Finding an oil leak

[Pickford]

My 96 Legacy wagon has an oil leak somewhere in the engine. It has been leaking onto the exhaust manifold and burning up everytime I drive it. I've taken it into a shop before and they said there was nothing wrong. Now the problem has gotten worse. . . . any clue as to where the leak is coming from?
Thanks,
Ben

[91White-T]

Valve cover gasket? My car had a similar problem a while backa and that was it.

[rlima]

Yes, valve cover gaskets.
I replaced mine and also the rubber ring at the bottom of the oil filler neck spout. before going ahead with this look all around the valve covers (top and bottom).

R. Lima

[ciper]

" I've taken it into a shop"

That was your first mistake. Either do it for yourself or find a good place to take it that knows something about subaru's.

The valve cover gaskets are really easy to replace. It could be done in a half hour if you have the right tools. The hardest part of the job is twisting and turning the cover to get it out of the engine bay on the right side.

Most of the time the covers will get hard. When the parts contract and expand they allow oil to sneak past.

[rlima]

Replacing the valve cover gaskets are easy.
It took me about 3 hours to do it, but that was only because I wanted to take out the right cover without removing the air filter housing first. I finally gave up, took the filter housing off anf then it was ok. In my car (2.2 turbo) you only have about 1/8" of space to slip the covers on and off but with a bit of patience you can do it. I recommend you replace the bolt rubber grommets at the same time as they too get hard with time.

Roy

[Pickford]

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely get them replaced soon.

[petridish38]

I also had an oil leak on my 90 Legacy. it turned out that it was my front oil seal which keeps the oil from getting past the oil pump. If it is the valve covers, then you should be able to see the oil on the valve covers. If you don't see any oil then it may be the front oil seal. If it is, you might as well replace the timing belt too since you have to remove it to get to the seal.

[FrmRgz2Rchz]

I've heard that a lot of subarus leak oil from the oil pump and burn up when it hits the exhaust manifold I'm not sure if is the gasket like petridish said, but from the part on top that is held on by like 5 screws. Before my turbo engine was put in, the timing belt and a bunch of gaskets were being replaced. When my cousin was cleaning the oil pump, he found 2 of the screws to be loose, and said that a lot of subarus had this problem, which resulted in an oil leak. Again, I don't know if this is the gasket petridish was talking about, but it seems like that may be the problem. I have this problem on my NA legacy also.

[entirelyturbo]

Everybody's right. Subarus love to leak from valve covers and I'm not just talking Legacies. Since the gasket has to combat oil pressure and gravity because of the boxer design, they are prone to leak oil and leak a lot of it. They're very easy to do themselves; however, I found it easy after taking out the battery, the washer fluid reservoir, and the intake hose. Make sure you get new grommets as well as the gaskets. And although Legacy777 said he had no problem, I had the misfortune of breaking a valve cover bolt in the cylinder head! I got a mechanic to get it out, and I then replaced all of the bolts. So I would advise getting new bolts ($1.21 each from the dealer) since the old ones haven't budged in 10+ years, and I didn't tighten the bolt too much; they need about 35-40 lbs torque.

However, anybody having issues with drain plug leakage? Mine's leaking mere drops, but I'm picky!

[Legacy777]

Are you replacing the crush washer every time you change your oil?

If not, that's why it's leaking

I will use the washer twice usually......after the second round.....i'll put a new one on

[entirelyturbo]

The fact that I've never seen a washer on the drain plug might have something to do with it ... However, just on a lark, I bought a new drain plug and it didn't come with a washer...

[eastbaysubaru]

Or you could just get a Fumoto Valve and be done with the whole crush washer issue. There's one on my Christmas list already.

-Brian

[entirelyturbo]

Ancient topic? Sure, but still applies...

I was discussing this on another board, and another frequent leak spot on 2.2's is the right rear cam seal. It doesn't leak much, but it still makes a mess and makes some obsessive people (like me ) who want their cars 100% oil tight bonkers. So I changed mine, and allow me to say it is the easiest oil seal to change on the whole car, even though it's been said the dealer does it for $80. Look on the back of your right head and if there's oil back there (valve covers won't leak oil back there) take the two bolts off and the plate and o-ring seal come off quite easily. Simply replace the seal, do some housekeeping around that area, and reinstall...

I did it in 20 minutes, and still had time to clean up before I went out...

Just thought I'd give a tip for an easy but effective fix

[eastbaysubaru]

Is this the drivers side or the passengers side?

-Brian

[entirelyturbo]

The passenger's, you can't do the driver's side, at least without taking the head apart, I guess...

[Legacy777]

The passenger's, you can't do the driver's side, at least without taking the head apart, I guess...

There is no rear seal on the driver's side.

The reason there is one on the pass side is because on turbo cars that's where the oil tapped into to the turbo.

[entirelyturbo]

So Subaru thought it would be cheaper to just put a plate on the right head and put a seal (that would eventually spring a leak... ) on it instead of having a different head on the NA's? Well, that does save a bunch of money, I guess...