95 legacy, leaking oil...oh oh..

[Novakaine]

So, my 95 legacy is leaking oil from somewhere. About 3 weeks ago, I checked the oil, and noticed i was about a quart and a half low, so i filled it up. Today I went to do an oil change and I was at least a quart low, the dip stick was dry.

 

Upon going under the car, there was lots of oil on the front underside. It looked like it was dripping from the timing belt cover. I removed the side timing belt cover to see if me belt was covered in oil, but the belt and all that looked dry and nothing unusual.

 

I have some pics I can post as well. If that will help.

 

Where can this oil be coming from? Any suggestions?

 

In a related matter, does any body know any good soob shops in the area, or would be willing to help me for a fair price.

 

Thank you.

[Subie Gal]

likely you've got an oil pump leak

 

so you're looking at a new front crank seal, oil pump oring....

 

and while you're in there I'd recommend:

do the cam seals, any timing cover seals that look iffy

 

and I'd highly recommend timing belt and water pump

 

best to do it once you've torn it down since those items will need replacement anyway

 

Jamie

[rweddy]

likely you've got an oil pump leak

 

so you're looking at a new front crank seal, oil pump oring....

 

and while you're in there I'd recommend:

do the cam seals, any timing cover seals that look iffy

 

and I'd highly recommend timing belt and water pump

 

And also tighten up the oil pump screws, these are the reason it is leaking.

[Novakaine]

But she is only a baby, she can't need that many seals....145k

 

It is time for a timing belt change anyway, i guess it is stime for me to sit and get dirty.

 

I have the chiltons repiar manual, but i don't think it is enough of a guide to do all of that.

 

And i have search the forum but can't find a good guide. I know it exist somewhere, because i have seen it before..

 

Does anybody have a couple quick links to a step by step guide.

 

Thanks you.

[porcupine73]

I don't know the exact years but on the 2.2 the oil pump rear cover screws tended to back out thus resulting in oil leaks out the crank seal.

 

Did you change the oil filter recently? Maybe the gasket was bad or the old gasket was still on there or something? That'd be something easy to check.

[Novakaine]

I changed the oil about 4000 miles ago. It did not look like it was coming from the filter, but maybe. I put a new filter in and oil change yesterday, so we will see if that does anything.

 

Also is there a picture of where the oil pump is and what to tighten. Or a description of the pump and where it is, so I know what to look for.

 

Thank you.

[guy123]

I have a '96 Legacy at about 112,000 miles right now. It started leaking oil from the oil pump and the cam seals around 90,000 miles. I finally replaced the oil pump seal, o-ring, crank seal, and cam seals and o-rings this past summer around 107,000 miles. It certainly isn't unusual to have oil leaks like this, especially if your engine has the original seals. If the oil pump is indeed loose, especially with this much age, tightening the pump will most likely compress the old seals and leak as much, probably even more. These are all in front of the engine though, and replacement is pretty easy to do yourself and probably pretty inexpensive to have a mechanic do. Again at your car's age, if you really want to just get everything on the same page, I'd recommend replacing all the seals at the same time, regardless of how much they are leaking. If things like the cam seals aren't leaking yet, they're liable to leak pretty soon. From what I've heard from many people, this just seems to be the lifespan of these seals.

 

Also, I had a few years experience with Toyota trucks before working on my subaru, but no subaru-specific experience. The subaru was very different, but I bought the "Subaru Legacy" Haynes manual (#89100) and had plenty of instructions to do the oil pump, seals, timing belt, etc. I'm sure the Chilton manual is pretty decent but I suppose there's the possibility that the Haynes is a little more specific to your model. Just a thought.

[michaelbteam]

When I bought my 95 Outback, cheap because it had a catastrophic leak, spit out a quart in 20 miles...the main problem was just the o-ring in the oil pump. Since I was there we did the rest of the usual service but the leak was just the o-ring, the screws were tight.

[idosubaru]

search for timing belt change information, removing the cam sprockets (to replace cam seals), lining up the cams. that's fairly simple, but instructions help and that's the most complicated part. with the timing belts off, the water pump, oil pump and cam seals are almost staring you in the face. just unbolt the ones you want to replace.

[porcupine73]

There's a lot of things that it just makes sense to do (if not done recently) when getting in that deep, like cam seals, crank seal, water pump, etc. Actually I just replaced the oil pump on my '00OBW, and on the oil pump, a couple back cover screws near the bottom were loose, and the ones at the top were so tight I stripped them out trying to get them loose. It's not the bolts that hold the oil pump onto the block that tended to back from from what I know, it's the phillips head screws on the rear cover of the oil pump that holds the rotor set in place. The oil pump is located directly behind the crank pulley which is in front of the crank sprocket that connects to the timing belt. The crank seal is in the oil pump right behind the crank sprocket.

good for holding the cam sprockets whilst loosening the bolts to do the front cam seals.

[Novakaine]

I have been debating of whether or not to do the timing belt myself for the last 20,000 miles. I think it is just time I dive into it. I am scared though, this is baby, and also my only car and transportation to work.

 

I will keep looking for a couple of guides.

 

Thank you for the help. And if there is more advice, please keep it coming.

[The Dude]

If it makes a difference, I'm pretty sure that the 95 2.2L engine is a NON-INTERFERENCE type. So, if you mess up the timing belt replacement, you're just imbarassed, not out an engine. It would make a difference to me.

[idosubaru]

correct, his 95 legacy 2.2 is a non-interference engine. screw the timing belts up all day and you won't hurt the engine (figure of speech of course!) you'll know right away if it's right or not, and the EJ timing belts come with handy dandy marks on the belt to make it nearly fool-proof.

 

look up the endwrench (subaru based info) articles on EJ timing belt replacement, tells you everything you need to know for the job.

[frag]

I would think twice before replacing the oil pump. Between 90 K miles (when I bought the car) and 150 K miles (present mileage), there were absolutely no detectable drop in oil pressure at similar rpm. I have an oil pressure gauge.

[Novakaine]

Thank you guys for the endwrench info. I will look them up. I just don't want to be out a car for too long.

 

I guess I will just give it a shot, and see what I can screw up. I do need to buy a few tools like the sprocket puller and stuff. and various tools.

[rweddy]

Thank you guys for the endwrench info. I will look them up. I just don't want to be out a car for too long.

 

I guess I will just give it a shot, and see what I can screw up. I do need to buy a few tools like the sprocket puller and stuff. and various tools.

You can do this with out any special tools other than a good socket set, long breaker bar, dead blow hammer.

 

Do not be afraid, if you have any skills this is not that hard, should take less than one day to be done.

[Novakaine]

What I need most of all, is a list of things I need to buy.

 

I know there is timing belt, waterpump, and maybe even an oil pump, but I know that there are a bunch of little o rings and seals that I need to get, but have no idea what the part numbers are and how to find out.

 

Thanks for the confidence boost.

[rweddy]

What I need most of all, is a list of things I need to buy.

 

I know there is timing belt, waterpump, and maybe even an oil pump, but I know that there are a bunch of little o rings and seals that I need to get, but have no idea what the part numbers are and how to find out.

 

Thanks for the confidence boost.

Here is the complete list of parts.

 

 

QTY_____Part #__________Description__________Unit______Ext___

1 21200AA072 Thermostat 9.19 9.19

1 21236AA010 Thermostat Gasket 2.49 2.49

1 21111AA007 Water Pump 66.71 66.71

1 21114AA051 Water Pump Gasket 1.91 1.91

1 13028AA102 Timing Belt 44.96 44.96

2 13294AA012 Gasket Rocket Cover 10.46 20.92

6 13271AA051 Washer Rocker Cover 2.21 13.26

2 806732150 Camshaft Oil Seal 6.02 12.04

2 806946030 Camshaft Housing O-Ring 2.89 5.78

1 806733030 Oil Seal (Crank) 5.38 5.38

1 806919050 O-Ring (Oil Pump) 1.93 1.93

1 45167AA030 Radiator Hose Lower 10.00 10.00

1 45113GA022 Radiator Cap 10.13 10.13

1 45167AA020 Radiator Hose Upper 10.00 10.00

1 13586AA041 Sealing Belt Cover No2 6.45 6.45

1 13581AA050 Sealing Belt Cover R 14.57 14.57

1 13594AA041 Front Cover Seal 15.28 15.28

1 807615081 WP Bypass Hose 7.46 7.46

1 806923060 O-Ring (not sure) 2.23 2.23

1 11810AA000 PCV Valve 6.75 6.75

1 73323AC000 Drive Belt 7.46 7.46

1 809218270 Drive Belt 8.06 8.06

Total $282.96

[Novakaine]

Wow, thank you.

 

I owe you my first born child...

or atleast a beer.

 

Seriously though, thank you very much.

[turboguzzi]

my 92' leg had just 60K when bought and still needed the oil-pump O-ring changed, (it was totally dry and squashed ) and the bolts loctited (they were pretty loose).

No more leaks after the job.

TG

[rweddy]

Wow, thank you.

 

I owe you my first born child...

or atleast a beer.

 

Seriously though, thank you very much.

You are welcome, if you get into this job and get stuck or have ?? before let me know.

[Bill90Loyale]

Here is the complete list of parts.

 

 

QTY_____Part #__________Description__________Unit______Ext___

1 21200AA072 Thermostat 9.19 9.19

1 21236AA010 Thermostat Gasket 2.49 2.49

1 21111AA007 Water Pump 66.71 66.71

1 21114AA051 Water Pump Gasket 1.91 1.91

1 13028AA102 Timing Belt 44.96 44.96

2 13294AA012 Gasket Rocket Cover 10.46 20.92

6 13271AA051 Washer Rocker Cover 2.21 13.26

2 806732150 Camshaft Oil Seal 6.02 12.04

2 806946030 Camshaft Housing O-Ring 2.89 5.78

1 806733030 Oil Seal (Crank) 5.38 5.38

1 806919050 O-Ring (Oil Pump) 1.93 1.93

1 45167AA030 Radiator Hose Lower 10.00 10.00

1 45113GA022 Radiator Cap 10.13 10.13

1 45167AA020 Radiator Hose Upper 10.00 10.00

1 13586AA041 Sealing Belt Cover No2 6.45 6.45

1 13581AA050 Sealing Belt Cover R 14.57 14.57

1 13594AA041 Front Cover Seal 15.28 15.28

1 807615081 WP Bypass Hose 7.46 7.46

1 806923060 O-Ring (not sure) 2.23 2.23

1 11810AA000 PCV Valve 6.75 6.75

1 73323AC000 Drive Belt 7.46 7.46

1 809218270 Drive Belt 8.06 8.06

Total $282.96

 

You can read 1000 posts, and you won't find a better one than this, IMHO.

Thank you RWEDDY.