EJ206 engine smoke issue

[Username]

Hi all, just picked up an 02 Legacy Etune fresh off the boat from Japan.Has 110k on it absolutely love the car but the night I got it home I noticed some light smoke coming through the drivers side headlight area and a bit of a burning smell.It stopped when I opened the hood and I wasn’t driving hard but I thought it might just be oil residue or something burning off because the guys that serviced it before looked to have done a bit of a sloppy job on it.

But after driving it on the freeway for about 2-3 minutes yesterday and only hitting about 110kph I stopped and there was a fair bit of smoke coming out this time so I opened the hood and it was coming from the secondary turbo area and that same distinctive burning smell.I’ve been underneath the car and can’t seem to find noticeable leaks.From what I can see so far it seems like the hotter the engine gets the more smoke there is.If I’m just cruising like city driving sitting in traffic etc it doesn’t really smoke at all.The car seems to be driving fine but this is my first Subaru and to be honest I wouldn’t know much about them so I’m hoping someone here can shed a bit of light on this if it is a common problem other posts seem to suggest things like the turbo oil feed line leaking or rocker cover gasket but if anyone here has experienced similar issues and had advice/info it would be greatly appreciated.Ive attached a pic of the area it’s coming from trying to attach a video but not sure if it’s possible on here?Thanks in advance

[vanislebh5]

Hi all, just picked up an 02 Legacy Etune fresh off the boat from Japan.Has 110k on it absolutely love the car but the night I got it home I noticed some light smoke coming through the drivers side headlight area and a bit of a burning smell.It stopped when I opened the hood and I wasn’t driving hard but I thought it might just be oil residue or something burning off because the guys that serviced it before looked to have done a bit of a sloppy job on it.

But after driving it on the freeway for about 2-3 minutes yesterday and only hitting about 110kph I stopped and there was a fair bit of smoke coming out this time so I opened the hood and it was coming from the secondary turbo area and that same distinctive burning smell.I’ve been underneath the car and can’t seem to find noticeable leaks.From what I can see so far it seems like the hotter the engine gets the more smoke there is.If I’m just cruising like city driving sitting in traffic etc it doesn’t really smoke at all.The car seems to be driving fine but this is my first Subaru and to be honest I wouldn’t know much about them so I’m hoping someone here can shed a bit of light on this if it is a common problem other posts seem to suggest things like the turbo oil feed line leaking or rocker cover gasket but if anyone here has experienced similar issues and had advice/info it would be greatly appreciated.Ive attached a pic of the area it’s coming from trying to attach a video but not sure if it’s possible on here?Thanks in advance

Mine had some wiring foam cover near the firewall on that same side that was touching the heat shield of the 2nd turbo ,

[duncanm]

Have a think about it - secondary turbo doesn't have exhaust routed to it until you 'get on it'. So it (and the secondary downpipe) doesn't get hot.

Any oil residue on the secondary turbine housing / downpipe won't burn off if you're just puttering around town on the primary.

One typical source of oil drips on that side is the IACV (Intake Air Control Valve) which opens and closes the secondary compressor outlet to intercooler pipe. What happens is that blowby collects in the intercooler, drools down the secondary inlet and then dribbles out the IACV butterfly shaft. No big issue, just clean out your intercooler every now and then.

Could be that, or CV grease flicked up from the RHS inner joint onto the downpipe.

I bet if you had a good look around the downpipe you'd find oil residue on it somewhere.

IACV vacuum actuator in green.
4110

[vanislebh5]

Have a think about it - secondary turbo doesn't have exhaust routed to it until you 'get on it'. So it (and the secondary downpipe) doesn't get hot.

Any oil residue on the secondary turbine housing / downpipe won't burn off if you're just puttering around town on the primary.

One typical source of oil drips on that side is the IACV (Intake Air Control Valve) which opens and closes the secondary compressor outlet to intercooler pipe. What happens is that blowby collects in the intercooler, drools down the secondary inlet and then dribbles out the IACV butterfly shaft. No big issue, just clean out your intercooler every now and then.

Could be that, or CV grease flicked up from the RHS inner joint onto the downpipe.

I bet if you had a good look around the downpipe you'd find oil residue on it somewhere.

IACV vacuum actuator in green.
4110

Sorry mate, Duncanm ,

that is not the Idle air control valve

[duncanm]

Sorry Duncanm ,

that is not the Idle air control valve

re-read what I wrote.

[vanislebh5]

4111

idle air control valve

[vanislebh5]

actuator ,I see mate

[duncanm]

4112

[vanislebh5]

4112

Idle Air Control Valve IACV

Intake Air Control Valve IACV :smilebox: