sgking

after a long drive yesterday we noticed a light burning smell when we parked up, we just thought it was clutch smell.

today we went for a short drive and parked up and i realised the car stank of burning!

so i popped the bonnet and i was so shocked! i found that most of the bonnet lining had burned away leaving scorch marks all over the underside of the bonnet.

so, check all wiring, fluid levels and hoses etc and all are fine. car runs fine still.

all we can see is that the air con pump (to the right of the alternator) has spewed a bit of dust around the area where it lives, but it still operates with very litlle sound. a faint bearing noise can be heared coming from it.

just recently the car has been screeching when pulling away on full lock.

so thats about it. what do you think?

i think we are very lucky that the heat didnt get to the fuel pipes!

thanks all

M_J_P

iTrader: (12)

Had a similar thing with mine ('03 JDM STI). Did a few hundred miles including a trackday and noticed a grinding metallic noise about 10 miles from home. Mine also appeared to be the air con pulley.
I have removed the belt for now and will sort it out when I can be bothered!

The brown dusty one...

sgking

ye thats the one, ours is dusty too, but even more so than yours. i just dont understand how it could have set fire to the bonnet lining. ill take some pics after work tomorrow and get them up for all to see.

thanks for the photo.

need this car back on the road quick for work so any help appreciated.

im thinking new pump and belt(s). anyone got any prices / places to buy this stuff from?

thanks

M_J_P

iTrader: (12)

Move the alternator belt, Slacken the adjuster on the aircon belt and slip it off. Re-fit the alternator belt and drive without the aircon 'till you can fix it fully...

M_J_P

iTrader: (12)

Try Importcarparts for a new replacement or one of the breakers/classifieds on here

sgking

MJP - im going to have a proper gander after work.

could you kindly elaborate your already very helpful information into a sort of step by step by any chance?

my g/f actually owns the impreza and as such i dont usually do the work on it, but in this situation it needs doing quick!

can i just cut the a/c belt so the car is useable for tomorrow? or is it tensioned?


thanks a mil.

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

Yes you can cut the belt off. there only a tenner or so anyway and i would always reccommend a replacement if a new compresor was to be fitted at a later date.

sgking

well i took a load of photos, and im completley stumped.

there is no sign of any real damage under the hood.

the only thing worthy of note are:

1. thick black dust around the alternator
2. thick brown dust around the ac pump

the scorch marks on the bonnet suggest the alternator is the centre of the heat?

the car runs fine when listening to the engine up front, but to be honest it stinks of petrol out the exhaust! - any thoughts!

this is quite a tricky situation im in here. the evidence is so inconclusive that i dont really want my g/f driving it the way it is in case it catches fire again!

sgking

turbo ****, ok ill cut the ac belt just for now just in case. thanks for your info.

sgking

well ive double and triple checked evrything. and there are no problematic areas.

the car stinks of fuel though and my gf says it costs her alot more in fuel these days.

its had the rear o2 sensor code for a long time, so today we fitted the standard exhaust back on, in case that was to blame.

i also noticed the borla nuts were loose so i did them up tight again

ive cut the a/c belt off. there was no refiregerant in the system so was useless anyway.

checked the fuel lines in engine bay and they are all ok.

had a family member who has 6k of snap-on diagnostics probing the rear o2 sensor and he concluded that the lamda was ok and that maybe the cat was at fault.

still got to check the front 02 sensor though.

the borla is a borla copy so he asked me to check the welds are ok on it. i will do this tomorrow after work.

as for the fire, well he was at a loss too.

help!