dralston Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Last week I had a sudden loss of power and then a flashing check engine light. Read the code and it was misfire on cylinder 1. I did a compression test and got 60 psi on cylinder 1 cold (120psi on cylinder 3). Sounds like it's probably a burnt valve. The really sad part is that it's an '05 Legacy GT Wagon MT (150k miles). It's a California car so there's no rust. I'm the original owner and was planning on replacing the car later this year (Tesla Model 3) anyway. Now I've got to decide what to do. I've got way too many projects right now so I'm not sure I want to pull the engine and get the heads rebuilt. At that point it seems like everyone also replaces the short block and the pistons too. Sounds like all that is about $6k. Do you guys think anyone would be interested in buying a Legacy GT wagon with a blown engine or is it just worth scrap value? Bummed because I loved the car and they'll probably never make anything like it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttnio Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I would get it fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Being a rust free 5MT wagon there is a market for it with a blown motor. What color is the car and what color is the interior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 Pearlescent White, Tan interior. Limited. STI TMIC STI intake manifold STI uppipe COBB downpipe with cat Pioneer AVIC 4000 aftermarket head unit with backup camera. New brakes and new shocks (of course it blew up a few thousand miles are these) No accidents I guess I'll take some pictures and post it to the classifieds this weekend. I wish I had kept up with this forum. My fuel trim at idle was right at the limit for the lean code. I thought it was a vacuum leak but maybe it's a weak injector. I also wish I had the alarm on my EGT gauge set. I wonder if that would have caught it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincy05LGT Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Mine tested the same and ended up being the ringland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 Was the power loss sudden? It felt like I suddenly lost a cylinder. I was thinking that power loss from ringland faiiure would be gradual. It might not matter if the buyer replaces the block anyway. If it a burnt valve does that mean a chunk of the valve went through the turbo possibly causing damage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I'd come get it. I'm trying to get one of every color wagon :-) Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn06SpecB Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Send it to infamous performance for a rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Send it to infamous performance for a rebuild. ^^ this Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 Send it to infamous performance for a rebuild. My hope is that someone will buy it and return it to its former glory. I'd hate to see it end up in a junkyard. I'm just finishing building a race car, I've got an SUV and hopefully a Tesla Model 3 soon so I don't need an all in one vehicle like the Legacy Wagon. I'll post a listing on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Probably burnt valve, but replacing stock block might be overkill if it's otherwise sound. If no bad sounds you probably did not lose the valve. Maybe it reached a point where it does not fully close. Though it being sudden is strange. You mentioned STI intake/tmic, I suppose STi style turbo, too? Sell to a member here, it will be returned to its glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Probably burnt valve, but replacing stock block might be overkill if it's otherwise sound. If no bad sounds you probably did not lose the valve. Maybe it reached a point where it does not fully close. Though it being sudden is strange. You mentioned STI intake/tmic, I suppose STi style turbo, too? Sell to a member here, it will be returned to its glory. It was very sudden but no nasty noises. VF34 turbo. Did the swap at 15k miles and ran Cobb stage 2 tune. Never got around to having it custom tuned. I'm sure that probably contributed to the failure... Don't think I'm going to bother listing it on Craigslist so I think it will sell to someone here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Uh, 135k miles on mismatched turbo/tune? Could not have been that bad otherwise it would last that long. I suppose you kept the stock intake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Uh, 135k miles on mismatched turbo/tune? Could not have been that bad otherwise it would last that long. I suppose you kept the stock intake. Yep, stock intake and exhaust. Legacy wagon is the ultimate sleeper. Now I'm getting sad again This project is keeping me busy enough right now: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Sweet! What's up front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Sweet! What's up front? Stock 2003 NB2 Miata 1.8L for now. If I go turbo I'll definitely have a pro tune it. http://www.exomotive.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Bet that's a blast to drive. How much does it weigh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Bet that's a blast to drive. How much does it weigh? About 1500lbs. Driving it for real for the first time on Saturday (autocross). Can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 11, 2018 Author Share Posted March 11, 2018 I've posted a listing in the for sale section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 So, since the market for Subarus with blown engine is weak and I don't really enjoy driving around an SUV I'm thinking of fixing my car. Would it be crazy to take just the suspected bad head off and have it rebuilt? About what would that cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Be prepared to buy a shortblock in addition to rebuilding the heads. Will you do the work (other than rebuilding the heads) yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Be prepared to buy a shortblock in addition to rebuilding the heads. Will you do the work (other than rebuilding the heads) yourself? That's what I'm worried about, mission creep. I'm only planning on keeping the car for another 6 months at most (I'm waiting for the AWD Tesla Model 3). Yeah I'd be doing the work myself except for the heads. Doing some searches I'm seeing numbers of about $800 to rebuild the heads? I assume that doesn't include replacing the burnt valve(s). If I do a leak down test and determine that it is a burnt valve why would I need to replace the block? It's hard to justify putting a bunch of money and time into it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Given the limited info so far, even money between valve and ringland. If I were to take that project on, it would be under the assumption it's a ringland. The offer I made when you first posted was based on the fact that I had a local donor car available with a good engine. Shortly after you declined the offer, that car sold, so buying a new shortblock would have to be part of the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dralston Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 Sold to Sboarderk03 for $2800. On its way to Massachusetts. Hopefully he can return it to its former glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Don't be sad, you got top dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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