There is a fuse slot under the hood labeled FWD. If a fuse in IN this slot it will turn off the VDC system. The VDC system incorporates a series of sensors to determine the current behavior of the car, if one of these sensors is bad or disconnected I believe it would also cause the system to trip off while still allowing ABS to work. A Subaru Select Monitor could tell you more.
Even with VDC off, the VTD(Variable Torque Distribution) system is still working, which is a huge benefit for the VDC cars.
As for the smoke, the H6 engine is known to leak oil from the front case, valve covers, and oil cooler gasket. There are plenty of topics on all of those here. A lot of people just let them slowly leak.
Next time you look at it, take a look at the muffler. There should a bulb piped out of the side of it. This is a bypass valve designed for the H6 engine and was the original muffler that came with the car.
Where are you located? A car like that here would quickly sell for $5k. If you weren't in a hurry you could probably get $8k for it.
-Tim
Even with VDC off, the VTD(Variable Torque Distribution) system is still working, which is a huge benefit for the VDC cars.
As for the smoke, the H6 engine is known to leak oil from the front case, valve covers, and oil cooler gasket. There are plenty of topics on all of those here. A lot of people just let them slowly leak.
Next time you look at it, take a look at the muffler. There should a bulb piped out of the side of it. This is a bypass valve designed for the H6 engine and was the original muffler that came with the car.
Where are you located? A car like that here would quickly sell for $5k. If you weren't in a hurry you could probably get $8k for it.
-Tim