crockettbrat Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Hey all: So this 1998 impreza obs i bought the other day has a really strong burnt oil smell. I have another thread going about where to start on fixing it and I should have the engine out in the next day or so, but I'm wondering if others who have had head gaskets fail have had this nasty really strong burnt oil smell? The plastic airbox between the maf and the tps got some oil in it from the breather hose on the passenger side valve cover and it is seriously stinky. Stank up my whole shop. When I was initially trying to start the car the smell was pumping out very strong. Anyway probably going to end up replacing the engine with a cheap used one, but may also just clean up the heads if there is no visible damage and slap new gaskets in there and see what happens. Just wondering if anyone else has had this strong smell. I've actually never had a car overheat on me before, and this is the first time I've bought one dead, so hoping to learn from those with more experience in this department. Thanks, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J A Blazer Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Perhaps what you are smelling is grease from the CV joints, spinning out through torn CV boots onto the exhaust system. Thats what happened to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 excellent suggestion. very common to have grease on the exhaust or engine from a blown boot. if the axles are relatively new it could have old grease still on it as well. it'll get bad enough to smoke and smell it in the cabin while you're driving too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 Sorry I should have given more info. I hadn't had coffee when I posted this up earlier. I'm familiar with the grease on the y pipe smell from my brat. Thanks for the idea, but this is different. The oil in the engine smells burnt. Pull out the dip stick and take a whiff and its stinky. The axles look great and the engine and transmission and exhaust system look nice and clean. The engine wont start at this point because of blown head gaskets, and maybe other stuff:-\ ... so no heat is necessary for this stink, just the presence of the motor oil causes this burnt smell I'm really wondering if others who have over heated their vehicles had this burnt oil smell, or if this is a sign of an engine that was extremely,severely overheated. The vehicle is very clean and appears to have been well maintained and loved by its previous owner. Two owner car (dad and then his daughter) with owners manuals and original window sticker still in the glove box and oil change stickers. Very clean engine compartment, and lots of shiny metal parts and dealer prep marks still looking new, spotless brake fluid, ect. Anyway, I'm going to pull the heads and then decide what to do. Thanks all for any info about your overheated vehicles. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Whenever you overheat an engine, you should change the oil as a margin of saftey. Oil is not only a lubricant but a coolant. It takes longer for it to overheat then water, but it also breaks down quickly once it gets to that point. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 I will of course change the oil. I'm trying to decide how to go about getting this car back on the road. I didn't personally overheat this vehicle, so I dont know what really happened to it, or how badly it was overheated. I am interested if anyone else who has overheated and blown head gaskets has had this burnt oil smell and if their engine was toast or if they successfully got it going with new gaskets and valve job. The woman I bought it from was told by her mechanic that it needed a $4000 new engine and that was her only route, so now helpful info there. If nobody has had this smell then I assume this thing got seriously cooked. I'll take heads off in the next day or so, but I'm worried about the rest of the motor and I'm not going to split the engine open. Anyway thanks all for any info. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Does it run at all? If she over heated the engine and you got a deal, get a used engine and put your mind at ease. Cooking a aluminum engine can cause the cylinder liner to shift, and will be almost impossible to reseal the heads ever again. Still need a compression test to get an idea on what shape the other three cylinders are in. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 No it wont start at all. I assume I'll be changing the engine and went hunting at the pick n pull today, and wanted to strangle the guy at a local wrecking yard when I asked if they had any OBDII subaru ej22 motors and he told me to speak english. The next yard had one with 80k for $1k, but we all know they can be had for cheaper. I bought my donor legacy for my brat ej swap with a big dent and 95k miles for $350 and sold enough parts off it to have everything I needed for the successful swap, and more than $350 back. I just really want this thing on the road fast and dont want to wait for a donor vehicle to show up, and go through the whole dismantling process again. Although it was fun taking a sawsall to the legacy in the end. I will do the compression test before I go any farther and see. Thanks for the info Nipper, much appreciated. I forgot I have a harbor freight leak down tester too. I've never used it, maybe I'll dig it up and see how it works too. Thanks for the direction. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Compression or leak down will do. But since soobys dont normally not run with a blown HG (and most engines for that matter) i wonder if the cooked the rings. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) woah, doesn't run at all? bizarre indeed. it turns over though? i'd be skeptical too. $1,000 - WOAH, are you sure he didn't quote for an EJ25 or a 99 EJ22? don't buy that one, i got one i'll drive to you for hundred less!! that is insanely high for an EJ22. what state are you in, CA i think? EJ25's are usually $1,000+ EJ22's are usually easy to find for $500-ish unless you get into the 99+ EJ22's, but you're not. and of course they can be had much cheaper. if you have to source further and have it shipped. Edited December 5, 2008 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 PnP in Rancho Cordova has a good selection of subies as they have a whole yard just for imports. Richmond PnP may take you longer to find a donor.. . I can help. We can have the engine out in 2~3 hours. . . Sounds like a combination of really badly burnt oil and a stuck PVC valve blowing oil into the intake . . . (the plastic part of the intake, right before the Throttle body, right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 Hey all: Thanks for sticking with me on this! Yeah California is where I live and yes the yards charge ridiculous prices, but the good news is they wont be getting any of my $. Gnuman thanks for the offer of help. If its not obvious from my crockettbrat name, I live in Crockett which is just downstream from you on the Carquinez Straight, by Vallejo. You described the oil in the intake exactly right. I'll check the pvc valve. Another thought was swimming through my brain as I was waking up this morning and that is that this car has a "code alarm" keyless entry/car alarm. Its possible that the not starting is due to the alarm. I set off the alarm the other day and am not sure what model alarm I have, or how to reset it. I just unplugged the battery for a while and when I hooked it back up the alarm stopped going off and I armed and disarmed it with the keys. The car turns over fine with the key in the ignition, but I haven't gone any farther than that. Thanks, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Hey all: Thanks for sticking with me on this! Yeah California is where I live and yes the yards charge ridiculous prices, but the good news is they wont be getting any of my $. Gnuman thanks for the offer of help. If its not obvious from my crockettbrat name, I live in Crockett which is just downstream from you on the Carquinez Straight, by Vallejo. You described the oil in the intake exactly right. I'll check the pvc valve. Another thought was swimming through my brain as I was waking up this morning and that is that this car has a "code alarm" keyless entry/car alarm. Its possible that the not starting is due to the alarm. I set off the alarm the other day and am not sure what model alarm I have, or how to reset it. I just unplugged the battery for a while and when I hooked it back up the alarm stopped going off and I armed and disarmed it with the keys. The car turns over fine with the key in the ignition, but I haven't gone any farther than that. Thanks, Daniel If it cranks its not the alarm. When it cranks, does it crank evenly, or does it sound like whne it gets to a spot it cranks faster then slows down? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Well I did the compression test and it looks bad. The battery isn't holding much of a charge, but all I could get was 60psi at all 4 cylinders driving the motor with my starter/ charger. It "cold" here in California today 50 something , and the engine wont start and is obviously cold, but seems extremely low. My fuel pump is working and I've got spark, so my theory about the alarm is wrong. I found an engine with 88k miles at a used japanese motor place in redding with the egr valve. 6 month warranty on the engine delivered for $700. I want to drive this thing to Colorado for Xmas, so I bought the engine and it will be here on Tuesday. I wish I could have spent less, but $500 for the car and $700 for a low mileage engine and some piece of mind works for me. Thanks to all for the help on this one. I'll keep you posted about the motor because I'll tear into it to see how bad it looks. Thanks, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Yes sounds like the engine was cooked enough to ruin the rings. But an answer either way is better then not knowing. Sounds like it will still turn out to be a good deal. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 i'm assuming you know you'll want to install new timing belts and check all the pulleys on this? this is an interference engine, if the belt breaks the motor is toast...well unless you want to repair bent valves and possibly damaged pistons/cylinder walls. 10 years old, the cogged idlers are rarely smooth by now and one other pulley may be weak as well. check them out. nice to install a new belt with the motor out anyway. i usually just get the ebay timing kits with all new tensioner and pulleys, but they're $300 which i understand isn't everyones cup of tea. if this is an automatic and you've never done a soob before make sure you know how to seat the torque converter or you'll be calling that same place looking for a transmission! good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Hey Gary: Yeah I intend to do the timing belt. I'll inspect the pulleys too. I have a timing belt kit with pulleys and water pump for my 93 ej motor that I didn't use because the parts on it looked perfect. I guess I'll be buying the service manual for this thing too. I've never done a subaru timing belt so I guess I'll be doing some searching. If I recall from other posts there is something about compressing the tensioner on the later ej22's that indicates I'll screw it up. I'll do a search on seating the torque converter too. Thanks for your help so far. Much appreciated. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 all the timing belt stuff you'll need is here or here but linked to on the Subaru endwrench site. EJ timing belts are really easy and your EJ22 is simple and straight forward. get the endwrench procedure, it's awesome, detailed, pictures, and straight from subaru. some of us have the FSM in PDF form and could mail it to you, might be awhile before i can get to it. it's 64MB, too big to email for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Thanks again! You are the info man extraordinair! I will find those endwrench links. Much appreciated. I found the thread on seating the tc. Seems straight forward. Just out of curiousity why not unbolt the tc from the flex plate before pulling the engine, and leave it seated? Is it because of the PITA factor of getting to the bolts, and its just easier to pull it with the motor and then reseat? Thanks again man! Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I have always just unbolted the tc from the flex plate before pulling the motor. Yes it is a pain in the butt sometimes to get to the four tc bolts but I personally think its worth it so you don't have to worry about the hassle of re-seating the tc. If you are going to completely reseal the engine anyway than you can pull the whole intake assembly before hand and then the tc bolts are easy to get to. Thats just my opinion:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Thanks bratman. I'll take a look and see if I can houdini in there. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 "New" engine arrived today! My neighbor with the engine hoist has been awol the last few days, so I haven't pulled the old engine out yet, but I will be moving forward now! The new engine isn't as clean as the old one, but hopefully the little rig will be up and running soon. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get going on my timing belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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