Terrible knock after ~60 miles

[Mudandgravel]

Hey all.

 

I purchased a 2005 Legacy GT 5EAT with about 114k Miles from a small dealership and made the mistake of not looking into the car as I should have. Purchased as is, no warranty.

 

About two hours after I got the car, I was driving down a road and the car just died at a stop sign.

 

I had put about 60 miles on the car and it failed on me. Yes, you read that right.

 

I had gotten on it a little bit. There was no redlining involved. I went up to about 5500 rpms and cruised down a hill to a stop sign. I went to make a turn and all of a sudden the steering wheel felt really stiff. I then looked down at the dash and realized that the car had died at the stop sign. I started it back up and heard a terrible knocking noise. So I immediately pulled off the road and turned the car off.

 

It was at this point I noticed the car was slightly overheating.

 

I got the car towed home, and drained the oil the next day. I noticed the oil looked very milky. There was a light brown swirl in the otherwise dark oil. Typical of a head gasket failure if I’m not mistaken.

 

An auto shop inspected it and said that I had a clogged exhaust. This is my fourth Subaru and I know damn well that’s not what was happening to my car. They proceded to call me back the same day and say that I needed a new engine and quoted me $5000

 

Not happening.

 

I have taken some parts off of the car and done some inspecting myself. I am not a certified mechanic, but that’s what I am starting school for in late September.

 

I removed the downpipe and uppipe and found that part of the exhaust side turbine was broken off. I will upload pics when I figure out how.

 

Does this make sense as far as hearing terrible knock? Does anybody have suggestions on what I can do to get to the root of this problem? How do I go about diagnosing this? I don’t have a lot of money as I’m starting school soon.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[dgoodhue]

The knocking could other things other than engine bearings which is a common failure. It is kind of hard to diagnose these type of problems with the engine (exhaust) apart. I would get an oil sample kit from Blackstone and send it of for analysis. It could help determine if has metal from an engine failure or coolant from head gasket.

 

Obviously your car needs a new turbo. The damage could be from the catalytic converter in the up pipe failing which is known issue. Many remove the up pipe to a catless one. While your in their you should also remove the banjo fitting filters.

 

You bought the wrong car for someone who doesn't have a lot of money. This might be a good project car for your course studies, but you should probably buy another more reliable car.

[relative4]

The shop is right, the dealership robbed you. Talk to them, see if they'll help you out. Otherwise your only recourse is Yelp, social media, etc.

Pull the pan, see the glitter? #YNANSB

If you buy a shortblock from Heuberger etc., get the heads rebuilt, replace the turbo and oil cooler, and do all the work yourself, you can have it back on the road for about $4K.

The shop's quote was low, it would climb to $6K minimum if they do everything right.

[Enlight]

Despite being purchased as-is, no warranty, I would still talk to an attorney familiar with your state's laws.

[relative4]

Despite being purchased as-is, no warranty, I would still talk to an attorney familiar with your state's laws.

Totes. How much they take you for?

[Mudandgravel]

Thanks for the replies. I tried to upload some pictures but it said security key was missing.

 

I’ve talked with an attorney that worked for car dealerships on the other side of the situation for about 15 years. The thing is, I don’t have months to wait around and deal with small claims court. I need to get this car back on the road as soon as possible and the only way I’m thinking I can do that is by purchasing a new short block.

 

I know that the uppipe isn’t a problem as I’ve done a few a uppipe installs in my day and the catalytic converter looks just fine.

 

What I’m referring to as far as turbo failure, is the exhaust side wheel. The blades look just fine, but the piece in the middle that looks like a sun with all of the little points coming off of it has about a quarter of it missing.

 

There was also quite a bit of oil on the underside of the block when I removed the uppipe. As soon as I unbolted the heat shield for the exhaust manifold it started dripping oil onto the ground. Not sure what you guys may be able to make of that.

 

I will check out the banjo filters. And as far as the knock sound, could that be from a head gasket failure? I would really hope that’s the case and that I don’t need to replace the short block/rebuild it, but the sound seems pretty catastrophic.

 

Again, thank you all for your input. I’m in a tough spot at the moment and I appreciate it more than you know.

[relative4]

HGs don't knock. Without a recording of the noise, speculation is basically pointless. At this point, nothing makes sense other than draining oil through a cheesecloth and/or pulling the pan.