This year and last I have looked at approximately ten Imprezas for sale and three of them have all suffered an oil leak apparently from the rocker cover gasket.

Is this a known common problem or am I supremely unlucky/privileged?

Secondly, is this problem one which is likely to recur and/or is it likely to have knock on effects which I should know about?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Very common problem and yes, likely to recur. Not worth worrying about imho.

 

very annoying problem the oil drips off the cover on to the exhaust and the smell comes into the cabin easy enough to sort out .

 

So how frequently does this problem recur then?

Is there a set of years/model phase(s) of car where the engine is susceptible to this problem or will this inevitably happen to all Imprezas?

Is this a symptom of a car which has had a massive hammering?

What are people's experiences please?

 

tends to just be age and milage, nothing to major as long as oil level doesn't drop and you get it replaced as and when, not sure if uprated gasket will be better or not

 

likely to happen to all i imagine, the rocker gaskets are likely to get abuse form the exhaust heat being close and the fact its a flat engine.
mine does it and allways has since ive owned it, dont let it put you off buying one its no big deal

 

Thanks for the answers.

 

Its leaking on the mainfold and causing oil smell in car . Buy a new gasket and replace the old one the problem should be fixed like 30 min job

 

Thanks Dutchie, I bought a different one in the end - this oil leak was not an issue in the end and I'd gladly jump in and do this job if it occurs on my new Scooby.