Merry christmas to all. I have a 94 wrx which has never given me any problems till yesterday , i was driving along a duel A road came to a roundabout( suprise suprise ,i live in Swindon) and i could see what looked like steam coming from my bonnet vent, so i stopped had a quick look and decided it was steam, it seems to be coming from next or near the turbo, the temp gauge isnt getting any higher and im getting no warning light on the dash. Can anyone point me in the right direction............thanks

 

Was it raining at the time? I often get a bit of steam from the vent in the rain.

 

I used to get a problem in my old car :-) after a few miles from cold, there was a slight oil leak from the drivers side rocker cover which dripped onto the exhaust. It would clear after a about 10-15 mins of use. Does your steam persist or does it go away?.

Still havent seen you around.

 

Hi,
You might find it is the rocker cover gasket gone, I had this problem on my '94 wrx, and apparently it is quite common and it will not cost an arm and a leg to put right.
It actually looks worse than what it is but still a good idea to get put right as the oil seep's onto/around the exhaust.
Hope this helps
Dean

 

Thanks guys, hi Bruce i keep looking but i havnt seen u either, have a good new year!!!!!!

 

It can also be a the power steering fluid reservoir. Which are of a bad design on early cars and alsp tend to leak onto the hot exhaust. Best to replace completely.
I also had the rocker cover prob on my 94WRX so as mentioned it could be that.
Best wishes
Steve

[Edited by Steve Whitehorn - 12/27/2002 10:41:36 PM]

 

We need to talk odours!
The smell will tell you what is leaking.

It could just be your coolant resevoir: These are notoriously fragile (more so than the power steering resevoir!) and will give you whispy steam once the engine is really hot.

Power steering fluid gives off a LOT of smoke per droplet. It also stinks like burning cleaning fluid.

Oil stinks and gives a lighter coloured smoke...but everyone knows that "burning oil smell"

Good luck mate. Give the car a good run and have a look for fluids.

 

All sounds very familiar.... I had a gubbed power steering gasket causing smoke then the radiator header tank leaking causing steam and now the rocker cover gasket is leaking a bit causing smoke.

Power steering gasket.

Mine smoked when the car was hot and was noticably worse when the car had been thrashed a bit (I guess when the exhaust is at it's hottest). I replaced the gasket between the tank and the pump and it was sorted.

Radiator header tank.

Seals around the top go after time on the plastic tanks apparently. On mine i could see where the coolant was coming out from (just above the bracket). Once the car was warmed up it steams constantly. The plastic tanks can't be repaired but a new one is only about 50-55 quid. You might want to replace it with the metal tank from a later model car but this involves replacing some of the pipes with longer ones.

Rocker cover gasket.

The smoke only appears once the engine is heated up and the oil pressure is still relatively high (about 5 minutes after starting the car from cold). It clears up within a few minutes though. I've been quoted 100 quid to replace the gasket but i think quite a few folk have done it themselves.

edited to add : my car is also a 94 WRX

edited again cuz i'm a numpt

[Edited by marty_t3 - 12/29/2002 2:59:38 AM]

[Edited by marty_t3 - 12/29/2002 3:04:30 AM]

 

Compo,

Do u have an induction air filter fitted 2 the car?
Does the "steam" only appear when changing gear?

Pete