I have a 2018 F350 diesel tow vehicle. Since it was brand new in March I have put 13K miles on it. Every 400-500 miles when I stop I can smell a little bit of oil burning. There is no noticeable oil usage, just the smell. I have had it in to the dealer once for this and they found nothing. I been over the engine and exhaust from top to bottom and have never found any oil leakage. Any suggestion?

Most likely the smell is coming from the regen process.

ultravilot dye added to the oil and a black light can be your friend :)

I would agree that this is most likely regen smell, if you shut-down when the truck is in the middle of regen there is always a smell present outside the vehicle.

Watch your gas mileage. You will also see that for about 20 to 25 miles, your gas mileage drops down dramatically. It is defiantly your regen process....

Totally normal diesel regeneration cycle. High temperatures are used to burn off accumulated soot on the particulate filter.

2018 F350 | Good Sam Community

FishOnOne
Nomad
Oct 30, 2018
Most likely the smell is coming from the regen process.
philh
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
ultravilot dye added to the oil and a black light can be your friend :)
ggardne2
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
I would agree that this is most likely regen smell, if you shut-down when the truck is in the middle of regen there is always a smell present outside the vehicle.
lmpres
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
Watch your gas mileage. You will also see that for about 20 to 25 miles, your gas mileage drops down dramatically. It is defiantly your regen process....
camp-n-family
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
Totally normal diesel regeneration cycle. High temperatures are used to burn off accumulated soot on the particulate filter.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Oct 30, 2018
No leaks, no drips, no oil usage, means it's most likely fine. Have you ever worked a Diesel engine hard? They usually smell a little....like oil.
Or maybe you are using Rotella oil. Haven't used it in a while, but that stuff stinks more than other oils. Had a buddy swear my truck had an oil leak when he borrowed it. Nope, just had Rotella in it.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Oct 31, 2018
That smell is the smell of raw power being produced! Think of it as body odor on a diesel, after a workout!
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Nov 01, 2018
Smells like it's burning oil. Oil level doesn't go down. Brought it to a dealer to have it checked. It doesn't use any oil...what do you think they would find? Why not just drive it and quit wasting the dealer's time?

B.O.
Fordlover
Explorer
Nov 01, 2018
B.O. Plenty wrote:
Smells like it's burning oil. Oil level doesn't go down. Brought it to a dealer to have it checked. It doesn't use any oil...what do you think they would find? Why not just drive it and quit wasting the dealer's time?

B.O.

I would argue that is what the dealer's job is, to provide service and alleviate concerns of the customer. Doesn't sound like they did a very good job of that for OP, so he came on to get a second opinion.

I've had a Ford quick lube advisor look me straight in the eye and tell me the 600 dollar 15K mile service was completely reasonable because it included a full A/C duct cleaning. A service I've never had done to any vehicle of mine in 22 years of vehicle ownership, and one I'm certainly not willing to pay 200+ bucks for.

I solved the DEF/regen concern on my truck by going Gas, so I can't really comment.
alexleblanc
Explorer
Nov 02, 2018
mine was doing this when new for about the first 6 months or so during and after regents, the smell is all but gone now - my last 2013 pretty much did the same thing.

Now every year when I get it oil coated (Rust Check) it gets that oil burning smell for a few weeks until it burns off.