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First time under my Legacy Outback/OIL


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I have been worried about the smell of some burning oil of late.

I got under her for the first time today... I was intreguied more than anything by the layout and design of the engine... very cool. But seeing the horizontaly opposed engine for the first time I am not to sure where the oil may be coming from. There is definately a leak. I thought it may have been from the back of the oil pan, as if the gasket may have had a problem. Am I being decieved by how the air flows? Could that actually be the place it is coming from? It appears to be the highest point with signifigant oil present... anythoughts out there from those of you who have been under these cars for much longer than I have ;-)

 

 

Hentai

 

97 Legacy Outback

2.5L, DOHC

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You will find oil there which might have leaked from the front of the engine and, like you mentioned, spread by air. Common places for a leak, in no particular order, are the cam/crank seals (in front of the engine, may show up on the bottom corners of the timing belt cover and/or leak on Y-pipe), valve cover gaskets, and oil pump. Not that the pan gasket can't be the source, but from my experiences one of these others may be more likely.

 

-Heikki

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Echoing what hklaine said, I would suspect one of the seals on the front of the engine. Pan gaskets do leak sometimes, but not that often, and probably not on a newer car like yours. If oil is collecting on the pan and the surrounding area, it's probably coming from one of the seals near the center of the engine, either the front crank seal or oil pump seal.

 

A good trick I've heard about is to clean everything off really well, then sprinkle baby powder or a similar substance all over the bottom of the engine. Drive it for a little while, and it should quickly become apparent where the oil is coming from.

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Thanks for the advice...

hklaine,

I hope its not any of the front seals, the friend I bought it from said he just had the timing belt replaced (I think he paid like $800)... I hope they actually were decent enough to replace some of those front seals while it was apart but Ill get under there and take another look.

I may try the baby powder too, just hope the baby doesnt notice ;-)

Thanks,

Hentai

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