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burning oil, i think...head gasket?

Hey... After a recent oil change (I put more than usual in, in the past I underfill a little but I don't think I went over the 4.8 spec) my '97 legacy outback wagon smelled like burning oil anytime I stopped and got out of the car. I drove the car fairly roughly today (stupid of me) and for the first time smoke came up through the hood. It was "normal" colored smoke, I would say, but it still smelled like oil. I looked underneath, and toward the back of the engine something must have been dripping onto the "Y" part of my exhaust pipe because quite a bit of smoke was coming from there. I didn't look hard to see what exactly was doing the dripping, but I was hoping to at least hear "you're not going to have to spend an exorbitant sum on a head gasket...."

I think I'm taking to to a nearby shop tomorrow to at least get a diagnosis.

Any tips would be appreciated...

Thanks, Thomas

Reply to
thomashanno
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Don't discount the slim possibility of a torn CV boot allowing grease to sling onto the exhaust.

good luck

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

In my limited experience, with head gasket failure you would usually smell coolant, not oil.

Other possible causes include:

torn CV boot leaking grease, which should be fixed right away before the axle is damaged.

rear main seal

oil pump bolts backing out, a well-known problem with 2.5L motors. Seems like it's from the rear but that's blowback onto the Y pipe while in motion. Easy fix: new o-ring for oil pump and Loctite the bolts. Don't let the shop give you a story about needing a new oil pump.

front seals (crankshaft, cams) leaking.

Reply to
BobN

head may leak coolant as well as oil, due to the fact that oil and coolant passages are adjacent and damaged gasket MAY case both to leak ; from my perdonal experience coolant has a tendency to seep out in the winter, and oil does it in the summer - i own '00 outback, though so the leak is minimal and - what's more important - EXTERNAL; as long as i keep a keen eye on levels of both , oil and coolant, i'm fine.....

Reply to
daszkiew2000

So I've got some news...I stopped by a mechanic and he said that my rear main seal looks like it's leaking. He recommended another mechanic who might be able to do it in his own shop for fairly cheap. The Subaru dealer quotes the job at $550+, but they recommended that I get a degreasing first (for $36) so they can make sure the leak isn't coming from the valve covers. I haven't spoken to the other mechanic yet.

So I have a question:

How bad is it if I drive the car as-is and maintain my oil level? In the 1200 or so miles since it started leaking, I haven't noticed a drop in the oil level. It just smells a little when I get out of the car, sometimes. I haven't noticed it lately though.

Reply to
thomashanno

Keep it topped up - but DO NOT think you can skip proper scheduled oil changes just because you are putting in fresh oil on occasion. The crankcase can collect water and unburned fuel and combustion byproducts all of which may be reduced/removed during oil changes.

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

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