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very slow leak. pics included

3K views 28 replies 4 participants last post by  dtodt13 
#1 ·
hey guys i have this very slow leak from under my turbo thats slowly ruining where i park it. i topped off the oil and its still full about 5 days later but still, no leak is a good leak. heres some pics i was able to grab. i think its the two fittings on the parallel oil lines. im not sure what youd call those lines. At the moment i dont have the right tool for the job so im just here to see what you guys have to say until i get a wrench to fit in there. thank you!
 

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#3 ·
Ah thank you! okay thats why i was a little confused. The stains on the ground and the liquid there have no smell so that would explain why.

Do you think power steering fluid would make rainbows in water? Last time i washed my car there was rainbow water right under where all that moisture is.
 
#4 ·
Yeah it would do that in water. Mine was doing the same thing... so I removed the power steering system. I bridged those lines an haven't looked back.

A lot of people are against no power steering but I can park with the best of them. The first few weeks are a work out but I have been driving vehicles like this since I was 16. Just one less thing under the hood to break an have to replace.
 
#6 ·
yea im looking into deleting the power steering completely on my car as well. its not for everyone, but its definitely not as bad as the internet makes out it to be. the only time steering its tough is when you're stationary. ive driven old trucks with no power steering... now THATS hard to steer.

also gives you alot more room to put other things and cleans up the engine bay a bit
 
#7 ·
titter,

It's no longer a great driving car without power steering - I don't recommend that.

There are 4 power steering lines on the rack. They have an O-ring at each end 34930B*A & B*B in the diagram below, and they are likely getting very old and brittle.

Pull the rack, change the O-rings and it'll address the line leak. I pulled the rack to swap it in the driveway, but it's not fun.

You'll need PS fluid, & repl. cotter pins. I have these spare 0-rings and I'll send them to you for free if you're going to pull the rack. Just let me know,
 

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#9 ·
It's no longer a great driving car without power steering - I don't recommend that.
i do not disagree with this at all. but im getting farther and farther from a track car and closer and closer to a drag car. there is potentially a new NHRA Street Class opening up for 2017 at Luskville Speedway. (not saying street class is new, its just new for this track, they never did one before)

so ya. i totally agree it makes it less of a drivers car, but thats what im going for.
 
#11 ·
Are those two lines going into the pump? Is the pump located right at the end of the lines or is it elsewhere? What im getting at is it possible that thre pump is leaking? Or does it look like those lines for sure to someone who has a better eye than i

Edit: nevermind. Just saw the pump is located in the front. So what do these lines lead to? And does a leak inside there look likely
 
#12 ·
one line leads to the pump, the other leads to the reservoir. those two fittings lead directly to the rack. if those lines to the rack are broken, then you'll need to remove the rack to replace them. if its just the fitting and the lines that go to the pump/reservoir that are broken, you can probably do the job without removing the rack.

where ever the leak is its hitting your axle. thats what is causing the splatter. if i was to guess from the pictures, its leaking from the fitting. but its hard to tell with all the mess. clean it off and go for a drive with alot of turns. you might get a better view of where the leak is.
 
#14 ·
if its a small leak hitting the axle, it can make a huge mess without losing too much fluid.

just to be sure though, i would check any areas above to see if oil is dripping down or if there is a small split in your CV boot and that is axle grease you see splattered everywhere and not actually PS fliud.
 
#15 ·
Yeah ill check the boot. Theres no moisture above those fittings at all. It all starts there and drips down. Whats cv boot grease like? This stuff is brownish and thin with no smell.

Also i find it weird that the PS fluid is full because this has been a slow steady drip since i got the car last week. Can i take off the metal bracket cover looking thing that covers the steering rack so i can get a better look?
 
#17 ·
Im unqble to get under the car at the moment but from what i can see there lookd to be small splatter spots like you can see on the transmission all around the bottom including the underneath of the up pipe and headers. Its very minimal. But makes me want to inspect the oil pan gasket.
 
#18 · (Edited)
i got underneath the car today. the cv boot is totally ripped off. theres still grease in it but its leaking out and getting all over the place while i drive. how long am i safe to drive on this for? i do plan on replacing the axle or boot but can i drive it in the mean time?

im going to do it tomorrow. can someone please tell me if that orange ring on the bigger end is the same thing as the silver ring on the small end? i dont want to get all in there and find that the orange doesnt come off.
 
#19 ·
My boot is in pieces and has been for almost 2 years. When it starts clicking its about to go. Mines still just fine.

The sooner you get it fixed the better but its not going to be the death of you.
 
#22 ·
Yeah you would think right? With all the launches I have done, living on a dirt road that turn into about 3 feet of mud and getting 2+ ft of snow that it would have failed. It shows what it actually takes for one to go and the stress it takes. Im sure it will hold until I upgrade the transmission.
 
#21 ·
Update. Replaced the boot and took the car out today for a drive. After parking it i noticed something is still dripping underneath. Oil is still full. I did my best wiping all the old cv grease while doing the replacement.. Im hoping it's just more left over but I'll monitor my fluids.
 
#23 ·
if after all this time your fuilds are still full, i wouldnt worry too much about it being an oil leak of some sorts.

what mods do you have? do you have an aftermarket downpipe & up-pipe? if you do and they are unshielded or unwrapped, the heat from those 2 items can easily ruin a CV very very quickly. if this is the case, your new boot could fail prematurely.

but it also could have just been old and cracked as rubber gets when it ages. just try to clean the area the best you can and see if any grease comes back.
 
#24 ·
Okay after topping off oil after learning youre only supposed to read the side of the stick that is etched F and L.. 4 days later i checked and its a little low. So i did replace a completely torn cv boot and now unfortunately i need to find an oil leak as well. While i was under the car i saw no sources of an oil leak so this is going to be a pain in the ass trying to locate. Im going to get the car on a lift soon to locate the source.
 
#25 ·
i got the car on stands and did a thorough inspection. I cannot find the true source of the leak. while i was down there i tightened an oil hose line clamp that had some moisture running off it and i tightened all except 3 of the oil pan screws. i couldnt reach the back 3 screws, any tips on how to get to those suckers? i dont have any u-joint extensions. heres some pics i took of the spots with the most moisture. the steering rack is always wet when i go under there. but cant find any leak source. doesnt help that you can barely see anything above the rack.
 

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#26 ·
i parked the car after driving home from work and looked underneath to see if i could spot hot runny oil. heres a pic of what i got. so it seems to be definitely from the left side (looking at the car from the front). can anyone point me in a direction of where possible leaks could be in the very back of the engine? like i said before the steering rack is in the way of looking at everything it's a huge PITA. Also is seriously necessary to jack the engine up just to get to three friggin screws on the rear of the oil pan?!
 

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#28 ·
this is one of the main problems with subaru's... space.

everything is so neatly and tighly packed it makes things a pain to work on unless you know exactly what you are looking for. i regret to say, you will probably have to take your rack off. at the point you have a pressurized leak the liquid (whatever liquid it is) can squirt far away from where the source of the leak is. and the same thing with the cv boot. since its rotating, it can fling the grease far away from the actual hole.

in short: the rack should be removed & inspected fully
 
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