ImprezaGuy

Is there a way I can diagnose and fix an oil leak on my own. Obviously, I'd prefer not to shell out big bucks for a simple thing I could do myself. TIA.

DaveN

which engine and where do you see the leak?

ImprezaGuy

It's a '97 1.8T with an automatic tranny. I bought it used a couple weeks ago. Last week I noticed some oil on the ground underneath my car, so I checked my oil and, lo and behold, it was high. This worried me immensely, so over the weekend I did an oil change. There was a good amount of oil on the plastic cover you have to take off to do the change, and some on the components on the right (passenger) side of the engine. Anyways, I drained out the oil, changed the filter, and popped in a few quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic. I was hoping that maybe the "leak" was just the overfill dripping out. Well, it still seems to be leaking. I've tried looking down from the top but I can't see anything. Hope this helps.

John Davies

Unless it's a real gusher, you have to get the engine clean to be able to locate the source of the leak.

Since you indicate that most of the oil is on the right side of the engine compartment, it is possible the turbo or one of its oil lines is leaking. Does the car smoke at all? If you have smoke, it's internal. If it's not, it is an external leak. Or you could have a bad valve cover gasket.

Until you get all the old oil cleaned off so you can see bare metal, you are probably going to have trouble finding it.

With the engine clean, jack up the car and put ramps or jack stands under it. Start the engine and start looking with a strong flashlight and a mirror. You should be able to locate the problem fairly easily.

ImprezaGuy

and when looking at the turbo from the top I don't see anything wrong with it (i.e. cracked housing). I'll put the car up this weekend and take a better look at it. What's the best way to clean it all off, though? Just use a rag and wipe up whatever I can find? Or should I spray something inside the engine compartment? Thanks for all your help.

DaveN

pull the plastic cover off the top (three screws, half turn with a dime), and look at the passenger side over the turbo shield. I was able to fix mine by just tightening the cover bolts, some folks have required new gaskets, and I think I've heard of one new cover up here. Good luck with it.

ImprezaGuy

What is under the turbo compressor itself? As far as I can tell the leak is closer to the bottom of the engine well. I can see the oil accumulating on the bottom of the right side between the engine and the turbo.