Hi All,

2000 S Type V8, 97,000km (60,000 miles).

Per the title I have a persistent oil smell in the cabin and the same smell outside the car after parking.

There are no visible oil leaks under the car.

Having read through many of the posts with owners having same problem, it appears to be the cam cover leaking on to exhaust and entering cabin through the HVAC system.

When I put the interior HVAC re circulation fan on, the smell dissipates, but that's not a long term solution.

I have been taking the car to a credible garage that specializes in British car repairs, since owning the S Type in 16 months this is the work I have had done;

Sept 2022; AC compressor, front/rear rotors, front/rear pads, spark plug tube seals, VVT seals, left V/C seal, right V/C seal, inner bolt seals, valve cover bolt seals, valve cover gasket, spark plugs.
Oct 27 2022; water pump, coolant
July 05 2023; flush and install new transmission fluid, brake fluids, differential fluid, new oil pan gasket.
Nov 23, 2023; spark plug seals, Left & right V/C seals, inner bolt seals, timing cover leaking, use silicone to reseal.

Contacting same garage again that oil smell is still there, the shop manager said there's a chance the plastic valve covers have warped and they might need to find new ones.

I can't see any other options but to move ahead with shop managers suggestion/recommendation.

For the HVAC system, the re circulation fan kicks off itself after about 10 minutes is this typical?

Otherwise the car is running great and I enjoy driving it.

I do have to replace the CD player, it doesn't work.

Thanks for your advice/suggestions!

 

Have them do a leak check with a smoke machine before condemning the valve covers. On my '02 V6, I was getting that same oil smell in the cabin and a smoke check quickly pinpointed where oil was leaking and hitting the exhaust manifolds.

Also, try replacing the cabin air filter. Even if the leak has been corrected, the cabin air filter may have become contaminated.

 

Almost forgot a couple more things:

Check the condition of the seal between the hood and cowl. The HVAC system draws air through the top of the cowl. If the seal between the hood and cowl is dried out or otherwise damaged, air from under the hood will be drawn into the cabin. This will make the smell from any minor oil leaks more noticeable, especially at low vehicle speeds.

Check the condition of the seal between the cabin air filter and (edit) cowl. Once again, this can let in air from under the hood, especially if the other seal is bad. I vaguely remember somebody saying they had to apply tape over the opening to get a good seal.

 

You can hold the recirculating button until you hear two beeps and it will stay on until you use defrost. That car looks clean although I hate that they put those door guards on the 2000 models. Saw a nice one little while back but I wasn’t sure if I could remove the guards cleanly so didn’t end up buying it. Car needs a chrome mesh grille and maybe get a cd aux adapter if the cd player isn’t working https://www.incarconnections.co.uk/j...x001-ipod.html

 

thanks for your insights, I will pass along to the garage, I got this reply from the garage when I asked for a quote,

"If the car does require complete new valve covers they are still available through the dealer they are about $540 each and apparently there is good stock in Toronto. The labour to install the valve covers is 3.5 hours, with all the trouble you have had I would most likely install them no charge on the labour and have you cover the cost of the valve covers if in fact that is the problem. Let’s see what is happening then go from there, you never know something else may be causing the problem."

 

Thanks for the info above! The car is clean being garage kept its entire life. I never thought about the door guards until you mentioned... I will look into removing & I agree about the grille, the mesh looks way better.

 

that is nice of them. Only takes a few drops of oil on the exhaust manifolds to start stinking. I bet the valve covers solve it

 

I believe those covers are plastic so I’m not sure them warping is the issue but it could be. If the valve cover gaskets were replaced it can get tricky getting the covers off and maybe one got cracked or damaged? Should be evidence of the oil leaking but it can be difficult to figure where exactly. Wonder if anyone else has removed those door guards or if it can be done easily. Is the radio turning on or is the issue with the cd tray in the trunk/glove box?

 

**Wonder if anyone else has removed those door guards or if it can be done easily** Hoping another contributor has tried removing them successfully?? See pic of my Jag at top of thread for context.

**Is the radio turning on or is the issue with the cd tray in the trunk/glove box?** The CD changer/tray is actually in the glove box, the radio/cassette is working fine. The CD player doesn't want to read the CD's.**

I'm having fun finding used cassettes at Thrift Stores, albeit many of them are worn out and have lost their vibrancy. I did purchase a tape head cleaner. I might buy an old cassette recording deck & hook it up to my analog stereo, I have 800 LP's & 1,000 CD's so lots of great music to record, 'what is old is new again!' lol

 

**I believe those covers are plastic** You are correct, it will be interesting to find out the real issue, I will post a follow up & let you know.

 

The door guards were standard factory issue and if I remember correctly they were stuck on. From the X202 up they were dropped by the factory; looks like penny pinching for sure.
It's a beautiful looking car and I'm not sure I understand why you'd want to remove them? I would love to have them on my STR.
You've changed the valve cover gaskets. Have you had a good look to see if they've sealed correctly? You need a mirror for this.
I changed mine after they were leaking on the manifold covers; not exactly the same as your X200 but very similar process on the X202's and up. There was an oil smell that continued for some time thereafter as all the old oil burnt off.
As Karl mentioned the foam seals could be part of the problem. I did a substantial write up on this. The rubber seal does connect with the bonnet when shut but more importantly there's far more foam found behind and around the cabin air filter assembly. They would have definitely all perished by now.
I'm pretty sure your X200 would have a slightly different assembly around the cabin air filter BUT this still needs to be pulled apart and checked if there's any perished foam.

 

Have you thought about getting one of these adapters. https://www.incarconnections.co.uk/j...x001-ipod.html
You’d need a 6ft rca to 3.5mm too. I use this adapter for Spotify and Amazon music and it’s cd quality. Obviously your phone has to have a 3.5mm port,I think some newer iphones dont have one. EBay has it also same seller I believe. Removing the stereo is pretty easy then it’s plug and play. I run the 3.5mm cord through the drawer so if it’s not being used I close it and you can’t even tell it’s installed. Honestly the best $70 I’ve spent in a while

 

does this mean an 01 should have the guards?

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure they were standard from the cars release across the range in the USA.
From the X202 (from 2002.5 onwards in some markets and from 2003 onwards in America) onwards they were dropped.

 

Guessing they were removed on my 01 by the previous owner then. My 02 didn’t have them either but that car was completely factory when I got it 20 years ago so no way it had door guards from factory. Imo the car flows better without them but it’s not worth damaging the paint trying to remove them. They probably dropped them a year or 2 into production because they realized how much better the car looks without them. No way we’ll ever know for sure though.

 

Yes, looks like they did actually make the body side mouldings an option a lot earlier in the X200's life and not at the release of the X202 as I thought.
The June 2000 X200 sales brochure does certainly show the mouldings in all the photos but by the time the next sales brochure came out a year later (June 2001) it shows the X200 naked!
Plus the factory accessories list around the same time seems to further support the mouldings as an option by June 2001 by showing 'MY 2001' (Model Year 2001) in the bottom corner of the release (attached).
At the X202's release the 'Accessories' brochure continues to list the mouldings as an option; that brochure dated March 2002.
So you could theoretically have any S Type optioned with the 'Body Side Mouldings' post circa 2001!

 

Hopefully all the subscribers that shared their knowledge and time, will read this post.
The culprit was a valve cover that had a small oil leak onto manifold and thus smell in cabin. Valve cover was replaced and the cabin filter was replaced and the hvac air box was resealed.​
The car is running very well and pulling strong, fun to drive without that annoying smell!
Next I'm going to work on some worn spots on the seats, I will look on forums for guidance.
Regarding the stereo system i have purchased a bluetooth FM transmitter to stream music over my audio system, clearly it's not as good as the plug and play device offered earlier, but it's fine for now.
Thanks for all your assistance!

 

Good result but since you had already paid to have them changed back in 2022 and again in 2023?
Seems like a short time before they started to leak again? I mean this was the third set of gaskets?
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I think the valve cover itself was warped or cracked causing the leak.

 

I read that was a cam cover leaking. I have the same model and I replaced mine too. The other place this engine leaks oil is the VVT gaskets on top of the cam cover. They are rings that pop right on. You might want to invest $20 bucks and get couple of them. It takes all of 5 minutes to put new ones on and that protects you wiring harness from oil drip.