oil leak

[SparkSVT]

my 93 Loyale 4x4 is leaking oil pretty bad. It seems to be coming from the front passenger side of the engine and soaking everything as I drive including the catalytic converter causing a burining smell of the oil. I notice the oil leaks from what appears to be the timing belt cover on the front of the engine.. can anyone give me an idea of what is going on? Is this a big job? A local mechaninc said its probably the timing belt cover gasket or the cam seals. he said it would be about 600 dollars to fix. does this sound right? I think this includes new timing belts.

[Subaru in the hills]

That price had better include timing belts! I'm not sure about the east coast but on our 87 GL it cost around 300 for the timing belt job in the Seattle area. We decided to tackle the next one ourselves (my husband and me) when one broke on our 91 Loyale. I'm not sure what you mean by a lot of oil cause as far as my experience goes with these great cars, I haven't had one yet I didn't check at every fill-up and add some. 600 bucks buys a lot of oil but if you aren't into doing the belts yourself and you are getting close to that repair I'd shop the job a bit more. Now it's been a couple years on the belt job but I don't remember gaskets for the belt covers maybe your mechanic is talking about the rubber seals but they shouldn't be holding any oil back. Maybe I'm jaded but oil is cheap and these cars run forever if you keep them cool and that is an awful lot of money if it's running fine otherwise. If you do decide to have it done make sure it includes new belts and tensioners.

[SparkSVT]

I just looked at the car again. Im having a hard time telling where the oil is leaking from now... but its leaking bad. I also just noticed a big rip in the rubber boot on the axle where it connects to the transmission. This car has only 32,000 on it...

[Buddy]

hmmm..... looks like you have the same problem i have except mine is coming from the drivers side. at least yours is still road worthy because my oil leak is so bad that my suby is not road worthy.

[555Ron]

Hi,

get the plastic boot fixed asap. That is the CV joint covering, and without grease and a possibly water contamination it won't last too long. It's a $10 part, and should be cheap to install. ($45 Australian for me, messy job;))

 

Next, clean up your engine really nicely... get all the oil off it. Take a high pressure gun to it if you can... just be careful not to let it get into the engine (via dipstick, oil cap) and cover the distributor and alternator with a plastic bag so they dont get wet. Now, i think you need a 12mm spanner (maybe 10mm) and take the two front plastic timing belt covers off either side on the front of your engine (on each side, one of the nuts isn't seated on the inside of the plastic cover like the others, so you'll need a pair of pliers on the inside to grip it while turning the nut. I worked this out the hard way:-\). You can take the middle one off too but you will have to take the pulley off your engine, so it can stay for now. Clean up the oil in there too. These covers only keep water and debris from the belts, but when your oil leak is bad it is much better to leave them off as the oil will puddle inside the belts and weaken them.

 

So, everything is nice and clean and visible. Start her up in this state, get a beer and have a look to see where the oil is coming from. Look at the engine seal, cam seals, and underneath the cam housing for leaks.

 

Now, you've got to decide if you want to DIY or take it to a mechanic. Definately find out exactly where the oil is coming from before you take it to the mechanic. You don't want to find out the *************** is still leaking after $600 being spent on it. If you were to do it yourself, there are some great people on the board here and you could do all the front seals for say, < $50... job done. (not an easy job for a beginner in my books though)

 

If you do decide to take it to a mechanic, just leave those covers off like i said above. You won't damage the engine and you'll be helping your belts.

[MilesFox]

if you have a lot of oil on the engine crossmember its probably most likely the valve cover gaskets as well

 

for 600 bucks the job better include complete fron end service, timing belts, cam and crank seals, valve cover seals, water pump and oil pump seals. since its the same amount of work to do one or all

 

you could take a crack at doing the work yourself to save money, all the parts can be had within 100 bucks

[Tom63050]

To slow down the oil leak, change to 20W50 weight oil if you're using a lighter weight.

 

It's probably the camshaft seal. You can do this stuff yourself, perhaps with a little coaching. I have a Loyale too and have reasonable skills (I know which end of the socket wrench to hold), and have done these seals and the timing belts.

 

If the mechanic is saying "timing belt cover gasket", he'll try to sell you metric muffler bearings too.

 

You can do the camshaft seals without taking off the center belt cover, but it will be necessary to remove this cover to do the belts and crankshaft seal--and you should do these too, while you're in there. Once you get it off, either don't put it back on or cut it into three pieces so you can get it off in the future without removing the crankshaft bolt. The need to remove that bolt complicates the job. Also, pulling the radiator is easy, and greatly helps with access and visibility.

 

Here's a thought--as you're doing the job, you can call me for advice and I can talk you through the step you're on. Long distance, but not $600 worth. Plus you'll gain important maintenance knowledge about your car.

[Subaru in the hills]

That grease from the torn boot can make things look really bad and when you get a split one to replace it make sure it's the inner boot they give you. I don't know what other repair books you've got but my most valuable book has been How to Keep Your Subaru Alive, yes this is the Idiots guide written by the same guys who did the originals for Volkswagens. This book will give you a good idea of what all these jobs entail. The funny thing is it seemed to take longer to read how to do a job like install new CV axle then to do the job itself, that's how step by step the instructions are. And wow what an offer from Tom63050!

[KStretch55]

A '93 with only 32K!! There's your problem, you don't drive it enough and it's feeling neglected!! LOL

I just looked at the car again. Im having a hard time telling where the oil is leaking from now... but its leaking bad. I also just noticed a big rip in the rubber boot on the axle where it connects to the transmission. This car has only 32,000 on it...