Subadozer Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Look under the car on the passenger side and see if you see oil on the valve cover? I have that issue and need to re seal my passenger valve cover due to the heat on that side of the engine. Re-seal? How can this be accomplished other than replacing the gasket. Best thing is when the engine is hot, pop the hood to see if you can see/smell the source of the smell. There might be some smoke. I smelled burning oil last week for the first time. After changing my oil today and going for a ride I noticed it again when I reached my destination. Look at the bolts holding the valve cover on. One of mine was coated in oil, pretty easy to see. When I got back home I started sniffing around and with a flashlight was able to see that the smoke was coming off the UP and right above that was the dirty/oily area tech suggests might be there. Is replacement of the valve cover gasket(s) something that can be done without taking things all apart or should I wait on this and add it to my list of things when I do my UP and turbo upgrade? I'm tempted to try and fashion some sort of temporary deflector to keep the oil off the UP as insurance against the drips flaming up and causing a really big problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangendsley Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 you can replace the gasket is what i was saying and you can do it in the driveway, pretty easy from what im told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 you can replace the gasket is what i was saying and you can do it in the driveway, pretty easy from what im told. I printed out the pages from my shop manual and it doesn't look terribly complicated just looking at that. I'll have to look again at the car with a better eye to the locations of the bolts and see if it's something I want to tackle sooner than my whole turbo upgrade project when I'll have the UP off, which I'm thinking will make the valve cover gasket replacement a whole lot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangendsley Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 That is what im going to do. Im going to coat the up and wrap the up to get the temps down on the passenger side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-lo Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 this problem has not duplicated itself recently. I will still take a peak once the weather cooperates when I can take the wheel and wheel well off.. but I'm not too worried right now. 258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 That is what im going to do. Im going to coat the up and wrap the up to get the temps down on the passenger side. I'm thinking as well that this may be a good idea. I was at Autozone yesterday and even looked to see if they had any kind of insulating wrap. I didn't see any with the exhaust stuff on the shelves but I wasn't going to buy it yesterday so I didn't bother to ask about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 So now you'll have oil soaking into the wrap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 So now you'll have oil soaking into the wrap? No. My plan is to replace the gasket first and after I install my STi UP wrap it to hold the heat in for the turbo as well as add life to the the new gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangendsley Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 yep /\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Are the Thermotech products generally available at most auto parts places? Is there an equal or better product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I just chatted with Ryan at Fred Beans Parts and he suggested also doing the spark plug tube seals. Did anybody find these needing replacement? I asked if they were likely to be bad as well and he said not necessarily but that the techs usually do them if they are doing a cover. Adds about $30 to the cost for little extra labor so I'm guessing it's as much a money-maker for the dealer as it is a needed replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I would do them, cause if you have to do them later on, then you need to do all the labor over again. I am a big fan of doing whatever I can save labor on. For instance if you are doing Timing Belt, do the waterpump while you are in there, it's only the cost of parts extra but it saves a lot of headache later on. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_sharp Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Mine had a small coolant leak from the line coming off the top of the turbo in that location. Same here. And my leak was bad enough for the coolant to drip down to the header/uppipe area and make it seem as though the smoke was coming from the bottom of the engine bay. But there's also a pretty big difference in the smell of burning oil and burning coolant. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Thanks. I'm also a big believer in saving a do-over of labor for a different part when it could have been done for no extra work. I'm still sorry I didn't push the dealer harder who did my timing belt. I suggested that they do the WP but for some reason they deemed it good to stay. Not great that they didn't do everything I asked for but good to know they're not likely to do work that isn't necessary. I would do them, cause if you have to do them later on, then you need to do all the labor over again. I am a big fan of doing whatever I can save labor on. For instance if you are doing Timing Belt, do the waterpump while you are in there, it's only the cost of parts extra but it saves a lot of headache later on. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacy360 Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Bumping this thread because I'm having the same issue over the last few weeks. c-lo any update on your issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-lo Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 nope. could never figure out where it came from. Haven't had the problem in a while. 258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Bumping this thread because I'm having the same issue over the last few weeks. c-lo any update on your issue? Monday morning my daughter dropped me off to pick up the work van about 5 miles from the house. When she started the car again she said a bit of smoke came in through the vents. I popped the hood and as I suspected it was just a continuation of the valve cover gasket leaking oil onto the UP. It's getting bad enough now that you can sometimes see smoke coming out from under the hood. Apparently with the fresh air intake at the base of the windshield conditions were just right to suck in some of it. I've had the gaskets now since probably February or March. I'm hoping to have next week off so maybe I can take a day and work on the car instead of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Did you ever get this done? -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Did you ever get this done? -mike A couple of snafus hit with the car work. Wrong tranny fluid (Amsoil on the way) and almost constant rain and no garage being the biggest. Still hoping for later in the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 A couple of snafus hit with the car work. Wrong tranny fluid (Amsoil on the way) and almost constant rain and no garage being the biggest. Still hoping for later in the week. Ah ha! Hopefully you ordered your Amsoil through our link -mike http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://upload.pbase.com/image/137566671.jpg Call directly for your best Whiteline Price! | We also carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. AIM: AZP Installs | E-mail: paisan@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Ah ha! Hopefully you ordered your Amsoil through our link http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg Had I known I was going to have to have it shipped I sure would have. I searched on the Amsoil web site for a local dealer and found 2 within an hour of me. The closer one still hasn't responded but the other guy called me within a few hours and has been very helpful. The biggest thing is that with the $10 Preferred Customer membership I can get Amsoil for less than I've been paying for other good products. Now back to your regularly scheduled smoke thread. (Still raining here ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Two weeks later than intended but I got my big project done on Friday and Saturday, including changing the gasket on the pass. side rocker cover. Jury is still out on if it was a full success. When you take the cover off it drops a goodly amount of oil onto the UP and shield so it takes a while for that to burn off. The most common scenario to create the most smoke is a drive of about 5 miles and then a stop with the engine running. I haven't made one of those trips since the work was done. I am still smelling a little oil smell but am hoping it's the last of the old oil residue burning off. I'll be taking a long trip to work on Tuesday so if it's still smelling after that I'm going to be thinking that I didn't fully stop the leak. One thing that makes me suspicious of the possibility that I wasn't 100% successful is that I'm not confident that I got the bolts fully tight. I couldn't find the torque specs for this in my vacation pix and some of the bolts seemed to snug up and the others acted like they might have been previously stripped out a bit and I didn't want to go too far and finish them off if that was the case. When I took the cover off there were a couple places where it looked like somebody had used RTV or some sealer to try and stop the leak without making the repair. Anybody know the correct torque specs? BTW, having the cover off made it easier to change the spark plugs and it appeared that there is about one position and route to get the cover out to change the gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeracer Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 vacation pix state that you use RTV in some spots...Thats how it comes from the factory. What I did was goop the stuff both in the valve cover channel for the gasket as well as on the mating surface on the head. 7 months no problems... "Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subadozer Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 vacation pix state that you use RTV in some spots...Thats how it comes from the factory. What I did was goop the stuff both in the valve cover channel for the gasket as well as on the mating surface on the head. 7 months no problems... Rats. I'm usually pretty good at tracking down the directions for things but I couldn't find where this is in the VP. Where is it? I think mine is improved but I'm still smelling burning oil so it looks like I'll be doing this again. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimfaxe Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 bump-- any more details I hasta da smoke too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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