Subaru friends, I have a '98 2.2 that has just undergone a timing belt and shaft seal replacements (3). Originally the crank seal was bad its replacement is doing fine as is the RH cam seal. My problem started when I nicked the LH camshaft with a drill bit while trying to pull the old seal. I removed the seal housing/sensor casting and polished the area so that no burrs were left to slice the new seal.
I blued the shaft end where the seal rides and did a test fit to see if the sealing lip was in contact with the drill bit nick/ gouge. The first time I placed a new seal all the way in to the bore against the bottom face. When that arrangement leaked I installed another new seal and a new housing O ring. I pressed this seal in 1/16" deeper than flush but not bottoming as before. This position also located the sealing lip inboard of the shaft gouge. I'm thinking at this point: there's room inside the seal for drainage while the seal is running on a good shaft section. Wrong. It also leaks- not quite as much but enough to deposit a few drops after a long drive.
This Legacy has 120K and is not worth the investment of a new shaft The car can run this way indefinitely as long as the oil stays away from the pipes. The previous crank seal leak was a smoker. This one drips from the lower water neck and goes to ground. So I ask the more mechanical of you to offer any thoughts or ideas.
Thank you, Charlie in Pittsburgh