98' subaru 2.2L oil leak, couple questions

First I would like to start out by saying the oil leak isn't bad at all, it just gets my engine oily after being washed. (Takes probably about 100+ miles for it to get oily again) It will also from time to time smell, I'm assuming that the oil is falling onto the exhaust and burning. It doesn't require additional oil between oil changes as far as I can tell.
Anyway it appears to be coming from the intake, though as far as I can tell there isnt (or shouldnt) be any oil up there??! One of these days I plan on replacing the timing belt, since it hasn't been changed to my knowledge with almost 170k on the clock. When I do that I would also like to stop this oil leak. Any info would be great, thanks all.

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My son has a 98 Forester.I think it's a 2.5L motor.He developed an oil leak after the timing belt was changed.Turned out the shop didn't install the front cam bearing correctly.There's one on each side.It started out as a small leak,but progressed to a full on puddle maker when the bearing finally gave up completly.Ended up with another timing belt change,and the new shop installed the bearings right.NO MORE oil leaks.

You're way over due for a new timing belt.I bet if you go ahead and do the belt and new front cam bearings,tighten and seal the front cover you will be good to go.:TU:

 

OK,I should have said front cam seals instead of bearings.I remember that we also went ahead and put a new water pump on also.So if you think your water pump is old,you might want to go ahead and change that while you have things torn down.

 

Alright cool thats what I was thinking. I have never delt with OHC motors before, but there is always a first time for everything! I keep meaning to pick up a chiltons guide for the thing though I keep putting it off for other (older, faster) car parts. Might have to make a run down to the Subaru dealer and see what they want for all the parts. Thanks!

 

Alex,
The first mechanic that put the seal in got the parts from a regular parts store.The mechanic that fixed the problem said that the one seal that was leaking fit real loose.So I would definetly buy the parts from the Subaru Dealership.Probably cost more,but you know they will fit correctly.Good Luck with everything......

 

We do those at my shop...at least 3 a week. I have never bought the parts at the dealer and have yet to have one come back leaking oil. The only part you may need from the dealer is one of the idler pullies. When you do it, replace belt, tensioner, idler/tensioner pullies, water pump and thermostat, cam and crank seals. You won't have to go back in there again. Just make sure the seals go in straight and there are no burrs on the crank/cams. Do not use sealer on the outside of the seals or they will push right out.

 

Awesome, thanks for the info fellas, I knew I could trust in good old V8buick for some subie advice!

 

Well I just called up the Subaru dealer and for a little over $220 I'll get the timing belt, water pump, cam/crank seals and necessary gaskets to get the job done. Doesnt sound to bad to me, so I think I'll go that route. Again thanks all.

 

I did my belt on a 96 legacy with 2.2 and I couldn't get the old tensioner compressed to install the new belt. This may be another good reason to get a new one.

Don't know what I was doing wrong (I tried a vise and a huge-ass lever to try to compress it to no avail) but I know I ended up using the new $100 tensioner I bought just because I had to get it back together to drive to work on Monday and it came pre-compressed.

Also, make sure you purge all the air out of the coolant before running for too long. Mine overheated because I didn't pay enough attention to this.

 

Cool thanks for the advice. Sucks about the tensioner, I really didn't want to buy one of those too! Ugh, maybe $450 installed isn't such a bad deal after all then...