Upon a cold start and a 20 minute drive, (usual wait till engine warms up fully before taking her over 3000rpm, also at least a 2 min cool down at idle at destination), when leaving the car I noticed an unpleasant burning smell that got more pronounced when 'sniffing' around the turbo side of the bonnet scoop. This is the first time I have noticed such a strong smell, and was wondering whether it is a sign for a big bill to follow. The car is 108K, MY94UK, and just passed the MOT with flying colours a week earlier. One idea i thought of was maybe the MOT place topped up the oil in the engine with the wrong stuff..would this cause a burning smell?? mineral/synthetic mix problem?

Any help appreciated!!!
(err, and I don't normally go round the engine sniffing except when I have a cold!)

 

I wonder if it could be something I read a bout the other day... Apparently the drivers side rocker cover can leak a little oil onto the exhaust manifold. I also believe that smoke can be seen sometimes because of this.

Perhaps this is the burning smell?

 

Err.. the rocker cover, is it near the oil filter can? I was told this was tightened up a bit as there was a small leak there when the MOT was due. I'll have to have a better sniff around when its daylight!!

 

If it was leaking from the oil filter I would have thought that it would have just dripped onto the floor... Apparently the
cover leak is a common fault.

 

After doing a quick run at lunch, I had a good sniff around and saw some vapour rising up from around the coolant header tank (not the tank itself, but that area). The vapour colour was white.. would have thought oil would be a bit darker??? Also if it was coolant, the level hasn't gone down for the last few weeks!
I Booked her in for a checkout at the local dealer to find out, so may have some news to share then.

 

Hi

I've had a similar problem with my 95 car for the last month or two.
I had a look dowm below the turbo where the smoke was rising from and noticed the rocker cover bottom bolts were oily and some had gone on the manifold and was burning hence the unpleasn't smell.
The car was due in for a service so asked them to look at it while it was their and explained the problem.
When I went to collect it they said they couldn't find a leak and had steam cleaned the engine to remove deposits of grease/oil that had become fluid when the engine was hot and dripped on the manifold from up top somewhere.
At the time I thought this was pretty good as they could have charged me to fix a non existant leak and I would have been none the wiser.
Problem is last week the smell returned and when I looked there was oil in exactly the same places as before.
So its another trip to the dealer to make him look a little harder this time!!!
Anyone know how much this job is going to cost me?

Chris

 

If anybody else steam cleans your engine - KILL THEM!!

Total no no.

PS - oil smoke WILL come up white sometimes - and so does brake fluid.

[This message has been edited by Dave T-S (edited 10 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Dave T-S (edited 11 November 2000).]

 

Hi Dave

This may be a stupid question but why no steam cleaning of the engine???
I'll probably kill the dealer anyway for messing me around as it quite a trip to get there so a discount on repairs might be in order to offset the cost of all the running back and two.

Thanks

Chris

 

Why dont steam clean

1) Can get into your electrics causing problems after if they dont bag off the alarm siren, distributor etc etc etc.

2) Does the dealer reapply all the factory wax protection afterwards, i dont think so!, therefore unless this is done you have just accelerated the deterioration of the paint/panels etc within the engine bay.

Sunil

 

Sunil!
Thanks for answering on my behalf.....

Your grandad's Austin Allegro may have had a distributor but if you'd like to get under the bonnet of my Scoob and show me the distributor i'll give you £100.

But the rest was fairly accurate...

 

I was speaking in generalistic terms and not just subaru specific, after all, its the same advice for any car regardless. In the same vein, if your car does NOT have an alarm then that is also equally irrelevant but i did not hear you refute that statement?

Sunil!

 

Ill let you know exactly how much a new rocker gasket is next week as mines booked in to get it replaced.

Regards

Richie
MY93 WRX

 

Sunil!

SNORE - WHO CARES?? - NOT ME - WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY. I LIED. MY SCOOB DOES HAVE A DISTRIBUTOR - AND AN ALARM SIREN. OK NOW?

[This message has been edited by Dave T-S (edited 11 November 2000).]

 

To answer your original question.

I can be almost certain that you have a leaking drivers side rocker cover.

I have just experienced the same thing, it took me weeks to find were it was coming from.

It happened after only 5 miles of driving, getting the horrible smell of burning oil and the occasional puff of smoke.

I noticed some deposits on the exhaust which is situated directly under the rocker cover.

I asked the same question on the IWOC email list and I was reliably informed by a member that this is a "VERY" common problem with the scooby, especially the drivers side, which then was brought to my attention that there has been an official "memo" to all dealers notifying them of this problem, which also informed them that when fitting to use gasket sealer.

The leak was coming from he bottom left(as you look at it).

I have since fitted a new gasket, which I fitted dry and hence still leaked, I then used gasket sealant and everything is hunkydoory.

My gasket cost me £40 but I have an import, so could not get from a dealer I think they cost about £20.

What you need is the main gasket, 2x spark plug gaskets, 2x semi-circular plastic seals and 6x bolt seals.

It is a doddle to fit.

If you need any more assistance drop me an email.

Muddy.

 

Hi All

Thanks for the replies.This should make it a little easier when I have a little word with the said main dealer.

Dave,Suntit (oops sorry Sunil) You pair never cease to amaze me with your never ending banter.Do you spend all day infront of your computers thinking this stuff up??
Anyway keep up the good work it makes the posts much better to read.

Thanks

CHRIS

 

YOUNG GED
It's my mission to bring a bit of entertainment to this BBS - and give Sunlip a hard time in the process!!

BTW my last post was a bit of a rant because it appears to be a Sunilp imposter...

 

Dave, you spelt ny name right, and not Sunlip......are you slipping man!?

 

Sunlip/Sunilp/Sunil!/Sinlip/Suntit
Check my post - one of each spelling of Sunilp/Sunlip - all that five knuckle shuffling is making your eyes go funny!!

[This message has been edited by Dave T-S (edited 12 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Dave T-S (edited 12 November 2000).]

 

Thanks for the info guys, I'll make sure the dealer is fully aware of this when i see them later this week!

 

Just notice a similar smell on my wrx. Having checked the oil I noticed that it had dropped quite considerably. Any details on where I can get the gasket socket etc , what is the part number, deliverey time etc ??

Any advice greatly appreciated

ALso, has anybody had a 'stuck' oil filler cap ? It's a bitch to shift !!!

 

The gasket itself and the other bits weren't expensive, just the know-how and time were. For convenience I got it done at the Dealer, guess that doesn't help you with an import. Try Park Lane in Alton, they normally have a good stock of imported parts, and have a website but not sure of the address. (park-lane.co.uk or something??)

 

Glad to see its fixed now. My 'Burning Smell' problem confused me for ages.

Turned out that the diff seals used to leak small amounts of grease. The grease packed into the diff was too thin and leaked out very slowly. This then worked its way to the back of the car via the exhaust - that's where the burning smell was comming from. My dealer replaced using a thicker grease under warranty.

Rich.

[This message has been edited by Rich_R (edited 27 November 2000).]

 

ahhhhh! this might be what 'my' burning smell is.

Did you happen to smell this whilst in the car?

 

just usually when in stationary traffic with the window open

Rich.