marc lee

Hey folks, I have an 03 blob eye wrx that had a full forged cosworth build last year and not had any trouble until recently. I'm getting an oil smell coming through my heater vents after driving and parking up (I.e, stopping at traffic lights, parking and cooling down etc) ..... The car had new CV boots a few months ago as one of them perished and split and leaked grease over the drive shaft which created a similar smell to what im currently getting, BUT i made certain i removed all the grease i could find whilst doing some DIY work on her at home. Iv got no oil leaks on my driveway and im finding it hard to get a precise oil level reading on the dipstick (maybe just me being paranoid and wanting to find a problem) but iv checked the oil filter, iv checked around the sub frame etc, and all over found was the odd bit of oil, grease and dirt from the road. I'm baffled people, truly baffled, as when the car is just idling away to itself before driving i can't smell anything. It's only after driving and coming to a stop for a minute or two that it smells, especially when i give her some lead foot treatment haha. This leads me to believe it's drive train related as if oil is flicking around as im driving. .... BAFFLED PEEPS!

marc lee

Probably won't make a difference but it's a bulb eye, not blob eye, sorry.

rb5 stu

Its blob.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

When engine is cold (obviously) remove the air filter and run your hand under the drivers side rocker cover. I suspect like most, you rocker cover gasket is leaking.

bludgod

iTrader: (3)

+1 for rocker cover gaskets here - mine did the same thing started off as a secret smell then worked it's way up to tiny smoke signals from the bonnet scoop. New rocker gaskets and poof job done.

what happens is the leak drips onto the exhaust manifold and burns off. so you dont get a spot on your driveway. The oil loss is teenytiny amounts it seems as even when I was getting smoke signals the oil loss was hardly noticeable on the dipstick.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

+2.

Steve001

iTrader: (7)

Hopefully just an oil leak
But
Have you checked the expansion bottle for the water system? Is the car overheating at all?

themaskedunit

hi dude. id 99% say its your rocker gasket leaking on the drivers side mate which drips on to the turbo up pipe and burns off into the pong youre experiencing. remove the airbox and have a grope around the lower back edge of the rocker cover.

if it is is say personally to remove the exhaust manifold to fix it properly and get all the old oil off and double check its sealing correctly. ive done this a few times now and can get the lot off in 45 mins. if you check my last thread ive put up a post about sealing it. its pretty easy to strip down if the bolts undo tbh. id use rtv black sealant and get a genuine subaru gasket the includes the outer seal, 2 inner seals and the 8 bobbins for the bolts.

heres a quick guide if it is the rocker

1 jack up the car and undo the tray (about 5 bolts, 3 push clips and 2 U clips at the back)

2 pop off the cover behind the drivers wheelarch.

3 take out the up pipe lambda behind the wheelarch which will in turn allow you to remove the manifold heat shield.

4 undo the 2 bolts that connect the manifold the uppipe

5 undo the 2 bolts that connect the manifold to the passenger side manifold pipe

6 undo the 3 bolts that hold the manifold to the head

7 wiggle out the manifold (drop it on the engine side first then slot it out towards the engine)

8 you now have full access to the underside of the the rocker and will clearly see all the old oil gloop thats baked onto the head.

9 (from the top airbox removed) undo the 2 coilpacks and the 8 rocker bolts.

10 slide the cover off and remove the pipe connected to the top of the rocker casing

11 job done on dismantling, id say 1 - 1 1/2 hours taking apart first go with the right tools to hand

notes - you will need a proper lambda socket as there is no clearance to get a spanner in on it

hope this helps

themaskedunit

oh and also id use a 10mm ring spanner to crack the nuts and wind them out with a 3/8 socket for speed. vice versa putting them back in and dont over tighten the nuts! youll easily feel when youve hit torque with a ring spanner instead of a socket wrench :-)

lloydsound

Would this contribute to the wobbly horizon heat dissipating from the scoop? Just presumed this was normal, but I have the same smell

marc lee

wow guys thanks for the help and thanks for your time to run me through the steps of a possible leaky rocker. I'm not too savvy with cars but iv been forced to do some work myself as it's an expensive car to upkeep. I'm going to check the rocker as soon as tomorrow hits daylight. il be back here to confirm, thanks so so much. The car isn't overheating by the way, the car drives completely normal, as one guy said it's a phantom smell and im hoping it will be a cheap and easy fix, im willing to work on it myself if it's not too complex. Thanks again pro's

bludgod

iTrader: (3)

don't be worried by the amount of work it sounds like - get in there with the spanners and give yourself plenty of time to do the job and you'll be done before you know it.

lloydsound - no the wobbly horizon heat coming out of the scoop is normal it's coming up from the turbo past the intercooler and out the scoop. Do you still have your turbo heatshield installed?

Steve001

iTrader: (7)

Glad to hear its not overheating

Reason I asked, is when my head gasket went one of the symptoms was an oily smell when the oil/coolant mix overflowed into the expansion bottle.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I replaced my last rocker cover gasket by just removing the air box, spark plus and rocker cover using a ratchet spanner.

Never heard of removing the manifold to do this!

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Ditto.


ICP do the complete kits including the rubber/metal "one use" washers and the oil separator gaskets to do a full job. These are essential if you are going to do it properly.

http://www.importcarparts.co.uk/part...y=&searchPart=

themaskedunit

i first removed the mani as i did an up pipe decat at the same time. if i had the choice i would personally remove the mani for access to the bottom bolts and check the seal, plus its pretty easy to take off and also to give the affected area a good clean out however its not neccesary which i clearly mentioned in my op. just depends how **** you are and it would only take an extra hour tops to know youve cleaned out all the old gungy oil that WILL be there if its leaking. there will be oil all over the manifold heat shield, downpipe, sump, downpipe chassis section.....personally for the effort id rather know i hit all the bullet points and give it a good clean out but yes, gear head is correct in saying that it can be done without removing the the tray/mani etc if youre not too fussed. removing the mani will allow for a neater job with little extra work but as clear as i can say IT IS NOT NECCESSARY

marc lee

Hey guys, thanks a lot for your input i really appreciate it. It's been raining most of the day so havant had any chance to get under the bonnet. I did however take a trip to my mechanic because earlier on this afternoon my engine management light flagged up for unknown reasons. the car is driving as her usual self with no changes. yet another problem on my todo list! ...... My guy said it's probably nothing serious as the car would go into "limp mode" and tug at half throttle and be noticeably different to drive if there's anything serious. I'm hoping it's not related to this oil smell iv been getting. its probably just a lambda sensor or something. anyways he's going to plug in the fault reader Saturday night and find it out. .... as for the rocker covers, I brought this to his attention and he assured me with confidence that when they built my cosworth lump last year they were MINT. I'm now more worried about the management light ........ The car drives completely normal ..... what do you guys think??? something simple?? plus i have my MOT due on Monday morning.

Steve Scooby

could be a crank shaft oil seal weeping causing the smell .

themaskedunit

without a diagnostic its hard to tell dude. ive never been too worried, in the years ive spent battling with fault codes theyve never been anything major, always coil packs, sensors etc however if youre still driving it everyday go easy on the go-faster pedal just to be on the safe side till you know exactly what the fault is. you should try owning a vag group car.... if the lights NOT on id be more worried that the last owner had removed the bulb lol.

even though the rocker cover had been sorted it could still be weeping so thats what id check first. get your hand in to the back edge to visually check or, if you run it up to temp and go for a short drive a prominent leak will result in a short puff of smoke as it drips onto the mani and goes thus through the heater vent plus youll smell it strongly if you hover your nose over that section while its running. its usually the drivers rocker because the oil burns off when it lands on the up pipe... the pass side mani doesnt angle under the rocker seal like the drivers side up pipe. you wouldnt get much of a smell if it was just a random oil leak

marc lee

Just an update guys. Thanks for all the replies. I just saw my mechanic he plugged it in and said it was a lambda probe just doing its job. It was in the historical bracket so not a current problem. He said maybe somewhere down the line my car has run a little lean and the car flagged it up as a minor warning. no need to replace anything. maybe i let the petrol tank get a little low at some point recently. .... anyways that a great load off my mind. I'm off tomorrow and Monday so im going to check out the faint oil smell. cheers guys