Blown front oil seal and warranty support

[Jim Stewart]

My '99 Legacy Outback has 84k miles and a blown front
oil seal. It's pretty evident from other posters that
this is the result of a known manufacturing defect.

Have any other readers been sucessful in getting their
dealers to do a no charge repair outside of the
warranty period?

 

[Edward Hayes]

Known defect?? I think not. Maybe if your dealer has done all your service
work they may give you some sort of break

 

[Jim Stewart]

Known defect?? I think not. Maybe if your dealer has done all your service
work they may give you some sort of break

I don't know. I was surprised at how many people
have had this problem with I did a google usenet
search on oil seal subaru. Plus a couple of mechanics
claiming that the problem is from the screws in the
oil pump backing out over time, causing pressurized
oil to pop the seal.

 

[Alan]

Does thsi problem exist on later models as well? 4 cyl or 6 cyl?

 

[JDC]

I just had the front main oil seal replaced, because the oil pump seal was
leaking. This they discovered when they replaced the cam belt tensioner,
which was causing the dreaded engine ticking sound. These were all fixed
under warranty. Two weeks ago I had the left front bearing replaced, not
under warranty. Six months ago I had the the rotors replaced and new pads
put on the front brakes, half under warranty.

This car, a 2000 Suabru Outback Limited with 43500 in mileage, has been much
more unreliable than my previous vehicles. The last car I owned, a Plymouth
Voyager had NO problems whatsoever in the four years I leased it.

.....Jeremy