1) burning odor and 2) poor handling and MPG

[GMPBoss]

I have a 2004 Forester XT with about 80,000 mi. I have two problems:

1) Starting this winter I get a burning/exhaust smell through the heater vent

whenever the heater is on and I am not moving. Presumably when I am moving the fresh air clears the cowl intake. Initially it was worse but I found that the valve cover had a slight oil leak and that has been fixed and there is no further leak and everything that may have leaked has certainly burned off. I see no smoke but the garage smells of the same odor.

2) Despite my gr8 all wheel drive I slid into a curb on ice. Right rear wheel hit

and bent the strut and damaged bearing and the knuckle. All were replaced. Since then the car handles horribly. Every bump or large crack and the car appears to jump to the side. Even on packed snow it seems to lose stability. Further, gas mileage is now at about 10 mpg! Any ideas, everything looks good by visual inspection. Each rear wheel, when off ground, turns in neutral (5 speed stick) but with much resistance, is this typical for AWD?

[bstone]

Any codes?

[idosubaru]

i'd focus on the second issue first since that's the most serious. but for kicks, have you ever replaced the cabin filter and does your forester have one? i'd start there.

 

as for the jumping problem, wow that's interesting. who repaired it the first time? might be best for them to look at it.

 

honestly i'd jsut get a complete rear assembly on that side...obviously you don't need the hub or strut any more, and swap it out. all the links, everything that attaches the hub to the vehicle on that side. those parts aren't that expensive because they're essentially never replaced so not much demand for them, just need to find someone willing to get you the entire thing or one you can pull them off yourself.

 

if you want to narrow it down or check, take some measurements and see what is out of place. what i've done to a few different vehicles is to look for points that are symmetric on both sides and measure them. i've never seen any drivability issues like you're talking about but measurements were off about an inch or so in various places, so i'd expect somewhere it will bear itself out on yours as well.

 

first measurement - measure how far each rear wheel is from the front wheel. get as accurate as you can and see if there's a difference.

 

as for sliding, nothing beats driving slower of course, but high quality snow tires are amazing and outshine all seasons by a long shot.

Edited February 14, 2011 by grossgary

[GMPBoss]

So I tried to measure and look at symmetry as suggested. I got it up on the lift and found that the anti-sway bar was off center. instead of the connecting arms being symmetrically angled they were parallel. This was adjusted and the handling seem to be improved although I have not yet tried it above 30 mph. The handling was an issue at all speeds, though so I am encouraged although I have no idea why this would affect gas mileage. I am also surprised that the anti-sway bar can affect the handling. Just filled the tank and will check that as well. Also ordered a replacement cabin filter for the smell.

Thanks for the advice.

[GMPBoss]

Oh I almost forgot. I didn't check codes as i don't have the computer. If gas mileage doesn't improve I will go that route next.

Thanks

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

Pay close attention to your tire wear as well. My 97 Outback was involves in a minor crash where my neighbor didn't see us going down the road, started to pull out of her driveway and hit the rear wheel. Minor cosmetic damage but did some suspension damage that wasn't immediately noticeable. After replacing a bent strut and a 4 wheel alignment, everything was fine.

 

My choice was to take the car to a collision repair shop where they took all of the necessary measurements and determined the only damage was to the strut. I had already replaced the damaged wheel. Unfortunately I didn't catch it quick enough to prevent ruining a set of Michelins:banghead:.

 

Had I paid closer attention to my tire wear, I would have picked up on the unseen damage sooner.

 

Improper alignment can hurt fuel efficiency. It would have to be pretty bad to pull it down to 10mpg.

[GMPBoss]

The work that was done was actually at a collision place and they aligned it as well. I went back there yesterday and they were very receptive to looking and test driving. It still took my notice of the antisway bar which they did not think would have much impact on handling. I have not put much miles on the car since but I will watch tire wear as you are right that is a good indicator. Watching MPG as well, another tank at 10mpg and I am going to start pulling things apart!

Thanks for input!

[Rooster2]

To be getting only 10 mpg, I am thinking that your motor isn't running well. Any chance that the spark plug and plug wires need replacing? Also, PCV valve, and air cleaner? Prolly good idea to steam clean the motor to get rid of any residual oil that's hanging around. Also, like already mentioned, pull codes if your Check

Engine Light (CEL) is on. The codes will lead you to what mechanically needs to be addressed.