brus brother Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 05 outback 200K miles puddling oil. Yes I have had external HG leaks for quite some time but all of a sudden, there was a lot of oil leaking. Watched a number of videos on replacing the valve cover gasket and plug seals. Today I investigated how tight the quarters are for my fat hands and to my amazement, the lower front bolt on the drivers side was so loose I could turn more than one full turn by hand! Checked other bolts and they seem OK (alright, I didn't get to the lower rear bolt). Will check that another day. Fingers crossed that fixes the leak... for now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Success on the horizon , I can see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 6, 2020 Author Share Posted March 6, 2020 spoke too soon still leaking. gasket is probably smushed and no longer sealing. hold onto my ankles, I'm going in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 13 hours , the suspense is killing me !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Drop the exhaust from the heads and unbolt the motor mounts. Jack up the motor and the valve covers come right off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 7, 2020 Author Share Posted March 7, 2020 Friendly subie tech said loosen the passenger motor mount remove the driver motor mount and tilt the motor. My plan is to remove the oil soaked shield below the engine bay and see if I can access the rear lower vc bolt and wiggle the cover out without disassembling too much else. As a retired dentist, I am used to working in tight spaces and never considered the option to remove the ear to work on a back tooth. ;-) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 (edited) I’ve never seen Tightening the valve cover bolts slow down a leak. The gasket is too brittle and hard, tightening doesn’t mitigate that on Subarus. Subaru valve cover gaskets are easy. There’s two bolts that are hard to get at - the lower rear corner bolts on each side - this has been true for many generations of subarus back to the 80s and probably 70s. They’ve all basically been identical in approach. A quality ratcheting 10mm wrench makes all the difference in the world on the rear lower cover bolts. they can be insanely difficult to remove without that tool and easy with it. plan on it taking a little longer than you think and you’ll be golden. It’s not bad at all, actually they’re easy. one of those retractable mirrors might be mildly helpful if this is the first time familiarizing yourself with that area just to get a feel for the area and seeing more clearly what it looks like before you dive in. A side picture of your engine might help too if you can google one just for perspective. Definitely not needed, I’ve never done that for VCs but just depends how much experience you have and how you learn, if you’re visual, etc. If youre rust free and have excellent work space and tools at the ready to lift the engine without taking any set up time then sure do that. most average DIY will spend 30 additional minutes set up, maybe rounding off a rusty 14mm engine mount nut, crawling under and back out multiple times and wash rinse repeat for the other side, all to save 30 minutes for a net gain of 0 minutes. Not worth it unless you have some very compelling set up or reason otherwise. Edited March 8, 2020 by idosubaru 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 one video I watched suggested using gasket maker sealant when placing the gasket in the valve cover. is this factory spec or just belts and suspenders and to make sure the gasket doesn't get dislodged when reinserting the valve cover? I bought the FelPro gasket set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 you shouldn't need anything to hold the new gasket in place, they should have little ribs that will hold them in the groove of the cover. just be careful when repositioning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 You retired ?? Damn ! Keep a chair in the basement ?? Enjoy it Jim !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 And if the seal or gasket wants to slip out you can use a little Vaseline or dab of grease depending on what you’re doing. Nothing is best if you can achieve. The infamous O ring for the EA82 Mickey Mouse was always one of those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 from doing this recently on mine ill say its possible to just pull the covers without moving the engine. all i did was remove the air box on the passenger side and the washer bottle/battery on the drivers side and was able to complete the job. on the drivers side u have to unbolt the oil fill tube from the valve cover or it wont slip out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 sir toke what model and year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 Get the FSM procedure and look it over. They’re free all over the internet. If you’re worried and don’t have it, get it. Install them dry, per factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 Thanks Ido... I do have the FSM, but "rocker cover" gasket nomenclature wasn't what I expected. They don't mention any sealant but then again, they don't mention that you need to be a circus oddity to get your hands down into those spaces. Instructions: "remove" and "replace". Thanks Captain Fuji Obvious. I may end up tweaking the engine up a bit. I am in the rust belt but am blessed with an oil soaked undercarriage due to mild drivers side HG leak and passenger side top rear HG leak. Lucky me! I will borrow up a 6 point socket before customizing the engine mount nut with my 12 point junk. The left "rocker cover" gasket is a serious leaker now so stand by for a full report on the adventure. @Moosens, yes I retired! I am finding crossover usage of my old tools. If you stop by we can experiment with channel locks and oil filter wrenches for all your dental needs ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 I lose any more teeth and I have to move to the Valley. Sounds like sir toke is on an elder 2.2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 5 hours ago, moosens said: I lose any more teeth and I have to move to the Valley. Sounds like sir toke is on an elder 2.2 no this was on a 2.5 in a 2001 outback passenger side came out the top drivers side came out the bottom with the filler neck removed first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) Just occurred to me... the other day I heard a ticking noise coming from the drivers side with the severe oil leak. I took out ye old stethoscope and isolated the tick to the driver side valve area. If all the oil had seeped out of the bottom of the vc while the car sat for a few days, would this account for the ticking on startup that went away after a few minutes? @sirtoke regarding bottom out removal for driver side, I took a quick look and first thing I would need to do would be to remove the oil soaked engine dust shield. I may end up doing just that to see if my fat arms can swing in from underneath to catch that rear bolt. Digging that far in, I would also have the potential to remove the wheel well shield and gain side access that way. Still trying to assemble the floor jack and appropriate sockets in the event that I need to raise the engine, if I had already detached the vc. I know I am probably overthinking this but there is an old military adage, the 6 Ps. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Edited March 10, 2020 by brus brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Quote If all the oil had seeped out of the bottom of the vc while the car sat for a few days, would this account for the ticking on startup that went away after a few minutes? yes, it could Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 On 3/9/2020 at 7:26 PM, brus brother said: Just occurred to me... the other day I heard a ticking noise coming from the drivers side with the severe oil leak. I took out ye old stethoscope and isolated the tick to the driver side valve area. If all the oil had seeped out of the bottom of the vc while the car sat for a few days, would this account for the ticking on startup that went away after a few minutes? @sirtoke regarding bottom out removal for driver side, I took a quick look and first thing I would need to do would be to remove the oil soaked engine dust shield. I may end up doing just that to see if my fat arms can swing in from underneath to catch that rear bolt. Digging that far in, I would also have the potential to remove the wheel well shield and gain side access that way. Still trying to assemble the floor jack and appropriate sockets in the event that I need to raise the engine, if I had already detached the vc. I know I am probably overthinking this but there is an old military adage, the 6 Ps. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. if i remember right i think i got all the bolts from the top but the drivers side cover wound not fit out the top because it would not turn enough to clear some stuff so i had to bring it out the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Hey Jim , if you need a second guy and you’re still up the road in the woods I’d be happy to be that guy. Usually catch sleep in the morning but I’m flexible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchy Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 (edited) I did a little write up on plug seals and rocker gaskets on an EJ20 a few weeks ago. I hope it may be of use.... Cheers Mitchy Edited March 11, 2020 by Mitchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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