1999 Forester L 2.5 sohc.

 

My GF's Forester is losing a quart of oil a month, leaking under the belhousing.

 

At what point is it worth it to remove the tranny to replace the separator plate?

 

Should I replace the cat with the one piece while at it?

 

Other considerations?

I would deff do the sep plate soon. Are you getting a P0420 code?

I would deff do the sep plate soon. Are you getting a P0420 code?

No codes. Runs fine except internal exhaust rattle. I expect the bolts to be all frozen on the exhaust, so I was thinking new parts would be easier to work with and I could just cut the old system out.

 

Would a new cat improve anything?

 

Would a new cat improve anything?

 

A New cat would not improve your bank account. They are pretty expensive. If all you are doing is the Seperator plate you shouldn't have to do anything other than remove the nuts on the studs to the block and the hanger bolt on the rear of the trans.

 

Also, if the seperator plate is plastic make sure you replace it with a metal one!

 

Keith

What's the down side of leaving as it is? You're probably using at least 1/2 qt. a month in the engine. That leaves about 1/2 qt. or less due to the separator plate leak. How many miles do you have on your Forester, and how long do you plan to keep it? Sooner or later, probably sooner, you'll need tranny work done. When the tranny needs to be removed, replacing the separator plate is almost "free". AFAIK, replacing the separator plate requires pulling either the engine or the tranny. Neither one is a great way to spend a weekend.

You could do the sep plate in a good evening. I don't think I would wait for the trans to go to do the work.

You could do the sep plate in a good evening. I don't think I would wait for the trans to go to do the work.

 

That's what I want to hear, thanks. I'm going to get the cheap low profile tranny jack and go to it.

I know people are going to call me crazy here but do you happen to have any engine oil leaks other that the sep plate to address? The reason I ask is that if you are doing it on the ground sometimes it can be less stressful to pull the motor vs the trans. I often prefer to do clutches that way, on foresters and outbacks you can pull the engine without ever jacking the car up.

I know people are going to call me crazy here but do you happen to have any engine oil leaks other that the sep plate to address? The reason I ask is that if you are doing it on the ground sometimes it can be less stressful to pull the motor vs the trans. I often prefer to do clutches that way, on foresters and outbacks you can pull the engine without ever jacking the car up.

 

I did the front timing belt and pulleys just a few months ago and all those seals looked nice and pretty dry. The left head had a bit of external HG leak, but that stopped with the additive. I will be triple checking the pan gasket before I start, to make sure that's not the source. Anything else you can think of?

Pan gaskets rarely leak, along with rear main seals. I would consider doing the HG's though, especially with how easy they are on the SOHC cars. I was never a fan of the additives.

I can speak from experience because I just pulled my 2.5L twice....

 

I thought I'd replace the rear main seal just because I was in there, but the main seal wasn't leaking. I drove the new seal in too far (didn't realize there was nothing to stop it from going in too far) and had oil pissing out the back last night. I pulled the engine again (did a headgasket job the first time), and have the uninstall down to about 2 hours. Draining the coolant takes the longest, so start that first while you do other work.

 

You will have to decide if you want to pull the engine vs. pull the transmission to change the seperator plate. I personally find pulling the engine easier (I don't have a transmission jack but do have a cherry picker).

 

You will also have to decide if you want to replace any other seals while you are in there, particularly if they are leaking or not. I probably should have left well enough alone and left the main seal as-is. Besides the rear main seal and seperator plate, but there are also a couple seals on the transmission, depending on if you have a 5 speed or automatic. If you have an automatic like my '98, there's a front output shaft seal, and there's a goofy graphite "c-clip" style seal that slides onto the end of the torque converter (you have to pull out the torque converter to get to it).

 

A word of caution on the torque converter--it's tricky to get back in! If it's not back in all the way, you can ruin the transmission when you re-join the engine to transmission. There are previous posts on this subject.