Burning Oil - NO LEAK

Hey guys,

 

So I'm stumped on this issue, which I have noticed a lot lately since it began to get cold out. Driving along, with the heat on, come to a stop, begin to take off again, smell of oil. Check my levels - fine. I have no idea what is going on. I smell oil, but I cannot find a leak nor notice oil levels dropping. Any ideas?

 

2007 2.5i Auto 113k

torn cv boot?

I have no idea on how to check that. I'm not very mechanically inclined.

Get under the car and look. It's either that or a valve cover gasket leak. That is what I would guess.

Could be a torn cv boot, wouldn't hurt to inspect for that.

 

I suspect what you smell is actually the chemicals used to pretreat the roads. A lot of places use liquid magnesium chloride to pretreat the road surface. When the road surface gets wet, this stuff can splash up onto your hot exhaust and create a funky smell. Considering the weather we've had lately, I'd bet that's what you're smelling.

No, I don't believe so. Sometimes(during the summer) when I shut my car off after a drive I can smell oil. I'll get to looking at the cv boot.

Here's a picture of one of my CV boots with some grease seeping out. Just thought I'd throw this out there since you mentioned not being sure how to check for a torn boot. There are two boots in the front of the car, one on each side of the transmission. And also you can notice the catalytic converter heat shield directly below the boot, which is where grease can splatter onto, and cause a funky smell when it heats up.

Alright. Should I be able to see it without raising the car?

You can see the passenger side cv boot pretty good without raising the car, as shown in the picture above. In the attached picture below, you'll see an area outlined in red. Look down in that area, and you should be able to see the passenger side cv boot. The driver side is a little harder to see, I could be wrong but I don't think you can get a good look at it from the top of the engine bay, you might have to go under the car to inspect the driver side boot.

Alright. I'll check it out and take pictures of it tomorrow. Thanks so much guys.

There have been times I would smell oil when the oil filter gasket seeped a little. Usually would seep after pushing the engine hard. I just hand tightened it some more.

Does this smell similar to clutch smell? I might have this problem.. pretty much have ruled out my clutch..but a similar smell is still happening

best bet is to either lift it, or put it up on ramps and get underneath. you'll see a oil leak if its there.

 

and especially check the areas around your exhaust. That's probably where the heat part of the burning smell is coming from.

So I went to drive up one of my rams today and it broke? So I'll need to jack it up one day. Busy the rest of the day.

Yea, I have a hard time trusting ramps. A good floor jack and good stands are the safe way to go.

 

While your under there looking up, check out the valve cover for a leak.

 

You may also want to view this thread for pictures,

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/covertrussians-05-lgt-build-thread-218363.html

 

He's great with a camera.

On the 2.5i models, most common would be the CV boot, valve cover and could even be the P/S pump leaking down the timing belt cover onto the exhaust.

pull your spark plug boots out and check for oil on them. If there is any sign of oil it will eventually cause it to short and then misfire. Its a sparkplug tube seal that has been redesigned by subaru that needs to be replaced.

Here's a question, how long do the CV boots generally last in these cars? My last Chevy was still okay at 300,000km so I'm guessing its not an area prone to failures like they used to be in the 1980's?

I know the one's on my LGT didn't make it to 110k. But then again, I live in the desert where rubber dies fast. And having the DP right next to the passenger side certainly doesn't extend its life.

I must've jinxed myself by reading this thread. Like the original poster, I noticed a whiff of burning oil/grease this morning when I came to a stop in traffic. Hmmm.... I'm just shy of 100,000km/62,000miles on my car. I guess I'd best have a look underneath.

I had a similar issue and it turned out to be a loose differential dipstick. It let gear oil spray onto the cat after the turbo and made a wonderful burning smell. The diff dipstick is located right behind the turbo on the passenger side. You'll have to remove the engine cover to get to it. Make sure you check your diff fluid level while you're that far and only use gear oil to refill.

 

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Funny you say that, when I replaced the tranny fluid about a month back I noticed the dip stick seemed loose in the filler hole. So much so I checked it the following day to make sure it hadn't wiggled out. I did check it two weeks later and it was still there. I guess I'd better check again. If it hasn't bounced out and got lost I'll put a new O ring on it.

I had a leaky cam seal once and it would drip down onto the up pipe and burn off (yea safe I know) so everytime I stopped and went I would smell it

Valve cover gasket passenger side by up pipe is defective

 

Had the same issue got new ones prob solved

 

 

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stock cv boot clamps are shit and passenger side will splash all over DP. Ask me how I know it