So directly above the oil filter is this weird looking thing like multiple rings stacked up

(2006 forester non turbo 111k)

It was covered in a thick oil dirt mixture---one pic as is and one pic cleaned

 

What is it? some kind of oiling cooling mechanism

Wondering where the oil is coming from

 

And does anyone else besides me absolutely HATE the newer exhaust system ?  The way it covers so much of the bottom of the engine makes it a real pain to see oil leaks....especially if you want to look at the full length of the head gasket area....sheesh

Yes it's an oil cooler.

For whatever reason on non turbo engines Subaru has only put them on the Forester engines.

 

O.

yes , its an oil cooler,  as far as your leak ...  start at the oil pressure sending unit and go down

our 03 H6 OBW has one. the gasket can leak so, cleaning the area and watching for a leak is a good idea. The nipple that the filter screws on to is what holds that on and it takes a deep 24mm (maybe 26mm ?) socket.

 

You could try tightening it first, might slow down the leak if that's the source.

Edited October 19, 20169 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

There's a big o-ring gasket on the oil cooler that causes that leak. Next time you change the oil get a new gasket and pull the cooler down and change it. Usually you don't have to remove the hoses from it, but you may need to remove the bolts where the pipe for the one hose is bolted to the block. IIRC it's a 22 mm socket to remove the center post in the cooler.

thanks guys....wish mine was horizontal like the youtube video

Mine is vertical and kind of cramped for space....