I second valve covers and maybe cam seals. Wash everything down and keep an eye on where it comes from or you could just replace the Valve cover gaskets to begin with as they always seem to leak and it's an easy job.
Steve
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
Check your oil filter, may not be tight or could have backed off. Maybe you could clean it all up when cold, then let her idle and look for oil weepage?
The switch threads into a bushing, and the bushing threads into the block.
The threads between the switch and bushing are 1/8" BSPT and so to get a seal you apply a thread sealant to the threads of the switch before threading it into the bushing. I'm not sure what the appropriate sealant is, because you need it to be conductive as the switch grounds through its threads.
The threads between the bushing and block are some straight metric thread -- I think it might be M18x1.5mm. The seal is achieved with an aluminum crush washer. If I'm right about the threads, an 18mm ID aluminum crush washer from the auto parts store ought to work. Copper should do in a pinch.
"Just reading vrg3's convoluted, information-packed posts made me feel better all over again." -- subyluvr2212
My buddy who is a mechanic said that this will cost me around $300 in parts cause I should switch the timing belt and some other things well its all apart.. He had this same problem with his legacy a few months ago and said it will take over 6 hours labour to replace everything??
vrg3 wrote:Changing the oil pump would certainly involve that much effort, but if the problem is just a leak around the oil pressure switch that's easy to fix.
Could the oil pressure switch lose that much oil though??
Of course it could leak that much. Right underneath it flow torrents of oil under pressure.... If thats where it is leaking from, take the alternator off and see if the switch is loose or something and check the seals as everyone else has said. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty
Andrew
1990 Legacy LS Sedan FWD NA MT
209,000 miles!
2002 Impreza WRX Sport Wagon
http://www.myspace.com/petridish38
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Depending on how much it is "peeing," maybe the pressure doesn't get low enough to throw the light... But if it were me, I would have already had the alternator off and checked the switch by now.
Andrew
1990 Legacy LS Sedan FWD NA MT
209,000 miles!
2002 Impreza WRX Sport Wagon
http://www.myspace.com/petridish38
http://www.cardomain.com/id/petridish38
petridish38 wrote:Depending on how much it is "peeing," maybe the pressure doesn't get low enough to throw the light... But if it were me, I would have already had the alternator off and checked the switch by now.
Andrew
I have 2 cars that suck with lots of money needed
Where is the oil pump I dont know why my buddy made it sound so horrible.
But I have no clue when the timing belt was last done so should I not replace it anyway??
Well, to get to the switch, you don't have to take the timing belt off. To get to the switch all you have to do is take the alternator off which should only take about 10 minutes at the most. After that, you will have enough room to get to the switch. it would be so "horrible" if you had to get to the oil pump... but lets hope that it doesn't come to that (it shouldn't)... for now, all you need to do is get the alternator off which takes about 10 minutes and you won't need to replace any parts.
Andrew
1990 Legacy LS Sedan FWD NA MT
209,000 miles!
2002 Impreza WRX Sport Wagon
http://www.myspace.com/petridish38
http://www.cardomain.com/id/petridish38
the oil pump is right infront of the oil pressure switch. Rigth behind the timing belt in the middle of the block. The thing is though, that what we're suggesting is a free check, all you gotta do is set aside maybe 30 minutes, remove the alt (you might not even have to do that) and see if the switch is loose. If it is, at the very least tighten it down until you can afford to buy a new seal/ring/gasket/whatever the hell is on there. Then change that out. You could probably save yourself tons of money if that's the problem.
Rio Red 90 Legacy LS AWD 174k
Liquid Silver 92 SVX LS-L 88k
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I'm on First and First. How can the same street intersect with itself? I must be at the nexus of the universe.
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
mTk wrote:take off the alternator, ps pump, etc.. clean off the block, start it up and let id idle for a bit. See if you can see where it is leaking from.
MK
Should I cover anything before I degreese and pressure wash?? besides the alt..
And the oil filter was the first thing I checked..
It would be nice if its just a valve cover gasket.