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Old 10-10-2010, 06:35 PM   #1
Chocolates
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Join Date: May 2009
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: B'ham
Vehicle:
2003 Impreza 2.5TS
4eat

Default Two leaks: oil and coolant

Hey all-

Finished moving half way across the country, and decided to check on my car to see what needed help before winter comes. 2003 2.5TS.

My first concern (especially after reading up on the failure rate of head gaskets) is the coolant that is leaking. In two places, both by the inlet and outlet of the block. I'm hoping it's just bad hoses, but I shot some pics for reference. My coolant overflow tank is pretty low as well, but I don't see any coolant in the oil or vise versa.

I'm planning to replace the hoses, t-stat, and flush everything and add the subaru "conditioner". Just wondering if it's too late at this point.

Top hose, leaking onto cover below


Bottom hose


The other issues are a couple oil leaks.

Drivers sive half shaft. Boot itself does not appear to be ripped, but the green part is covered in oil. Could this be a seal gone bad?


And upon closer inspection, there is oil of some sort on the passenger side as well


Third, this is a shot of some gunk at the bottom of everything. Any ideas?


Thank you for any help.
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Old 10-10-2010, 11:06 PM   #2
williaty
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Location: Licking County, Ohio
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2005 2.5RS Wagon
Regal Blue Pearl

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Your coolant leaks strongly appear to be from the fittings, so they're not big deal. Take the upper radiator hose off, clean the crap out of the end of it and off the pipe, then put it back together with a better hose clamp on it. For your water pump leak, unbolt the spigot, install a new thermostat and thermostat gasket, bolt it back together, and fasten the lower radiator hose on with a better hose clamp.

Your axle problems are a little harder to figure out but it looks like they're leaking from the inboard end at the transmission seal. Probably. I'd consult a local Subaru shop on this one.

Your last leak is right on the headgasket and looks like a typical headgasket leak. However, there are a couple of other things that can sometimes cause oil to run down there, but usually the oil goes somewhere else. I'd look for oil higher on the engine that is running down that way. If you don't find any, it's headgasket time.
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Old 10-10-2010, 11:53 PM   #3
Chocolates
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4eat

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Thanks for the response, Williaty. Seemed like there was so much going on down there my head was spinning. I checked fluid levels today, tranny oil is good, front diff is below the Low mark, so my assumption is that the leak is from the axles.

I will get to cleaning everything up and then watch to see where things start coming from...
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Old 10-10-2010, 11:56 PM   #4
williaty
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Sounds like you have an auto. In that case, what I was calling the tranny seal is what you're calling the differential axle seal. That's pretty much proven if the diff is low on oil. Definitely take that to a subaru specialist shop as the stub axles will have to be removed for the service.
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Old 10-11-2010, 12:54 AM   #5
Chocolates
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4eat

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Yes. I apologize for not clarifying that.

I am fairly mechanically inclined, and would prefer to do the work myself. I've found a couple threads outlining how to remove/replace the seal. My question now, is there any difference between these differentials and mine, being on the 4eat?

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...ight=axle+seal
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...ront+diff+fill

Thank you Williaty for your thorough and concise information.
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Old 10-11-2010, 12:57 AM   #6
williaty
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There's a crap ton of different axle, stub axle, and seal setups running around for these stupid things. That's one of the very few places on the car that isn't just big rusty legos. One guy in our local group read through every available tutorial on rs25.com and on here and couldn't find one that actually applied to his year and tranny. He had an 02 RS sedan 5MT, though.
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Old 10-11-2010, 01:25 AM   #7
williaty
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I just looked at the existing tutorials on axle seal replacement. While there are some differences between different combinations of parts, it really does look simple enough that if you can't figure it out, you shouldn't be picking up the wrench
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Old 10-11-2010, 01:57 AM   #8
Chocolates
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My thoughts exactly... I just am not familiar enough with the various differences between subaru's, just wanted to confirm that the process would be similar.

Thanks.
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Old 10-13-2010, 01:39 PM   #9
02darkRS
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i just did mine. as easy as an oil change as long as you can get the pin out of the axle!
remove axle from trans. remove sunburst cover. use an axle socket to knock out the old seal. press the new one in.



and you're going to spill fluid. so put a pan under there. i read everywhere & didn't see that warning. my garage still smells like cat urine a week later.

Last edited by 02darkRS; 10-13-2010 at 01:48 PM.
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Old 10-13-2010, 02:02 PM   #10
02baruRS
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my axle kind of looked like that... lucas power steering stop leak worked pretty well...

that is if your leaking p/s fluid, its kind of hard to tell if its oil or p/s fluid sometimes...

if you got a headgasket issue, get ready to pay some big bucks to have the engine taken out (mine was $1600 with new clutch, timing belt tensioner, new gasket set, rear main seal, oil plates, etc)
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Old 10-13-2010, 02:11 PM   #11
02darkRS
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or buy a hoist & get dirty. that's what i did. my prior knowldege was only oil changes & brakes.
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Old 10-15-2010, 03:11 AM   #12
Chocolates
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4eat

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If I'm able to get a moment this weekend, I will tackle the axle seals. I cleaned up all of the coolant hoses, and replaced the t-stat. Will watch what goes on from here.
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