Estimate on oil leak ( UPDATE !!!!!! )

[Guest mattocs]

My 1995 Legacy is going in today for the estimate on the oil leak. My mom is stoping in today before work to get the estimate...so i'll know later and i'll post what is wrong and what it will cost and you all can tell me if it sounds good.

 

 

It leaks oil...from the passenger side near the timing belt...its the oil pump seal or something I think. It leaks mostly when its just sitting there...but if I keep driving its not to bad. I loose about 2 quarts of oil when I stop for a decent amount of time after I've driven it a good while. It drips on the exhaust and it smokes real bad and smells terrible.

 

I'll let you all know what is wrong with it and stuff...I hope it dosn't cost more than like $400.

[Guest Drquasievil]

I have a 95 Legacy which had similar problem. The leak was on 3 different places. I decided it was time to replaced the timing belt and go the might as well and replaced the water pump. I posted details on what they replaced and how much the total job cost me. It was a little over $600.00. The car drove well and needed the repair, I only lost little oil though.

[Guest Subie Gal]

could be the rear cam seal...

or rear main seal..

 

or leaky sep. plate....

 

let us know what you find out.

good luck

Jamie

[Guest Frag]

The rear crank seal cannot be reached without removing the transmission, but is it possible to

replace the plate seal and cam seal without removing it ?

[Guest Commuter]

Am I missing something?

 

The leak is near the timing belt. Why are we discussing seals at the back of the engine?

 

(Confused) Commuter

[Guest Subie Gal]

oops sorry missed that bit...

 

likely culprits are gonna be crank seal or oil pump...

 

good luck

jamie

[Guest meep424]

right side valve cover seal... has more leak when off... so I'm shying away from cam/crank seals.

 

Meep

[Guest canajun2eh]

Replace all this. You can do the work yourself in a day.

1. front crank seal

2. oil pump shaft seal

3. oil pump gasket

4. timing belt

5. front camshaft seals

6. camshaft cover gaskets

7. camshaft cover bolt seals

 

You might want to consider (depending on mileage) replacing the water pump too. If you do this, don't forget to replace the O-ring at the end of the tube that fits into the water pump. There are a couple of small water hoses that are near the water pump (hard to get at) that should be replaced just for peace of mind.

 

The reason for the water pump replacement is that it's not very expensive, and you have to remove the timing belt (lots of labour) to get at the water pump.

 

Your engine won't leak oil any more. Worked beautifully on my 92 Legacy (470,000 km), will be done to the 95 Legacy (190,000 Km) in a couple of weeks.

 

Regards,

Gerry Kroll

Ottawa, Canada

2 XT6, 2 Legacy, 1 Loyale

[Guest Frag]

Good advice Gerry.

I did all that on my 96 Brighton a few weeks ago but I still have a rather "good" leak coming from the rear of the engine. Probably rear crank and/or cam seals and/or that plate at the rear of the engine.

The problem seems to be you have to wait for clutch replacement time to take care of those.

Never had oil leads coming from the rear on your 92 or 95 ?

[Guest meep424]

When I had my clutch replaced, I asked the dealer to go ahead and do the rear seal. Though he finally conceded, the service manager told me that most likely I was unnecessarily spending money -- he and the mechanic said that they had never seen the seals go. My experience with this dealer was good, so I have little reason to doubt what they said.

 

meep

[Guest mattocs]

Its the cam seals and its going to cost $220. That is what the dealer said.

 

I dunno if we are going to take it to the dealer or to a different mechanic to get the work done.

[Guest Jayhawk]

That is about what I paid for exactly the same repair on my 95 Legacy at the dealer so I doubt you will save much elsewhere.

John

[Guest 1 Lucky Texan]

sounds like a 3 1/2 to 4 hour job.

Around here (Texas) labor rates are between $53(independent) to over $65 at most dealerships. I doubt the parts are expensive - others here would know.

Might make sense to ask about warranty on repair work but that's probably standard too.

 

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

[Guest rude]

Got a slight leak in my 95 Legacy also. I think it's also in the front on the driver's side. It's a very slow leak but smells bad under heavy load (over 100 miles or a good 10 miles up hill). Anyhow I'm starting to get confused on what parts to buy. The dealer wants $75 x 4 hours and their part prices are about 3 times that of 1stsubaru! So I plan to have somebody else replace all possible problems behind the timing belt. So here's my list (that needs your help)

1. front crank seals ($5 each)

2. oil pump shaft seal (same as crank seal?)

3. oil pump gasket (made of Permex Ultra Black)

4. Timing belt ($45)

5. Front camshaft seals aka oil seals ($6 each)

6. Little o-ring behind oil pump ($28, part name?)

7. Water pump ($63)

8. Thermostat ($9)

9. Upper hose ($10)

10. Lower hose ($10)

 

I know I can do the valve cover seals and their bushings without removing the timing belt so I didn't list them.

[Guest Frag]

Front crank seal and oil pump shaft seal are one and the same part.

Dont's give in to the temptation of putting the seal on the oil pump's housing before replacing it. I ruined a crank seal doing that and had to buy another one.

You could also replace a small and short angled hose connecting to the water pump.

That's the extent of the help I can give you.

Good luck!