ChuckHaller Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Hey guys! I've been lurking this forum ever since I started looking for Legacy GTs almost two years ago. Well I finally bought one three weeks ago, it's an 05 BSM Wagon, 5eat. Here's what's going on: - Rough idle, not really bad but enough to know its there - After driving for awhile i start to get white smoke coming out of the engine bay(passenger side) I only notice this when I'm sitting at a light, when driving I don't notice it. - it was particularly bad yesterday so when I got home I checked the oil, and it was nearly dry. I was out of the town for 5 days and before the trip i didn't see the oil level change much at all so I'm guessing I lost all that yesterday somehow. There was also either smoke or vapor coming out of the dipstick tube(correct me if there's a better term for that part lol) so I added 1.3 qts of oil to get it back to full then I drove it home again. - this morning I went and turned the car on, oil level is still full, no smoke from the engine bay(although it usually begins after its all warmed up and been driven for a bit. However there was a little bit of smoke/vapor coming from the tailpipes. Car drives perfectly fine, up until yesterday I hadn't seen any change in oil level so I wasn't stressing it. Now I'm a little worried though. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07LGT Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 check your axles, I just had the passenger side boot bust open on me at 115k miles and leak grease all over my downpipe which caused smoke to come out of the hood scoop but only at red lights... while driving you cant notice it, but you can smell it. check right under the turbo on the passenger side. Hope its something minor! 03 WRB WRX (RIP) 04 JBP STI (sold) 07 DGM Legacy GT (RIP) 12 OBP STI (DD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 I'll check that! And yeah I really hope it's something minor, I'm 21 and don't have a load of disposable income just yet haha. And I forgot to mention the car is at 119K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quick4dr Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 well... do more research on owning these cars, if you don't have disposable income, or income to maintain this vehicle don't bother trying. likely it is your axle boot slinging on the downpipe. Check oil level daily! low oil on these motors is a quick death worry about maintenance/ preventative maintenance before any other mods. if stock tune id advise a custom stage 1 tune to get you off factory tune and make things much safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 I appreciate it. I have more than enough income to take care of the car. It's just not everyday I could swing the cost of a rebuild if it were to come to that. I have learned a lot about the car in the past few weeks and I will continue to learn more. And yes I have been checking oil regularly, that's why the sudden drop in level made me shit my pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttnio Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Welcome! Just stay out of boost until you know what is causing your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8lolsubie Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 What's the mileage? Have a mechanic do a compression test. It sounds to me with the oil consumption, rough idle and smoking that you may be having an issue with the piston rings. A ripped axle boot isn't going to cause smoke come out of the tail pipe or oil consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 It is at 119K. I have learned a few things in the past 24 hours. For one, when I checked my oil level and saw that it was low I did not take into account that the car was setting on an incline. So it actually had a fair bit more oil in there than was showing on the dipstick. I also drove the car for at least two hours yesterday and noticed that smoke coming from the exhaust was only happening while the car was cold. After driving I never saw it. Finally, this morning after getting to work I checked the oil level which was great, and since the car was still smoking a bit from the engine bay I took off the airbox intake cover and I could see where it was leaking, I'll try to upload a picture later but it was leaking onto the side of the motor, just forward of where the coil pack for cylinder #1 sits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10 secs Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Welcome. I've got an '05 also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaasaiWarrior Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Check your oil level after it has been sitting for a couple hours, a bunch should settle down. Of course, on a level surface! 08 Spec B, insta: @08_spec_b, 10 SH Forester insta: @shfozzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08 LGT Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'll check that! And yeah I really hope it's something minor, I'm 21 and don't have a load of disposable income just yet haha. And I forgot to mention the car is at 119K. I'd honestly sell this now and buy something cheaper and more reliable until you are making a decent amount of money. At that mileage, it's a total dice-roll as to whether or not you will have an engine rebuild in the near future. Some do, some don't. If you need this car as dependable daily transportation and can't afford a possible $5000-6000 repair bill, you could end up shit creek really suddenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 I make much more money than the average 21 year old and I've still got my 03 Forester to fall back on should something catastrophic happen. I'm not planning on trying to sell the car. Also, it doesn't appear to be an oil leak that I have. Either coolant or power steering fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted February 15, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 15, 2016 You mention smoke out of the dipstick tube. If you undo the oil filler cap, are you getting smoke there? If so, you are dealing with a busted ringland and need a new shortblock. Let us know. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 Nah no smoke from there. Only saw vapor/smoke come from the dipstick tube once. I haven't seen it since last week when I started this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08 LGT Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I make much more money than the average 21 year old and I've still got my 03 Forester to fall back on should something catastrophic happen. I'm not planning on trying to sell the car. Also, it doesn't appear to be an oil leak that I have. Either coolant or power steering fluid. That's better, then. I was picturing a college student or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckHaller Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Got the car into the shop and had it checked out...compression test showed cylinder #2 running at about 30% less than 1,3, and 4. Car runs pretty great still, very light oil consumption, no smoke out of the exhaust. My mechanic is thinking that only the piston has to be replaced as it does not seem there is any damage to the cylinder wall. I can keep driving it like this he said, any indication of if getting worse and it would show in how it was idling(which at the moment isn't all that bad, not perfectly smooth but not bad). So, right now I'm thinking of preparing to do the work myself(with the help of my dad), if I'm going to get in there and replace at least one of the pistons would it be worth it to get a set of forged pistons and swap them all? That's only if we open it up and there isn't any damage to cylinder wall. Just looking for your guys' thoughts/past experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I'm betting you have a bad valve in #2. Fairly common in these cars. 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...
ChuckHaller Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 I'm betting you have a bad valve in #2. Fairly common in these cars. When the car is running and and take off the oil fill cap you can feel air being pushed out, would that still make you think valves? Or Piston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Piston rings. I think... If you look in my click here link I show where my #2 cylinder had some minor scoring. My engine ran fine, just used oil more then I was happy with for the long hall. We played with a manual boost controller early on without adding fuel, so I figure that's where the scoring came from. 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...
ChuckHaller Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 So far the only symptom I've got is rough idle :/ Well I'm going to pick up the car from the shop today, then I've got to sit down and decide what I want to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Up here in the colder climates, we replace the black O-rings between the intake and TGV's with the new larger orange one's. Most these cars have issues when it gets cold. Let us know what the shop say's. 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...
ChuckHaller Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Would that affect the compression though? I'm really new to all of this, clearly haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Would that affect the compression though? I'm really new to all of this, clearly haha. No. Just going through the list...of common issues. Hey you don't live near 2005_gli do you ? he's has a current post here I'm helping on. 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...
ChuckHaller Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 All right gotcha. And he's within 3.5 hours of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 All right gotcha. And he's within 3.5 hours of me. Why did I think he was in FL...I'm going back and forth here and other threads... 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...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.