Oil Leaking??

[jimbobrand]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Ah - think we might have to re-torque those bolts on the cylinder head plate?

Maybe, but I'm just going to take mine to the dealer. I could handle it myself but since it's a new car I'd like to have every problem documented on my car's history just in case there is a related problem later. Plus, the more people who alert Subaru to the problem the more likely it will be that there will be an official TSB or recall.

[Relguy240]

I have the same issue...burning oil smell after driving more than 20 minutes when stopping at a light or parking. I checked the bottom of that plate and it was wet with oil. All 3 bolts were loose, so i tightened them up a bit. I hope this isn't another serious problem.

[LeeMaster]

I wonder.... could this be the reason why a forum member's FRS got caught on fire? Fuel line + oil = hmmmmm

[Relguy240]

It's a plate which blocks off the hole where the AT vacuum pump would be mounted.

[Lonewolf]

What the hell Subaru...now this issue is starting to pop up quite a bit...

Did the engineers subject these cars to any design and assembly checks at all...

I need to stop reading the threads in this subforum or I'll never buy an FRS...

[T-SoL]

yea i thought i smelled some oil burning today.

[jeebus]

huh, well I shined a light down in this area, took a few pics, didn't see any oil? Granted the car has been sitting overnight, but I figured I'd see some in this area. I checked those three bolts and they were a bit under-torqued though. I tightened em up for now.

But I smell this exact same thing after any drive.

[ap1mikeo]

i added my comments to the mix on the other thread, but I also get a nasty burning smell from that area and through my HVAC. a few people have said they dont think it's oil. I have a ton of soot on that plate actually.

I went through the whole process w/ toyota and they told me it was normal and there was nothing htey would do. I'm actually looping around for a second visit and they are trying to make excuses to not look at the car... terrible!

I get the smell every day after 15-20m of highway driving, then coming to a traffic light. its awful.

edit: i only identified this plate as potentially related earlier this week, i didnt have them look at it. Has anyone done an oil UV test to find/prove the leak?

[Marrk]

@ap1mikeo: Where you at? What city? What dealer told you it was "normal"?

[ap1mikeo]

I'm in northern california. Toyota corporate said it was normal, not the dealership. Piercy Toyota is the dealer. They claim their hands are tied once the engineers determine the car is ok. They have been pretty good to me, but I'm not sure what goes on behind the scenes between them and corporate.

The smell has gotten worse so I tried to send it in again, and they still claim their hands are tied. I'm not convinced this is oil on this plate, but something is burning. i've seen small wisps of smoke coming from this area after lifting the hood too. this is not right and needs to be resolved. If they are working on a fix, I just want to know so I can ease my mind. I'm scared to use the car, I'm scared to modify the car. It's not right.

[AVOturboworld]

The plate covers an access point to slot an air pump (because drifting. Really.) on the Automatic versions of the car. This pump needs to be oiled, so it also pulls oil from a banjo bolt at the front of the head (top) back to there, oils the pump and feeds it back into the head (at the back).

On M/T models, they simply install that plate to block it off, but that area still gets oil into it as it's open to the rest of the head.

Now, here's the key point. There is no gasket behind that plate. There is simply silicone sealant - like the stuff you can buy in the store. And it's not very thick at all. So I wouldn't be surprised if, on some cars, there's just not enough silicone sealant at some point on the plate, and a little bit of oil is leaking out.

We know of this because that's where our mechanical oil pump for our turbo kit mounts...

[wbradley]

Thanks to everybody on this thread for pointing this stuff out!

I have some oil on the bottom of the plate and a few drips on the exhaust as well. Haven't really driven the car more than a few blocks since winter but I will ask the dealer about it in the spring. My car does give off an an oil smell when I rev it up but thought it was normal.
The oil loss is very small and my car has ~4900 mi on it.

[ap1mikeo]

Originally Posted by AVOturboworld

The plate covers an access point to slot an air pump (because drifting. Really.) on the Automatic versions of the car. This pump needs to be oiled, so it also pulls oil from a banjo bolt at the front of the head (top) back to there, oils the pump and feeds it back into the head (at the back).

On M/T models, they simply install that plate to block it off, but that area still gets oil into it as it's open to the rest of the head.

Now, here's the key point. There is no gasket behind that plate. There is simply silicone sealant - like the stuff you can buy in the store. And it's not very thick at all. So I wouldn't be surprised if, on some cars, there's just not enough silicone sealant at some point on the plate, and a little bit of oil is leaking out.

We know of this because that's where our mechanical oil pump for our turbo kit mounts...

do you think one could seal this from the outside? is someone willing to try this?

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by AVOturboworld

The plate covers an access point to slot an air pump (because drifting. Really.) on the Automatic versions of the car. This pump needs to be oiled, so it also pulls oil from a banjo bolt at the front of the head (top) back to there, oils the pump and feeds it back into the head (at the back).

On M/T models, they simply install that plate to block it off, but that area still gets oil into it as it's open to the rest of the head.

Now, here's the key point. There is no gasket behind that plate. There is simply silicone sealant - like the stuff you can buy in the store. And it's not very thick at all. So I wouldn't be surprised if, on some cars, there's just not enough silicone sealant at some point on the plate, and a little bit of oil is leaking out.

We know of this because that's where our mechanical oil pump for our turbo kit mounts...

How hard is it to access (literally, how hard is it to reach and work on with your hands) the plate, remove it, clean it and the place where it mounts on the engine, re-apply sealant, and reinstall?