Dalee1104 Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 So I've had the spec b for almost a year now and it's been great. Required much less time and money so far than the old ej25d (knock on wood). Not so long ago I was driving and I smelt burning oil and smoke started coming out of the hood scoop so naturally I assume the passenger side valve cover is leaking, possible onto the up pipe but I'm not too sure. Up to this point the car lost 0 oil. It was always where I had filled it between oil changes and fluctuated only slightly when checked again. So i took it to Subaru because even though I can rebuild engines, I just absolutely hate doing valve covers, I hate them on these engines they are no fun, that one I'm willing to pay somebody to do because it's not too expensive. Subaru gets me a quote which seemed fair but then continued to tell me that every seal on the engine is bad and its pouring oil out everywhere and the engine is going to have to be pulled and resealed. That's where I call some bs, the car leaked no oil whatsoever and about 20k miles ago lots of parts have been replaced including the turbo. They mentioned the head gaskets were leaking oil, front and rear cam seals, valve covers, oil pan gasket, but then ran out of things to list while trying to quote me 3400$. I'm getting the valve covers fixed but what do you guys actually think is the culprit here. Again no oil leaks prior, be surprised to see many fail all at once. Car has 125k miles on it, driven fairly normally but also sometimes I like to go fast. Oil changed every 3500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 honestly, for a guy who says he can rebuild engines, you should be able to BS check the dealer by having them show you the leaks with the car up on the lift. Have them back up their claims by showing you and then make an educated decision. Did you even confirm that the valve covers were in fact the cause of the smoke, or was that a bald assumption? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notorious Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Sounds like a high class robbery with them trying to replace everything that had oil on it regardless if it simply spilled out of one area. I would do a deep degreasing of the engine, let it completely dry. Take a look before and after a good drive. Even if it is just the valve cover gaskets, I would do it myself personally. It’s not easy but it’s not impossible and if you get them replaced at the dealership they’re still going to charge at least $300+ when the OEM gasket pair is only $70 to begin with. A small ratcheting 10mm wrench with some elbow socket joints and it shouldn’t take longer a couple hours. Even less if you want to lift the engine off the mounts yourself for extra room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondtster Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Stop to think about this for a minute. What would cause oil to leak out of every seal? Were the environmental conditions conducive to this happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondtster Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Sounds like a high class robbery with them trying to replace everything that had oil on it regardless if it simply spilled out of one area. Maybe, or maybe not. It depends on what really happened and what the real cause is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Find a good local shop that fix's Subaru's. Look around your area for used car dealers that sell a lot of these cars. The spark plugs should be change at 120,000 or so. So you may as well do them while the VC's are off. You need to get under the car with a good flash light and see where the smoke is coming from. Could be a CV boot leaking grease onto the exhaust. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 You don't even need to change the gaskets. Pull them off and clean them up good with naptha and then reseal them with good silicone. They're rubber and unless they're torn, they are fine. Dealers are liars-plain and simple. They are looking for every opportunity to pad their pockets and take you to the cleaners. There are countless threads on here about the dealerships trying rip off unsuspecting customers. Do the damn gaskets yourself. Take the motor mount nuts off, raise the engine 2" and put chunks of 2X4 under the motor mounts. The valve covers are easily reachable then, and in a couple of hours, you've saved yourself a ton of money and you know EXACTLY what you have when you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Stop to think about this for a minute. What would cause oil to leak out of every seal? Were the environmental conditions conducive to this happening? PCV valve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondtster Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 PCV valve? You're on the right track but not likely the PCV itself. Think crankcase ventilation as a whole. The crankcase has to have a path for air to move in both directions and if that is stopped up the pressure built up inside the crankcase will relieve itself wherever it can. Oftentimes it will be through any kind of seal or gasket. For the trivia round, what kind of environmental conditions might lend itself to CCV problems? Further, what mods do people do to their cars that might exacerbate the problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth SpecB Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I 2nd the pcv valve comment if there is indeed multiple leaks. It can be hard to pinpoint leaks on an engine sometimes. If a customer brought a car to me with an oil leak and it's close impossible to determine where the leak is coming from, I would recommend pulling the engine and replacing all, if not most oil seals since they are all old. For example, if I fixed a valve cover leak and a week later the turbo return pipe starts leaking, the customer would say, I paid you to fix my oil leak, and it's still leaking. On that note, avoid the dealership at all costs. They recently replaced my airbag and damaged my pristine dashboard in the process and refused to fix the damage that they caused. Apparently I'm not the first person they have screwed over. If you are 100% sure it's coming from the valve cover, than your better off fixing that leak yourself. It's not soo bad if you do the steps listed above. I'd say 2 hours tops. And if you really dont want to do it, then bring it to a subaru enthusiast shop. I heard much better stories when going through a non dealer shop. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalee1104 Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 PC valve has been replaced. I was stating that the car isn't in fact leaking from every seal. Cleaned the engine previously and the valve covers did look to be weeping. Being that thats the only seal that hasn't been replaced yet I'm confident its those and I'm gonna get them done with a buddy who has access to a shop for a couple bucks. I've done them many times and I'd rather pay as I stated. Even if it's not the valve covers they still need done at this mileage. The fairly funny part was I did fact check them a little bit. When I asked them what specific seals were bad they couldn't come up an actual legitimate reliable answer. Just a bunch of random seals that I know have already been replaced. The car is in fairly great shape, the axles have also been replaced so CV boots are good. I'm confident to do most things on this engine properly as I do rebuild engines for a living, they are very different but same concept. That being said the one thing I cant get right is the power steering on this car. The ej25d just needed a new pump and it was fine but this one on the ej255 is so whiney even after being replaced with fresh fluid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 The problem is you ended up with one of the female pumps on your car, hence the whine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.