Korrupt3d Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I noticed a burning electrical smell as I walked by my car yesterday after putting it in the garage. Popped the hood and it was pretty strong, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. I went out again just a bit ago and did an alternator/battery test and everything came out fine. Just after completing that, I saw some light smoking (possibly caused by heat, but definitely not by oil) from the passenger's side of the engine. I changed the spark plugs about 5k miles ago and haven't had any issues with misfires or anything of the sort. I looked a bit for burnt wires or burnt anything at all, and found nothing. Any ideas? :confused: 2009 Legacy 2.5i 4EAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Any debris on the exhaust manifold? Plastic shopping bags and the like can cause those odors. Are you wire boot seated properly? Sometimes the catalytic converter will emit that smell as the substrate breaks up when reaching its "light off" temp around 900 F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orndog Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Are you sure it's electrical, and not, say, CV grease? I don't know your background identifying smells, so had to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrupt3d Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Thanks for the replies and information. I did some further inspection once it wasn't absolutely freezing and noticed the head gasket is going out. Luckily, I'm not at the point where coolant is getting into the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks for the replies and information. I did some further inspection once it wasn't absolutely freezing and noticed the head gasket is going out. Luckily, I'm not at the point where coolant is getting into the block. But you are:eek: it may be a very small amount and gets burned up but if that HG is weeping to the point you smell it, you might want to fix it PRIOR to it failing all at once and killing your engine. Do them both, do the timing set as well. You have time to look for a good shop and price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrupt3d Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Oh I am! It hasn't ran since I noticed the issue. I've had my mechanic look at it and he's said he'll get it fixed next Saturday. Each gasket through Subaru was over $60 and they had to be pre-ordered and prepaid! I felt loose in the anal region after that transaction. He's going to check all the seals to see if anything else is needed while he's got it on the cherry picker. I'm getting a steal on the price as well. My guy is only going to charge about $600 instead of the 2k+ that Subaru wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Nice and "loose in the anal region" I felt that way after buying a replacement turbo inlet for my LGT or clutch pack for my 2.5i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 you sure it's HG not the valve cover gasket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrupt3d Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yeah, it's right between the head and the block. I have been wrong before, though lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06leg315 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Head gaskets, head bolts, rocker cover gaskets, intake and exhaust gaskets, spark plug tube gaskets, water pump and gasket, tensioner, timing belt. My normal parts list for a head gasket job.also make sure the head bolt holes are CLEAN before tightening.. Not only do you get false torque numbers, but its possible to crack the block if there's a bunch of coolant and crap in there during tightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrupt3d Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thanks for the added knowledge and support, guys. We got the repairs taken care of yesterday and it turned out it wasn't the head gasket, the oil was leaking from the VC, but in was flowing in a fashion that made it appear to be the HG. Running down the bottom, if you will. My relief was rather great having seen that, and Subaru allowed the exchange (which ended up only costing me $3-$4 more for the pieces I needed.) We finished the operation, I drove it home, had an injector start leaking and throwing a CEL for bank 1 (fixed the o2 sensor not connected all the way), and I just finished replacing the injector seal between the top and the fuel rail. Why do they stack two seals on these? A tiny ring on the injector itself and that other one that sits in the fuel rail seems a bit...excessive and prone to problems. Thanks again for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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