sunny5280 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 With the colder weather I've noticed a light burning oil smell from my car. Over the holiday weekend I popped the hood after driving about 15 miles and noticed a whiff of smoke from the passenger side of the engine. I wasn't able to easily identify where this oil might be coming from. There does appear to be some oil build up on the side of the engine. With the weather being as cold as it was I didn't spend a lot of time investigating. I'll probably take it in to have it checked out but thought I'd check with everyone here if they're aware of any known issues around this side of the engine. It doesn't appear to be around the turbo area. Oil usage isn't too bad...had to put in about a 1/4 of a quart after 2,000 miles...which seemed reasonable to me. I searched to forums and nothing stood out at me related to this type of smell. Anyone know of any obvious items that I can easily inspect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxman Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 The heat of the turbo and exhaust on the passenger side tends to cause the passenger side valve cover gaskets to fail before the drivers side. It also could be one of the various oil lines going to and from the turbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 What he said ^ 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks guys. I'm thinking it may be the VCG as I had the mechanic work on straightening things out with the bolts around the turbo. Is the VCG easy to replace for a DIYer with reasonable mechanical skill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTris Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks guys. I'm thinking it may be the VCG as I had the mechanic work on straightening things out with the bolts around the turbo. Is the VCG easy to replace for a DIYer with reasonable mechanical skill? There's been a few threads on VC gasket repair lately, you should check for 'em. Biggest issue is not overtorque-ing the bolts, and using the correct RTV in the correct places. Other than that, it's pretty straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Make sure it isn't power steering. A leak there will do the same, though it will smell way worse (like ATF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Here's the leaking VC http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x40/92Si/DSCN4731.jpg 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markbo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 How long a job is that for a non professional? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 It's a pretty deceptive job, it's harder than it looks, especially on the turbos since your engine bay is probably more crowded than my non-turbo engine bay. It's hard to say how long it should take you. On my car, it turned into a two day project, that I'm embarrassed to say took me maybe around 10 hours? I saw another member say it took him 6hrs on his turbo. If you unbolt one or more engine mounts, and jack up the engine as people on here suggest doing, that should speed things up for you. I don't know which engine mounts to unbolt, so hopefully someone else can help with that. There's some pictures of the job on my non-turbo '09 in the link below. Your '05 turbo uses a different gasket set, but I think certain things about the pictures in the link will apply to your car as well. The thing that made the job a huge PITA is how close the valve covers are to the frame, and to the front crossmember. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/felpro-50561-vc-gasket-advance-auto-202755.html?t=202755 I couldn't find a DIY thread, but the thread below is one of the recent threads on the job. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/valve-cover-gasket-replacement-179627.html?p=4989677 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Thanks guys. You've all be really helpful with your advice. Over the weekend (headed over to a friends place who has a garage where I can put it up on ramps and look under the engine better) I'll perform a cursory inspection of the area where I witnessed the whiff of smoke. I'm thinking it's in the valve cover gasket area as it appears to be lower in the engine bay than the turbo area (plus the mechanic was just in the area of the turbo when I had the bolts straightened out). If I'm unable to determine where or it looks to be the VCG then I'll just take it to the mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 It looks as if the VCG is the culprit. You guys are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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