hollatchaboy Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 well, i've got an '06 2.5i wagon with 112,000 miles on it. yea, i drive a lot. so much that after an hour and a half drive from working in new jersey yesterday my car died as i was exiting I-95 into philly. and, by died i mean the motor was making a knocking noise and eventually when i came to a light the motor just shut down. i turned it back on (yes, motor still turns over) and ridiculously loud knocking from the motor. managed to pull off and call AAA, and we realized i had no oil in my motor when we checked the dipstick. (note: i have no idea how long the car was dry due to the fact that my oil light didn't come on) after throwing 3 quarts of synthetic in it (i always run synthetic, change it about every 7000 miles give-or-take and have never had any issues... i was only at about 5000 miles since my last oil change when it died), i cranked her up and she seemed a little bit better until i drove a few blocks and realized my car isn't capable of driving without being a complete nuisance/hazard in traffic. this morning i managed to drive it 1 block to a shop and upon instant inspection when i turned it over for the mechanic he said i need a new motor. anybody else have to deal with something like this? i understand the car has a lot of miles, so it kind of makes sense. but, when i went to my local dealer to explain my scenario and express my angst about the oil light not coming on the service manager tells me that the oil light usually doesn't usually come on until it's too late. any truth to this? i just really feel like i'm having my leg pulled, and obviously my car is WELL out of warranty, and i'm really afraid to see how much this repair work is going to end up costing me. thanks a lot in advance to whoever has some input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolutsnwbrdr Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 sorry to hear! oil doesnt just disappear though.... was it smoking? is there a puddle of oil where you were parked? 112,000 is considered a high mileage vehicle but a properly maintained subaru motor should be reach much more than that... at least 150k+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollatchaboy Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 I totally agree with you, the car should last me well over the 112k mark. and, as far as oil leaking or smoke... i didn't have either of those symptoms, so the mystery continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark687 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 look at the bright side, new motor, then you can go the extra yard and purchase a sti motor. If you wanted to do so. i would if i could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatV8 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Sheesh, the 33K miles on my '06 seems like I am still breaking it in, eh? Sounds like you lost a lot of oil over the 5K mile period. Even with your mileage I wouldn't expect that much oil usage, but then again it wasn't too long ago that burning through a quart of oil every 1K miles was considered 'normal' with some engines. In the past, how many quarts have drained out when you changed your oil at 7K miles? Since that motor is likely spun a few bearings, now comes the fun part of trying to figure out why you lost the oil in the first place. Snap some pics of the carnage if you get a chance. Good luck finding a new short block or upgrading to something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Yeah you probably have a spun bearing or ALL of them and some cylinder wall scaring you can build your current motor back new with stock stuff or consider a swap or buy a EJ253 from a wrecked car and swap it in plug n play style. i see EJ253 for sale all the time and you probably can find one for cheap in your area. let us know what you plan to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fzanetti Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 sorry to hear! oil doesnt just disappear though.... was it smoking? is there a puddle of oil where you were parked? 112,000 is considered a high mileage vehicle but a properly maintained subaru motor should be reach much more than that... at least 150k+. A non-turbo properly maintained Boxer engine will get at least upper 200k's miles man.... Several stories of people driving 250k - 300k miles on their cars... Again, oil will not "just" disappear, and an engine without oil is not a nice thing to have!!! Sorry to hear that pal, hope you can get a inexpensive way out of this!!! Flavio Zanetti Boston, MA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigsegv0x0b Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 What is very surprising is why the oil pressure light has not come on. Clearly there was no oil pressure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyT Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 In 2002 I replaced the 209K miles, 2.2L in my 1990 Legacy. Got a long block from ASAP motors in Texas. It only had ~35-40K on it. Everything worked great. In fact, in '03 I traded it in for and '04 Legacy L 35 Anniversary Ed. and the Subaru mechanic that bought it is still driving it today. However, as I searched ASAP Motors again before replying to this thread I see there are porblems with ASAP. See the following link; http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=ASAP+Motors+&Search=Search ASAP and companies like them buy from clips from Japan. They usually have low miles. Based on what I read in the above link, I would not by from ASAP though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyT Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Sorry, that front clips (i.e. motor and trans). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollatchaboy Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Thanks for all the input folks, really appreciate it. I'm still weighing my options right now. A family friend of ours has an auto shop so I've got him looking into motor options for me. I'm honestly not trying to break the bank with this (STI swap, etc... eventhough that would be amazing), as I just want to fix the car up and sell it. I've already got an '09 tacoma lined up when I return from Europe on the 26th. I love my Legacy to death, but I need something that will be more practical for my usage. I'll have to make sure to get a video clip of the motor running in the condition it's presently in just so you guys can get an idea of what I'm going through before she's gutted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhBe1 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hopefully this is a rare problem. Good luck. Note to self: Check oil more often... 06LOB2.5i MT, JDMRSB, GYTTs, HPS, LGT Mufflers & Leather Wheel, SubiMomo Knob, Inalfa Moonroof, Clutch Switch Bypass, DeDRLd, DeChimed, & Straight Headrest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 What kind of oil are you running? This very thing happened to me 2 years ago @ 50k miles. I blamed switching to mobil1 5-30 synthetic oil back then..... but what happened was a loud ticking sound as i was driving home... i pulled over off the road and called a buddy to bring me more oil as my dipstick was bone dry when i checked then... i added 3 qts of oil. brought car to the shop the following morning.... they claimed the following things: #1 the engine was overfilled by 3 qts of oil #2 rod bearings were spun #3 one of the cylinder heads were shot all in all... ended up having to get a new small block... basically a new engine. sorry to hear about what happened.. but it looks like this issue has happened a to a few subaru's already. i guess not enough to make an impact and to be brought up to SOA.. ' either way.. good luck on the outcome. -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I agree check your oil every other gas fill up, or if your just bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 ^^^ that is so odd the stick was not showing and more comical that you overfilled by 3 qrts def a twilight zone issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollatchaboy Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 What kind of oil are you running? This very thing happened to me 2 years ago @ 50k miles. I blamed switching to mobil1 5-30 synthetic oil back then..... but what happened was a loud ticking sound as i was driving home... i pulled over off the road and called a buddy to bring me more oil as my dipstick was bone dry when i checked then... i added 3 qts of oil. brought car to the shop the following morning.... they claimed the following things: #1 the engine was overfilled by 3 qts of oil #2 rod bearings were spun #3 one of the cylinder heads were shot all in all... ended up having to get a new small block... basically a new engine. sorry to hear about what happened.. but it looks like this issue has happened a to a few subaru's already. i guess not enough to make an impact and to be brought up to SOA.. ' either way.. good luck on the outcome. how much did the block set you back? i'm guessing that's gonna be my outcome as well. i just can't really do anything for a week and a half since i'm currently in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 i'm very very lucky that somehow the guys at the dealership were able to cover the small block under warranty.... basically all i paid was a little over $2k. that included: a new clutch (irrelevant to the issue.. but just got it done), labor work for the whole motor works, refinishing and testing of cylinder heads #1,2,4 (#3 was shot, but the others were sent for refinishing and whatever they do to make sure its up to spec and in "like new" condition).. the car was in the shop for almost 3 weeks. but yea... i'm very fortunate they found a way to get the block covered under warranty... otherwise a new turbo engine would've found its way into my bay... -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanrose Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 congrats on getting a new short block change that oil more and this one should last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 to the OP: keep us posted on the outcomes for you. -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch1011 Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 In my experience, I've found that it is pretty typical that the oil light will not always come on when it needs to, especially if the engine is just run low on oil. The reason for this is because when an engine runs low on oil, it doesn't completely lose pressure, it just starts sucking air in with the oil. Because the oil pressure switch is set for such a low pressure [usually 3-4 psi] and the fact that the pump is pumping some oil but not enough means you can have enough pressure to keep the light off but not enough to lubricate the engine. This is why I am a fan of oil pressure GAUGES that show actual oil pressure [not the dummy gauges most cars come stock with]. Its unfortunate that this happened, but in reality this is a 'lack of maintenance' issue. Checking fluid levels on a regular basis is the responsibility of the driver, and while the oil consumption you experienced is a bit excessive, you could have caught this problem before it took out your engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawlwawl06 Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I have had the same issue, the oil level shown on the dipstick is never the same, it varies all the time. I don't understand it, does it have something to do with the temperature of the oil or how long the car has been running? I've run into times where I would go get an emergency oil change because my stick would be bone dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch1011 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Has to do with temperature (hot liquids expand), the angle the car is parked on, and how long the engine has been off. Horizontally opposed engines have a problem with oil pooling in the heads because there isn't as much help from gravity to get it back down to the pan (that's why the cam covers are so prone to leakage on these engines). If you get even a little sludge build up in the heads, you could probably get at least 1/2 the engine's oil capacity stuck in the heads, probably more on the DOHC models since there is more space. Consistancy on when and where you check the oil level is probably the best way to keep it accurate. I usually either check the oil first thing in the morning before the engine has run at all, or after letting the engine sit about 30 minutes after shut down. That gives the oil plenty of time to drain back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryq89 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 A non-turbo properly maintained Boxer engine will get at least upper 200k's miles man.... Several stories of people driving 250k - 300k miles on their cars... Again, oil will not "just" disappear, and an engine without oil is not a nice thing to have!!! Sorry to hear that pal, hope you can get a inexpensive way out of this!!! Flavio Zanetti Boston, MA true my 97LGT died at 230xxx miles =[ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpetrovic01 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I bought an 05 Legacy, 48000 miles. Changed the oil one time, used mobil1 full synthetic. At 51000 miles the engine was blown. No warning light. Subaru replaced the short block ($6000) in one day. I asked the district service tech why the engine ate all of the oil up in 3000 miles and he gave me a lecture on why not to use synthetic oil in boxer engines. Said it has to do with the engine tolerances not being close enough and synthetic oil being such a good lubricant. But another Subaru tech told me something different, that oil doesn't matter. And a third tech told me something different again, the seals need to be conditioned (break in period) to synthetic oil. A Subaru salesman told me the STI comes from the factory with synthetic oil. Who really knows why it happened, I'm not a mechanic but I'm going to blame it on the oil. As for the car, I traded it off for an 09 Legacy sedan and I sure as hell wont use synthetic oil in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouch1011 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I'm using synthetic (Penzoil Platinum 5W30) in my LGT right now, about 1500miles on it so far and it hasn't burned a drop of it. From what I understand, Subaru does build their engines with fairly loose tolerances, which is why these engines have like 10 bazillion oil separators built into the PCV system. But there is no way they would build it that loose. Also, the two techs who told you that synthetic oils have to be used differently than conventional were wrong. Modern synthetic oils are designed to function as well (or usually better) than a comparable conventional oil. I've used synthetics in so many different engines, some of them starting as early as 1000 mi on the engine, and I've switched to synthetic as high as 150k miles. Never had any problem with any of those engines, highest consumption I got on any of those engines was 1qt oil in 3000mi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.