How do you diagnose where an oil leak is coming from?
Check your oil level by inspecting the dipstick (it often has a red or orange plastic tab on it, under the hood). If you have low oil and you’re pretty sure you’re seeing engine oil drips on your driveway (Remember: look for amber fluid that’s slippery and smells like chemicals), then a leak is likely.
Where are the most likely places for an oil leak?
Engine oil leaks occur most often at the valve cover and oil pan gaskets, timing chain cover and the front and rear crankshaft seals. As an engine ages, heat can cause cork gaskets to harden and shrink. Heat can also cause rubber (neoprene) gaskets and seals to harden and lose elasticity.
What causes a Subaru Outback to leak oil?
This cap also has an o-ring that can leak oil. (On SUBARU EJ22T (turbocharged) engines, the turbo oil return goes into this area). These gaskets seal the valves covers against the mating surface cylinder head. They can shrink or crack with age and then result in an oil leak.
When to replace the oil seals on a Subaru?
The later brown colored seals are more resilient. The smart time to replace the front cam seals is when the timing belt it is changed, since much of the labor involved in replacing these oil seals involves the R&R (removal&reinstallation) of the timing belt. On the SOHC (single overhead cam) engines, there are two if these front camshaft oil seals.
What causes a Subaru spark plug to leak?
Subaru 2.5L SOHC valve cover spark plug tube seals are very common to leak. They will cause problems and you won’t even be aware of the leak. The reason for this is because they leak into the spark plug tube and take a long time before the oil works it’s way out to an external leak that you will notice.
Where is the oil pump on a Subaru?
Resealing the oil pump is the wise way go since there are other things about the oil pump that can leak, namely the rear rotor case cover screws backing out. These o-rings are located behind the LH (left-hand) cam cap (on the sohc 2.2L and 2.5L anyway).