Oil leak on back of oil pan?

GK1707 · 09-26-2022, 04:51 PM

I have an oil leak that is only coming down from the REAR of my oil pan on my 04 STi (strangely only the rear) .

I'm suspicious of the rear main seal and/or oil separator plate but wanted to get input from the forum because i also think it may be the oil pan seal.

When you have a rear main seal leak or rear oil separator plate leak wouldn't oil be noticeable on the flywheel? I've looked at my flywheel and it looks completely dry.

Which leads me to believe the oil pan might be my culprit. I had it resealed about 3 years ago in 2019 and now earlier this summer I noticed this leak.

Not noticeable on the dipstick at all and I've driven already about 2k miles with this leak and the oil level hasn't moved. Nothing seems to be affected and no oil on my flywheel. It drips a slow drop maybe once every few days from the bottom of the oil pan and i can see the oil stream from behind the oil pan.

Just want to ask if anyone else had a similar issue and what was it? I'm suspicious of the rear main seal or separator Plate but symptoms for those seem to be oil on the flywheel and a major loss of oil after a while which leads me to believe this may possibly be the oil pan seal.. But only in the rear?

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Max Capacity · 09-27-2022, 06:13 PM

I think you need to get under the car with a floor jack and jack up the engine and tighten the four bolts on the back of the pan.

I just replaced the rusted out oil pan on my 05 Legacy GT.

Markopolo400 · 09-28-2022, 10:45 AM

Clean the heck out of the area, let it sit and see if you can get a better idea of where the leak is coming from.

Snowcat021 · 11-23-2022, 11:03 PM

I had to replace the oil pan on my 2005 due to corrosion pitting making a tiny hole. It's a pain because of the subframe pieces in the way, but they can be removed. If you go that far, might as well replace the oil pickup pipe for piece of mind (some have failed due to a purported design flaw)

K3rm1tth3fr0g · 11-24-2022, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowcat021

If you go that far, might as well replace the oil pickup pipe for piece of mind (some have failed due to a purported design flaw)

Agreed

09-26-2022, 04:51 PM	#1
GK1707 Scooby Specialist Member#: 373868 Join Date: Nov 2013 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Queens, NY Vehicle: '04 STi WRB	Oil leak on back of oil pan? I have an oil leak that is only coming down from the REAR of my oil pan on my 04 STi (strangely only the rear) . I'm suspicious of the rear main seal and/or oil separator plate but wanted to get input from the forum because i also think it may be the oil pan seal. When you have a rear main seal leak or rear oil separator plate leak wouldn't oil be noticeable on the flywheel? I've looked at my flywheel and it looks completely dry. Which leads me to believe the oil pan might be my culprit. I had it resealed about 3 years ago in 2019 and now earlier this summer I noticed this leak. Not noticeable on the dipstick at all and I've driven already about 2k miles with this leak and the oil level hasn't moved. Nothing seems to be affected and no oil on my flywheel. It drips a slow drop maybe once every few days from the bottom of the oil pan and i can see the oil stream from behind the oil pan. Just want to ask if anyone else had a similar issue and what was it? I'm suspicious of the rear main seal or separator Plate but symptoms for those seem to be oil on the flywheel and a major loss of oil after a while which leads me to believe this may possibly be the oil pan seal.. But only in the rear? * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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09-27-2022, 06:13 PM	#2
Max Capacity Scooby Specialist Member#: 149347 Join Date: May 2007 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Tolland, CT Vehicle: 05 LGT ,09 SpecB Black/silver	I think you need to get under the car with a floor jack and jack up the engine and tighten the four bolts on the back of the pan. I just replaced the rusted out oil pan on my 05 Legacy GT.

09-28-2022, 10:45 AM	#3
Markopolo400 Scooby Newbie Member#: 452996 Join Date: Aug 2016 Vehicle: 2004 STi	Clean the heck out of the area, let it sit and see if you can get a better idea of where the leak is coming from.

11-23-2022, 11:03 PM	#4
Snowcat021 Scooby Newbie Member#: 532253 Join Date: Nov 2022	I had to replace the oil pan on my 2005 due to corrosion pitting making a tiny hole. It's a pain because of the subframe pieces in the way, but they can be removed. If you go that far, might as well replace the oil pickup pipe for piece of mind (some have failed due to a purported design flaw)