Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 So I was driving home from work and noticed the Legacy was acting a bit wimpy. I dont normally take it above 3k and today was no exception, but even so the torque wasnt really there. Figured it would go soon. I get home and remembered I needed to see how much I have in my bank and so I planned on driving back up there. Got to the end of my dead end road and turned onto the main...got about 500ft and the torque dropped off, the rev's fell to zero and the power steering went. The engine finally had it. 350 miles short of 100,000 miles. Granted the crankshaft bearings have been going for well over 15,000 miles I'm sure. My poor car The Impreza is in the shop right now (AKA my friend Bryans garage) and it's not running yet. Also needs new tires and I'm going to paint the rims so I was hoping the Legacy would last. Now what to do...do I rebuild it? Do I swap it? Do I get rid of it? I'm sort of low on funds right now so I'm looking for the best angle to hit this from. Any suggestions? Sorry, this is also kind of a BAAAAAAW thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrojones Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Guess its hard to say when you don't know what is really wrong with it... It is , however, a great time to buy new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Hard to tell without breaking down the engine :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Just check out the simple things first. Fuel pump, timing belt etc. Since the power was gradually missing I suspect that the fuel pump went - or that you have a clogged filter. But of course - without really inspecting the car I can't tell. No oil light usually means that it may not be any mechanical failure in the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fkyx Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 There's no way it died before 100k. It may be tired, but it isn't done yet. Is your CEL on? What kind of things does it do when you try to start it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Well the front main seal has been leaking since the crank has been jumping due to the worn bearings. The timing cover has an opening at the bottom where the gasket wouldnt seal and the bolts are all missing so I zip tied it, but left a bit of room for the oil to drain. It's a double edged sword, I guess. I'm hoping the timing belt either jumped or stripped rather than the bearings went cause I would assume they'd make some noise. I suppose it could be the fuel pump or timing belt, but when it comes to my luck I always assume the worst. I didnt have any time to diagnose it last night since it was pitch black and I didnt have any light so I'll be opening up the timing cover today and see how the belt looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Every light came on, including the battery warning light as it was coasting off the road. It wont start up. I'm hoping the timing belt lost some teeth or jumped due to dirt, oil or water. I'll let you guys know tonight. Wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Thats rough. An EJ22 going in 100K miles is very rare. I'd check things out first before calling the car a loss. If it is the bearings I would think it wouldn't lock up or refuse to start. Even cars with spun bearings will still crank and run. I think it might be something minor, because if it was a cracked head or block you'd be overheating. If it were piston rings the car would just run like poo and drop down on 2 or 3 cylinders. If it were he crank bearings it might be noisy, but it should still crank over as long as it was getting oil. Still, this is bad news. If the problem is terminal you better not forget about us here on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Yeah, right? Sucks. It was late though and I was too tired to diagnose it, especially without adequate lighting. Something big is usually followed by big noises. There wasnt anything spectacular and it's all I've been able to think about today and I want to leave work so bad to go home and check it out, but I work 27 miles away from my house and had to get a ride in today. It's going to be a really long day. Not being so tired and being capable of clearer thinking though and being over initial shock is making me lean towards the timing belt being stripped. In that case I'll have to replace the front main seal so it'll stop dripping oil. Then I'll get a new belt and new timing covers so it'll close properly. Hopefully that would solve the issue for a while. Still, I'm hoping that it's something less than terminal. And I would still come here. Keep this on the DL, but I like you guys more than RS25 or ClubWRX Just in case though, I made some calls to my insurance place and they'd only drop my payments by $30 a month if I got rid of the Legacy so there's really no incentive there. Besides, I really love this car for some odd reason haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wish Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 an EJ22 isn't even broken-in at 100k. hopefully its an easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Just check all the hoses too. Too much air leak will also make things less efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Will do. Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm hoping it's something that can be fixed tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fkyx Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 By "it won't start" do you mean it won't run or it won't even crank? Have you tested your battery/alternator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 Nah, like I said it happened late last night and I got it home, went inside and went to sleep. It wouldn't start up but it sounded like it was trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Timing belt must have been skipping a few teeth earlier that day and by that night when it shut down the left cam had jumped about a quarter off the mark and the right side was fine. My main seal has been leaking a bit of oil and I think the oil shot onto the belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 OK, New timing belt, new seal, cleaning the area and you should be good again. Just expect to bust your knuckles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Sweet! The EJ22 may be down but she's not out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 Actually I had it broken down in about 15 minutes, but had to wait for my friend to come with his breaker bar and socket to remove the pulley. We got it all broken down, took the tensioner up to Pep Boys to have them compress it. We threw it back on there and I zip tied the bottom of my timing covers. I figure if it jumps again I'm definitely going to have to redo the main seal. Should only be about $40 or so. I think it may be oil jumping off the block onto the belt right before that cam, but it should have significantly less air now with the covers zip tied. I need some new covers though. These covers always sucked and taking them off about 4 times over the last year has really worn them down quite a bit. So I guess if it jumps again that'll be my next fix. In retrospect I would have cleaned the area a lot better. It was dark though and the flood lamp only shows so much. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Oil is usually bad for timing belts, so expect it to happen again if you don't fix the leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted May 9, 2010 Author Share Posted May 9, 2010 I do. I just want my freakin RS running right first. I also have to replace the right front CV joint which I found out this morning after the rally yesterday This car's still tough. I gotta say it. I think I'll be replacing that front seal soon and the CV axle within the next few days. Should be about $120 for both. Man...money's getting tight too so the Legacy may be sitting for a few days haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 Thanks for the input Daisy. You were really great in Super Mario Brothers by the way Also and update on this. 20W-50 is awesome! I haven't seen any visual leaks so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korpsepatrol Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Thanks for the input Daisy. You were really great in Super Mario Brothers by the way :lol: thx 4 the report! 2008 6mt Legacy Gt Spec B DGM - Not so Stock/Work in progress 2006 5mt Legacy Gt OBP - Sold 2005 5eat Legacy Gt OBP - RIP R.I.P Coxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 De nada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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