Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Quick oil leak question


Bro
 Share

Recommended Posts

My impression is that this is pretty usual, since the horizontal design leaves oil to soak into the head gasket when the engine's at rest. After many years of this, it finds its way through...

 

First of all, make sure it's the head gasket. If it's on the front corner of the head, it could be dribbles from the oil pump or camshaft seals. Scrub it clean (brake cleaner works) and watch it for a few days.

 

Mine's been doing that for a few years. I re-did the oil pump seals, crank and cam seals a couple years ago, and now there's no drips on the garage floor. But if I crawl under the engine, I can still see a drop forming on the front corner of the left head gasket. It drips occasionally on the skid plate -- not enough to run off onto the floor.

 

At the time I did the oil seal work, I retorqued the head bolts, a bit over spec. Some guys on this board will recommend this (maybe others won't?). It seemed to slow the drip down by about half.

 

In all, a drop a week wouldn't be anything to worry about, as long as no evidence of coolant or compression leaks through the head gasket.

 

-- Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have about a drop a week seeping from the bottom corner of the head gasket. Is there a fix for such a small leak ?, or is it a whole gasket job ?
i would say that you take action before that small leak turns into a big one because it happend to me and its not cool.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

lets keep this in mind... Subaru's leak oil. A drop a week is nothing. a buddy of mine made a 800 mile round trip road trip and he used 10 quarts of oil. Now thats a leakin sooby...

 

If its on the passenger side of the motor, you probably spilled a few drops of oil when you added some last and it ran down the motor at the headgasket seam. I've chased leaks all over these engines and they dont always come from where you see it dripping.

 

As long as you check your oil every time you fillup at the gas station, you'll be fine. No use in 60 bucks worth of gaskets and 2 hrs of time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...