Engine Oil Leaks

Hello Everone;

I recently purchased a Claret 1992 Subaru SVX, with 143,000 miles. It's been sitting in the garage for a couple of months, and I noticed that it has a leak somewhere at the front of the engine...; which I know is fairly common on these vehicles.

What I'm seeking is information about SVX engine leaks; recommendations for their repair; estimated cost of the repairs; and can anyone recommend a repair shop in the Lewisville (Dallas), Texas area, that knows anything about SVX's.

THANK YOU

[svx_commuter]

Welcome to the WORLD SVX Network.

You have a very nice car there. It's hardly broken in at 143k.

I just replaced the front crank seal and cam seals in my car to stop an engine oil leak. It went well.

I can't help you out with a shop in Texas. However things to look for:
If the front engines seals have never been changed, they are due. The shaft will get scored from a hard seal.
It could be leaking AFT from tranny lines or PS lines.
The PCV could be clogged which blows oil out the seals.

Driving the car softly, may decrease the oil leak.

[mattski]

The degree of concern would be directly related to how much oil you are loosing. If it is a couple of drops over months, you might want to wait until the next timing belt change, or water pump failure, since that is the time to most easily do the seal change with hardly any additional labor. Keep an eye on the oil level and if you are not adding more than 1 qt every 3000 miles, I would not worry about it now. Otherwise, a rough estimate would be ~$400-500 to replace just the seals. Add another ~$300 for belts and water pump so that might be worth doing at the same time particularly if you do not have any proof of the 120k timing belt change.

Matt

[LarryIII]

There are a few SVXers in Texas. I know it's a large state and I don't know if there are any in the Dallas area.

Check the references to the different shops. There is a good, bad & ugly list.

Welcome to the SVX family. Happy Motoring & Good Luck.

[SVXRide]

Originally posted by svx_commuter
Welcome to the WORLD SVX Network.

You have a very nice car there. It's hardly broken in at 143k.

I just replaced the front crank seal and cam seals in my car to stop an engine oil leak. It went well.

I can't help you out with a shop in Texas. However things to look for:
If the front engines seals have never been changed, they are due. The shaft will get scored from a hard seal.
It could be leaking AFT from tranny lines or PS lines.
The PCV could be clogged which blows oil out the seals.

Driving the car softly, may decrease the oil leak.

Did you replace the seals yourself, or did you have a shop do it? I'm thinking about replacing my front crank seal and I'm wondering how hard it is to do - I have all the shop manuals for my year, just haven't had the time to look through them.
-Bill

[svx_commuter]

I have been doing the T-belts, water pump and seals on the SVX and my other 2.2L engines. They are all similar and this gets quicker each time. Does that make it easier? There are a few posts on this subject.

You may want to do the cam seals and water pump at the same time.

[STORMINORMAN]

Advice given is good, generally... Oil is cheap!

What might work better for you is to determine whether you are leaking oil from a seal (common) or gasket, ATF from a line or power steering fluid (o-ring under reservoir, VERY common).

Start by cleaning up the engine and getting it good & dry, then taking a short drive and getting back underneath to determine exactly WHAT is leaking WHERE. Sometimes it is nothing more than tightening a loose fitting.

I got rid of my minor front of engine (seal?) leak just by changing BACK to dino oil from a change to a semi-synthetic. Auto-Rx is also a viable treatment that will clean your engine internally and can help with seal leaks (nothing really can fix a torn seal except replacement) in a lot of cases.

Diagnose 1st, then look at your options.

Good Luck!