Zaphod Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Hi all, I have a 03 OBW with a little over 30,000 on it. I just barely had the 30,00 mile service done few days prior, and I took a trip from Utah to Oregon. A few hours into our drive I was speeding up a hill, I looked back in my rear view to a trail of smoke. Continued on, and coming up a second hill with it at high RPM looking in the mirror and this time it was a thick trail of smoke. I exited at a rest stop and noticed it was smoking out of the catalytic converter and what looks like a seal from the converter's pipe connecting to another exhaust pipe that goes to the muffler. Sorry I don't know the correct names for the parts. I ended up making it to Oregon without noticing anymore smoke. I took it into the dealership (Gresham) and they said they couldn't find anything leaking or any low fluid levels. They mentioned that it might have been from the undercoating that I had put on to prevent salt damage. Saying it could've got so hot that it dripped on the pipes. I did drive back from Oregon without any trouble. But again today while the engine was very hot, the A/C on, and climbing up a steep hill with the RPM's high I noticed it smoking again. I looked under the car and it was smoking from the same spots as before. Does anyone have an idea of what this could be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Bump Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 You should be under warranty for the cat. Take it to a dealer is my suggestion. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb21 Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 ... it was smoking out of the catalytic converter and what looks like a seal from the converter's pipe connecting to another exhaust pipe that goes to the muffler.... ... it might have been from the undercoating that I had put on to prevent salt damage.... I believe there is a flange a foot or two before the muffler, was it smoking out of that? This undercoating you mention, was it applied by the dealer or an independent shop? The reason I ask is that there is a recall for the northeast (and some other states) where the dealer will apply undercoating to the rear subframe. They definitely weren't going for accuracy on mine since they got a fair amount on the exhaust/muffler which produced some heavy fumes/smell, but no smoke... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Does the car have an Automatic Transmission? I had the same symptoms (trailing thick smoke, going up a long hill) on another vehicle (not a Subie), a few years ago. It seems that the AT had been overfilled with fluid. This hadn't caused a problem until the long uphill haul with a full load. The fluid aerated (or something), and escaped via an overflow pipe, directly onto the exhaust pipe. You wouldn't believe how much smoke this created. No apparent harm. I drove on a few minutes later, and it never reoccurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Posted August 21, 2004 Author Share Posted August 21, 2004 You should be under warranty for the cat. Take it to a dealer is my suggestion.I did in Oregon, and I will most likely take it in again to my Utah dealer. I believe there is a flange a foot or two before the muffler, was it smoking out of that? This undercoating you mention, was it applied by the dealer or an independent shop? The reason I ask is that there is a recall for the northeast (and some other states) where the dealer will apply undercoating to the rear subframe. They definitely weren't going for accuracy on mine since they got a fair amount on the exhaust/muffler which produced some heavy fumes/smell, but no smoke... No it was smoking out of the catalytic converter and the adjoing seal right behind it, pretty far from the muffler. The undercoating was bought through the dealer, but applied by an independent bodyshop. Does the car have an Automatic Transmission? I had the same symptoms (trailing thick smoke, going up a long hill) on another vehicle (not a Subie), a few years ago. It seems that the AT had been overfilled with fluid. This hadn't caused a problem until the long uphill haul with a full load. The fluid aerated (or something), and escaped via an overflow pipe, directly onto the exhaust pipe. You wouldn't believe how much smoke this created. No apparent harm. I drove on a few minutes later, and it never reoccurred. Yes it does have an AT, and I wonder if that is the culprit. The first time it happened I just recently had all the fluids changed from the 30,000 mile service. But I did have the Oregon dealer look at it, and they couldn't find any reason other than the one I stated above. I just wonder why it happened again. Thanks for all your replies, I hope to get this resolved soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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