Smelly engine fumes complaint
The owner of this 2007 VW Beetle was complaining about an odd smell from the engine. She suspected the engine may have been overheating, but with no warning signs on the dash she wasn’t sure. Opening the bonnet with the engine running, we could smell the problem – and it wasn’t due to overheating. It was oily engine fumes, the source of which was a hard plastic breather pipe running from the crankcase to the cam cover.
At £80 for a piece of plastic pipe, the breather was surprisingly expensive. But the biggest problem was making sufficient space to feed the pipe out of position. Both ends of the pipe could be seen, but making room for its removal was a little bit more involved.