Ongoing car advice

[RobertInOntario]

Rob I would say at least get one new or even newer car. Something like a awd Rav4 that you won't have to worry much about in the snow and have good reliability for a while.

I know the subaru crowd has many complaints about gaskets/seals leaking oil so pin pointing the problem would take time. Are you blowing smoke out the tailpipe? how much oil are you losing? Is your check engine light on? The misfire you said

-- it may also be in need of a major tune-up soon as it has been running roughly (misfiring) after starting it up, when it's very cold

sounds like a cracked Coil Pack, commonly happens in cold and/or wet weather. the pack could also be faulty, if you replaced it with a newer one that wasn't OEM (original equipment) recently then it might be the cause since they are built to OEM standards. what engine is in the Legacy?

I'm not a honda fan so I can't give good insight on them.

Thanks! The Legacy has a 2.5 Litre, 4 cyliner boxer engine -- that's about all I know! Interesting idea to re the cracked Coil Pack. I should ask about it at our garage.

The car is running fine, that's the weird/confusing part! No blue smoke, no engine lights on, even the misfiring problem has disappeared, etc. Basically, after it's been left on the driveway for 1-2 days, there are a few blobs of oil on the ground, no larger than the size of a quarter.

Rob

[tomustang]

Thanks! The Legacy has a 2.5 Litre, 4 cyliner boxer engine -- that's about all I know! Interesting idea to re the cracked Coil Pack. I should ask about it at our garage.

The car is running fine, that's the weird/confusing part! No blue smoke, no engine lights on, even the misfiring problem has disappeared, etc. Basically, after it's been left on the driveway for 1-2 days, there are a few blobs of oil on the ground, no larger than the size of a quarter.

Rob

Do you know where the blobs of oil are dripping from? Does it smell of burning oil sometimes?

[RobertInOntario]

Thanks! The Legacy has a 2.5 Litre, 4 cyliner boxer engine -- that's about all I know! Interesting idea to re the cracked Coil Pack. I should ask about it at our garage.

The car is running fine, that's the weird/confusing part! No blue smoke, no engine lights on, even the misfiring problem has disappeared, etc. Basically, after it's been left on the driveway for 1-2 days, there are a few blobs of oil on the ground, no larger than the size of a quarter.

Rob

Do you know where the blobs of oil are dripping from? Does it smell of burning oil sometimes?

Thanks, Tom. I can't tell exactly where the oil is coming from, other than the front portion of the engine. There are no oil burning smells. Occasionally (or rarely), there might be an electrical smell, but the vehicle has always had that -- I think Subarus are just prone to certain smells!

[teejay]

You are living on "borrowed time " with the car and I'm sure you realize that . It's like having a tooth ache one day and the next day it's gone ...you still have a dental problem .

If it's a head gasket issue , it's labour intensive .....the gasket set is pretty inexpensive but you need to remove a lot of parts to get at the head bolts . Big messy job . I'd suggest that if you spend the big bucks to fix it , keep the car as long as it will run . When it gets to 300k it will be worth ZERO , anyhow . What is really bothersome is you spend $2000 to fix the immediate problem ( 1750 + tax +++ ) and then something else goes . It's not long before you are driving a 5-6 k Legacy that is worth $1000 . That's the point where I used to get people wanting to trade the car , AFTER they spent all the ( wasted ) money . Whatever you do , don't spend the money for repairs and then try to trade it . Do one or the other .

Personally I'm not a big fan of 4-bangers . They seemed to be wound really tight to get the horsepower , leading to expensive problems . Just my "old" opinion . I have had V-6's and V-8's all my life and have never done a gasket .

T

[RobertInOntario]

Thanks, Teejay. I agree about doing one thing or the other regarding the repairs or replacing it.

I might have an interesting update to add later today, Because I have a little extra time at the moment, I've taken it to yet another garage (to get a 3rd opinion) -- and so far they're finding something different!! I'll post an update later today once I have all the info.

[tomustang]

Thanks, Teejay. I agree about doing one thing or the other regarding the repairs or replacing it.

I might have an interesting update to add later today, Because I have a little extra time at the moment, I've taken it to yet another garage (to get a 3rd opinion) -- and so far they're finding something different!! I'll post an update later today once I have all the info.

i hope it's not 'cylinders leaking oil' and more of a crank seal leaking oil or even oil pump

[RobertInOntario]

Thanks, Teejay. I agree about doing one thing or the other regarding the repairs or replacing it.

I might have an interesting update to add later today, Because I have a little extra time at the moment, I've taken it to yet another garage (to get a 3rd opinion) -- and so far they're finding something different!! I'll post an update later today once I have all the info.

i hope it's not 'cylinders leaking oil' and more of a crank seal leaking oil or even oil pump

"Cylinders leaking oil" is probably just the way I worded this -- not exactly how the mechanic phrased it. Guess I was struggling to put it in layman's terms or terms that I could understand! Basically, two garages have advised that there are oil leaks coming from the cylinder heads. It will be very interesting if this 3rd garage says that the cylinder heads are OK!

[teejay]

If a head is leaking through the gasket internally into the cylinder , you will have anti-freeze in your oil . When you check the dipstick , the fluid will appear to be a little milky in colour , not the usual black of the oil . It is a potential motor killer .

[tomustang]

^^^ Besides the coolant/oil mixing, leaking from the head could mean a lot of different outcomes, some costly and some expensive, who knows it could just be a cheap PCV Valve or a valve cover gasket

[RobertInOntario]

^^^ Besides the coolant/oil mixing, leaking from the head could mean a lot of different outcomes, some costly and some expensive, who knows it could just be a cheap PCV Valve or a valve cover gasket

Thanks, Tom. I'm thinking of placing some kind of container under the car to collect the oil or whatever it is. That way, I should be able to determine exactly what is leaking.

[tomustang]

^^^ Besides the coolant/oil mixing, leaking from the head could mean a lot of different outcomes, some costly and some expensive, who knows it could just be a cheap PCV Valve or a valve cover gasket

Thanks, Tom. I'm thinking of placing some kind of container under the car to collect the oil or whatever it is. That way, I should be able to determine exactly what is leaking.

Cardboard should do fine

[Ralph]

I've used a sheet of cardboard. Works great. You identify the location and the color of the fluid. Cheap diagnositcs!

[RobertInOntario]

Well, the plot thickens!

Today, I took the Subaru to another mechanic -- one whom a friend recommended who also has her Subaru serviced there.

This third garage had the car for several hours. They insisted -- especially when I asked them a couple times -- that the cylinder heads were fine and were not leaking oil! I also mentioned that I had taken the car to two other garages, both of whom had said that it had a cylinder head problem. They still insisted the car was fine. Go figure!

There is also another problem which I did not mention earlier. The steering has a bit of play in it. This newer garage said that there is a U-joint that will need replacing and they're going to quote on that. I did know about this problem but my previous garage said that it was not a major concern and that did not need to be addressed right away. This newer garage also indicated that this was not urgent but still needed to be addressed.

At any rate, as a consumer (who has only a basic knowledge of cars), my wife & I find this very frustrating & confusing. So either the first two garages were wrong in their diagnostics or (more likely) they're trying to scam us!

[tomustang]

How much does it leak? I mean every car leaks some amount of oil.

Steering U joints do go bad with time, that is something you should feel more in the steering wheel while driving faster.

[RobertInOntario]

How much does it leak? I mean every car leaks some amount of oil.

Steering U joints do go bad with time, that is something you should feel more in the steering wheel while driving faster.

Yes, we definitely notice the play in the steering at highway speeds. Unless you drive other cars, you can easily miss this because you get so used to the car.

After a day or so, there are usually a few (quarter-sized) blobs on the driveway.

Thanks, Rob