I drive a 1995 Impreza L (2.2L) and my mom drives a 1996 Impreza (1.8L). Both cars exhibit this "problem":

1. When you first start the car up in the morning, or when you leave work after having it sit in the parking all day there is the smell of gas in the air. It's not super strong, but definatly there. From what i can tell the gas smell is originating more around the driver's side front portion of the car and not so much the back where the gas cap is.

2. After driving for 10 minutes or so, whenever you stop and park the car, it smells like burning oil. It's not super strong and there isn't smoke coming out of the car while it's going, but once it's parked, it smells like that. Last time i changed the oil on my car i noticed some black "crud" like burn oil on the bottom.

Firstly, is this normal for subarus of this age to exhibit these behaviors? Secondly, since i'm new to engine maintenance, is there something i can do to stop both of these from happening? I've got the Chilton's manual for this series of cars so if you happen to know a reference page that i missed you can let me know on that too. :P

 

Problem #1 sounds very similar to the TSB fuel leak. I would be kind of concerned about that. Look very closely around all of the fuel lines, particularly under the intake manifold next time you get a chance to reproduce the smell.

Problem 2 sounds like a small external oil leak. Probably not a big deal, but it would be good to track down the source. Carefully clean all the old gunk off of the bottom of the motor and keep an eye on it until you see where the leak is. If it's small, barely enough to drip, don't worry about it.

 

Yes, its a very common subaru problem from what i can tell. I had the oil leak problem a while back. Mine was the oil pump seal or gasket, whatever. Here's a link to my post about it. You should definately read before getting it worked on. Oil Leak

luke