f10ants Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Good Evening, The quick background story: After a long day of car being parked outside in the cold it started hard, took much much longer to crank and fire up then normal. Same thing happened about a week prior but I thought I left a dome light on, so just chalked it up to that. Stopped at AutoZone and had battery tested. They said it was dead so I bought a new one. Went to get gas and as I started it back up it idled really low, lights dimmed but as I accelerated (in park) they brighten back up to normal. Back to AutoZone - they test alternator. I order and replace it. While replacing the alternator I noticed quite a bit of oil on the passenger side of the engine. The majority of the it is on top of the engine - I found this weird. I checked the oil- I had to add 2.5 quarts to get it back to normal levels. I've searched the forum and the most similar things I've found are: - power steering fluid leak. I checked this, no issues. Also, my oil wouldn't be low if it was PS. - CV joint burst / leak. Nope. Same as above. - Valve cover gaskets. - this is where I'm concerned. This was done this summer with a long list of other parts. The VCG's (parts themselves) could've failed I suppose but it's only on the passenger side. They could be installed incorrectly when it was done. But wouldn't this have been something I saw quicker than 6 months down the road? I'm not sure what to check but I know that being 2.5 qt's of oil low is bad and it's stressing me out! I've attached pictures to try to explain this better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f10ants Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 I forgot to add, for the past couple of weeks I've noticed a smell from the vents when running the heat. Related I'm guessing. At this point I'm so frustrated though that I can't think logically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Photo 3 looks like there is oil splattered all over everything and the gray wire looms are covered in oil quite high up from the block. Are you sure it's not spillage there? I know that your car was down on oil too and hopefully it's a leak and not a mechanical issue, but unless the oil would be squirting out from the valve cover, how would that splatter (dark spots) get all over everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAP Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Check that the oil pressure sensor/switch is on there snug. I found mine to be loose causing oil to get all over the front of the engine. Standing in front of the car its to the left of the alternator toward the back. Its clearly visible in one of the pictures.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I'd try cleaning the engine bay really good and going from there. To me it looks like the oil pressure switch like MAP said but with that much oil everywhere, you never know. Hard to track a leak when they get everywhere like that. Until you find it, just make sure you keep your oil topped off. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f10ants Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Thanks everyone. I did quickly try to spray it off and get some of the oil out but to be honest I was pressed for time so it was a quick job. Im hoping to get it to the car wash tonight where I can spend a little more time on it. I'll check the things that you mentioned so far and see if any of that is it. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f10ants Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 I got it to the spray n wash today... 12 degree here + windchill = close to 0. Anyway, cleaned it up and really can't see much. The car has been parked for about 2 weeks since I started this. Glad i have a third vehicle! I had some work done this April so I am surprised I'm having these issues to be honest. April work: Timing belt and water pump New Belts & hoses Service Trans fluid & filter Adjust valve lash replace gaskets Cam cover gasket -REPLACED plus some suspension work any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nocrash Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 My 05 legacy 2.5i had oil on top of the engine like that, but on both sides. Turned out to be early stages of head gasket failure right at 150k mile. My Subie guy did the replacement 6 weeks ago and all is good so far. The leaks started last winter when the outside temps dropped below 20 degrees. I hope your head gaskets are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aac0036 Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 I was also going to suggest assessing the headgaskets just for the heck of it. Anything visible from the underside of the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 This is very strange..There is literally oil sprayed everywhere on the passenger side. Are you able to take some more, bigger pictures? Can you tell where the oil seems to most concentrated? I don't think it's the valve cover gaskets. There is a breather hose that goes from the passenger side valve cover, to the bottom side of the airbox (see attached picture, circled in red).. I wonder if somehow, that hose isn't connected to the airbox, and maybe oil is going up that breather line and spraying on the engine? There also appears to be a lot of oil in the area around the pcv valve, but I'm not sure that could be the problem.. Unless the pcv being stuck open, or closed, could cause excessive pressure that forced a breather line off, and oil is coming out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 That happened on my 09 2.5i when I bought it. It was seeping pretty bad into my intake and burning it off that way. Replaced it and cleaned as much as I could and it fixed my consumption. That and I started using full synthetic. My car didn't have an external leak tho. If I'm not mistaken, that's where the oil pressure switch is located and someone was leaking from that. When my Grand Am's 2.4L switch went out, the oil was squirting from the connector. I don't know if Subaru's fail like that, but hopefully it helps! Good luck! Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Which color does the oil have? Use a white paper. If it's red it's servo oil, black it's engine oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I would inspect the oil supply lines for the turbo as well. They are over on that side. Did you replace the banjo bolt filter? Might have messed something up while do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aac0036 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I would inspect the oil supply lines for the turbo as well. They are over on that side. Did you replace the banjo bolt filter? Might have messed something up while do that. This car is NA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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