Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover.

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 16:22
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - garyc923

Hi there,

The vehicle has recently developed a smoky exhaust when sat stationary when fully warm. The colour is a whiteish grey. The car has done 72k miles and has had a recent service. The water level has remained the same and i've noticed no noticeable difference in the oil level. The smoke has a definite smell to it, which I liken to a burnt fishy type of smell!

As I suspect it may be burning oil, before setting out on expensive repairs I'm wondering what the general concensus is on engine additives which advertise themselves as 'smoke reducers'.

Any comments appreciated.

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 16:24
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - garyc923

I forgot to mention, When sat stationary the smoke usually takes about 20 secs to appear. A dab of the throttle stops the smoking until about 20 secs later, when it appears again. Not sure if this is relevant.

Thank you.

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 16:58
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - Peter D

Check with the garage what oil and viscosity did they use. Regards Peter

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 17:50
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - garyc923

Check with the garage what oil and viscosity did they use. Regards Peter

Thanks Peter I'll do that. The car is also fitted with a full stainless steel de-catted system which is less than 1000 miles old. I'm not sure how relevant this is upon reading smoke problems where other s/s systems have been mentioned.

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 18:40
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - Peter D

Catch a few drips of oil from the dip stick and heat it up in an old spoon and see if it smells fishy. It may be the S/S lube they use when the draw/roll the exhaust but I woul have thought a 1000 miles would have seen that burnt off. Regards Peter

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Thu 12 Apr 2012 21:53
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - unthrottled

How did/will it pass the MOT without a cat?

Have a look at the plug tips for evidence of fouling from either oil or excessive fuel.

The material of the exhaust won't make any difference to its performance, nor-sadly- its longevity.

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Fri 13 Apr 2012 19:35
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - garyc923

Thanks very much chaps. I'll try those and report back my findings.

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Mon 7 May 2012 17:41
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - garyc923

Just a brief update :

Havn't had chance to do any investigative work but took it to a pal who is a mechanic who stated it is definitely burning oil. As this is going to be an 'engine out' job to cure one of three possibilities (head gasket, valve seals or rings), I wondered if there is a short term solution to the problem so I can save up for proper repairs (ie additives to be added to either oil or coolant). Any advice appreciated.

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Mon 7 May 2012 17:46
Subaru Impreza II WRX 2001 - Smoking on tickover. - Roly93

I thougt subaru's never went wrong ?

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