new, but familiar smell. help.

[paulo]

hey all.

i have a 2000 legacy gt with 190,000kms

i recently had the timing belt done, front rotors replaced, and cv boots replaced.

 

after getting the cv boots replaced a new smell began to emit from the car, always noticeable when the car comes to a stand at a light or parked after driving.

 

it was the same smell i've had once before that was traced back to axle grease dripping onto the exhaust.

 

today i had the car back to the shop to pinpoint the cause of this odor. the explanation i got minutes ago is:

(be patient with me, i get my car serviced, i have limited knowledge of new issues)

-the engine is basically in two parts

-the leak is coming from a seal that connects these two parts

-the leak is engine oil, and its leaking onto the exhaust causing the smell

-in order to stop the leak, the engine will need to be pulled.

-cost estimated $1500 to $3500

-its an issue the mechanic has seen before, and suggested coating the seal in silicone to seal the seal. he called me back to say that that can't be done as he can't even get at the seal as the cross member is in the way?

 

so....is this making any sense to anyone?

 

i thought for sure it had to do with the CV boot repair as the smell started almost immediately following the work...

 

thoughts?

[Olnick]

My first thought, like yours, is that it's old axle grease that's been flung around. If so it should burn off in a few days/weeks of driving.

 

If it's fresh oil that's leaking it is most likely the baffle (separator) plate that, unfortunately, requires separating the engine and transmission to replace.

 

Best bet is to get under your car yourself and try to figure out which it is.

 

In either case your shop's explanation sounds a bit fishy to me (and way too expensive!)

 

Where is Vancouver--BC or WA? If you're in WA you have some excellent resources just across the river in Portland. General Disorder (GD) and richierich, both board members who can give you an honest estimate.

 

Good luck.

[davebugs]

I don't think they have much experience with Subaru's.

 

That or the Subaru owners they have dealt with are wealthy and clueless( a more common situation than one might think - rich/clueless).

 

Motor oil smells very different than heavy grease (axle lube, diff lube) but as GG pointed out one time - they all smell the same on the internet (meaning that if you don't know the difference you could easily state the wrong fluid's smell).

 

Run. Run like the wind...

[Fairtax4me]

Extremely rare for the seam between the crank case halves to leak. It can. but it almost never happens.

Lots of other extremely common oil leaks on these engines that can cause major headaches, but are typically repairable in just a few hours by an experienced Subaru mechanic.

[Suba9792]

I agree with olnick, if you are in Vancouver WA take a trip to west linn and have GD get his hands dirty, but you may want to make an appointment, trust me he has a lot of subies in line as we speak. Case leaking? that's a new one for me I have never heard of that, was the engine rebuilt at any point?

[Buick350X]

clogged or stuck PCV, building pressure in the engine forcing oil out where it can?

[Suba9792]

I would have someone more "qualified" to confirm the case leakage, could be a leaky oil pump or cam seal, hell even an oil pan leak, but there is a distinct smell between motor oil and axle grease, climb under and take a pic and post it.

[paulo]

hey all,

thanks for the replies. i haven't narrowed it down yet, but will be taking it to the subaru dealer for a second opinion.

 

my mechanic, one that i have only just started going to regularly, suggested that the the seal between the crank cases leaking is 'classic subaru' issue. (?)

 

i still am 100% sure that the smell is identical to what was identified to me as burnt axle grease i had a couple years back, but the mechanic said that he could see where the oil was burning up on the manifold and where it was dripping from.

 

either way, can someone speak to this seal being a classic subaru issue? somebody posted earlier that this is actually rare?

 

if it were that seal joining the crank cases, and it could very well be as he did see where it had been leaking when it was hoisted, is the only way to fix it by pulling the engine?! i can't imagine that that would be cheap.

 

suba9792 - the engine hasn't ever been rebuilt as far as i know. i put on the last 110K kms and bought the car at 75K km's.

 

 

i just put $2K into the thing, the thought of another $2 to $3K is killing me.

 

thanks all. happy holidays to everybody at ultimate!

Edited December 23, 2010 by paulo
more info

[johnceggleston]

there are lots of places these engines will leak and end up dripping onto and burning on the exhaust. the most common are:

rear separator plate - on the back of the engine behind the fly wheel / flex plate next to the crank. MOST COMMON, you have to pull the engine. (it is possible that the mechanic ''dumbed'' down his explanation to keep it simple, but his price quote is scary (-cost estimated $1500 to $3500) and leaves room for a lot of bill padding. if the seal between the case halves is leaking it will be more economical to find a different engine, probably. and i have never heard of this happening.)

 

valve cover gaskets - pretty easy and not real expensive to do.

 

front cam and crank seals - easy to do with the timing belt.

 

oil pump o-ring / seal - easy to do with the timing belt adds about an hour, or less, and maybe 8$.

 

much less common (rarely fails unless someone has already don't it incorrectly) is the rear main seal - you have to pull the engine to do it. this is NOT something you ''may as well do'' when the engine is out. (unless it is leaking badly.) experienced and talented shops can do it correctly without problems but a lot of beginners and backyard mechanics have trouble getting it right and they end up leaking worse afterwards.

Edited December 23, 2010 by johnceggleston

[heartless]

honestly - i can not say i have ever heard of the engine leaking at the case half seal - i have been on this board since '03 and have never seen/heard anything even remotely like that on an engine that has never been cracked open.

 

as already mentioned, there are a lot of other places it could be leaking from, but the case half seam - um, not likely.

 

if it seriously smells more like axle grease then engine oil i would suspect it is either old grease still burning off, or possibly a damaged boot slinging new grease - right side seems to be unusually susceptible to damage as it is closer to the cat. and gets more heat than the left side. if the installer was careless when installing the new axle the boot could easily be damaged - i would be checking carefully.

[Suba9792]

Did you look at it as well when he told you its the manifold?? exhaust or intake? exhaust would point to oil pump or cam seal to me. Best have it checked by someone who really knows subies.