KnifeyMcShanker Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 For the rear main seal, yes. The tranny and clutch have to come off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wasn't the rear main seal always metal? It is the oil separator that is plastic. Which is more likely what is leaking. Still have to take out the clutch to get to it though. But it can't splatter oil all over the place, the only place anything can get in or out of the bell housing is at the bottom there is a drain hole. Well, there is a plug at the top, but if you are missing that, you should really get a replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergara Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Inside CV Boot maybe? Mine tore some how and smelled bad and caused a little smoke. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” -Dante Alighieri http://youtu.be/lLFunBPgPOo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wasn't the rear main seal always metal? It is the oil separator that is plastic. Which is more likely what is leaking. Still have to take out the clutch to get to it though. But it can't splatter oil all over the place, the only place anything can get in or out of the bell housing is at the bottom there is a drain hole. Well, there is a plug at the top, but if you are missing that, you should really get a replacement. Yes. Exactly correct. The rear main seal oil separator/retainer was plastic. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for clearing that up. My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wouldn't this seal be something they would replace when they did the clutch? I know they resurfaced the flywheel and replaced the clutch just over thanksgiving I think. It seems like it's always had a weird sort of smell for a while, but I kind of just figured that was because of the new clutch getting worn in. It's long since gone away, wouldn't that have been something they should've replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I never had a smell when I replaced my clutch... Nor did I replace the seals. But that is because I did it in my friend's garage, and didn't feel like it... haha But I don't think shops automatically replace those seals. It isn't horribly common for them to fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 No. This is generally neglected unless you took it to a specific Subaru mechanic that would know about these warping, plastic retainers... Any standard mechanic would have overlooked it without a second glance. My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 Hmm... Interesting. I guess they more than likely could have over looked that. I'm going to take it to my mechanic here in a few weeks (waiting for school to get done so I have more time) and let them take a look at it. Maybe if they find it's leaking from the rear seal or parts that may have been easily accessible when doing the clutch, they may give me some sort of discount? That would be nice. I sprayed the crap out of the affected area with engine degreaser, and I've just been watching it over the past few days. We'll see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Any new ideas as to where the leak is coming from? My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 So far so good, I'll give it a few more days and see if it happens again, but I haven't really been noticing any odd smells either. I'll take it on the freeway tonight and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergara Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Mine has been smelling off and on since I had the clutch replaced at 36K under warranty. It smells like burning oil on the exhaust or something, but there is nothing leaking and I only smell it when the vent is open to fresh air. I have told them about it several times and every time they say grease or oil must have gotten on the exhaust shield when they were replacing the clutch. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” -Dante Alighieri http://youtu.be/lLFunBPgPOo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 See, I'm having the exact same problem. They replaced the clutch, and now I get some strange smells and this leak. I'm using synthetic oil in the engine and transmission if I haven't mentioned that already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergara Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'm using synthetic in the engine also. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” -Dante Alighieri http://youtu.be/lLFunBPgPOo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 How long have you been using synthetic in the engine? I've just started, I think I've gone through two oil changes with the synthetic. Have you noticed anything different from switching to Synthetic? Any cons I guess is what I'm asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergara Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I don't know if it is strictly by chance that I started using Synthetic or what, but my car never had that smell before my clutch got replaced. It is a mystery that needs to be solved. I have heard many things about switching back to regular oil but everyone seems to have a different opinion. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” -Dante Alighieri http://youtu.be/lLFunBPgPOo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCSLegacy Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 I've heard that you can't switch back to regular oil because it'll screw up a bunch of seals and gaskets on the engine. I don't know, it seems to be working out alright, I need the engine to last as long as possible for me. I paid enough for the car, I better get some good use out of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergara Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Motor Oil: Synthetic vs. Non-Synthetic By Mike Allen Published in the April 2007 issue Popular Mechanics Magazine Q: After a recent trip to two major auto parts dealers for oil (5W 30), I realized synthetic oil is slowly replacing nonsynthetic on the display shelves. The problem is, I'm getting conflicting information about synthetic oil. One store attendant told me I shouldn't go back to regular oil after changing to synthetic. Then he said it would be okay to add a quart of regular oil to synthetic, if I needed to top up. Another clerk said I should never mix the two. At a different store, the employee said it didn't matter if I used synthetic and then later replaced it with regular oil. A: Early synthetics got a bad reputation for leaking. This was because, despite the claims of the oil manufacturers, the seal-swell characteristics of the new synthetics were different from those of the mineral oils they replaced. If the seal-swell rate was lower, the seals shrank and oil leaked from crankshaft seals and rocker cover seals. If the rate was higher, the seals swelled a little extra and the engine was tight. Then if the owner changed back to mineral oil, or added a quart when no synthetic was to be had, things got really bad. The crank seals had become worn, in their turgid state, and then relaxed. The valve cover seals were compressed when swelled, and when the different oil was added, everything leaked like, well, an old English sports car. Fortunately, the situation has improved; you should have no problem switching back and forth. Adding a quart of mineral oil to a crankcase full of synthetic will be fine. Read the fine print — a lot of the "synthetics" on the market are blends containing a substantial proportion of mineral oil. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” -Dante Alighieri http://youtu.be/lLFunBPgPOo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Excellent information... My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetlethal1000 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Ill agree with the oil description. I used to work at advanced auto parts and auto zone. I heard so many rumors about oils. If you actually read the labels all the synthetic oils say they can be mixed with regular oil with no problem. What do you think semi synthetic is? I dont recomend using synthetic oil in an older car. Even though the heat properties are the same ( the 10-40 rating), synthetic oil has much smaller molicules. If your engine is worn down, and older, the synthetic oil can tend to leak or burn more. They recomend using regular oil in a brand new car for the first 5000 miles or so then switch to synthetic( and yes from what I heard you can always switch back again) but old cars shouldnt use full synthetics because it will actually just make problems you find in older cars worse. On another note, I have the same problem you are having, minus the white smoke. My from timing belt covers are dripping oil slowly, and my transmission drain bolt is leaking. Both of these fluids splatter up on the bottom of my engine and eventually burn off. Should I change these gaskets right away, or are these leaks bearable for a while until they worsen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nattycayman Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Hi Guys, I live in the Cayman Islands and I have a 1996 Subaru Legacy wagon GT turbo 5 speed manual shift and right hand drive. Nice car handles well. After reviewing your posts I have a similar problem with smoke fr under the hood & through the scoop and an oil leak as well. I figured out the oil leak is from the valve cover gasket and oil dripping on the exhaust. My trouble is getting the gaskets. My VIN # is BG5-192751, Mod BG5B5CD & ENG- EJ20RDWCJE. I see the gaskets on the internet & I can order them but I dont know if they are for my type car (r h d) or will they fit all Legacy '95-'97? Help anyone???? I tried putting my vin# in on a couple US sites and they dont identify with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 RHD or LHD the engine is the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irrational Exuberance Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 So far so good, I'll give it a few more days and see if it happens again, but I haven't really been noticing any odd smells either. I'll take it on the freeway tonight and see what happens. something to consider if it happened right after going to the shop... solvents all of times shops will spray solvents onto the car to get the crud off, or just plain spill some chemicals on it. "i like my women the way i like terrorists... ...screaming gods name and ready to explode." http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5479/troy3nu5.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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