I've got what I believe is an exhaust leak on my 97 Impreza OBS 2.2 non-egr. I've sealed up what I thought were some leaks, however that did not seem to help. This past weekend I pulled the entire exhaust off as one piece and pressure tested it. I found no discernable leaks in the piping.

 

The issue I am having is that when the fresh air/recirc set to fresh air and I am standing still at a stop light, it brings in exhaust fumes (pre-catalyst smell). I can not find a leak in the piping and my next thought is where the EGR hooks up to the heads. Those that have EGR, where exactly does it hook up to the head?

 

Beyond the EGR, I'm at a loss. There is a little bit of power steering fluid that is slowly leaking, but I don't believe that to be the smell I'm getting. I'm going to work on fixing that, but don't believe it will fix the exhaust smell.

 

Any thoughts/comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks

I've got what I believe is an exhaust leak on my 97 Impreza OBS 2.2 non-egr. I've sealed up what I thought were some leaks, however that did not seem to help. This past weekend I pulled the entire exhaust off as one piece and pressure tested it. I found no discernable leaks in the piping.

 

The issue I am having is that when the fresh air/recirc set to fresh air and I am standing still at a stop light, it brings in exhaust fumes (pre-catalyst smell). I can not find a leak in the piping and my next thought is where the EGR hooks up to the heads. Those that have EGR, where exactly does it hook up to the head?

 

Beyond the EGR, I'm at a loss. There is a little bit of power steering fluid that is slowly leaking, but I don't believe that to be the smell I'm getting. I'm going to work on fixing that, but don't believe it will fix the exhaust smell.

 

Any thoughts/comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

both of these are a bit obvioud - don't be offended.

 

the flex joint is the very likely culprit. is you pulled the entire exhaust in one piece to test i still dont think you could test this well.

 

the other is that the baffle plate is leaking and you're smellin oil and not exhaust.

 

typing one letter at a time left handed - sorry for lack of punctuation

the egr pipe runs from the intake on the driver side straight down to the rear of the head. if the pipe, about 3/8'' - 1/2'' diameter shaped like a staple, if the pipe isn't there you should be able to get your hand down in there. if it is leaking i would think you could here it as a loud exhaust sound.

both of these are a bit obvioud - don't be offended.

 

the flex joint is the very likely culprit. is you pulled the entire exhaust in one piece to test i still dont think you could test this well.

 

the other is that the baffle plate is leaking and you're smellin oil and not exhaust.

 

typing one letter at a time left handed - sorry for lack of punctuation

 

Maybe you missed it, but I do not have EGR on this motor. What I didn't know is whether Subaru just put a cap or something over the port on the head, or if there are different heads for EGR and non-EGR motors.

 

I'm assuming the flex joint you were referring to is on the EGR equipped cars?

the egr pipe runs from the intake on the driver side straight down to the rear of the head. if the pipe, about 3/8'' - 1/2'' diameter shaped like a staple, if the pipe isn't there you should be able to get your hand down in there. if it is leaking i would think you could here it as a loud exhaust sound.

 

 

Yeah I do not have EGR, so no pipe. Like I mentioned above, I don't know if the heads were machined for EGR, even if they don't have it. There's no exhaust leak that I can hear. The only odd thing, and it's been like this since I owned the car is under heavy acceleration and higher rpms I hear a whistle type sound. From past experience this is probably an exhaust leak, but from previous experience it was in the muffler.

 

Thanks for the comments guys.

Most of the Non EGR heads are not drilled for the port, so there is no chance of a leak there.

 

With the exhaust on the car start it up and then plug the tail pipe with a rag over your hand. I there is a leak you will hear it.

 

Larry

Maybe you missed it, but I do not have EGR on this motor. What I didn't know is whether Subaru just put a cap or something over the port on the head, or if there are different heads for EGR and non-EGR motors.

I'm assuming the flex joint you were referring to is on the EGR equipped cars?

 

no, the flex joint is in the exhaust between the cats and the mid pipe. it is spring loaded.

 

the EGR heads and the non - erg heads are the ''same'' except the egr driver side head has a threaded hole on the back side for the ''exhaust to egr'' connection. (it connects the exhaust port of the head to the egr doodad on the intake.) i looked around online for a picture, but no luck. if the engine is original and stock this is not your problem. but there was an exhaust leak problem in this regard during a recent swap.

 

on the other hand, if some one has done a swap, all bets are off.

All the gaskets are new, including that doughnut gasket after the cats. The exhaust smell is a "pre cat" exhaust smell, so if I have a leak it's before the cats.

 

Here's some pictures of the testing I did this weekend. I pressured up the system with about 30 psi, and could not hear or feal any leaks besides what was slowly coming by the cutting board & rubber seal on the front headers.

 

http://main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/exhausttesting/

 

 

It doesn't sound like there's any EGR parts on non-EGR heads.

 

I'll work on cleaning up the power steering leak on the off chance that is the problem. It's been like this for over a year....it's more like a puzzle now...haha