2001 Forester burning smell

[dnoyeB]

I have a 2001 Subaru Forester. When I am stopped at a light or anywhere
and the HVAC is set to let in outside air, I get the smell of something
burning from under the hood. Either oil or a belt or something. My belts
are basically new, but it is time for a new timing belt. I can not figure
out what is burning.

Has anyone delt with this before? Where is the outside intake vent for
the HVAC on this car?


Thanks,


Carl

 

[Tony Hwang]

I have a 2001 Subaru Forester. When I am stopped at a light or anywhere
and the HVAC is set to let in outside air, I get the smell of something
burning from under the hood. Either oil or a belt or something. My belts
are basically new, but it is time for a new timing belt. I can not figure
out what is burning.

Has anyone delt with this before? Where is the outside intake vent for
the HVAC on this car?


Thanks,


Carl

Hi,
Not really burning, maybe something is over heating? Is the rad fan
running for sure?

 

[Clifford Heath]

I have a 2001 Subaru Forester. When I am stopped at a light or anywhere
and the HVAC is set to let in outside air, I get the smell of something
burning from under the hood.

If you get a small leak from the cam cover gasket, oil falls
onto the exhaust. It doesn't need to be enough to make the
exhaust look oily, but you'll see stains where it burns/boils
off if you climb under and check it with the cover removed.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I have a 2001 Subaru Forester. When I am stopped at a light or anywhere
and the HVAC is set to let in outside air, I get the smell of something
burning from under the hood. Either oil or a belt or something. My belts
are basically new, but it is time for a new timing belt. I can not figure
out what is burning.

Has anyone delt with this before? Where is the outside intake vent for
the HVAC on this car?


Thanks,


Carl

Other than picking up a plastic bag or other debri from the road - it's
likely some fluid or grease from your car. If it smells sweet like
toasted marshmallows - probably coolant. Get that investigated WITHOUT
DELAY. If it is engine oil, check your oil level. Even if that looks OK
- you may have a minor drip. A very small amount can make a big stink.
The other common problem is a torn CV joint boot. The 'axle' grease
slings out onto the exhaust (and elsewhere) and makes a stink. If that
is the problem, you may wait if you like for quite awahile for that
repair. CV joints can last a very long time after they are exposed.

Carl

 

[Tony Hwang]

Other than picking up a plastic bag or other debri from the road - it's
likely some fluid or grease from your car. If it smells sweet like
toasted marshmallows - probably coolant. Get that investigated WITHOUT
DELAY. If it is engine oil, check your oil level. Even if that looks OK
- you may have a minor drip. A very small amount can make a big stink.
The other common problem is a torn CV joint boot. The 'axle' grease
slings out onto the exhaust (and elsewhere) and makes a stink. If that
is the problem, you may wait if you like for quite awahile for that
repair. CV joints can last a very long time after they are exposed.

Carl

Hi,
Keyword from OP is HVAC.

 

[johninKY]

Probably a split inner CV boot on the passenger side.

 

[Frank]

Probably a split inner CV boot on the passenger side.

--

Exactly what happened in my '98. Very easy to find when I drove on to
my ramps and inspected exhaust pipe. At time, dealer fixed under
drive train warranty.

 

[VanguardLH]

I have a 2001 Subaru Forester. When I am stopped at a light or
anywhere
and the HVAC is set to let in outside air, I get the smell of
something
burning from under the hood. Either oil or a belt or something. My
belts
are basically new, but it is time for a new timing belt. I can not
figure
out what is burning.

Has anyone delt with this before? Where is the outside intake vent
for
the HVAC on this car?

Check if you got a plastic bag stuck to your exhaust system (from
manifold back to tailpipe).

"smell of something burning ... oil, belt, or something" Well,
something pretty much includes everything. Hard to know with a
description of the burn smell.

How soon after you start the car do you smell the odor? Do you smell
it when you start the car cold first thing in the morning? Do you
smell it if you haven't driven anywhere yet and just let the car warm
up for a few minutes sitting in place? If you don't smell it until
you drive, how soon (how many blocks) before you smell the odor?

Fan belt is a possibility but several others already mentioned that.
I had my alternator burn up because the bearings went bad and there
was a lot of friction. I would smell it within 3 blocks of driving
the car and could smell it whether the air was coming in through the
vents or if the windows were opening. It had an electrical smell
because of the varnish on its windings getting heated up. The
alternator died and would no longer charge the battery (which I could
measure using a voltmeter to check voltage with the car stopped and
with it running).