I have a '97 Subaru outback with ~70,000 miles on it.
The other day the drive belts came off it while driving on the highway. I got a mechanic ("no. 1") to put new belts on - they said they didn't know why they'd come off. A few miles back down the road something doesn't seem right. Turns out the crankshaft pulley needed replacement. Got that done (by a different mechanic - "no. 2") Take the car back on the road again - smell burning at the traffic lights and smoke comes out from under the hood! Mechanic no. 2 takes a look and says it's unconnected to the crank pulley failure - says the previous person (actually mechanic "no. 1") didn't tighten the drain plug properly after doing the last oil change. He cleans off the oil at the bottom of the car and tightens up the drain plug.
But, after several days I'm still smelling burning. I take a look under the car and can see a drop of oil on the drain plug. So, I finally start reading this newgroup! (Better late than never I guess). I see that Subaru oil leaks are very common at this age of car but are usually due to seal leaks (crank, cam seals etc.).
So, my questions for anyone kind enough to answer them are:
- Is it really likely that the oil leak and crank pulley problems are not related at all? (Could the drive belts have done something when they came off??)
- I see some oil on the drain plug, does that mean it isn't the crank seal (because that would give oil on thhe bottom of the timing cover) or could oil still get to the drain plug from e.g. a leaking crank seal?
- If it is the crank seal, it seems a basic design flaw with all the reports on this newsgroup of this problem. Has anyone managed to get Subaru to fix these seals without charging even though their warranty period has nominally expired?
Thanks very much in advance for any help,
Henry