What's the Smell

My 1999 Tacoma 4 Wheel Drive 6 cylinder automatic with 220,000 miles. I have noticed recently after driving 20 or more miles the odor of lubricating grease. It's not oil but grease smell, never in the 24 years I have owned it has the odor been present. Do not see any leakage showing on garage floor or on the inside of the front or rear wheels or rims. Trying to figure it out before a problem crops up.

 

You probably would have noticed split CV boots when checking front wheels, but check again.

U joint failure splatter on exhaust?

 

Hard to say, especially if you’re saying it smell more like grease vs oil. I suggest checking your valve cover gasket, engine oil leaks getting burned off by the exhaust manifold? Or possibly the front clamshell breather vent in the in bay? Another possibility is gear oil from the tcase spitting out of the shift fork and making its way into the cab?

 

I had that problem a few years ago. The smell appeared the first time out in the morning about 10 minutes after driving. Heavy gear oil smell - can't miss it. No signs of leakage under the truck. After 3 years the smell went away. The only thing that I can think of is that it must have come from U-joint grease spin-off (I do all my own maintenance, and am a bit heavy on U-joint lubrication).

 

Well the OP is well engaged. Like so many these days. Shall we consider the case closed and just stop trying to help people, folks?

I mean no one seems to stop at stop signs anymore.

I guess no one knows how to even internet anymore?

Perhaps we should have a rule of 50 post before you can create a thread, period?

But I digress, my beer is shallow, and it is Friday, my doods from Wednesdays.

 

And, I mean, as a thread title goes, this one does has some serious potential. And it is Friday. Just putting that out there.

 

Even though, as we well know, many Friday threads seem to kick off Tuesdays in this strange era of...strangeness.

 

What, indeed, is the smell? Is it sweet? Is it dank? What determines if one of us perceives a smell as pleasant, and another of us perceives it as foul? Who is right, and who is wrong?

 

Lol

 

After changing gear oil

 

I noticed my Tacoma was smelling of motor oil on the outside after driving it. Turns out that the valve cover gasket was weeping, so I tightened up the cover bolts & stopped it for a while. When I changed the oil, the rear skid plate was coated with oil & dirt, so that was a dead giveaway.

 

Is the area over and around the pinion seal wet?

 

Que @Delta09 smelly smell gif