[WeavNasty]

Yesterday I sat my forester outside for a bit while I did some work for a buddy. Its was very cold out. When I pulled the car back in there was a spot where it had leaked a bit of oil. When I pulled it out this morning to see if it had leaked any over night there was no oil on the ground. does anyone know what this could be?

 

[Woody '04]

could be a lotta things.

haven't messed with turbos ...

otherwise could be
valve cover gaskets
camshaft oil seals
external head oil leak
oil separator plate leak (but I think they went back to metal plate from plastic plate by '04?! and those leaks often get on the exhaust and stink.)

have to pull the bottom cover and see if you can tell where it is coming from. if too much oil is there to tell, you have to clean it up some and then keep checking back.

good to figure out what it is when you still have time to PLAN to have it fixed. :icon_biggrin:

and you are sure it is engine oil and not tranny fluid?

miles on car?

 

[WeavNasty]

Yeah it was motor oil not the transmission. The motor has almost 44 thousand miles on it.

 

[g00fy]

Make sure it's not gear oil. I've had my front diff case crack on me, and that left little tiny intermittent oil spots that i thought were motor oil for a long time. I had it fixed, but now I'm seeing little spots again and I'm hoping i have just a bad axle seal.

 

[WeavNasty]

I will have some time this weekend i will check under the car and see were the drops may be coming from. How much would if be for the front diff repair if that is the case?

 

[g00fy]

I will have some time this weekend i will check under the car and see were the drops may be coming from. How much would if be for the front diff repair if that is the case?

Well to have my case swapped was about 1600 after parts and labor. If it's a seal it's probably not bad at all, and you could probably do it yourself.

 

[funkymonkey1002]

Make sure you dont have any cracks or rust damage on the oil pan.

 

[good dog]

Was the car on an incline on the driveway? Maybe there was a little puddle of oil spillage from the last oil/filter change on the under car cover that trickled down if it was on an angle. Just throwing it out there. But if you've got the car in the garage now I'm sure you be under there with a trouble light and let us know.
What about leakage from your friends vehicle, unless he pulled in without parking outside the garage. Had a similar experience when my niece parked where I park and noticed oil the next time I pulled in.

 

[WeavNasty]

The drive way is flat and I was the only one to park the car in that spot. It hasn't leaked again since that night so i am really confused on what it may be. But tomorrow I plan to get it up on the jack stand and figure it out. I will tell my find. Wish me luck its nothing serious.

 

[WeavNasty]

Alright so after a few days of no leaks I backed out today and there was a spot of oil sitting there. So tomorrow will be a long day of figuring out what could be wrong.