Do I have a skid plate?

[SaratogaCx]

Dumb question for a fairly "new" Suberu owner.

When I got my '04 STi (used) I assumed that it was used for road driving. It had a decent audio setup as well as most of the wiring for a passport radar system as well as the ash tray was replaced with a 4 unit cig lighter (with an additional 2 under the passenger side seat).

But while I was looking at an antifreeze leak I noticed that nothing was collecting under the car (it is spraying all over under the hood so it had to be falling somewhere when the car wasn't moving).

When looking down behind the antifreeze overflow container I noticed that there was a piece of metal between the enine block and the ground with a couple of small access holes in it.

When I looked under the car it looked like I had a skid plate but before I get happy in not having to order one.. is there something I can look for that'll tell me?

[TouringBubble]

A photo would help. A skid plate would be fairly obvious ... a wide metal plate that covers the sub frame. It would be mostly flat and maybe turned up at the nose of the car.

[SaratogaCx]

I'll try and get a photo later today. My camera phone doesn't have a flash.

It seems to be pretty obviously there and it does fit your description except that it has ridges at each 1/4 of the way across.

Like I said though. I'll get a pic later today to show.

[yama_r6]

Is the leak you are looking for from the intercooler sprayer? You may not have a coolant leak...

[Tedpro]

Stock Skid plates on impreza are plastic.
A metal one is shown in this picture :
http://www.rallyarmor.com/store/images/skid_plate.jpg

[SaratogaCx]

It looks like I have the stock one. Thanks for the Info. I ended up looking at my friend's '06 STi and he had the same thing.

The leak was apparently a seam in my radiator cracking open. I got the radiator swapped.. than a coolent hose burst on the road (fun driving a fog machine) and after the 2nd repair it started seeping smoke again after a 15 mile drive in seattle traffic. Took it back and it's in the shop for the 3rd time in two weeks.

At least I have a loaner this time (outback.. kind of large for my tastes but not bad overall).

[Newk_Rally]

sounds like it could be the thermostat i had a similar problem and the shop kept telling me it wasn't the thermostat then finally they replaced it and i no longer had problems just a thought good luck with the repairs

[SaratogaCx]

Thanks!

I heard back from the shop. They said they checked everything and drove it for 15+ miles (my request) and they weren't able to make the issue reoccur. I'm picking it up tomorrow and I'll give it a bit of a workout. They're suspecting it was just some stagnant coolant that touched my engine when it got hot and evaporated.

They said they checked the thermostat and it was okay but I'll keep that in mind. Were you seeing overheating or just smoke?

I hope that's true :)

[SaratogaCx]

Almost 3 weeks and everything is still running nicely. Just thought I'd follow up :bored: