Catalyst odor?

[Jduke]

Ill have to check When I get home tonight... How many miles did you have when you noticed the hose not connected...? Odd I dont see how hoses near the panel filter box would casue the cat smell at high RPMS... but Ill check the hoses anyhow seeing as though your were not properly connected form he factory... can't hurt. Anyone else have any more thought on whats going on with this?

[D-2.5-GT]

I will check as well, but if some random hoses were not connected, i would expect some more problems then just a bad smell

[Johnny5]

I have 6800 miles on my LGT. The hose is question, if I remember correctly, is for reducing polution. I think it takes some gases and routes it back into the engine to combust. I had a simular issue in my previous WRX, but that time it was Subaru service whcih forgot to hook it up after performing the fuel hose recall. It does not adversely affect engine performce, but the exhaust/fuel stink gets sucked into the car through the fresh-air intake and comes out the air vents. Do you smell the ordor when the HVAC is off?

[D-2.5-GT]

hmmm....not sure if i get it when the HVAC is off, i think that i do, i will have to check on my way home from work. I have about 20k and its been off and on since i got it. I haven't bothered to get it checked yet, just too lazy as its not all the time. I will have to look later on this evening.

[UPSGuy]

Let's bring this back one more time. I'm now getting the smell too, but I didn't notice it until I flashed to stage 1/93. This may have been because I typically don't beat the piss out of the car, but I wanted to see the difference between stock and stg 1. I'll be going to stage 2 hopefully this weekend. Maybe with Cobb's DP (catted) the smell will decrease if not disappear. Anyone else have any updates? Thanks.

[UPSGuy]

LOL nice reference - I almost missed it... What's the "Serious" version? STi swap?

[Ed_T]

Popped the hood & cover this morning and spent 15 mins looking for disconnected hoses, etc. Everything looked hooked up, and got the smell on the xway. 14,000+ miles on odo. Gotta be a production problem hitting many owners. SOA WHERE ARE YOU ?????? How about a tech bull or a recall?

[Ridgeracer]

I'm getting an exhaust smell too with the vent open. I thought it was just a leaking gasket but everything is tight. I'll go check for the hoses on the EGR valve to see if they are tight.

[GardenWeasel]

Mine stinks pretty bad especially when I'm getting on the highway. I should stick a custom CO +H[size=-2]2[/size]S monitor in the cubby and tell people my Legacy is the OSHA Edition. It would be interesting to see the ppm CO and H[size=-2]2[/size]S inside the cabin.

[Deer Killer]

With some more experience with the car, I would say that the graphite donut between the midpipe the the resonator section leaks under stress, which it can be under long hard acceleration on the highway. How the exhaust gasses get in the cabin however, I don't know. It's possible there is an updraft up the transmission tunnel at speed. I did notice mine did leak (soot in one area) even though when stationary it was air-tight. Now with a DP I notice the smell is definately worse, this strengthens my view that the leak is after that section, not before.

[Ridgeracer]

Ok guys and gals....I used a CO meter at my job and got a reading of 50 ppm in my cabin with the vent open. Under the hood I got 900+ ppm. I don't think Im having the same problem most of you are having. I think my catless UP is leaking at the lower flange. Hopefully if the weather is good, I'll take it out and do it again.

[MUD]

I get the smell under harder acceleration on the interstate (over 80mph) in 5th gear. I was hoping that removing ALL cats & a reflash (lean it out a bit) would help solve the problem. Goodness though.... the 5th gear acceleration of this car in the interstate, EVEN on a hill... is just plain addicting!

[LittleBlueGT]

I get an odor in my car too. I thought it was the infamous UP/header gasket, but I took them out and welded them together, so it can't be leaking from there anymore.

[Ridgeracer]

[quote name='LittleBlueGT']I get an odor in my car too. I thought it was the infamous UP/header gasket, but I took them out and welded them together, so it can't be leaking from there anymore.[/QUOTE] Dude...thats a serious fix...lolol...I checked my UP/header gasket and it had broke in two..!! I guess thats my leak. I have another one on order but i'll try and loosen the bracket that holds the turbo to the side of the engine first to line it up better before I install it.

[LittleBlueGT]

[quote name='Ridgeracer']Dude...thats a serious fix...lolol...I checked my UP/header gasket and it had broke in two..!! I guess thats my leak. I have another one on order but i'll try and loosen the bracket that holds the turbo to the side of the engine first to line it up better before I install it.[/QUOTE] I would say that is generally the cause, the bracket that holds the turbo in position. Loosen it real good before tightening anything.

[5Bi-Silver]

Has everyone just decided to "live" with the exhaust leak/smell? Maybe I missed something somewhere as this thread seems rather old... Prior to going catless, after hard acceleration I had the unmistakeable smell of exhaust gasses in the cabin. However, it was only when I opened the drivers window a bit. Now that the UP/DP are installed... it's no longer the cat/egg smell... it's freakin exhaust... and it's bad. Again, though, only when the drivers window is cracked (1" or so). For that much exhaust gasses to come in, one could logically assume there is a leak at one of the UP/DP connections. If there is an exhaust leak... I/we would definately hear it. I have a theory... if there is no "exhaust leak" in the exhaust system... how does the exhaust get in the car?? I'm thinking it could be due to poor window/door/trunk gaskets. I have the LGT Wagon... by the looks of things, most of you have the sedan. It might be a good idea to check the gasket around the latch... does it appear like the rest of the gasket or is it a little disfigured like mine appears. I'll take a pic later.

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

The XT is the serious version :D Seriously stinky lately- I've had the windows down on some recent warm days and it's like really nasty sometimes- only every once in a while, like after backing off the throttle- what the hell causes that? I thought the exhaust was supposed to exit to the rear? :confused:

[5Bi-Silver]

I need to add, I don't have any fumes I can smell with the window down on city streets. ONLY when on the highway... If I crack the rear passenger window a bit it goes away. I can duplicate this occurance EVERY time I drive the car. The problem I have or fear is the dealer will tell me it's something I've done with the UP/DP installation, therefore making it my problem. I think those of us with the wagons can all agree, the rear window is allways dirty. Why is this signifigant? I believe this is due to the way the air circulates at the rear of the car at highway speeds. What I mean is... with the exhaust gasses not blowing down the road if you will.... when you crack open a window, there is now a vacume created. Instead of the churning air and gasses circulating around the rear window it is now SUCKED into the rear of the car around the poor gasket design around the rear hatch. I will take a picture of the hatch latch/gasket area to show you what I mean...

[5Bi-Silver]

Ok... I know I kept saying I would upload some pics... here the links: [IMG]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket001sm.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket003sm.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket005sm.jpg[/IMG] The links below are the original photo's if you want to see them quite a bit larger... [url]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket001.jpg[/url] [url][URL="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket002.jpg"][/url] [url]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket003.jpg[/url] [url]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f361/Scott19642/gasket005.jpg[/url]

[SpeedNeeder]

Wow, I was about to pull the trigger on an LGT sedan, but now I'm worried about a smelly cat! I did notice a stench while test driving, it happened in reverse, I figured it was just something burning off a new car.

[5Bi-Silver]

[SIZE=2]Thats very common on BRAND NEW Subaru's... I think it's called Cosmoline. It goes away.[/SIZE]

[ChaseME]

Nothing came of this? I have a (new to me) used 05 Legacy and find myself having a hard time breathing after pushing it. I am smelling pure exaust fumes, sort of like following a Civic above 120k on the highway...

[Ed_T]

There is a post on this board somewhere where an owner had replaced his UP and other exhaust bits and the fumes stopped for him. I still get them (only after pushing it), and I have a completely stock exhaust system. I'd like to leave the exhaust stock (Stage 1 is fine on my crowded roads) but I'm more and more leaning to Stage 2 just to clean up the leak(s).

[diamarillo]

I have the same problem....they will always tell you its the brand of fuel you use...which is just a lame exuse for a poor constructed piece of equipment...but however the more the car gets broken in the less you will notice it....its embarassing and not to mention toxic...an I've stressed that since I bought the car....but the dealer tells me I'm the only one in the legacy that has this problem....so I have toxic exhaust smells and severe anti-freeze smells as well...and they "Cannot duplicate" either smell.....and SOA is aware but they dont know how to fix it....or say its not a problem....

[SubieLuv]

Not sure this will be relevant here or not, but I recently had a similar problem with my 05 EAT Legacy GT wagon; turned out to be a small leak at the oil filter. Replacing the filter got rid of the smell. The giveaway clue was that the smells would only start after the engine had warmed up 10-15 minutes, and would only be objectionable (now that's a polite word for CO poisioning, eh?) when standing still with the AC set to suck in fresh air.