I just bought my 91 Legacy LS last week and I found 2 leaks underneath, I took photos so I can show you guys were the leaks are. Where are these leaks coming from? Can they be normal "wear & tear" leaks on a car?
Theres also a photo of the motor, can you tell me what kind of motor it is by looking at it? The seller told me it wasnt the original motor. I'm a woman and I dont even know what the heck I'm talking about! I hope I didnt buy a lemon.
Do you find that I'm going to have big problems with these leaks? Money is tight, is this costly?
I'm not able to open the brake fluid cap to check it, are they hard to open?, I even had some guy try to open it and it wont open!
The photos are the best I can get, I really dont climb under cars.
Thanks guys!
1991 Legacy LS Sedan
http://www.myspace.com/sexkitten1961
Your engine is a 2.2 Liter Normally Aspirated engine as far as I can tell. I have a '93 LS with the same one, they're reliable and gas efficient.
I also have a small leak in the same area. It would probably be more costly to repair than it's worth if you don't do it yourself (if it is the same leak as mine, you would have to have the engine pulled out to replace it, which can cost a lot as far as the amount of time charged to do the work. Plus it's easy enough just to add a little oil once in a while.
The one coming from the timing cover looks like a leaky drivers side cam seal.
If you are going to replace the timing belt soon, I'd replace the cam & crank seals @ the same time just in case.
There seems to be alot of wetness on the drivers side head which is probably do to a leaky v-cover gasket.
V-cover gaskets are easy to change.
The one around the front x-member could be from a few places.
Wow. Another automotive hypochondriac like myself. I go nuts every time I see something new on my car. It's a good thing though.
The oil looks normal near the oil pan. You should see mine. Just keep an eye on it from time to time. If it suddenly gets way worse or you leave puddles like the Exxon Valdez, you've got a problem.
My crossmember and skid plate thingey are quite soaked at the moment. That's why I have a date with some Foamy Engine Brite and my brother-in-law's powerwasher this weekend.
You should be fine. The leaks don't look super bad. Just check your fluids routinely to make sure the leaks haven't accelerated.
You really need to clean the engine up to determine exactly where they're coming from and how much is leaking out. There's a lot of old oil on there.
The typical leak points are the front cam & crank seals, rear cam seal, valve cover gasket & grommets, and oil filler o-ring. The gaskets aren't expensive. To do the front cam & crank gaskets you have to take the timing belt off, so that work can be a little bit of money, plus if you're doing the gaskets you might as well check the oil pump backing screws, replace the o-ring between the pump & block, replace the timing belt, water pump & thermostat.
So if you get into all those things, you're looking at a little bit of money....I think you could get a shop to do all that for under $1000.
A little bit of oil leaking really isn't a problem. A lot of oil is. Check to see how much oil you're using between oil changes. I don't lose much oil at all. I can't tell at all when I check my dipstick right before an oil change. But, I do have a lot of old oil laying around on the bottom of my engine. I have some around the top, too. I think it's due to the PCV valve though. I still have to check that. In fact, I'll do that right after this.
I had a friend who put a half quart of oil into his Crown Vic every day. The damn oil pan gasket was bad and he was too cheap to fix it. He probably spent three times the cost of replacing it topping it back off every day for 18 months straight. He had the hugest puddle under his car, since he had an assigned parking spot at his apartment. I referred to it as the Crown Valdez. The asphalt got so soaked to the point that it actually got soft and disentigrated. No matter how much it snowed, that damn spot was ALWAYS bare. The snow would just melt as it hit it. I have seen bad oil spots before but none like that. He got like 3 warnings and a fine before his lease was up. He eventually sold it after putting on 30k miles.
Anyways, what I see there is quite normal to me. I've owned two Legacies and both had a little oil hanging around. A little is nothing to worry about, and I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my car. As long as it didn't go from squeaky clean to looking like that within a couple days or a week, you'll be fine.
Also, check the concrete where you park it. Look for oil spots where there was clean concrete. Also, you could put down a piece of cardboard. That will make any drips noticible. I park mine in the same spot in my garage and I've only had 5-6 drip marks in eight months.
Am I worried? Nope. Should you be worried about your oil? Nope. As long as you check the dipstick periodically (like every time you fill up w/gas) and don't notice any big loss, you'll be fine. You'll probably get tired of the same ride and buy a new car before this turns into anything bad.
Like I said, if you smell a strong burning oil smell, lose alot of oil between changes, or leave puddles like an oil tanker run aground, I'd be concerned. If you see a little seepage forming over time, you have a car that's over ten years old and isn't new anymore. Even old Porsches lose a little oil. Save the $1000 and buy a spare car if you're that worried. Nothing is worse than sinking money into problems that don't really exist. Just keep an eye out for any of the problem scenarios that I mentioned above, and do something only if your leak gets suddenly worse.
This is coming from the guy who runs around in a panic every time he hears/sees/feels/imagines something slightly off with his car.
Now off to check my PCV valve. And put cardboard under my engine
Neko, welcome aboard! There is so much info here, you will be amazed what you will learn - even if you don't do the work yourself. Anyway, The engine compartment looks really clean for being a 17 year old PA car. The nice thing about Subarus (for buyers, at least) is that they are very undervalued. Chances are you picked it up for under $1500, with around 200K miles. You never know, you could get another 100K out of it without any major work. But if the car does get you that far, it will probably be because you had all the seals replaced sometime between now & then.
Shame the AC compressor isnt hooked up, though. The belt is missing. Hoping those PA summers aren't so bad. That's actually the only major repair I have done to mine, but this is AZ, so its a NEED!
'93 L Wagon: gone @ 190K (still see her around sometimes) and replaced by
'06 Mazda5 5MT (hers)
'04 Volvo V70 T5 MT (his)
wish list:
'05-'06 XT Legacy Wagon or Outback
Challenger R/T
thaxman wrote:
Shame the AC compressor isnt hooked up, though. The belt is missing. Hoping those PA summers aren't so bad. That's actually the only major repair I have done to mine, but this is AZ, so its a NEED!
Wow, good eyes lol.
-Aaron
2000 Audi S4 - 2.7L Twin-turbo, 6 Speed
[quote="evolutionmovement"]It was me. And those are my balls. Happy Sunday![/quote]
