staffychance

Please advise needed.

I have a slight oil leak from rear of the driver side rocker cover, as a result have a small oil build up on the headers, which when warm smokes and smells. Plus i need to keep on top of my oil levels.

I have had a few goes at tackling this issue and its doing my head in now.

Attempt one, bought a new Gasket kit from motor factors, had new rocker gasket,Spark Plug Seals and bolt seals with it, cleaned all the faces and fitted...It leaked, not worse just the same.
Attempt two, removed and leaned up then added some gasket sealant on top of the new gasket allowed to dry, Still leaked, not worse the same.

Yesterday, i removed the all the above and changed the lower rear half moon seal above where the leak is, Installed with Garnville Instant RTV Silicone gasket, thought i had won but now seems i have not.

The only other thing i have read is to use a Genuine Subaru Gasket, that is my next step. Could it be something else I'm missing?

Cheers Steve

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

take it to someone who,s used to doing them m8. i had to have both sides done in my bug sti and the 1st guy who did it made an absolute mess there was sealant everywhere as RA motorsport showed me when i took it to them. there are very specific places you need to apply the sealant and some garages use different sealer that they have found to work better plus they have gotten a knack for doing them.

see link blow for a diagram showing where to apply sealant if your having another go yourself

https://imgur.com/a/KUgBy6T

staffychance

Ordered some Three Bond and the OEM Subaru Seal from Import Car parts today, thanks for the diagram Yabbad004, will apply sealant only to those areas and see how i go......again ha ha

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

People dont clean the surfaces properly, I made the same mistake the 1st time,
Second attempt was fine.

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

hi m8, brave of you to have another go! could get expensive if it doesnt work again lol. just apply sparingly or just enough and dont splatter it everywhere and you should be right. good luck.

staffychance

Right guy I'm stripped down again. Ordered the wrong gasket Doah. I Need to order correct one asap. But I did notice the image to apply three bond is different to my head. Is that once for a classic?

Does anywhere now if of where you apply three bond on bugeye rocker cover.

Also how long does it take for three bond take to fully set?

Smithys STI

iTrader: (1)

Just make sure you have the head surface nice and clean with no old sealant anywhere.
old sealant builds up around and at the sides of the front cam carrier caps make sure you get all that aswell.
If your not replacing the half moons make sure you remove them clean all the old sealant off them and re seal using 3 bond grey sealant.
Fit the gasket and new plug seals to the rocker cover smear a thin layer of 3 bond all the way around the gasket and plug seals.
Use new washer seals around the rocker cover bolts.
You can then start the car straight away no need to wait for the sealant to set.
I've done then this way for the last 15 years and never had one leak.

Good luck....again.

harry007

I know how you feel. Went through this years ago on my classic. Must of done it 5 times. Then tried to change plugs. Took 3hrs then went down to 45 mins, My knuckles were destroyed lol

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

the things i took away from RA motorsport when they did it was
prep is important! clean off all sealant from all surfaces and de grease and remove oil traces
be sparing with the sealant! a thin bead is all thats needed.
apply the bead of sealant to the head not the mating face of the gasket as it will get smeared as you try to position it in place.
do not over tighten the shoulder bolts! the alloy is soft and any over use of force/over tightening will strip the thread! (not good)
here,s a pretty decent video. its in 4 parts i think just watch the parts that apply. its for an 03 wrx and its american but its mainly
the same.

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

this one for an sti:

albob

I can add a 'DIY guide' from Subaru-Impreza.org

http://www.subaru-impreza.org/forum/...er-gasket.html

scooby1994

iTrader: (2)

i have the same problem on my blob,is this a job that can be done on the driveway or is it better to just take it to a garage and let them do it

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

Easy enough,if you clean the area well enough they dont leak after.

albob

"..is this a job that can be done on the driveway.."

I did mine (classic) on the driveway. Bought a small ratchet/socket to get at the bottom bolts

John 37

+1 for being sparing with the sealant. In my youth, I built an engine using lots to try and make it oil tight. 2 lessons learned. Classic Mini's leak no matter what, and, next time I stripped that engine, 1/2 the oil pickup gauze was blocked with sealant.
I've done rocker covers on my hatch and classic. Use sealant sparingly and assemble the joint before it sets. Neither of mine leaked.

staffychance

Thanks for the additional info guys, much appreciated. Steve

Don Clark

From the 2001/2 Workshop Manual

scooby1994

iTrader: (2)

i have looked on the ICP website and they supply there own brand gaskets as well as the subaru official ones ,has anybody used the ICP ones and are they up to the job,