WackOutback Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Hi guys, looking for some help diagnosing my car. I bought it a couple months ago form a guy that said he had recently replaced the head gasket and the rest of the car looked great. Well as time goes on I have started to notice many little issues that may be a big one, I am seeing white smoke coming from hood and under the car but not so much the tail pipe. My coolant overflow tank is murky and oily looking... I also recently got a P0133 code indicating a slow response from one of the two 02 sensors? I have not had the car overheat the slightest bit since I have had it, and I have driven for over an hour up the mountains with out too much issue. I noticed some possible power loss, but that might be me getting used to a four cylinder driving uphill. When I first start the car it always revs to 1,500rpm roughly and sits there until I drive a little bit then drops to 600-750rpm at idle. I am concerned this person lied about the head-gasket repair and that's the root of all of these problems. Or could it be something else? When I had my oil changed they told me it looked like I had an oil leak as the bottom of my engine compartment was filthy, but they couldn't tell where the leak was. Any help or ideas would be awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The milky coolant is a bad sign and often indicates a bad head gasket. Do you see any bubbling in the overflow tank when the engine is running? Maybe they did the head gasket repair but didn't do it properly? Your idle sounds completely normal. That's good it's not overheating, maybe you can drive it for a while until it becomes a problem. Definitely keep an eye on it, as I'm sure you are. An oil leak could be from the cam seals, crank seal, valve cover gasket, oil separator plate, oil pan plug crush washer, or the rear main seal (pretty rare). I'd replace the valve covers and see if that helps first. You can power wash the bottom of the engine and then add some oil UV additive and then shine a black light and pinpoint the leak that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WackOutback Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 The milky coolant is a bad sign and often indicates a bad head gasket. Do you see any bubbling in the overflow tank when the engine is running? Maybe they did the head gasket repair but didn't do it properly? Your idle sounds completely normal. That's good it's not overheating, maybe you can drive it for a while until it becomes a problem. Definitely keep an eye on it, as I'm sure you are. An oil leak could be from the cam seals, crank seal, valve cover gasket, oil separator plate, oil pan plug crush washer, or the rear main seal (pretty rare). I'd replace the valve covers and see if that helps first. You can power wash the bottom of the engine and then add some oil UV additive and then shine a black light and pinpoint the leak that way. sounds like it's leaking oil which burns off when it hits the exhaust, very common. Ask the guy who did the repair to look at it for you. i'd gladly do that, and have, for any subaru i've ever sold. post a few pictures of underneath of engine. inner axle boots of the front CV axles, valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals, oil cooler gasket (if equipped) are very common oil leaks. cam seal and crank seal are very common as well someone simply needs to look at it. It was nice out today and I was able to pressure wash under the car. I am going to bring it in this next week to get looked at. I think the white smoke could be oil leaking onto the exhaust, I can kinda see where that's happening. My oil level appeared to be have decreased a decent amount since my recent oil change as well. I have not seen any loss of coolant still. I started the car and looked for bubbling in the over flow tank, but I saw nothing. I still haven't had the car come close to overheating, but the murky coolant and white smoke are concerning. I'm hoping the last guy skimped on flushing the coolant and checking some oil seals and that's the issue? Any opinions on the P0133 code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WackOutback Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 I brought the car into a local Subaru specialist shop. Good news is my head gasket was done recently and looks brand new. The smoke issue I am having per their diagnosis, is an oil leak from the oil separator plate trans seal. Since they need to pull the engine to fix it, I will just be topping of my oil for now. They did find some additional issues which I was hoping someone here knows a cheaper fix as money is tight currently. -Steer rack boots need to be replaced ($220), most critical according to shop -Both axle boots are bad ($360) -Alignment ($89) I'm guessing this is needed after repairs? -CEL is my faulty O2 sensor which they quoted $250+ to fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 -Steer rack boots need to be replaced ($220), most critical according to shop -Alignment ($89) I'm guessing this is needed after repairs? the boots are about $30 each, the replacement is not difficult. and usually requires a front end alignment afterwards. you can do it so you don't need the alignment, but in my experience most shop shops either don't know how or really want the extra $89. -Both axle boots are bad ($360) this is usually fixed by replacing the axle wit h a cheap re-manufactured unit. i do not recommend this. if you currently have subaru alxes, (green inner cup at the trans end of the axle) you are much better off having the boots replaced. it is a messy, greasy job, and the labor is more, and the boots may cost as much as an axle, ~$50. but the end result is better. subaru axles are of such high quality they can last the life of the car, if you keep good boots and grease on them. if you do not have subaru axles it really does not matter. the ones on the car are probably already cheap re-man axles. -CEL is my faulty O2 sensor which they quoted $250+ to fix there are 2 o2 sensors. the front one needs to be a subaru item or a very high quality replacement. a cheap aftermarket item will not be helpful. it will cause headaches down the road. the rear can be a generis item. i do not recommend the universal type that you have to wire to your existing connector. but lots of folks use them. it just creates another connection point to cause potential problems. i forget what they cost, but they are expensive. these prices do not sound terrible high, you may find a better price if you call around. of course if you do the work yourself it would be WAY cheaper. but i doubt you should start your car repair career with these repairs. especially if you only have access to one car. i would do the steering rack boots first. axles can run a long time with torn boots and will not fail. you just run the risk of damaging to the point where you MUST replace the axle instead of just the boot. the o2 sensor is pretty easyand you may be able to do it your self. unplug the connector, put a bow end wrench over the unit, tap on the wrench . don't bang on it unless you have to. you don't want to damage the exahust or the threaded piece. it helps if you warm up the exhaust a little before you start, not too hot so you get burned, and spray it with PBlaster penetrating oil. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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