Subaru Forester issue

pete4130

My newly acquired Subaru Forester (2002, 2.5L petrol, 2nd generation Series I, 186,000km) is making a clunking that feels like its from the front left. It only happens when turning sharp left while facing downhill. I've done some googling and it could be anything from a CV joint to front differential (all tyres are equal size). I had a look underneath and notice oil on the left rack and pinion arm on the accordion bushing part that appeared to be coming from above. This has me concerned I may have an external head gasket leak. There is a noticeable amount of oil noticeable and the levels are considerably lower than this morning but the car hasn't fully cooled down yet. I'll wait until morning to check the levels again (in Australia here).

I checked fluids this morning before a longish drive (about 150km) and all was good. It's been driving fine until I had to make a slow left turn, while facing downhill. I have roadside recovery assistance and called them out and they encountered the same issue on the same left turn. Said it would be ok to drive home with but to get it checked out.

I know a few guys on here have/had Foresters and have experience with them.

I did get a 1 year warranty thrown into the purchase (from an external motor warranty company) which will cover;

gearbox/transmission for the following (up to $3000):

"Internal lubricated parts of both manual and automatic transmissions only."


for the Engine (up to $3000):

"Engine block, crankshaft,meshing timing gears, oil pump, pistons, piston rings, crankshaft bearings, cylinders, wrist pins, camshaft, camshaft gears, connecting rods, internal bushings, balance shaft and bearings only."


for the differentials (up to $3000):

"Internal lubricated parts only."


for the Cylinder Head (up to $550):

"Head Gasket, Cylinder Head, valves and filters only."



I'll call out my roadside assist tomorrow again and get them to look at the oil leak and go from there about contacting the warranty company.


At this point I reckon I've got an external oil leak from the head gasket.

professore

Sounds like a CV joint to me. Does it make a "clack clack clack" sound on turning? If it's a CV joint it's an easy fix.

pete4130

Thanks for the quick reply. If its something like a CV joint then its not too big of a worry.

The oil leak is my main concern. I've done some research on the warranty company and it's not looking like they are very good at living up to their expectations.