Looking for suggestions re oil burning off and through bonnet scoop.


- 00MY
- I've had the complete rocker cover gasket set changed by Subaru
- Still smelling and seeing oil smoke once the engine is hot and idling.
- Can't see any signs of oil seaping onto the exhaust, but I know it doesn't take much.


Question :-

What's the metal pipe that goes from under the intercooler at the back right hand corner (from the driver's seat, near to the gearbox oil dipstick) before it joins to the rubber/plastic pipe with a big circlip ? It was very oily and the 02 sensor housing had a fair amount of aged oil on it.

>> I can't find an engine schematic that I can work out, and no oil anywhere else, so could it be something other than rocker gaskets ? If there is oil just under the intercooler should I be looking elsewhere?


Thanks!

 

could it be the old oil burning off still ?

 

Had my rocker gasket changed and it was about a month before the oil smoke an smell vanished.

 

if you have wrapped headers then its probably the oil spillage from where they changed the gaskets.

I had same issue after having both gaskets changed, in the end I removed the wrap, which was saturated...

 

mine reeked for a while after having both sides done. i had the half moons done as well one of mine was cracked. it could be your turbo oil seals gone or maybe even the front crank seal leaking. give it a week or 2 to let it burn off before looking at other things.

 

If it was turbo oil seals, wouldn't that show through the exhaust ? The only smoke I see is through the bonnet scoop. Will give it a couple of weeks as you suggest and clean up any oil I can see so I can spot any new leaks.


Any ideas on this >>
What's the metal pipe that goes from under the intercooler at the back right hand corner (from the driver's seat, near to the gearbox oil dipstick) before it joins to the rubber/plastic pipe with a big circlip ? It was very oily and the 02 sensor housing had a fair amount of aged oil on it.

 

will go out later and have a look at the pipe your talking about. the prob with an oil leak is it can be coming from anywhere and either dripping on the hot engine block or the hot exhaust parts thus giving off smoke. might be an idea to take off the intercooler for a look around under there.

 

Cheers

 

Did you find the issue with this ?

 

Not yet - only done local mileage since and wiped away any trace of oil and dirt I could see. Hope to get chance to 'get it up to temperature' tomorrow...

 

Still some smoke - definitely from the exhaust behind the heat shield next to the intercooler. Will run it for a couple of weeks and if its still smoking its clearly still seepage rather than residue.

 

It wouldn't be the oil feed banjo bolt going into the turbo would it. It can run down the cartridge and end up in all sorts of locations. That big pipe your talking about would possibly be the oil return from the turbo which would also add up about it possibly being the banjo bolt or oil feed pipe. There's a possibility you could have a cracked turbo cartridge hopefully not.

 

.. hope not - the car has never been modified at all and is on fairly low miles for its age.
Would there be any other symptoms - smoke from exhaust / noise from turbo / loss of power etc, as it seems to be running fine ?

Will definitely ask the Subaru garage that fitted the gaskets to look at what you've suggested if it persists. Thanks.

 

All I can say is a little bit of oil goes a long way. If it is that you would use a little bit of oil and then it would possibly get worse but who is to say. You may just check.

 

Best bet would be to get it on a ramp for inspection, I wander if the rocker on the drivers side is still weeping perhaps? If the garage didn't use any sealant when they changed the gasket then there is a chance it could still be leaking. Then again this would be easy enough to see, but worth asking