buriboi

Yeah, I watched a how-to video. Although I think I could do it, I'm just gonna go to a mechanic to ensure I don't overtighten or damage anything. I can spend a few hundred, just not a few thousand on a head gasket, lol Thanks for the help!

I suppose this is *good* news. Seems an easier fix than what I had originally imagined when the mechanic immediately started blathering on about head gaskets

Update: Definitely not the CV boot - fully in tact. I snooped around as best I could looking for fluids, and found a decent amount of oil pooled up. My pictures probably aren't the greatest (it's tight in there), but the first photo is the alternator, for reference. Below it, there's a tube leading to what I think might be an oil pressure switch. It's got a dollop of oil on it. There's also oil spattered around and pooled in a few nooks around the area, but this seems to be the "high point". So maybe this is a quick and easy fix. Make sense to anybody, lol ??

Thanks for all the information - it's greatly appreciated. I'll take a look with a friend of mine tomorrow - he was a mechanic until he got hurt, so perhaps he'll have some insight, and I'll share the results here!

Hi all, Newbie to the forum, as my 2011 Legacy has been problem free for a decade!!! (Until now) So recently, I started noticing what I thought was an exhaust-like smell in the cabin. Could also be described as a burnt oil smell, I suppose. Notably, it's only present if I leave the car running in park for a few minutes (which I do every morning in our freezing cold Canadian winters!) While driving, it's *almost* never present. But I've noticed it at a few red lights as well, just not as commonly as when started up for 2-3 minutes in the A.M. I mentioned it to my mechanic when I was getting my brakes changed, and he *immediately* groaned and mentioned this seemingly-famous head-gasket issue, which I've now read up about a little. He didn't have time to diagnose it as it was the end of the day. While I'm in a holding pattern, is this smell (only when idling) characteristic of the head gasket problem? Any other easy-to-diagnose issues you pros might think it could be instead? Thanks in advance for any quick tips before I...gulp...head back to the mechanic