Oil/Dextron Smell with no signs of a leak...

Hi.

I swear this car is testing me recently.

Anyways when coming up my hill there is a whiff of either oil or Dextron through the vents on the dashboard. I've parked over cardboard and come back to no leaks what so ever.

The hoses are likely original and I can't see any leaks or splits, and the fluid levels in the N-CVT and the Sump are remaining constant.

Anyone got something I can look at?
 
What is the colour, smell & foam status of the ncvt Dexron ATF on its dipstick?

When was the Dexron 11E or Dexron 111 & filter last changed as per the maintenance records?
 
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Fluid seems orange/brownish in colour, fluid was changed shortly after I got the car about 12k miles ago by an automatic gearbox specialist who I trust to have used the correct fluid.

Not sure though if the filter was done?
 
What year is the vehicle?

A burnt toast smell in & about the ATF is a sign.that it is oxidised.

Next, check for fluid oxidation. The sniff test is a good one, but a “blotter test’ is even better.

Put a few drops of the ATF, from the dip stick, on a clean paper towel.

Wait 30 seconds, then examine the spot. If the fluid has spread out and is pink, red or even light brown in colour, the fluid is in satisfactory condition.

But if the spot hasn’t spread out and is dark brown in colour, the ATF is oxidised and should be changed.
 
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Another possibility is the oil smell under load going uphill may be indicative of a restricted or blocked engine crankcase breather system non return valve, or filter & or its pipework?

Thus the rings blow by oil fumes are not being drawn in but expelled?
 
Another possibility is the oil smell under load going uphill may be indicative of a restricted or blocked engine crankcase breather system non return valve, or filter & or its pipework?

Thus the rings blow by oil fumes are not being drawn in but expelled?

How would I check this or would I be better having a mechanic look at it? the car drives spot on if it means anything. :)
 
Crankcase breather recirculation system simple DIY maintenance is fully explained in Haynes manuals that are available used on Ebay for a fiver approx.; or live with the occasionall oil smell?
 
Another possibility is the oil smell under load going uphill may be indicative of a restricted or blocked engine crankcase breather system non return valve, or filter & or its pipework?

Thus the rings blow by oil fumes are not being drawn in but expelled?
this was my exact thought when you said that it was a hill near your house

you won't get it to drip out of where it's leaking from stationary, even if you park it in neutral and rev the b#llocks off it. It's coming out under heavy load. A mechanic with a rolling road could make the rollers hard to turn and have you inside the car pushing it, to see where it was coming from

The fact you can smell it so strongly means that it's leaking out and landing on something hot, or it's leaking out under pressure as a gas
 
if it's a 1 litre though, it's always going to struggle on steep hills. There's a couple near my house that I don't even attempt any more I just go around.

In a manual one I have to stick to 1st gear and keep it between 15 and 20mph, any slower it bogs down, any higher I'm hitting the limiter. If there's traffic or if I don't get a running start on a flat surface there's no way it's going up without seriously burning the clutch up

with an automatic there's no gear-gear connection, there's a fluid coupling, you'd expect some slipping and probably doesn't transfer power as easily, I'd imagine it will struggle more and get HOT. I watched a video about a tow truck company up in the rocky mountains in america, they all drive auto's over there and all the modern trucks would break down for this exact reason and be rescued by these late 80's diesel manual's this company had, and there's some cowboy ranting about how "these city kids don't know how to drive trying to take the shortcut to vegas through the mountains now they done blew their cars up" :ROFLMAO:
 
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I tend to drop into DS on any hills, which improves its ability to get up by quite a bit, however, this is a recent change in driving style.

Hopefully, be up on a lift later next weeks and i can have a poke around and check for anything major.
 
might have just given up after being pushed for a while, sounds like a seal of some sort could be to blame if it's a recent change

could even be down to cylinder compression, these things lose power as time goes on, putting more stress on the transmission as the gearing is set up for stock torque/power when the car is new.

good luck though when you get it on the lift. It can be frustrating when there's a whole system of various parts that could be to blame. Much prefer when there's a hole in something big enough to fit a finger through cos then I might actually find it.
 
Occasional Oil Smell Going Uphill?

Most likely the rings blow by oil fumes are not being drawn into the manifold & recycled but expelled by crankcase fumes pressure via the oil filler cap filter mesh with no evidence of obvious oil leak as its fumes only & only occasionally under heavy uphill load that you may smell the oil fumes?

Repair the crankcase breather recirculation system simple DIY Haynes maintenance cleaning (remove to wash out soak overnight in degreaser solvent such as diesel or petrol) the non-return check valve, the two filters & clear the hoses.

Good luck
 
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