Oil leak around front diff. Any ideas?

[Gaz]

Hi. I’m new to this club & need some help. Has anyone experienced oil leaks around the front differential or have any ideas where it may be coming from?
Today I noticed what looks like oil drops in this area. Ive attached a few photos.2014 Levorg with 87,000kms on the clock. Cheers in advance

 

[nicodache]

haven't looked at mine - as long as it was under warranty, only the dealer was seeing her naked

Is that diff plug the drain one, or the fill one ? It looks like it may be leaking from there - I'd recommend finding an appropriate torx bit and see if it's proper tight (do not over-tighten it though - stripping that thread is gonna be mighty expensive).

If it's tight, well, I can only recommend draining it, replacing the little copper gasket/ring that should be under that bolt head, and refill (by the fill plug, that should be somewhere up higher) - diff oil is thick though. you may want to warm it up (warm water bath - bain marie ?) before you try to get it in there with funnel/hose/etc).

[edit]note that if it leaks, it may be worth cracking the fill bot open and see if you still have plenty of oil in there. fill method is put oil until it leaks from the fill plug hole, unless there is a bespoke dipstick.

 

[Gaz]

haven't looked at mine - as long as it was under warranty, only the dealer was seeing her naked

Is that diff plug the drain one, or the fill one ? It looks like it may be leaking from there - I'd recommend finding an appropriate torx bit and see if it's proper tight (do not over-tighten it though - stripping that thread is gonna be mighty expensive).

If it's tight, well, I can only recommend draining it, replacing the little copper gasket/ring that should be under that bolt head, and refill (by the fill plug, that should be somewhere up higher) - diff oil is thick though. you may want to warm it up (warm water bath - bain marie ?) before you try to get it in there with funnel/hose/etc).

[edit]note that if it leaks, it may be worth cracking the fill bot open and see if you still have plenty of oil in there. fill method is put oil until it leaks from the fill plug hole, unless there is a bespoke dipstick.

 

[Gaz]

Cheers. Yea I think it’s the drain plug, my first thought was if it might be coming from there so good to have a similar opinion.
I had a mechanic have a very quick look at it & his advice was to clean the area, drive it for a week or two & see if it reappears in the same place. I think I’ll crack on to getting that plug & gasket replaced/tighten. Appreciate you help mate!

 

[nicodache]

That mechanic idea is smart too - it will confirm that it's really leaking from that drain plug, and will also give an indication of how fast it leaks

 

[*thomas*]

Could be that the dealer has done a drain/refill, but not replaced the washer...

 

[Wolvo]

Hi Gaz

I have the same issue with my GTS 2016 did your leak go away after your replaced the washer cheers

 

[bigsurlyt]

Hi Gaz, are you located in Sydney? If so go see Mike at MSR Somersby. Easy fix for the Guru.

 

[Beast Boy]

Hi. I’m new to this club & need some help. Has anyone experienced oil leaks around the front differential or have any ideas where it may be coming from?
Today I noticed what looks like oil drops in this area. Ive attached a few photos.2014 Levorg with 87,000kms on the clock. Cheers in advance

Hey did the change stop the leaking?

 

[Beast Boy]

Cheers. Yea I think it’s the drain plug, my first thought was if it might be coming from there so good to have a similar opinion.
I had a mechanic have a very quick look at it & his advice was to clean the area, drive it for a week or two & see if it reappears in the same place. I think I’ll crack on to getting that plug & gasket replaced/tighten. Appreciate you help mate!

Hey did the replaced/tightened gasket and plug worked?

 

[Robsyuk]

I'm in the UK and my levorg is at 88800km and today had its yearly inspection. Being the first owner in the UK I Don't know its history in Japan but have all the service books.
When would the diff oil be changed as on my mot they advised a leak from the rear of the engine. Said it wasn't anything serious, just worth a mention.

 

[nicodache]

I had oil changed on mine at 150.000km

I don't recall if they changed it at 75000km, but I don't think so.

 

[Robsyuk]

Hopefully it's the diff drain plug. Cleaned it up and I'll monitor it.

 

[Robsyuk]

Mine turned out to be the cvt sump bolts were loose! Tightened, cleaned up and will book in with subaru to replace the fluid.

 

[Robsyuk]

A 6 month update

I took the levorg to subaru who couldn't find any leaks. They used a powder to see if any appear and my front diff drain washer is leaking.

I still haven't had the cvt or diff fluids replaced but came here to see what trans fluid was best.

 

[jarocki]

A 6 month update

I took the levorg to subaru who couldn't find any leaks. They used a powder to see if any appear and my front diff drain washer is leaking.

I still haven't had the cvt or diff fluids replaced but came here to see what trans fluid was best.

Nice to get that fix. Was the washer gone or did it just need a little tighten to stop the leak?

 

[Robsyuk]

Nice to get that fix. Was the washer gone or did it just need a little tighten to stop the leak?

Just tightened it.
I do plan to get both diffs & cvt fluid changed as part of a service soon.

 

[jarocki]

Ah that's great. Was it noticeably loose enough that it was obvious? Great win.

 

[Robsyuk]

Ah that's great. Was it noticeably loose enough that it was obvious? Great win.

They tightened it to the correct torque. I don't think it was loose loose as it was a slow weep that happened over time and not oozing out.

 

[jarocki]

Found this service bulletin. Seems similar to the above issues/photos. May be handy for someone