[cwakefld]

Well I recently bought a 2000 Outback. It has 144,000 miles. I absolutely love the car. I did quite a bit of research before I purchased, so I checked for the head gasket leak. There did not seem to be any obvious oil leaks. However, after having the car for a couple months it would appear that I have the dreaded leak. I have receipts to show that the previous owner changed the timing belt about 10,000 miles ago. It leaks very little. A drop or two under the car in the parking spot. Not enough to even notice on the dipstick between oil changes. How catastrophic is this? I really don't want to spend a thousand dollars right now. There doesn't appear to be coolant in the oil. There also doesn't appear to be coolant or oil getting into the cylinders. How much time have I got?


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[AWDFTW]

Leaking oil externally? I'd say about 100k miles or so.

Seriously, as long as it is just leaking oil, keep an eye on the levels and it can run for ages with a little drip. Keep some cardboard under it to catch the drips and you'll be fine.

 

[plain OM]

Have you confirmed that the dripping is, in fact, from a head gasket, and not from elsewhere, such as a valve cover gasket? (Not an uncommon leak source, and far less expensive to replace.)

 

[susiemk]

+1
Oil pump leaks are common as well - investigate the source of the leak.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

consider servicing the PCV system.