Two problems related to engine oil leaking have been reported for the 1998 Subaru Legacy. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The car developed a leak at the oil filter (lee maxi filter) where it meets the engine. The leak started small and grew steadily larger (10 extra quarts of oil were needed to go the last 50 miles). This occurred toward the end of my trip, after traveling about 140 miles. I know that there had been a recall previously on the Subaru brand filter (1998) for this very same problem at the end of last year, but I had this problem with a lee brand filter, which I had but on 2100 miles earlier. Up until this time, no loss of oil had occurred with this filter or with previous oil changes (I had just checked the oil level a few days earlier). I believe that there may be a larger problem here, other than the Subaru brand filter from the recall. . Read more...
Oil leak from oil filter seam, causing fire. (qcaw).