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#1
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Oil leak
I have a 1992, and I've always had a little oil somewhere under my car, what should I expect for something almost 21 years old? Anyway, recently I started smelling burning oil, so I looked a little harder, and saw what seemed to be a significant amount of oil. The ground was dry where I park though, so all of the leak is being burnt off by the exhaust. My first inclination is the valve cover gaskets. How much is this repair? I have a reputable garage I know that knows the SVX and will do it right. I just want to know how long and how much for parts. Also, 2 and a half years ago, right when I bought the car I had to replace the ENTIRE cooling system, and while the shop had my engine out of my car, I had them replace every rubber gasket that they could reach while the engine was easily reached. I doubt it's something connected directly to the block, but as usual with this car, I'm probably wrong. Any likely culprits? I'm just going to carry oil with me and keep filling it up. Between oil changes (3,700 miles) I think I lost close to a half-quart to a quart. Not positive, as the mesurement cup only went to 4 quarts.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#2
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Re: Oil leak
Hmm. If its hitting your headers, then its most likely a valve cover gasket. First things first. Get a ratchet and socket, and make certain that all the cover bolts are snug. DO NOT torque the piss out of them, just good and snug. Then, get 2 cans of engine de-greaser. Drop your skid plate and take the car to your local self car wash with the high pressure washer. Soak every inch of your engine and front crossmember with the de-greaser. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Pressure wash off and repeat with can #2. This should clean off your engine and allow you to pinpoint exactly where your leak is coming from if it reoccurs.
If worse comes to worse, valve cover gasket replacement is not that big of a deal. A good afternoon and basic tools will allow you to get the job done. |
#3
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Re: Oil leak
Could also be the rear main seal or the oil separator plate on the back of the engine behind the flywheel. Subaru's updated the design of the separator plate several times because of cracking/leaking issues. It's not an expensive part, but reaching it requires pulling the engine or dropping the tranny.
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#4
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Re: Oil leak
Well I looked under it today. I took it to the car wash and just pressure washed the entire underside of it the other day to get rid of any oil I could. It seems to be wet only in the front. It's dripping into the "bowl" of the plastic cover that attaches to the bumper (can't think of what it's called), and dripping down the oil pan a little. Not that much. It seems idling it releases the most oil.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#5
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Re: Oil leak
Did you check your oil pressure sensor? It's right behind the power steering reservoir. Mine was leaking pretty bad.
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Glen SOLD - 1992 LSL 180K #8588 with svxfiles' all aluminum radiator; Wolf's head synthetic ATF in tranny and power steering; lighted power mode switch; Mobil 1 10W30 motor oil with Bosch 72158 filter; ACDelco A975C air filter; Valvoline synthetic 75W-90 gear oil, Optima BlueTop battery 2002 F550 74K SOLD - 2000 F450 215K 1987 BMW 535i 209K 1999 Yamaha SRX 700 |
#6
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Re: Oil leak
No, I'll have to check in the morning.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#7
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Re: Oil leak
There area a few screws and sensors to check on the top of the engine. But those will be obvious if leaking. Generally by pools of fluids on top of the block.
See if it looks like its coming out of the timing belt cover. If its dripping out of one side or the other, it may be the seal for one of the cam shafts. |
#8
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Re: Oil leak
Check this thread if it helps: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...419#post710419
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svx my94 vtd EUDM -custom Spax coilovers |
#9
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Re: Oil leak
My 92 with 245 thousand kilometers on it developed a leak that at first glance looks tone a rear main or separater plate leak.
What I found however, was it turned out to be leaking from the air valve seal under the intake manifold (controls airflow inside manifold for high rpm) Forget the proper name for this device. It's apparently due to higher than normal blow by (tired engine) I read about this somewhere but can't remember where. To temporarily (untill engine rebuild planned soon) solve issue, and yes you can laugh, I used a one quart paint can purched from a paint store and ran pcv vent hose through the can before it went into intake. Then ran drain at bottom of can into crankcase (located under intake, rear middle) I also stuffed can with steel wool. I mounted can on pass side beside throttlebody. No more leak. Just something to check. Cheers |
#10
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Re: Oil leak
Quote:
Glenn
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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Aaron Burke 1993 25th Anniversary Edition #63 of 301. R.I.P. Rojo 7/24/2008 She saved my life! 1997 Ebony Mica Pearl LSI. BLACKBERRY 1998 5-Spd Legacy GT Wagon in Glacier White: NUBURU 2005 Cadillac STS in Sandstorm Metallic: STORMY Veteran and farthest traveler of 1st SoCal2MuseumsMeet2010. http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/user.php?RojoRocket |
#11
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Re: Oil leak
Quote:
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'94 Laguna Blue LSi ~159k.......JDM ultra short-geared 3.900 STi Version 7 6-speed w/ Cobb shortshifter, ECUtune 244,8.1mm/256,9.1mm i/e cams, group N motor mounts, '97 grille, JDM clear corners, Momo JDM Legacy GT steering wheel, apkarian's LED tails, silver STi BBS wheels, PWR radiator, redstuff pads f/r, drilled/slotted rotors, bontragerworks rsb #18, Koni/GC 450f/375r coilovers, Megan Racing adjustable lateral links, KMac c/c plates, Stebro exhaust, ECUtune 1v5, Optima battery in the trunk where it belongs. Turbo project '97 Ebony LSi ~137k #036.......Power mode mod, JDM clear corners, BBS wheels. AUX/pocket mod Now a mod "over there" ............Photo album |
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