Subaru Oil Leak Repair 2009-2013 Subaru Forester 

For this post, I will mostly cover the 2011-2013 FB Engine found in the Forester, as I have written so much already about the EJ series head gaskets in prior posts. Questions we get at the shop include.

• What are the common causes?
• What are the typical costs?
• What can I do to avoid the issue?
• Do all Subarus leak oil?

I will do my best to cover some of these questions as best as possible. There are so many answers to these questions and to be able to answer we have to break it down by era, by generation of model, by engine type within a generation of model. So the purpose of this article I am going to focus on the 2009-2013 Forester as it’s a good example of a single generation of Forester but with many changes to engine configuration. For example, from a generational stand point a 2011 Forester is really the same platform as a 2009, but in 2011 the engine changed while the “platform” or generation of Forester stayed the same.   

When it comes to oil leaks what might be leaking oil on a 2009-2010 Forster with an EJ 2.5l is totally different than what might leak oil on a 2011-2013 Forester with a FB 2.5l even though they are technically the same size engine within the same generation of Forester. 

This is where you really owe it to yourself to take your Subaru to someone who understands all of these differences or the wrong leak may be identified, the wrong repairs estimated and the wrong repairs performed. This can both cost you money and possibly not fully correct your Subaru Forester’s oil leaks. 

For example an NA EJ 2.5l series engine will develop oil leaks from the head gaskets and that’s the single most common issue for that era of EJ engines, but has no timing cover to leak oil. There are other items such as cam seals, main seals, valve cover gaskets, oil pumps and more that can and will leak the head gaskets that just about everyone is going to need at some point in ownership..

Whereas an FB 2.5L engine’s most common oil leak is actually going to be from the timing cover and while it’s possible for a head gasket to leak it’s typically an internal leak and not one that leaks oil externally. We do also see a fair amount of cam case leaks as well. Some main seal leaks, some Valve cover leaks but again it’s the timing cover that’s going to fall into that its just a matter of time. I will add that when it comes to an oil leak from failed sealer rather than a seal or gasket, the single best practice is to change the oil on time and more importantly on time has to be based on how you and I mean you use the car, not the fantasy of what the maintenance booklet says with all sorts of fine print notes at the bottom, but instead real world how do you use your Subaru.  

But the casual or generalist type auto tech may not understand this and incorrectly suggest a more expensive head gasket repair on an FB when what the Subaru actually needs is just a timing cover reseal. 

There are also the challenges of the proper type of repair techniques, has anyone thought about if there is anything that can be done to limit the possibility of a repeat failure?  What sealers will be used, what’s the approach to cure time of the sealers?  

I cringe sometimes when I learn a customer had a Timing cover or cam case type repair made at the Subaru Dealer and it was done in one day,  as the instructions for the sealer calls for 24 hours of cure time. When the sealer isn’t allowed to cure the repair life will be shortened.

The Subaru FB Engines have many sensors and wiring that will be negatively affected by engine oil leaking onto them which can cause a check engine light and poor performance.

While repairing oil leaks on a modern Subaru is a somewhat common repair, the length of time in which the Subaru will go prior to needing repairs is once again predicated upon how the car is used and how your Subaru is maintained.  If you drive your Subaru in lots of stop and go traffic, make lots of short trips and you are changing your oil every 7000 miles you will have oil leaks sooner than a different Subaru driver making lots of extended freeway trips and changing the oil every 5000 miles. The longer the oil is in the car the more excess fuel will be collected into the crankcase and if the car is not driven in a way to get the fuel in the crankcase to convert to vapor and be burned off it will dilute the oil and attacks the sealer used to seal the timing cover, cam cases and portions of the head gaskets.   

Just like with the head gaskets we saw in the 1999-2012 EJ SOHC, the Subaru’s with low miles and slack oil changes always leak more and need the repairs based on mileage much earlier than a Subaru maintained based on how it’s used. 

There is no one size fits all maintenance requirement, there are only guidelines based on typical use. If you want the most value from your investment, maintaining it based on how you actually use the car is your best bet and no the Subaru dealer is not who you should ask. The single biggest misconception in auto repair and service is that the experts work at the dealer. This is like going to McDonald’s for fine dining. Dealers utilize the franchise model, they are more interested in the quick easy recall, maintenance services and begrudgingly make warranty repairs as they must. While some of the Techs may have skills, it requires a different mind set for a technician to work at a Dealer. The first rule is you can’t really care because if you do you will never make money and be able to sport your family. Next, anything you do to cost the manufacturer money is frowned upon and in many cases can cause people to lose jobs. 

I bring this up as theoretical ownership cost studies are the single biggest detriment to properly maintaining your car and in some cases when they are not as truthful as they should be can cause you to make an uniformed purchase and put service providers in the tricky spot of trying to educate car owners and the merits of proper maintenance VS only doing the minimum. Minimum effort in just about everything in life always yields the minimum results.  

Does every Subaru leak oil? 

More likely than not at some point in ownership of any car you own there is a pretty good chance there will be fluid leaks that need to be addressed. The utilization of the boxer engine for a low center of gravity and an overall safer platform puts the Subaru at a slight disadvantage to cars utilizing an inline or V design engine. This is only in terms of how an oil leak is perceived, not that the engine or platform is superior in a non Boxer configuration.

A small oil leak at a cam case, head gasket, valve cover gasket etc. on an inline 4 cylinder can take years from the very beginning of a leak until the leak is severe enough to drip on the ground, whereas a Subaru given its Engine configuration will drip on the ground at the very beginning.  Now add that there are wiring and sensors in close proximity to the oil dripping and we have a repair that’s going to need to be sooner in most cases.   

Costs to repair vary greatly depending on exactly where the leak is coming from and if anything was damaged as a result of a leak. The longer you put off a leak the more it’s going to cost, the longer you stretch out oil change intervals the more likely you will have a leak. For example if we catch a timing cover leak before the wiring to the Oil control solenoids or front 02 also known as the front Air Fuel sensor or even A/F sensor pictured below, we can save a Subaru owner hundreds of dollars vs repairing it only after the check engine light has come on and performance has suffered.

The FB Engine is still a 300,000 mile or longer platform, but its just not going to get there without proper maintenance and proper maintenance must always be done based on how you use your Subaru. 

 Thanks for reading 

-Justin Stobb