"PowderHound" (PowderHound)
10/21/2020 at 19:24 • Filed to: None
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"PowderHound" (PowderHound)
10/21/2020 at 19:24 • Filed to: None | 0
| 25 |
Over the past few months I have had a very intermittent puff of whitish smoke coming from my exhaust. It usually happens very infrequently, not every drive, once that I know of if it does happen, usually after I have been driving for a while and the car is warmed up, and is very quick so I’m lucky to even get a quick glimpse in my mirror of it.
No check engine lights, no overheating, no loss of mpg that I can tell. I changed my oil a few weeks ago and there was no milkyness to it, just looked like normal old oil. No leaks under my car after sitting for a few days. No loss of coolant.
The only weird thing is when I check the coolant at the upper reservoir, after the car has been sitting for a day or so, it will occasionally overflow. Sometimes it doesn’t but a few times it has. Something here feels like the key but I could be wrong. Car is an 03 wrx. Any one have ideas? I would guess head gaskets but I figured I would see coolant in the oil or more consistent smoke.
And just to add a picture, here are some neat cars seen a while ago.
dogisbadob
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:29 |
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Put in a bottle of coolant conditioner (Holts Radweld) and see if it goes away
ClassicDatsunDebate
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:29 |
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Classic signs of head gaskets.
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PowderHound
> dogisbadob
10/21/2020 at 19:35 |
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I actually have a bottle of the Subaru brand coolant conditioner, same thing roughly?
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PowderHound
> ClassicDatsunDebate
10/21/2020 at 19:35 |
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Kind of what I thought but didn’t want to hear
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dogisbadob
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:41 |
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Yes, it’s the same thing. Subaru Coolant Conditioner is rebranded Holts Radweld.
If you have the bottle on hand, it will say Holts on the plastic itself
Beefchips
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:43 |
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The inconsistency of it makes me think of head gaskets too . As they are getting closer to full-on failure, the gaskets will work some day s better than others... like on my old outback it would run fine for a week and then one day just decide to get super hot . Then fine for another week etc. If you’re leaking oil I’d expect the smoke to be consistently present at startup. How much oil does the car consume? I know oil smoke is supposed to be blue but I have a hard time telling it from white...
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PowderHound
> dogisbadob
10/21/2020 at 19:48 |
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Oh, yes it does! I’ll throw that in tomorrow when the car has sat for a while
BeaterGT
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:50 |
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I’d be curious as to what you find out. Is there coolant in the overflow tank? Coolant from the upper cap could just be pressure being released. No milkyness either seems a bit odd but not sure how much condensation/your location will play into that.
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PowderHound
> Beefchips
10/21/2020 at 19:51 |
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The car coolant temp has yet to go beyond it’s normal just below half which is the weird thing. My buddies forester had it’s head gaskets fail and he was constantly overheating before he took it in. Consumes a “normal” amount of oil for a subaru, 1/4 quart every other fill up seems in the ballpark to what it has always been so nothing too different there. I was having a hard time telling color just because it would be a brief glimpse in the mirror of the smoke
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ClassicDatsunDebate
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 19:56 |
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The symptoms start small, such as what you’re describing and soon, you’re filling the rad with a couple of quarts every few days.
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PowderHound
> BeaterGT
10/21/2020 at 19:56 |
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There is coolant in the overfill
but it’s the nominal amount that I originally had in there and hasn’t seemed to change any bit over the past few months
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ClassicDatsunDebate
> BeaterGT
10/21/2020 at 20:01 |
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It’s pretty classic. The HG failure is probably from a coolant port to atmosphere and/or to the cyl. The external leak doesn’t show if it’s small because it evaporates or only drips when you’re driving. The pressure fills the reservoir but the vacuum leak prevents the coolant to be sucked back. We had a HG failure with no milkyness in the oil.
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BeaterGT
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:02 |
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How many miles and is it stock ? I know you said it’s usually brief and when warmed up, but h ave you watched for smoke at start up? Could possibly go a step further and see if there’s oil reaching your plugs.
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ClassicDatsunDebate
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:03 |
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I forgot to mention, you may want to replace your rad cap. Very small odds it’s a failed spring that’s preventing the reservoir from holding a vacuum.
Boxer_4
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:07 |
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When I had a head gasket fail on my old ‘09 Forester, the first sign was the coolant reservoir overflowing. I was actually getting bubbles at the surface. No mixing of oil and coolant, and no overheating, but it was running hotter. In fact the first symptom I noticed were the cooling fans running at full speed when they shouldn’t have been.
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BeaterGT
> ClassicDatsunDebate
10/21/2020 at 20:12 |
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Good info, was this failure a WRX as well?
ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:15 |
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I wouldn't trust the gage, not sure about subies but they are usually dummy gages...maybe try checking the actual coolant temp number via OBD?
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PowderHound
> BeaterGT
10/21/2020 at 20:15 |
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225k on the body and had the engine replaced with an 80k motor at 185k miles so the motor has 140k miles. They did timing and a bunch of other seals but I’m not seeing headgasket on the invoice.
I checked plugs a while ago and they were fine but it’s not too bad to check again.
No excess smoke at start up. I have always got a little bit but it’s catless
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PowderHound
> ClassicDatsunDebate
10/21/2020 at 20:16 |
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Both upper and lower you think?
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PowderHound
> Boxer_4
10/21/2020 at 20:20 |
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Hmmm I haven’t really seen any of that. There is a part of me that thinks it’s my tune. I replaced coil packs a while ago and I’m wondering if the newer ones have messed up timing in some way? I don’t even know if that’s possible.
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BeaterGT
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:21 |
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Gotcha, hope you get it figured out! Keep us posted.
And watch that temp gauge like a hawk in the meantime!
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PowderHound
> ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/21/2020 at 20:23 |
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I might have something that can do that… I’ll give it a try next time I go putz around town
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ClassicDatsunDebate
> BeaterGT
10/21/2020 at 20:26 |
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FJ25 Fozzie
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ClassicDatsunDebate
> PowderHound
10/21/2020 at 20:31 |
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I’m not sure...i don’t have any experience with the turbo cooling system. If they bost thave a spring loaded valve back to the reservoir than...yes?
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PowderHound
> ClassicDatsunDebate
10/21/2020 at 20:50 |
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Looks like they are. Lower one on the radiator is 1.3 bar and at the expansion tank above the turbo is 1.1 bar