This evening I returned home from a friend's house - a 10 mile drive - got out of the car and noticed a smell coming from the engine area. I don't really have the vocabulary to describe this properly, but it was sort of a hot smell - it didn't smell like gas, but kind of like hot metal, rubber, maybe a bit like something was burning. The hood felt very hot, especially after only driving for ten miles, and 2 hours later it still felt warm. Granted, I live in Georgia, but it was only about 75 degrees out at 8 PM.

 

This is a 98 Subaru Legacy wagon, by the way.

 

I drove it yesterday 35 miles to a job interview and 35 miles back, no problem, no odor. Had to run to the store this morning, about 7 miles away, no problem then either. And I didn't notice anything after I arrived at my friend's house this afternoon, just after returning home.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

CV joint grease?

no, I don't think so - I didn't know what that was so I looked it up. The car drives fine and feels fine; it's just the smell and the heat.

CV joint grease?

 

no, I don't think so - I didn't know what that was so I looked it up. The car drives fine and feels fine; it's just the smell and the heat.

The car will drive well and feel fine in the early stages of a torn cv boot BUT the smell of CV grease is remarkable. As the axle spins, the grease is flung out of cracks in the cv boot landing on the hot engine/exhaust. A car of your vintage is apt to have dried out/torn boots.

You may be able to see them from above but more readily from below. There are inner (near the transmission) and outer (near the wheel) boots on the axles. The passenger side usually goes first because it is over the exhaust and the heat fries the boot.

Once the grease has all been flung out of the boot THEN you will notice the clicking sounds and drive-ability issues.

Then again, you might have just caught a plastic bag or some other debris on your exhaust.

Lots of possibilities but certainly check or have someone knowledgeable check the cv boots anyway.

I had a weird engine bay smell from a car (not a Subaru) that took me a couple days to figure out. Turned out to be the alternator over-charging and 'cooking' the battery.

how much miles yours?

`check cv joint boot if there crack?

`alternator belt worn out or maybe bearing bad?

`power steering pump/rack pinon broke or burn? > (i dont think so)

`muffler system leaky rust (hole) because of your hometown use slat rock for ice road during winter?

 

 

maybe check coolant...can be low became overheat your engine...but you're common sense.