So I've been experiencing a burning smell in the cabin of my car and had my mechanic take a look at it when he did a Service Level A. He showed me the two places the leak was coming from and quoted me $640 ($520 in labor and $140 in parts) to repair from a quote he did the prior week on the exact same job -- he said it was very common. The oil drips onto a heating element that causes the burnt oil smell.

I opted to pass for the time being and did some research.  Apparently I had to replace the (1) PCV Valve, aka Crank Case Ventilation Valve, and (2) large Expansion Plug.

To replace (1), I watched this video.
To replace (2), I watched this video.

This video showed replacing both.

I bought the parts from Amazon for a grand total of $40.

For (1) I ordered, URO Parts 272 010 0631 Crankcase Vent Valve from Amazon and it worked like a charm.  Great product.  See this link.

For (2) I ordered, the Dorman 917-127 Camshaft Housing Plug Assembly that included 1 large and 2 small expansion plugs, but I would NOT recommend this product.because the smaller plugs popped off easily. The larger one stayed just fine and luckily the smaller ones did not need replacing so I kept the originals. In the future, this is fairly cheap, so I think I'd buy original equipment.

Pictures are below. The whole thing took about 1 hour and struggled with the bottom T30 screw, but all in all, proud of the work and the burning oil smell is gone.

(engine with covers off and leaks identified)


(the PVC Valve and one of the smaller Expansion Plugs)


(the larger Expansion Plug and other smaller Expansion Plug)