I am tentativley buying a 96 AWD 5spd Impreza with apparant "oil leaks." I am concerned since it has only 111k and I wonder what lack of preventative maintenance has caused both engine and transmission oil leaks. Also worried what else could show up down the line.

 

Other half of this post is repair. I consider myself reasonably mechanically inclined, with most of my skills being on early 80's series subes. I have replaced virtually everything on an 83 sube, but have not done any engine dissasembly past intake manifold. I have the tools though.

 

Not knowing much about the EJ22, what is the most common oil leak, and does it sound like a job that a mechanic of my caliber could handle? Thanks,

 

-- Jeff

I have found with common sense , tools , time , alittle money , and the desire and love to work on cars , anything is possible for the at home mechanic!

I have worked on my 90 loyale, 91 legacy , 97 outback , and now 93 legacy that there really isnt anything on a sube I cant work on and I live in a single garage townhouse.

:boohoo:

I know this doesnt answer your question but maybe itll make you feel better about your mech ability?

As far as oil leak , maybe its just the gaskets from being 110k on em ?

All cars tend to leak alittle oil if they got some miles on em.

If you can , pull some of the spark plugs and take a look at the condition of the plug.

This will give you an idea of the engine condition.

Your car is at the common age for oil leaks to start, regardless of maintenance. The valve covers, cam and crank seals, as well as the oil pump are common to start leaking at 100K. Get a book, you can fix em'. If you have any questions, you can always find a wealth of info here!

i tend to agree...

 

when i bought my 95 it had 110k on it.

 

rrear cam seal

rear main

front mail

 

all a gushing mess

 

parts and patience and i got him all fixed up (with help!)

 

pretty much the norm on an older model with high miles.

 

hope this helps.

Jamie

Actually, I've got a 1999 2.5RS that I'm the sole owner of and I've got a cam seal leak at under 60K miles. I'm starting to think that whoever posted "Subarus like to mark their territory" was dead on...LOL

 

Personally, I'm using this as an excuse to upgrade cams....and when people try to remind me you can change cam seals without taking out the cams, I just politely ignore them and change the subject...LOL

Would you say that the mileage where it starts leaking is affected by driving style and basic car maintenance? I looked at several cars with higher miles than 111k and they weren't nearly as bad. I mean from the cat back, the exhaust pipes were black. Everything else was soaked. I couldn't imagine most subes of that mileage look like that.

 

-- Jeff

New rocker cover gaskets, and a new PCV valve, and all should be good again.

 

Of course, the crank and cam shaft gaskets could be leaking too.

I also have some bad leak that is all over at the engine end that drips on the exhaust. I have replaced the valve cover seals, oil fill tube seals, but did not replace the cam seals. Where is this cam seal? Is this hard to do? What is the part # for this cam seal?

Thanks

93 Impreza auto AWD 112,xxx miles

The cam seals are at the end of the cams. You have to take off the timing belt cover to get to them (which means you may as well replace the timing belts while you are in there).

On the left head there is one seal and one o-ring on the front of the head. On the right head there is one seal on the front of the head and one o-ring on the rear of the head.

 

I would probably do the valve cover gaskets, valve cover bolt gaskets, oil filler tube o-ring, dipstick tube o-ring, front main seal, oil pump o-ring, timing belt, spark plugs, spark plug wires, water pump, water pump gasket, thermostat, thermostat gasket, air filter, fuel filter, fuel hoses, radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator cap, accesory belts, and PCV valve at the same time, but that is me. You may want to take a close look and see if your rear main seal is leaking, hopefully not because that is a PITA.

 

Be careful to purge the cooling system of air if you drain it.