Build new, rebuild, or keep feeding it oil.

[SmittyRN]

**Crossposted on Facebook**

 

So I recently acquired a high-mileage (186K) 2010 Legacy GT in hopes it would make a decent daily driver for me (about 100mi mostly highway round trip 3x/week). I’m enjoying the car more and more every day, so I’m looking into the future with it. The exterior is good, the interior is excellent, and it’s a surprisingly tight ride for it’s miles; no rattles or squeeks anywhere. It runs great and pulls strong.

 

I’ve found, however, that it’s eating oil to the tune of about a quart every 3 tanks. It leaks a little around the valve cover, but not enough for anything to hit the ground. I know these EJ255’s were notorious for having ring problems that could have been replaced under warranty, but I have no idea if this one had anything done.

 

So here’s the dilemma; do I just feed it the oil and keep driving? If I buy bulk oil at Costco or Sams, it’s not that much extra expense to top it off as needed. Eventually it’s going to get worse though, right? Do I pull the motor and rebuild it? Or do I get a short block and swap everything over? And when I pull the motor, what other repairs/replacement should be done?

 

I’m thinking seriously about just starting to collect the parts I need over the next 6 months or so, then getting a short block and doing everything at once. Motor, clutch, whatever else I need to do at the time. Should I do a stock short block, a low-mileage JDM, or some sort of Stage 1 block? I’d like to get more HP with a tune and maybe a few other mods, but I’m not trying to build something crazy. I can’t imagine I’d ever go more than 450hp.

 

Yeah, I know this is a lot of questions, but I’m just looking for opinions and suggestions. I’m new to the Subaru world, so I don’t know who the trusted sellers are. Just keep in mind this is going to be a daily driver, I won’t be racing anyone but myself.I just enjoy sporty driving (my other ride is a highly modded MINI Cooper S). I'm just trying to have fun for another 100K miles.

[Max Capacity]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

With good oil & filter changes you may get another 100,000 miles. But it would be nice to have a plan/list of the parts you need and prices so you have a back-up plan if/when needed.

 

Save your money until your ready/need to replace the shortblock.

[motorbreath]

Just my two cents, pretty much everyone I have known over the past 3 decades, friends and family, who were driving vehicles that burned lots of oil ended up blowing the engine at some point because they didn't stay on top of the oil loss.

 

This just happened to my neighbor's son and they ended up dropping $6k on a salvage engine with labor.

 

*

I’ve found, however, that it’s eating oil to the tune of about a quart every 3 tanks. It leaks a little around the valve cover, but not enough for anything to hit the ground. I know these EJ255’s were notorious for having ring problems that could have been replaced under warranty, but I have no idea if this one had anything done.

[dgoodhue]

**Crossposted on Facebook**

 

So I recently acquired a high-mileage (186K) 2010 Legacy GT in hopes it would make a decent daily driver for me (about 100mi mostly highway round trip 3x/week). I’m enjoying the car more and more every day, so I’m looking into the future with it. The exterior is good, the interior is excellent, and it’s a surprisingly tight ride for it’s miles; no rattles or squeeks anywhere. It runs great and pulls strong.

 

I’ve found, however, that it’s eating oil to the tune of about a quart every 3 tanks. It leaks a little around the valve cover, but not enough for anything to hit the ground. I know these EJ255’s were notorious for having ring problems that could have been replaced under warranty, but I have no idea if this one had anything done.

 

So here’s the dilemma; do I just feed it the oil and keep driving? If I buy bulk oil at Costco or Sams, it’s not that much extra expense to top it off as needed. Eventually it’s going to get worse though, right? Do I pull the motor and rebuild it? Or do I get a short block and swap everything over? And when I pull the motor, what other repairs/replacement should be done?

 

I’m thinking seriously about just starting to collect the parts I need over the next 6 months or so, then getting a short block and doing everything at once. Motor, clutch, whatever else I need to do at the time. Should I do a stock short block, a low-mileage JDM, or some sort of Stage 1 block? I’d like to get more HP with a tune and maybe a few other mods, but I’m not trying to build something crazy. I can’t imagine I’d ever go more than 450hp.

 

Yeah, I know this is a lot of questions, but I’m just looking for opinions and suggestions. I’m new to the Subaru world, so I don’t know who the trusted sellers are. Just keep in mind this is going to be a daily driver, I won’t be racing anyone but myself. I just enjoy sporty driving (my other ride is a highly modded MINI Cooper S). I'm just trying to have fun for another 100K miles.

 

I doubt it will last another 100k miles burning oil at that rate. I think the only think I would be worried about is clogging up the catalytic converter because of the oil consumption. It is unique and pretty expensive.

 

I would either get a short block $1800 or you could try to get a low mile 10-14 JDM complete motor for about $2k. The JDM motors have different accessories, and I think you can swap the crank pulley over and the rest of the parts should bolt on. The 5th Gen has some differences compared to other EJ255 which is good from the perspective of buying a used motor (lower price) but they do have some unique feature that you need (heads with scavenge pump for low mount turbo, Dual AVCS,, slightly different toil pan bolts, high compression pistons)

 

A 450hp 5th Gen Legacy GT is a slippery slope. Unless you are easy on the transmission it probably is not going to last and you will need a custom installed STI transmission. The 5th Gen probably needs custom headers for a different mounting flange to install a turbo capable of 450hp.

[SmittyRN]

I'm not really looking at trying to pony up 450hp, just want a fun daily driver. A BNR 18G or 20G possibly. The more I'm reading and researching, I'm pretty sure my best bet is to start assembling all of the parts over the next 6-9 months, then get a $1800 short block and do a swap. I've got a reliable backup vehicle if I run into any problems until then.

[Max Capacity]

I'm not really looking at trying to pony up 450hp, just want a fun daily driver. A BNR 18G or 20G possibly. The more I'm reading and researching, I'm pretty sure my best bet is to start assembling all of the parts over the next 6-9 months, then get a $1800 short block and do a swap. I've got a reliable backup vehicle if I run into any problems until then.

 

Good to hear.

 

FWIW, the vf52 is easy and doesn't require the oil line kit, like some require.

 

I'm on stock fueling, but the car is a blast to drive and reliable.

[dgoodhue]

Good to hear.

 

FWIW, the vf52 is easy and doesn't require the oil line kit, like some require.

 

I'm on stock fueling, but the car is a blast to drive and reliable.

 

The poster has a 5th Gen GT, pretty all the bolt in turbo's have be put in VF54 housing. BNR 18G and 20G are pretty much the options unless he changes his exhaust manifolds.

[boxkita]

Experience on the forum has been anything over 300 wheel horsepower requires serious money to implement. Serious is defined as $10-30k for a completely workable vehicle. if you have a fun mini, I would urge you to view your lgt as a fun stock car and enjoy it as such. Rebuild the shortblock before you have to replace expensive parts.

 

300whp can be had relatively cheaply. The other upgrades suspension, bushings, alignments, wheels/tires tend to add up quickly.

 

Over 300, engine work & tuning add up quickly. 450hp in dd form is going to be big dollars. Keeping running will be expensive too.

 

I have the previous generation and not the most expensive build ever, but it's spent more time in the garage than out of it.

 

Ppl who are building big hp builds are either good at building subaru engines or pay good builders. All the supporting mods have the same rules. There's a reason the cars sell for cheap after they have been modified.

 

still...if you are committed, go for it. mske a thread, post up pics, work through it, everyone wants you to succeed.

 

look up gteaser, s2baru, and others who have done legendary 5th gen builds. lots of good ideas and things that didn't go so well.

[SmittyRN]

Experience on the forum has been anything over 300 wheel horsepower requires serious money to implement. Serious is defined as $10-30k for a completely workable vehicle. if you have a fun mini, I would urge you to view your lgt as a fun stock car and enjoy it as such. Rebuild the shortblock before you have to replace expensive parts.

 

300whp can be had relatively cheaply. The other upgrades suspension, bushings, alignments, wheels/tires tend to add up quickly.

 

Over 300, engine work & tuning add up quickly. 450hp in dd form is going to be big dollars. Keeping running will be expensive too.

 

I have the previous generation and not the most expensive build ever, but it's spent more time in the garage than out of it.

 

Ppl who are building big hp builds are either good at building subaru engines or pay good builders. All the supporting mods have the same rules. There's a reason the cars sell for cheap after they have been modified.

 

still...if you are committed, go for it. mske a thread, post up pics, work through it, everyone wants you to succeed.

 

look up gteaser, s2baru, and others who have done legendary 5th gen builds. lots of good ideas and things that didn't go so well.

 

Like I said, I'm not trying to do a big HP build. I understand that, like other cars, there are good HP gains initially with basic stuff like a downpipe, catback, upgraded turbo and a tune. HP gains after that are in increments and get more expensive. I'm not interested in getting that carried away.

[birkhoff]

**Crossposted on Facebook**

 

So I recently acquired a high-mileage (186K) 2010 Legacy GT in hopes it would make a decent daily driver for me (about 100mi mostly highway round trip 3x/week). I’m enjoying the car more and more every day, so I’m looking into the future with it. The exterior is good, the interior is excellent, and it’s a surprisingly tight ride for it’s miles; no rattles or squeeks anywhere. It runs great and pulls strong.

 

I’ve found, however, that it’s eating oil to the tune of about a quart every 3 tanks. It leaks a little around the valve cover, but not enough for anything to hit the ground. I know these EJ255’s were notorious for having ring problems that could have been replaced under warranty, but I have no idea if this one had anything done.

 

So here’s the dilemma; do I just feed it the oil and keep driving? If I buy bulk oil at Costco or Sams, it’s not that much extra expense to top it off as needed. Eventually it’s going to get worse though, right? Do I pull the motor and rebuild it? Or do I get a short block and swap everything over? And when I pull the motor, what other repairs/replacement should be done?

 

I’m thinking seriously about just starting to collect the parts I need over the next 6 months or so, then getting a short block and doing everything at once. Motor, clutch, whatever else I need to do at the time. Should I do a stock short block, a low-mileage JDM, or some sort of Stage 1 block? I’d like to get more HP with a tune and maybe a few other mods, but I’m not trying to build something crazy. I can’t imagine I’d ever go more than 450hp.

 

Yeah, I know this is a lot of questions, but I’m just looking for opinions and suggestions. I’m new to the Subaru world, so I don’t know who the trusted sellers are. Just keep in mind this is going to be a daily driver, I won’t be racing anyone but myself.I just enjoy sporty driving (my other ride is a highly modded MINI Cooper S). I'm just trying to have fun for another 100K miles.

 

My 2005 EJ255/257 was eating oil at about that rate, at about the same mileage. On teardown it was simply stuck rings, specifically, stuck oil control rings. Everything else in the bottom end would have gone the extra 100K I'm pretty sure.

 

HOWEVER

 

What killed it shortly after 180K was a valve failure. If nobody has been in the top end of that engine yet, you might expect something similar as the exhaust valve clearances close up and then the valves burn. If compression is good and the valve clearances have been corrected, then I don't think it is beyond comprehension that the motor could run quite a long way before failing provided you keep pouring oil through it.

 

As for mods at the time of rebuilds, I'll leave that to the experts. I rebuilt mine to stock (about 5 years ago) and never looked back.