oil leak 2005 forester

kent30

I've a 2005 subaru forester with 107k miles. It has suddenly started burning oil. It needed a quart of oil after only 300 miles. Is it a head gasket problem? If yes, how much would it cost to fix it? At 102K miles I had timing belts replaced by the dealer. Is there any connection to that and oil leak? I've owned the car for 7 years and never had to add oil between oil changes before.

xwesx

Are you observing the oil to leak to the outside of the engine? If so, where are the outward signs visible? It's highly unlikely that it is related to the timing belt replacement, but the most common locations of severe leaks are the valve cover gaskets (on each end of the engine: L/R), camshaft seals, and crankshaft seal. If it is any of the seals, you'll see the leak on the bottom/front of the engine (near the middle for the crankshaft, and on either side for the camshafts).

kent30

Thanks for the reply. There are no signs of oil leak outside. Nothing on the floor. Nothing on the engine. Does not this mean that the oil is burning with gas? I just had the oil change done. I am going to check the oil level after 100 miles.

xwesx

Well, if it is not external at all, I wouldn't read anything into it until you monitor it for a while longer.

kent30

I had to add one quart after aprox 300 miles. I suppose I monitor the level again to see if it drops same amount with 300 or so miles.

xwesx

Right; that's what I meant to state. Once you suspect there's a problem and are monitoring it specifically expecting to see the behavior you first observed, you will know for sure if you see the same behavior again. The first time it crops up, who knows? Maybe the level wasn't as high as you remember it being originally, or something was different about the circumstances under which you checked the oil, etc.

Having a science background, I can't help but look for repeatable results.

kent30

Thank you for your help.