EJ255 Engine Locked Up?

[SilentHurricane]

Recently, I purchased a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon. 2.5L Turbo engine (EJ255) with the 5EAT trans. Previous owner had replaced the stock turbo with a VF46 and had a custom intake fitted. I started using it as my daily driver and one day on my way to work I was doing about 80 down the highway when suddenly I was getting no power from the gas. The car began downshifting on its own and slowing down. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to start it. It would start, run for maybe 2-5 seconds (very roughly) and then die. I read the codes and there were two. A P0700 (trans control) and a P0725 (Engine Speed Sensor). Got it towed back to my home and replaced the crankshaft position sensor (which is one of the recommended fixes for a P0725) and then tried to start it but it wouldn't start at all. It sounded like the starter didn't have enough torque to move the engine. I tried jumping it and that didn't help. I tried manually moving the crank with a breaker bar but the engine would not budge. I took it to a dealership to have them try and see what was wrong with it and they didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. They told me "The engines locked up" and they wanted at least 1500 just to take it apart and diagnose it. At this point the car is sitting in my garage waiting for me to do something with it so I am open to suggestions at this point as to what the issue could be.

[Max Capacity]

If the crank shaft can not be turned, the engine will need to come out. Sounds like you need a new short block.

 

The engine should rotate easy with a breaker bar...but I guess you that.

[JmP6889928]

Pull the plugs and see if it's possibly hydraulic locked from an internal head gasket failure. You might find a bunch of coolant comes out of one or more cylinders.

[MarK1D]

If it's a transmission code, maybe it is stuck in gear and so hard to turn? Maybe play around with the shifter to get it into neutral if it isn't already, although my car refuses to try to start if not in P or N.

Just a thought, wouldn't like it for you to be an engine prob!

 

 

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[Max Capacity]

What does the oil look like and is there any oil in the oil pan...?

 

Sorry to see another...I recently bought this car and now....

[gkinslow]

recently replaced turbo should have been a red flag.

[SilentHurricane]

Alright, here's an update. Yesterday I finally got some time to work on the car and a friend came over to help me out. First and foremost. When I started working on the car (after moving it off the Uhaul and around my Garage a bit) I decided to check and see if the engine was still locked up. To my surprise it moved. It wasn't exceedingly easy to move but I put a breaker bar on the end of a socket and it moved smoothly. So, not sure why the hell that happened but it did. I proceeded with the disassembly. I went after the Turbo first. When I got the Turbo off... Well... That's completely screwed. The Exhaust turbine has completely broken off the shaft and the oil feed line is freaking dry.

I don't know how well links work on this forum but here is the Turbo carnage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Jks-IBNJw

After the Turbo I drained the coolant and the oil. The coolant came out perfectly clean. The oil came out very dark and I did my best to drain it out in a way that would let me inspect it but I'm not sure how well I did. I emptied it into a large clear plastic container and the oil in that looked dirty, but not sparkly. There were small bits of dirt and stuff that I honestly couldn't identify but could have come from the bottom of the car when I was draining it. The oil filter was a bit different. The oil coming out of the filter did look a bit sparkly. I used what I had (paper shop towels) to kind of absorb the oil itself and leave the residue behind. It didn't look great. My friend who was helping me is involved with a lemons racing team and he says that the oil that was coming out of the filter looks like the oil that they drain out of their Dodge Neon racecar. So, yeah. Not good.

Again, not sure if links will work but, here are those pics: http://imgur.com/gallery/OHm3p

From here I am going to further disassemble the engine, pull the oil pan, borescope the cylinders, etc. and see if anyone will let me barrow their hoist for a bit because I would rather not have to buy one. More updates to come.

 

Thanks to Max Capacity for joining in on my post. I followed your engine build post very closely. Never really though I would be in the same spot but, hey, what can you do?

gkinslow; yeah, the guy told me that he replaced it 20,000 miles prior to when I purchased it. That was clearly BS.

[gkinslow]

Ouch Looks like this is turning into a rebuild thread. Good luck!

[Max Capacity]

I'll check out the links from home later.

 

Before you start buying parts, stop by your local Subaru Dealer and talk with the guy's at the parts counter. Tell them you'll be doing a new short block and various engine parts and wonder if they would give you a discount like you could get from the on-line dealers. Hopefully that will workout and you can save some money and build a relationship with them. I still buy parts from my local dealership for my cars.

 

It's worth a shot. Your looking at spending over $2500 there.

 

We're here to help if you need anything we can tell you.

[SilentHurricane]

So, just a quick update. I finally got the engine out of the LGT. It wouldn't have taken me so long except for the fact that I was originally planning to borrow a hoist but the guy I was going to borrow it from kept pushing it back and procrastinating so after a couple weekends of it just sitting there I got fed up and just bought a hoist. Hopefully I will be able to get out there this weekend and start disassembling the engine.