I have a question, sometimes just randomly, i smell oil burning in my 2001 audi a6 2.8. Like when i go up a steep hill for a while, it comes through the heater, because i have it on. What does that mean/? Hopefully it is nothing serious.

 

valve covers could have a slight leak, tends to be a common issue with these. could be when you're going uphill, the oil tends to gravitate more towards the back of the valve covers, where the leak usually starts, and the drips onto the exaust manifolds and burns it, causing your oil burning smell in the cockpit. i think that's the first thing i would check to see if you can see any leakage down the back of the heads. i don't believe it's a huge huge deal to tackle, and i know there's several DIY writeups floating around on here on how to do it.

 

You'll want to replace your vacuum check valve on the backside of the intake manifold. I had the same problem. I replaced that and that smell is gone. If the leak is bad enough, you'll need to replace those cam seals too.

Here is a link to the part I'm talking about.

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...@Vacuum%20Pump
They call is a vacuum pump.

Its really easy to replace. You might consider replacing your vacuum lines while you're in there as well if you havn't ever done those. Mine were crispy from age.