There are many places oil can leak from. HG can leak oil externally, but valve covers are far more common.

 

Yes, external leak as opposed to an internal leak. Can continue to drive it for years with no problem. Just keep an eye on the oil level.

 

Could be valve cover gaskets, could be the oil pan gasket... you could pick up some UV Dye on Amazon and a blacklight and get your daughter to put it in the oil, and you'd be able to see where the culprit is.

 

Yes. The rear of the head on the drivers side is a common area for an external head gasket oil leak on the 2004 2.5 engine. The oil drops directly onto the hot exhaust below.

My Daughters 2004 Impreza 2.5 had this problem and she continued to drive for around 2 years and 18,000 miles before we got around to replacing the head gaskets.

Just keep an eye on the oil level and top up as needed. Very little oil is lost from the leak.

Seagrass

 

Great information folks-thanks.
I will be inheriting this car in exchange for a 2008 Honda odyssey that I just did a bunch of work on. We've had it since new and she needs a bigger car due to having her 2nd nose picker in May. I have to drive the odyssey 12 hours there and the outback 12 hours back. I'll keep the outback for a "spare".
I'm not currently motivated to pull an engine and do the head gaskets so I hope I can limp it home and let it be until I get the drive to do the repair.

 

Yep, external oil leak is the most common failure mode on these. Can be driven for many years with them leaking, just check the oil periodically and top off if necessary. My '03 I bought with 108k on it and leaking head gaskets, and fixed them right before selling it with nearly 150k on it.

 

To add an anecdote to what others have stated:

My 2010 3.6R had an external headgasket leak on the top of the drivers side . It leads to pooling of oil on the top of the engine and it eventually goes down the front timing cover. It looks terrible but I have driven it this way for 45k km and it has never posed an issue. I do use a high mileage 5w30 in it which helps with oil leaks. Just recently has the leak gotten bad enough to where I am going to fix it at the end of the summer. It doesn't use a lot of oil bit it is too messy for me and it's starting to bug me.

 

EZ36 is a completely different design, and very rarely leak oil from the head gaskets. Far more likely to be chain cover or something else. If it is the head gasket, that means it's a high pressure passage, which likely means you have a pressure drop to your valve train on that side....

The EJs leak oil because oil sits in the return passages between the head and block while the engine is off, and they used a coated single-layer gasket which does not hold up to sustained oil exposure. EZs use an MLS gasket

 

IF it is the HG and not something else, my previous 03 2.5 developed a external HG oil weep around 150,000 miles or so. She's around 210,000 currently without repair. Just needs a top up every OCI.

 

IF it is the HG and not something else, my previous 03 2.5 developed a external HG oil weep around 150,000 miles or so. She's around 210,000 currently without repair. Just needs a top up every OCI.

OCI?

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

OCI= oil change interval

 

I wish my oil leak was that minor. A full quart last 800 miles for me.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

And I'm clarifying that your experience with an EZ is barely more relevant than any other internal combustion engine.

Never had an EZ with an external oil leak in the almost 4 years that I worked at the dealership. Many with internal coolant leaks (admittedly, usually first gen 30s).

/hijack

 

I had my ez30 valve covers done as well as timing cover but gee whiz it still leaks just as much. The oil runs off the bottom of the passenger side valve cover. The guy said something about cam journals. Not sure what that’s all about, but the consensus I get on this site is not to expect external head gasket oil leaks from the EZs.

 

Dude.....just did this a few months ago on an 01 2.5. Same thing. Leaking oil slightly from the head gasket. No other ill effects. I just got tired of smelling the oil at stoplights. Finally pulled the engine and did the job. Not hard at all if you have the tools. I bought the Fel-Pro Blue gasket set and did nearly all the gaskets while I had it apart and the oil now only has a minor leak from one spot, and I'm still trying to locate it. I think the case halves are leaking, but at 240K on the motor, I don't think I'm going to dive back into it that deep to stop 1 drop every month.

Tom

 

2002 O/B H6 Sedan - 235,000 miles. Engine oil leak drips onto top of oil filter. Not significant amount in terms of oil level
but runs across engine underneath on oil cooler water lines and makes a mess. RH forward corner of valve cover; cam chains cover or head gasket?

 

2002 O/B H6 Sedan - 235,000 miles. Engine oil leak drips onto top of oil filter. Not significant amount in terms of oil level
but runs across engine underneath on oil cooler water lines and makes a mess. RH forward corner of valve cover; cam chains cover or head gasket?

What @06-XT-owner posted. The oil cooler that is above the oil filter has an o-ring gasket that gets hard and leaks. My experience has be an average of 75k miles it needs replacement. It's cheap, can be picked up at any part store and can be replaced when you change the oil while the filter is off. You just need to remove the 2 10mm screws that hold the coolant pipe to the front of the engine cover and a 24mm socket to remove the filter bolt. Drop it down a little, take out the old gasket with a small pick and put in the new one. Don't over torque the filter bolt. Tighten about the same you would the filter.

 

Get some engine degreaser and spray it down good and then put it up on jackstands and let it idle. That's how I discovered my head gasket was leaking. I couldn't tell if it was coming from the cam seals, valve covers, or head (or oil pan). After I degreased the entire engine, I allowed it to dry and then idle for about 30-45 minutes while laying under it (on jackstands) with a good light. I saw the corner of where the head meets the block get moist. I used a piece of papertowel and could draw the oil onto the paper towel from that joint. If you clean up your H6, and it's leaking bad enough to drip, you should be able to isolate it. If you can't, use the UV dye. It's more expensive, but it works.

Tom

 

Also, does the H6 have an oil cooler like the EJ255/7 Turbo? If so, that oil cooler seal is prone to leak and run down the oil filter. I'm not familiar with the H6, so sorry I can't be of more help.

Tom