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hot metal smell under hood

4K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  zmanjohns 
#1 ·
I recently got my hands on a 1999 Outback limited. After some driving there seems to be a hot metal scent from under the hood. The car does not run hot and the fluids seem pretty stable. It goes away quickly, but I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with any such problems. Thank you
 
#2 ·
Might have oil leaking onto the exhaust and burning off before it can hit the ground.. even a minor oil leak can cause the smell. Could be from engine or transmission, my 97 had a small leak from the transmission output shaft occasionally dripping onto the exhaust.
 
#4 ·
Leaks are not usually a good thing, depends on the severity I suppose.

Poke your head underneath with a flashlight, engine oil leaking onto the exhaust should be visible from the front of the car. If it's the transmission output shaft seal, might be trickier to see but will be visible under the middle of the car. Mine was dripping occasionally onto the heat shield, discoloration on the heat shield under the transmission was a good clue.
 
#6 ·
cv axle boot

I think I might have a tiny whole on the inner cv axle boot on my passenger side. it is on the long skinny rubber boot towards the center of the undercarriage. How much is that to get fixed at the garrage and how hard would it be to do myself if I bought the part somewhere?

if it helps at all I can try to take a picture of the issue
 
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