So I set the day aside for working on the Exocet and Exige but I decided to pull my 02 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport in the garage and have a look under it first because of some oil spots on the drive way. I jack it up and slide under it and find a mess. (I knew I had a a CV boot ripped so some of the grease is from that) I was also a quart low on oil. I took this video before I cleaned up the oil.
https://youtu.be/1Y03eHsguI0
This gasket seamed to be the most forward area that had oil on it. It also looked like it had a fresh drop forming before I cleaned it off. When I cleaned it off I noticed that it wasn’t located where it should be. Here is a video of that.
https://youtu.be/v0RO_NZOn_A
Anyone know about this or experience this. What’s going on here. Do you think this is probably the culprit? What’s the fix? I need to get back to the other cars!
I’ve cleaned up what I can and am eagerly waiting for a drop to form to confirm the location but so far no luck. It’s been a few hours. Thanks.
Well, I just pulled a bunch of stuff of the front and removed the timing belt cover. The gasket I mentioned above has a weird oblong slot. So its seated fine but that bit hangs down for some reason. I guess it may work on a different engine that had a longer boss here. I figured with oil at the front of the engine I'd find a leaking seal. From what I can see everything is dry. Except where that drop was forming. But it barely goes up into the plastic shroud the gasket goes to. I suspect that wind has pushed it up into the plastic. Again, no obvious oil in the timing belt area. I just don't see how oil got that far forward on the engine. I'm stumped at the moment. My Exocet is giving my that sad unfinished face from the side of the garage.
Front crank seal? Oil pan gasket?
In my experience, most older vehicles drip oil. My MPV started leaking again after I recently performed an oil change with a different brand of full synthetic. I had the front crank and pan seals replaced just over a year ago.
In my garage and driveway right now:
Chevy truck: Drips oil and AT fluid
Mazda RX-7: Drips oil
Johnson outboard: Drips gearcase oil
13HP Tecumseh on generator: Drips oil
Roto-Tiller: Drips oil
John Deere lawn tractor: Drips oil
I thought all Subaru cars were designed to mark their territory. I have never seen one not leak oil.
kb58
SuperDork
1/28/18 3:46 p.m.
This stuff might be useful to find the actual source. Pour it in, start the engine, and watch the suspect area(s) with a UV light.
I second that, I used it to find the tiny oil leak in my 2000 Mustang. Make sure you use the glasses with the light.
This is part of older Suabru ownership, to have a dry engine in one the best strategy is to pull the engine out every timing belt change, take it down to a shortblock, and throw a full engine gasket kit at it. From the look and sound of it If I had to guess most of your leak is the oil pan and head gaskets. If you want to see where exactly it's leaking get a can of engine degreaser and wash all the oil off, then watch for where it reappears.
The timing belt was done at some point before 95k miles when I bought it. It currently has 147k miles. I was considering doing the timing belt again while I'm in there. After a bit of reading I think its possible I have a leak in the rtv seal for the oil pump. Which would be directly above where i'm seeing this oil at the front of the engine under the timing cover.
Don't discount the idea that it could be leaking from more than one spot. Always confusing when you're chasing multiple leaks.
