hi i recently bought a 98 a4 with 100,000 miles on it. im 17 and its my first car and i dont no that much about it yet. i recently noticed a burning oil smell when my car heats up. i check for oil leaks and i have none. i can only smell the burning oil smell when i have the heat on or i open the hood. the smell is starting to worry me does anyone have any idea of what it might be. any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

 

its probably the valve cover gasket leaking. you cant see any oil on the ground partly because of the belly pan (if u have one) but mostly because it gets burned up by the exhaust manifold as it leaks out (thats why you can smell it only when the car is warm and the heater on)

 

can i fix that my self or do i have to take it to the dealer

 

its not hard to do at all. posibly one of the easiest things to do.
what eng do have; the 1.8t or 2.8?
theres probably a DIY somewhere on here just look around.
but its pretty straight forward...

 

its a 2.8 and thanks alot for your help

 

no problem and good luck with that.
i have bad valve covers myself that i need to get to. hope to get them done soon!