klindstedt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hello everyone, new to the forum and new to Subarus as well. My daughter just bought a 1995 Legacy L wagon. It is in pretty good shape considering it has spent 17 years in the rust belt (Chicagoland area). It was being sold on behalf of a deceased father by his son-in-law. I suspect it sat for awhile. After driving it home (about a one hour trip) we ended up having to replace the alternator and battery. Easy enough job with it mounted right out in the open like that. I had a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe that the alternator was behind the engine right above the frame rail. Had to work through the right hand wheel well to do that one...oy. Now we are experiencing a burning oil smell when pulling up to a stop after sustained driving. Obviously we are dripping oil onto the exhaust, but where is it most likely coming from? I suspect the valve cover gaskets, but should I be looking elsewhere as well? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted September 12, 2012 I Donated Share Posted September 12, 2012 Valve cover gaskets are a very common culprit on these cars. They dip down onto the exhaust. As well, on be back of the engine block (inside bellhousing) you have an oil separator plate. Those as well like to leak. -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klindstedt Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks for the information brokindarkagain. I failed to mention that the bottom of the engine is coated in oil/grime. The valve cover gaskets still likely here, or does this point to yet another source? Any preference on the make of gaskets, or just whatever fits the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingWittyAsAUsername Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I have oil all over my bottom half. Cam and crank front seals like to go, and so does that rear seperator plate. My oil pan gasket is leaking like a strainer, so never rule that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 To add what others have said, the passenger CV joint boot tends to tear and that results in CV joint grease spraying all over the cat converter. As far as gaskets go, OEM or felpro are the two I trust. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klindstedt Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Thanks for the input everyone. I'm getting the Fel-pro gasket set and will tackle the valve covers this weekend. Going to clean off the bottom of the engine and see if I can better determine where the oil is coming from (if not cured by the valve cover gasket replacement). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 After you clean it off a bit you can put UV dye from the auto parts store in your oil and shine a blacklight on it. Like people have already said, it's most likely the valve cover gaskets, cam seals, front crank seal, or camshaft support o-rings. Worst case scenario would be the oil separator plate or your rear main cranshaft seal since you would have to pull the engine to replace them. But if it is a slow leak or weeping it's no big deal as long as you add oil. If your timing service is past due it is a great time to replace the front cam seals. Old subies can just stink like oil when you drive them. Especially if yours sat for a while. '95 EJ22E engines are bulletproof! Mine has 261k and it runs great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 i had the same smell, but had actual smoke when i stopped after a long drive. it was the front seals that went bad, mine was the oil pump seals to be specific. i replaced them all while i had the front of the engine taken apart, no more smoke. i was worried it was the valve cover gaskets as well as the front seals, but i lucked out. for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jippi Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 i resealed the valve covers on mine and the oil pan hoping it would fix it a while back, but it didnt. my oil seperator was cracked and leaking pretty bad so i replaced it with the metal one and the rms was seeping so i replaced that too. i also ended up resealing the Valve covers again with rtv. i took the motor out on friday in 1.5 hours and i spent and itll be running today hopefully. while the motor was out it may be good to do the plugs, adn stuff too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentguy Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Spray off the underside of the car and as much of the engine as you can to get it clean. Taking it to one of those coin operated spray car washes is good, if you dont want to get your driveway all greasy. This will help to pin point the leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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