Oil Separator Leak '97 Legacy Wagon

[Bill]

Hi,

My Dad's wagon was taken into the dealer for its regular oil change at
68k miles. Afterward we noticed a smell and some oil drops on the
driveway. Gave it about 5 days but after it didn't stop, brought it
back to the dealer. They say it's the oil separator cover leaking. My
question is since there's only 68k miles on it and it's driven by a
little old man (and his wife), should we just wait until something more
major needs to be done maybe, say another 30k miles and have the works
done on it? Can the leak be tolerable until then?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Bill Pelka]

Greetings,

I have had a leak for a few years. Drops in the garage prompted me to put
down some cardboard. I was told that my '95 Legacy LSi was leaking. Had it
repaired at about your mileage. Was told that if I had brought it in prior
to the 60K mark, the drivetrain warranty would have taken care of it. I
don;t see it worth trying again, uless I do some major work... Plastic part
has been replaced with aluminum, but it still leaks... Oh well, a quart of
oil is way cheaper than back to the shop...Again...

Bill

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hi,

My Dad's wagon was taken into the dealer for its regular oil change at
68k miles. Afterward we noticed a smell and some oil drops on the
driveway. Gave it about 5 days but after it didn't stop, brought it
back to the dealer. They say it's the oil separator cover leaking. My
question is since there's only 68k miles on it and it's driven by a
little old man (and his wife), should we just wait until something more
major needs to be done maybe, say another 30k miles and have the works
done on it? Can the leak be tolerable until then?

I'm not sure what they mean by the oil separator.
I'd guess that it's the front crankshaft oil seal
just because they fail relatively early.

What will happen with time is that the oil will
blow back onto the exhaust headers and cause a
nasty stink. If you can put up with that, it's
probably not a big problem. We couldn't.

If you take it in to be serviced and it is the
front oil seal, make sure that in addition to
changing the seal, they remove the back plate
from the oil pump, change the o-ring, put the
back plate back on and loctite it's screws.

 

[Jim L]

I've had that leak in my 98 OBS for 3 years (115K to 133K) and no issues
other than occasional stink. I haven't lost oil fast enough to be a a
problem with just keeping an occasional eye on it.

Jim Lofgren
Redmond, WA

 

[Bill]

Thanks to all who replied. We're gonna let it go until whenever it
needs real major work on the drivetrain.
--Bill

 

[Jim]

I've had that leak in my 98 OBS for 3 years (115K to 133K) and no issues
other than occasional stink. I haven't lost oil fast enough to be a a
problem with just keeping an occasional eye on it.

Jim Lofgren
Redmond, WA

Had this problem in my car for several years and was given wild
estimates for repair...they claimed not to know for sure what was
leaking & wnated to pull the engine and replace all seals and
gaskets.. Last summer, on vacation, the crankshaft pulley failed,
and in replacing it and the associated seals, the oil leak problem
vanished.