jonsWRX

So im driving my 05 Subaru WRX home from Walnut Creek on 680 heading towards Sacramento when i noticed my check engine light had come on. I was going a constant 70mph for about 20 minutes. As soon as i see the light i checked my gauges. My oil pressure gauge read about 26-27. I immieditly pull of the freeway and into the Shell parking lot. I pop the hood and notice oil all over the right side of my engine bay. At least i believe it was oil. It had the look of fresh oil but according to my maintance calender i was due for a new oil change so it should be black or at least a darker color. I checked my oil level and it was about half way full. I always keep two fresh unopened 5w30 Mobil 1 synthetic quarts in my car(i used to drive a 91 jetta that would burn lots of oil) I poured both quarts in checked the level and it was back to normal. But the check engine light was still on. I wasnt about to have my car towed due to the fact that im extremely poor because i never thought that driving an 05 Subaru would be so exspensive. I got my car to the house and checked the oil again. I did lose a little oil but not that much. I checked my gauge one last time and it read 45-50. The car was parked after this incident on the freeway for a day. I come out of my house the day after this happened and look underneath my car and see a fairly large oil spill. I check the oil level again. Its about half full again. I changed the oil and was in the process of taking my car to a shop so i can have a diagnostic test run to see what the problem might be but end up poping a tire on the way there. So now im at Les Schawb getting some new tires on my car. The guy thats putting my tires on allowed me to take a look underneath my car while it was on the lift. There was oil everywhere on the same side as it was before. I didnt really get a good look underneath the plastic so i couldnt see exactly where the leak is coming from. So, my question is......If your facing the front of the Subaru with the hood poped is there any oil lines or anything to due with oil or power steering or brake fluid underneath the plastic container that holds the coolant. I already checked the oil filter to see if it was on tight and sealed correctly and it was.

My mods:
HkS High Power exhuast
Helix Down-Pipe/up-pipe
HkS ssqs
short ram intake
Vishnu Reflash

The car has never really been driven hard. It has been to the track about 11-12 times but other than that it really hasnt been raced. I've had the car since April and i have seen every mile on that car except for the 6 miles that was on the car when i bought it.

VIBEELEVEN

iTrader: (2)

Right side being pass. side?

jonsWRX

driver side

WRX Rush

iTrader: (7)

Wow, definatly park that car, there is a massive oil leak from somewhere, I will talk to some friends and see where it might be from. Some initial thoughts would be gaskets.

Oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, oil feed line to turbo.

Hey by the way is there any smoke ?

Cheers,
Austin

Wingless Wonder

iTrader: (7)

Did Subaru discontinue the free towing service while the vehicle is under warranty? My '02 WRX came with literature detailing this service provided courtesy of Subaru because of damage that can result from improper towing. Calling Subaru's service gets you a flat bed tow truck (or another method that does not damage the AWD system).

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

maverick707

I experienced a similar situation. I noticed white smoke coming out of my scoop every now and from my inspection it looked like oil was leaking from somewhere near the oil filter, dripping onto my exhaust pipe, and then burning. I also noticed that I was losing oil. It turned out that the problem was the gasket between the engine block and the piece that you screw the oil filter into (please excuse my lame-man's terms). There was a small chunk chiped away and that was causing me to leak oil and coolant. So I would say to check your coolant, if that is low, that's probably the problem. Get under your car while it's on and wipe away all the oil and see if you can tell where it's leaking from. Look above the oil filter, that's where mine was leaking from, but watch out for your eyes ;-)

1sicwrx

iTrader: (5)

Who knows what it could be. Suby's have always been oil leakers. I would just go to the dealer and get it diagnosed before the problem escalates into something even more serious. Get an experts opinion and you will feel better b/c all we can do is speculate.

jonsWRX

the odd thing about it is that i saw no smoke. So im not burning oil. Im thinking it might be a gasket or oil line. I havnt had a chance to bring it in yet due to illness but tomorrow im gonna try and have it towed to jiffy lube.

I was gonna bring it to the dealer but they were gonna charge to much to have my oil changed so i have a local jiffy lube do it. My point is when i talked to them on the phone about the leak they said it wasnt there problem because they dont change the oil.

And the car has been parked 4 the last 4 days

maverick707

Just get under it and see if you can trace the leak. Don't be afraid to get a lil dirty ;-)