01 Outback, want to buy it.. scared of burnt clutch/brakes odor under hood

E

Eli Patterson

We are in the market to buy a used outback and went to look and drive
one.. We really like the car but I noticed a burnt clutch/oil smell
from under the hood after driving it. The thing is, its at automatic,
and it was not directly coming from the brakes. It smells just like
clutch/brakes after some aggressive driving.

Based on its year and mileage its priced 1500 cheaper than everything
else in my area. I am just concerned its too good to be true.

Is there anything in the car that would give that distinct smell
under the hood?
 
Eli Patterson said:
We are in the market to buy a used outback and went to look and drive
one.. We really like the car but I noticed a burnt clutch/oil smell
from under the hood after driving it. The thing is, its at automatic,
and it was not directly coming from the brakes. It smells just like
clutch/brakes after some aggressive driving.

Based on its year and mileage its priced 1500 cheaper than everything
else in my area. I am just concerned its too good to be true.

Is there anything in the car that would give that distinct smell
under the hood?

Eli.....
A lot of the info your want..and some you wont like..is right here in this
forum.
There are a lot of "issues" you need to be "Heads up" on...
 
Eli.....
A lot of the info your want..and some you wont like..is right here in this
forum.
There are a lot of "issues" you need to be "Heads up" on...

Ooops.. my initial description should say burnt clutch/brakes smell..
not oil. Does not smell anything like oil.
 
Eli said:
We are in the market to buy a used outback and went to look and drive
one.. We really like the car but I noticed a burnt clutch/oil smell
from under the hood after driving it. The thing is, its at automatic,
and it was not directly coming from the brakes. It smells just like
clutch/brakes after some aggressive driving.

Based on its year and mileage its priced 1500 cheaper than everything
else in my area. I am just concerned its too good to be true.

Is there anything in the car that would give that distinct smell
under the hood?

If it smells sweet-ish, like toasted marshmallows, that would be
coolant. However, I suspect there is a split boot on a half axle which
has slung grease onto the exhaust.
Of course, it could also be a plastic bag or 'road kill' or other debris
cooking on the exhaust. If you suspect brakes/stuck caliper, compare the
feel of heat from the wheels after driving and a dragging brake
should be hottert han the other wheels.

Carl
 
Eli said:
Is there anything in the car that would give that distinct smell
under the hood?

I know you said "not oil", but remember that anything leaking out of
the engine tends to fall onto the hot exhaust. Being baked on can
make a different smell than being burnt. Our '99 Liberty has a small
leak in the cam cover gasket which leaks small amounts of oil, and
that makes a bad/hot smell. Take off the drip pan, and slide under
with a torch - I bet you'll find something baking onto the exhaust.

Clifford Heath
 
I'm not sure of your location but here in the salt-belt, a lot of
unscrupulous dealers will undercoat cars prior to selling them in order to
hide any rust. This stuff smells when it burns off the exhaust, etc. Just a
thought...

DS
 
Clifford said:
I know you said "not oil", but remember that anything leaking out of
the engine tends to fall onto the hot exhaust. Being baked on can
make a different smell than being burnt. Our '99 Liberty has a small
leak in the cam cover gasket which leaks small amounts of oil, and
that makes a bad/hot smell. Take off the drip pan, and slide under
with a torch - I bet you'll find something baking onto the exhaust.

Clifford Heath

I'm hoping you are British. We Americans use the word "torch" a little
differently. On this side of the pond it's a "flashlight".

Crawling under the car to look for an oil leak with an American "torch"
would definitely lead to bad hot/burnt smells if not worse.
 
I'm hoping you are British. We Americans use the word "torch" a little
differently. On this side of the pond it's a "flashlight".

Crawling under the car to look for an oil leak with an American "torch"
would definitely lead to bad hot/burnt smells if not worse.



No, he's Australian. The fact that he called his car a "Liberty" and not a
"Legacy" is a dead giveaway :)
 
Clifford said:
You got it!

And I shudda got it, I've been to enough Aussie Subaru websites to know
better. At least the "this side of the pond" line still works ;}
 
Surprising that they call it Legacy actually. At least in the
computer industry, the word means "old shit that we're stuck
with but no-one wants to work on it so it can't be fixed".
Not a good connotation for a car branding, I woulda thunk. :)
 
Surprising that they call it Legacy actually. At least in the
computer industry, the word means "old shit that we're stuck
with but no-one wants to work on it so it can't be fixed".
Not a good connotation for a car branding, I woulda thunk. :)

Subaru are not permitted to call it "Legacy" in Australia as there is a
charity organisation here called Legacy. Ironically, Daimler Chrysler can't
call the Jeep Liberty here by it's name, because of the conflict with Subaru
Australia. So the new Jeep Liberty uses the old nameplate of Jeep Cherokee.

Confused ? Join the club :)
 
:)

Being a fellow Australian, I would just like to add that I had a split
CV boot on my 1998 Liberty and grease was baking on to the exhaust.
Smell and smoke got worse as car warmed up, never got really bad but
was definately noticable. If this is the case it cost me $10 AUD to
buy a replacement boot and fit it - easy.
 

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