Hi. I have the aforementioned problem after any period of prolonged driving on my 97 impreza. I guess one of the gaskets is up for replacement - the oil must be dripping past it onto the manifold. I cannot visually identify the source of the leakage though, from checking the oil level with the dipstick the leak must be very small. Could someone please tell me what are the most probable culprits. I suspect the valve cover gaskets, but what would be the most often encountered source of such a problem. Thank you.

I'm having the same issue and I'm thinking this is related to my car running at hotter then normal temps. When I looked under my car today I saw the bottom looked wet. As far as I can tell it's oil. I haven't checked the oil level yet to see how much has been lost. Even though the bottom of the car is shiny and looks to have a coat of oil. The car will not drip oil when sitting at a dead stop. I believe the only time the car is leaking is during driving. I'm kinda pissed because the shop said nothing about this when I took it to them to have the cooling system checked. I know they would have had to smell the oil. If you have a crankseal leak will oil leak out?

Sounds like mine. It maybe the valve cover gasket leaking onto the cross member and heating up while driving and you as I did notice the smell after stoping and getting out. Look at the bottom of the cover for a real small leak. I never even had a problem with oil consumtion at all.