why is oil leaking from here? Is it a cracked head? What is involved with fixing it? Its an EJ18 impreza.

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/3900/dscn2576wn9.jpg

making funny smells (burning oil i suspect??)

 

Rocker cover gasket?

 

is this picture big enough?

here it is bigger:
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/3900/dscn2576wn9.jpg

 

Had to hold the laptop over my head to recognise it LOL.

Looks like a rocker cover gasket, common problem, easy to fix.

Don't attempt to tighten the six bolts holding the cover in postion, they are stepped and will shear if too tight.

Undo the six bolts, from above is easier. Remove the cover and the 3 parts of the gasket.

Bodge fix (works for me) is clean up the gasket and mating faces with solvent, spread a thin smear of RTV sealant on both sides of the gaskets and refit, remember not to overtighten the bolts.

Proper fix is to replace the gaskets but the cost will vary with the age/type of engine.

Good luck

 

Cost me £90 to get the complete rocker cover gasket set for both sides on mine, thats the rocker cover gasket, the spark plug well gaskets and the bolt seals as well and 2 other gasket bits which i'm not sure at the moment where they go but will find out when i do it at the weekend

 

That's why I bodged both my cars with RTV, has worked OK so far and costs a darn sight less.

In fact one £5 tube of RTV did both cars.

The manual says to use threebond on the new gaskets which is another type of gasket sealant, so I thought "what's to lose?" and got on with it.

 

Here are some better photos:

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3082/...scn2602yi3.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/241/c...scn2594am4.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/530...scn2597yx7.jpg

im not sure but, it looks like it isn't coming from the rocker cover gasket to me?
I don't really know what im talking about but the photos should help.

...i think it is the head gasket? am I right?

 

Possible it may not be rocker gasket. Might be camshaft seal. Best to degrease the whole area clean then take it for a drive and see where the leakage first appears.

 

posibly camshaft seal or maby rocker cover i done mine recently real easy job a little fiddily i used the same gasget and loctite silcone its used on my challanger2 fuel injection pump so its good enough for my subaru but took me about 35 mins from start to finish

 

pretty sure on your engine,where the camshaft seal goes that alloy casing is seperate to the head and believe thats where its leaking from between the head and the casing