Weird smell

[AlexWood]

Ive began to get a weird smell coming into the cabin over the past couple of days. It's almost like a burning smell, kind of like burnt clutch. I've narrowed it done to be on the drivers side only, I can only smell it on that side. The car runs fine, no slipping, no overheating, nothing out of the ordinary. I only smell it after I've been sitting at a light and then begin to take off. I get a quick whiff and then it's gone, especially after a long highway commute is when I smell it the most. You can also smell it outside if the car while it's idling.

I have some theories but I can't diagnose any single issue. I thought clutch, but I haven't beaten on it and it seems to smell no matter if I drive it hard or granny shift it. I also thought brakes but I have good pedal feel, the pads have good meat left and it smells even while sitting still for an extended period of time. I checked the cam plate for the leak that some people have seen and there's not a drop of oil on the over pipe. The only other thing I can think of is that I hit a bag in the road or something and it's slowly melting on the exhaust, but I haven't gotten up under the car to check.

Im stumped, I keep going back to clutch but I just find it hard to believe that it could be the issue. Car has 21k miles and this isn't my first manual car so it just seems unlikely.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Koa]

really hard to tell w/o pics

[Koa]

... ok ok for real. Mate if I were you, I'd get that car up on jackstands and poke around near everything that comes close to your exhaust- including motor mounts, etc

What mods are done on the car and when were they done?

[keithr]

Originally Posted by AlexWood

Anyone have any ideas?

I had a leak in my MT, they replaced the transmission under warranty.

I didn't get under the car to see it myself, but the service writer said it was a small/slow leak at a gasket between pieces of the housing, and it would drip on the exhaust and burn off.

I know there have also been reports of oil leaking from the cam cover on the right side of the engine, and I think there may have been other leaks reported as well.

I've been getting a residual burn smell from time to time, and I'm not sure if it's just old gunk from the previous leak burning off or if I have another or different leak. Will have to get another look under there. Wouldn't be so bad if getting under the car was a little easier than having to get it up on stands every time. Plus the under covers make it harder to see things at a glance, have to remove the covers to see what's going on.

Subaru owes me yet another HPFP, supposedly the final cricket fix revision, so I'll have them stick their heads up there while it's on the lift.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by keithr

I had a leak in my MT, they replaced the transmission under warranty.

I didn't get under the car to see it myself, but the service writer said it was a small/slow leak at a gasket between pieces of the housing, and it would drip on the exhaust and burn off.

I know there have also been reports of oil leaking from the cam cover on the right side of the engine, and I think there may have been other leaks reported as well.

I've been getting a residual burn smell from time to time, and I'm not sure if it's just old gunk from the previous leak burning off or if I have another or different leak. Will have to get another look under there. Wouldn't be so bad if getting under the car was a little easier than having to get it up on stands every time. Plus the under covers make it harder to see things at a glance, have to remove the covers to see what's going on.

Subaru owes me yet another HPFP, supposedly the final cricket fix revision, so I'll have them stick their heads up there while it's on the lift.

lol they owe you one huh?

[keithr]

Originally Posted by Koa

lol they owe you one huh?

Quoth the service department, yes. They've already replaced it once and when the problem returned, service adviser asked if I would mind waiting until they were sure the next revision was actually going to fix the problem. Otherwise, they could replace the pump again and it would only be a matter of time until the problem came back again. I said I could live with it until they figured out the true fix. It's a left-knob problem.

Spoke to the guy a couple weeks back and he said he's been in contact with the field reps and working on getting final word on the newest revision, which I believe is revision 4.

[AlexWood]

Originally Posted by Koa

... ok ok for real. Mate if I were you, I'd get that car up on jackstands and poke around near everything that comes close to your exhaust- including motor mounts, etc

What mods are done on the car and when were they done?

Yeah, I'm going to get it in the air this weekend and take a look. As far as mods, it's on coils, k&n drop in filter, catless FP, and berk muffler delete. I thought it might be an exhaust leak but it doesn't smell like exhaust fumes.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by keithr

Quoth the service department, yes. They've already replaced it once and when the problem returned, service adviser asked if I would mind waiting until they were sure the next revision was actually going to fix the problem. Otherwise, they could replace the pump again and it would only be a matter of time until the problem came back again. I said I could live with it until they figured out the true fix. It's a left-knob problem.

Spoke to the guy a couple weeks back and he said he's been in contact with the field reps and working on getting final word on the newest revision, which I believe is revision 4.

here's a tip for you:

It's an inherent characteristic of an unshielded HPFP running at a target idle pressure of 4MPa. What you think is a "problem" is not a "problem" that causes damage.
@VitViper once posted this:

My work on the MS3 platform with the chirp/crickets under the hood.

If you take some time to datalog the twins and use some basic troubleshooting (check off the fact that it's a brand new car with less than 1k miles so the likelihood for a mechanical problem/bad HPFP is basically NIL), start looking into the software and note how the system operates.

Anywhere from 650 rpm to ~1300 rpm I can hear the chirp, and when it's chirping the ECU is in a mode that's targeting 4 MPa of fuel pressure (fixed setting). If you touch the throttle just enough to leave that mode and enter the normal pressure target "mode" (the ECU appears to operate in two modes, one when you're on the throttle, one when you're not), even with the revs in that same range, no chirp. And you'll also note a difference in fuel pressure target and actual fuel pressure.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to put together.

Unfortunately I have not yet found the perfect solution to keep the ECU from going into this mode. I'm an ECUTek dealer so I need to have a chat with those "chaps" across the pond about this. There is a table in the ECU that is 2x2 and targets 4.0MPa, but it seems to do nothing for our idle issue, it's never used (tried changing it up and down).

Another thing that would be interesting to see is if our PRV is straight mechanical or some kind of electronically controlled unit -- I seem to think electronically as we have a huge range of fuel pressure operation (all the way to 20mpa, ~2900psi. Almost 2x higher than the MS3 platform). Just the way everything behaves leads me to believe it is electronic... but I haven't had the time to look yet.

[AlexWood]

Originally Posted by keithr

I had a leak in my MT, they replaced the transmission under warranty.



I didn't get under the car to see it myself, but the service writer said it was a small/slow leak at a gasket between pieces of the housing, and it would drip on the exhaust and burn off.



I know there have also been reports of oil leaking from the cam cover on the right side of the engine, and I think there may have been other leaks reported as well.



I've been getting a residual burn smell from time to time, and I'm not sure if it's just old gunk from the previous leak burning off or if I have another or different leak. Will have to get another look under there. Wouldn't be so bad if getting under the car was a little easier than having to get it up on stands every time. Plus the under covers make it harder to see things at a glance, have to remove the covers to see what's going on.



Subaru owes me yet another HPFP, supposedly the final cricket fix revision, so I'll have them stick their heads up there while it's on the lift.

Good to know, I haven't seen any leaks in the driveway but you're right about the covers making things hard to see so it might be catching anything that drops. I won't know until I get it on stands.

[keithr]

Originally Posted by Koa

here's a tip for you:

Interesting info, for sure.

The reason I called it a "left-knob problem" is because I realize it's not a failure or causing potential damage -- it's a nuisance. "Left-knob problem" is the term the old school wrenches would use when discussing nuisance problems. As in, the left knob on the radio (volume). Turn it clockwise and your nuisance noise is no longer an issue.

Electronic or mechanical, let the brain trust of Subaru and Toyota engineers figure it out... the price of the car included a warranty and I plan to make use of it whenever possible.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by keithr

Interesting info, for sure.

The reason I called it a "left-knob problem" is because I realize it's not a failure or causing potential damage -- it's a nuisance. "Left-knob problem" is the term the old school wrenches would use when discussing nuisance problems. As in, the left knob on the radio (volume). Turn it clockwise and your nuisance noise is no longer an issue.

Electronic or mechanical, let the brain trust of Subaru and Toyota engineers figure it out... the price of the car included a warranty and I plan to make use of it whenever possible.

Amen to that brotha. That phrase definitely went over my head.. makes total sense

Hey, if you bug them enough... perhaps they won't cheap out and give us an expensive fix. muhaha.

[keithr]

Originally Posted by AlexWood

Good to know, I haven't seen any leaks in the driveway but you're right about the covers making things hard to see so it might be catching anything that drops. I won't know until I get it on stands.

Yep, I had no drips on my garage floor, even after it sat there for 2 weeks while I was out of town.

I do have stains on the under cover, though, which irritates my OCD side.

[keithr]

Originally Posted by Koa

Hey, if you bug them enough...

Who... meee?????? Naw, I'm only the guy that raised hell with SOA for 2 months straight to get my transmission replaced the FIRST time.

[GotBRZ1691]

Originally Posted by keithr

Who... meee?????? Naw, I'm only the guy that raised hell with SOA for 2 months straight to get my transmission replaced the FIRST time.

That sucks. I walked in and told them my transmission was no good and after a 5 minute test drive I had the paperwork

My car makes a weird smell going uphill though. Need to figure that one out


OP what year is your twin?

Could it be a valve cover? you mentioned cam plate, so thats out.

Did you adjust your clutch pedal at all? I adjusted mine and after another 10,000 miles had to readjust it slightly.

Just throwing what comes to mind out there