What's the Burning Smell

14 August 2008, 23:48

Took the scoob out last night gave it abit then notice a burning smell coming from the engine bay, there was no smoke or nothing so abit confused as what it could be.

could it be the turbo on it's way out

any advice as to what it could be???

14 August 2008, 23:51

Clutch maybe?

14 August 2008, 23:55

Losing coolant ? that doesn't smell very nice when hot.

15 August 2008, 00:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by 53WRX

Losing coolant ? that doesn't smell very nice when hot.

Sorry mate im not to technical, how can i avoid this if this is the case, mind you the engine was hot!! and it wasn't even running for that long

15 August 2008, 23:23

The engine will smell a bit if you get it too hot.... but why did it get hot in the first place? I'd check the coolant level, if that's ok i'd check the thermostat. I assume the oil level is good?

What indication did you get on the dash?

15 August 2008, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlooSooby

The engine will smell a bit if you get it too hot.... but why did it get hot in the first place? I'd check the coolant level, if that's ok i'd check the thermostat. I assume the oil level is good?

What indication did you get on the dash?

the engine temp on dash was fine, just above the half way mark, did touch the bonnet which was really hot, i did have a packed car but cant see that being a problem. i was only on the turbo for 2 min when i noticed the smell, a burnt smell.

the only other problem that i can see is that i have a after market exhaust but still have the main cat on down pipe and a green panel without a remap, i was told from clinic, power station that it would be ok without map.

now for the dumb question how do i check the coolant level and the thermostat level

thanks

16 August 2008, 00:57

rocker gaskets perhaps?

16 August 2008, 09:12

on boost.. heavy car whoever said clutch would get my vote

16 August 2008, 09:15

You don't say which model Scooby you have ( pre/post MY01?)

If you have a post MY01 I'd get a remap after those mods, the ECU on these models doesn't like having major changes (that includes a performance exhaust) being fitted without getting a remap. The ECU will detect changes in performance and start to make changes to the fuelling to protect the engine (it'll start to run rich)

You say the temp indicator was normal, I've heard of WRX temp indicators staying at mid (normal) indication despite a difference of 20 degrees!!!

The coolant header on my MY01 is on the driver's side of the inlet manifold, the overflow tank is at the front on the passenger side. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE HEADER TANK WITH THE ENGINE HOT, WAIT FOR IT TO COOL!!)

The thermostat is an automatic valve that opens up the coolant path to the radiator/heater matrix once the engine has reached normal operating temp. If you can get warm air from the vents the thermostat is working.

The only other thing I can think of, if all else is normal, is that the cat in your up-pipe is melting down (not unheard of when performance tweaks have been made without remapping). If the cat is melting down I'd avoid driving the car until it's sorted, or at least keep it below boost (<2600 rpm) until someone looks at it.

Hope it's something minor mate

16 August 2008, 09:17

these cars are prone to cam cover gasket leaks from hardened cam cover rubber seals and half moons. There is a good chance you have a drip of oil dropping on to the exhaust manifolds at the collector or on to the heat shield at that point. You will not find oil on the floor as the drip evaporates or burns away as it hits the hot exhaust.
No big deal. Replace the cam cover gasket if it bugs you.

16 August 2008, 15:07

If it's the clutch the smell will have a bit of a sickly sweet/chemical aroma about it.

If it's the rocker cover gasket you'll see smoke fumes rising out of the scoop/engine bay when stopped.

Does the car do it all the time or just the one occasion when you were loaded up?

16 August 2008, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlooSooby

If it's the clutch the smell will have a bit of a sickly sweet/chemical aroma about it.

If it's the rocker cover gasket you'll see smoke fumes rising out of the scoop/engine bay when stopped.

Does the car do it all the time or just the one occasion when you were loaded up?

it does it on some occasion, i remember it doing it once before but i thought it was the brakes on fire, they was really hot !! and she was driven hard for a while and braking hard but the other day the smell came about even before i touched the brakes

Confused

16 August 2008, 17:26

oh it's a 04 WRX

checked the oil, seemed fine too

16 August 2008, 17:40

for starters what did it smell like, then we would no more insted of just saying it's this or that.
my car as made some smells in the past the worst smelling on was when rad hose bust.

16 August 2008, 17:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvey

these cars are prone to cam cover gasket leaks from hardened cam cover rubber seals and half moons. There is a good chance you have a drip of oil dropping on to the exhaust manifolds at the collector or on to the heat shield at that point. You will not find oil on the floor as the drip evaporates or burns away as it hits the hot exhaust.
No big deal. Replace the cam cover gasket if it bugs you.

What harvey said ^^^^

16 August 2008, 23:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlooSooby

If it's the rocker cover gasket you'll see smoke fumes rising out of the scoop/engine bay when stopped.

Yep I can confirm this as my oil preassure sensor was leaking from the manifold.

After having some gauges fitted at the local dealership.

17 August 2008, 00:25

I have the same problem with my scooby... I have WRX 54 and i only get the smell if you rev hard... or Accelerate in 1st and use most of the revs.. (the smell comes into the cockpit area)

There is no smoke.. the car seems to be running fine... it's been for a service 3 weeks ago.. The car is under warranty so i take it SUBARU should look into this problem for free.. ?