 - £60 and you could do the discs as well. If you want OEM it could be £500.

 

L

LEE68

Member

Posts

47

Location

East Grinstead

• Mar 27, 2012

• #5

thanks for the replies,i'll check it out asap.

 

L

LEE68

Member

Posts

47

Location

East Grinstead

• Apr 1, 2012

• #6

well i finally got a chance to get under the p38 this morning and found a quite bad oil leak behind the hub,doh! cant believe ive missed it as its bloody obvious if i'd opened my eyes,im assuming its a rear seal gone,is this an easy fix and is it worth doing both sides? ive always been of the opinion its better to do both sides where suspension and axles are concerned,ive got to the shocks all round too.