timfreddo Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Hi. My 94 legacy ts-r just started leaking oil pretty bad. Bit of a wiered leak though. seems only to leak when the oil is hot. leaking rate is a 10cm accross puddle, in about half an hour. doesnt seem to leak once oil has cooled again. had a look underneath and it seems to be coming out the right hand side of the timing belt cover. I took the cover off, and there wasnt any oil spattered around inside the cover, so think it must be coming out of the head. wiped the head down to try and see where its coming from, doesn't seem to be coming out the bottom of the gasket, but rather a point i cant see maybe half way up the head. (hard to say, cant find a photo on the net) any bolts up there that could've come loose? Or other thaughts on where it could be coming from? Cheers Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 nah, that doesn't sound strange at all. the cam seal is leaking, it's behind the cam sprocket and rear timing belt cover, can't see it until you get the sprocket and rear cover off. most folks, and wise/honest mechanics, consider it the best idea to do a timing belt and reseal the entire front of the engine on a car this old. timing belt and all the pulleys cams seals, cam orings oil pump seals, crank seal all of that resides behind the timing belt, so best to do all in one shot. silly to replace just one seal, then 6 months later one of the others starts leaking. Use Subaru seals for all of those, they are higher quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Ya sounds like a cam seal, but could be dripping off the valve covers. Even check something as simple as the oil filter to see if its loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 I'll third the cam seal. Do both, and the crank seal while you're in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timfreddo Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Hey, Thanks for the help. Is there any way of knowing whether its a camshaft or crankshaft seal that needs replacing before taking it to bits? or is it just more likely to be camshaft? just had Cambelt done very recently, Damn! Here's a pic i found, to help me ask questions about the work. (Thanks heaps for the pic!!!!) OK, so if its a camshaft seal leaking, i will need to take off the sproket where the wrench is, and the seal will be behind that.... this is the side the leak is dripping down too. Are there 2 camseals- 1 on either side? If its the crankshaft seal leaking, i will need to fix the seal behind the crankshaft sproket (little one under the belt in the middle). Any tricks to getting the sprockets off without specialized (chainwrench etc..) tools?? anything else to know? Guess it'll all make sense when i get in there and have a proper look! Cheers Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Is there any way of knowing whether its a camshaft or crankshaft yes, i already did that for you based on what you said here:it seems to be coming out the right hand side of the timing belt cover. in a sense it really doesn't matter though because you'll want to replace it all, they're over 15 years old. If one started leaking there's a good chance another one might some time soon too. It's kind of silly to take it all apart and skip replacing a $5 seal...... Actually you already know what I'm talking about: just had Cambelt done very recently, Damn! so why just replace one seal, only to have another start leaking and have to do it again? Are there 2 camseals- 1 on either side? If its the crankshaft seal leaking, i will need to fix the seal behind the crankshaft sproket (little one under the belt in the middle). 2 cam seals and 2 cam orings - replace them all. Yes, crank seal is part of the oil pump behind the crank pulley and sprockets. Most folks on here reseal the oil pump while it's staring them in the face rather than just replace the crank seal. Any tricks to getting the sprockets off without specialized (chainwrench etc..) tools?? the cam sprocket bolts are TIGHT AS ALL GET OUT. i loosen them before taking the belt off. otherwise they're a pain - but rubber strap wrenches, chain wrenches (with suitable rubber to protect the gears) work too. i've heard there are indentations on the cams themselves that a wrench slides right on to hold them in place, so you could pull the valve cover and do that as well, that would be an easier way to do it. these motors are so reliable and easy to maintain that in some sense it's a really good idea to just replace everything now. good chance you can run this thing another 120,000 miles by just replacing the timing belt at 60k without any other problems if you do a good job now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 i've heard there are indentations on the cams themselves that a wrench slides right on to hold them in place, so you could pull the valve cover and do that as well, that would be an easier way to do it. Sadly, this is only on the 2.5 engines:-\ For a 2.2 you really almost have to use a GOOD strap wrench or a proper Cam tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Do all the front seals, main, cam and reseal the oil pump. If you dont do all of them, as soon as you get it all back together Mr Murphy will show up. Also inspect the end of the spark plug wires to see if there is any oil on them. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Do all the front seals, main, cam and reseal the oil pump. If you dont do all of them, as soon as you get it all back together Mr Murphy will show up. Also inspect the end of the spark plug wires to see if there is any oil on them. nipper 94 2.2 valve covers are not like the newer 2.2L or the 2.5's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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