After several months, I am nearing the end of my rope. I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience or can point me in the right direction. A little background:

A couple months ago I had my clutch replaced under warranty at my local dealer. When I got the car back, I noticed that several items had been incorrectly reinstalled or damaged during reassembly (intercooler hoses were not installed, wires were dangling, and the BOV gasket was folded in half). These items were apparent on the drive home when I couldn't get any boost and heard air escaping under the hood. While annoying, they were relatively simple fixes. However, I also started noticing an oil smell entering the cockpit when the vehicle was running but at a standstill and the ventilation system was on "fresh air" instead of recirculate. The smell goes from annoying to downright nausiating depending on how long the vehicle has been running.

I have had the vehicle back to the dealer 3 times and the car has been with them a total of 4 days. They have been unable to find any leaks which may be causing the problem. They replaced the axle seals in the tranny even though I told them it was an engine oil smell, not a gear oil smell (I run Mobile 1 which has a pretty distinct smell). They have pretty much told me they cannot find it. I have been all over the car, and cannot find it myself.

Obvious things I have checked:

Oil lines to and from the turbo
Oil plug
Oil filter
Checked for oil spots or other accumulation under the car and on the exhaust

None of these appears to be the culprit.

I thought that the smell might be getting into the car through the ventilation system drain tube, so I temporarily plugged it and I am still getting the smell. If I understand the system correctly, I cannot see how this is possible. I was under the impression that the ventilation system gets fresh air from the vents along the bottom edge of the windshield. These vents are isolated from the engine compartment via a seal, so I cannot see how the smell is getting into the car if it isn't from the drain tube.

I have been working on cars for about 20 years, and this one is baffling me. I have to sell this car soon (STi coming in) but I cannot with this glaring problem. Any and all help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I have already contacted Subaru NA regarding my dealer due to this problem and numerous problems that occured in the past. If it weren't for the fact that the car was outside of its warranty by the time the clutch came in and was replaced, I never would have gone back to this dealer.

Thank you in advance.

J.B. Hebert

I took this from Nasioc.com

"Sounds like the same problem with some of the 1st gen WRX's that came over here.


Assuming you're still stock and under warrenty:
goto the dealer - and ask them to check the fuel lines that run underneath-ish near the top of the tranny connection point to the engine *OR* the fuel rail hoses. A lot of the prep car did not have the hoses properly put on, and were leaking a small amount that ended up near the intake area for the airflow - which is why you're smelling petrol fumes.

-victor"

did you look actually INSIDE the vents to see if it looks like something was actually poured/spilled in them? If this dealer didnt properly put your car back together from the beginning, I wouldn't put it past them to be careless enough to spill or worse, POUR something down the vents of your car.....you never know, if one of the mechanics was pissed off about something or who knows.....but thats what I would check.....but Ill keep my fingers crossed for you that, that ISN'T the problem.

-Ted