Possible oil pickup tube solution

[killerbmotorsport]

Guys, sorry for not replying to this thread sooner. I'll try to put some of the forum rumors to rest.

 

Pickup failures happen and are real. Shops & dealerships that do a lot of engines see it nearly regularly. HERE'S AN ALBUM OF SOME PICS WE'VE COLLECTED FROM CUSTOMERS AND SHOPS.

As far as the failure mode it's ALL in the manufacturing. SEE WHY HERE. We have found zero correlation to model/year, state of tune, state of modification, driving style, etc...

 

We do make a "rugedized" pickup with the tube section replaced like the sketch in the OP. Take care as this takes and expert hand for the welding. Done wrong, you only give the impression of a stronger piece. We're actually working on a complete design for the older models instead of using an OEM pickup, because it's not ideal.

 

Our Ultimate Oil Pickup is more expensive. No other 'knockoff' has as durable a design, period. It has thicker tubing, thicker bracket, gusseted bracket, raised lips for concentric fit to blocks's port (maximum flow), tube design that will not block oil flow if the pan gets dented into the pickup. It has a no compromise design the high end users demand. Our pickup is used by more engine builder and over 150 shops/builders worldwide. Our pan and pickup (and all our performance products) are tested using a 3 Subaru team that runs endurance events on the Nurburgring. Installed on a podium finishing car in the open class at Pikes Peak, European Rally car champ, numerous time-attack champs, drag record breakers, and countless entusiasts.

 

If you want to go cheap I recommend replacing the OEM pickup with an OEM pickup every 25K miles. The probability of failure before 25K is extremely low. If you only want to deal with the pain in the butt install once and never loose sleep, go aftermarket.

 

While it is more expensive, it can often be found on sale by retailers. As one of my customer put it, "the probablilty of failure is insignificant, until it happens to me."

[killerbmotorsport]

Oh, and there is no factory updated or redesigned pickup. They have had failures since the EJ series came out in 1993. The 2006 design got a lot of press because they were failing at relatively low miles and people were not happy. This is the same design (and manufacturing process) used right up to the current model 2011. The pickups are made by an OEM supplier, not Subaru. There are several dealers that install our pickup on cars still under warranty too, if your dealership is unsure they can contact us and we can provide plenty of other dealer references.

[thefultonhow]

Will my oil pressure gauge give me a good early warning of oil pickup failure so I can shut the car off before the engine is damaged by oil starvation?

 

If so, what oil pressure should I be worried about? Warmed up oil pressure on my engine is 70-80psi above 2000rpm, and 20-30psi at idle.

[MasAyinde]

Will my oil pressure gauge give me a good early warning of oil pickup failure so I can shut the car off before the engine is damaged by oil starvation?

 

If so, what oil pressure should I be worried about? Warmed up oil pressure on my engine is 70-80psi above 2000rpm, and 20-30psi at idle.

 

I remember reading that by the time the oil pressure light comes on, it's too late. Whether or now the psi will drop slowly enough for you to notice it, I don't think so. i think it's a pretty sudden thing.

[BAC5.2]

The light comes on at 2.5psi. If it turns on, it's too late to salvage anything. Shutting down quickly is simply a means of minimizing collateral damage.

 

It might as well light up saying "you're screwed"

[killerbmotorsport]

The light comes on at 2.5psi. If it turns on, it's too late to salvage anything. Shutting down quickly is simply a means of minimizing collateral damage.

 

It might as well light up saying "you're screwed"

 

^ Well said. We always advise against relying on a gauge to save your engine from pickup failure. Even if you have a light/buzzer set at the factory 14psi minimum requirement (the OEM light is ~2psi), if you are cruising or under load and just above that you'd get no warning of the impending doom.

[thefultonhow]

I didn't say "oil pressure light," I said "oil pressure gauge." C'mon, dudes, you don't think I'm THAT stupid, do you?

 

Anyway... will my gauge help/be good enough?

[killerbmotorsport]

Take another look at post 81

[rao]

Which is more common - oil pickup tube failure, ringland failure or turbo failure?

[BAC5.2]

Which is more common - oil pickup tube failure, ringland failure or turbo failure?

 

Turn signal failure. For sure.

[killerbmotorsport]

Which is more common - oil pickup tube failure, ringland failure or turbo failure?

 

No idea. That's a lot of data to collect over hundreds of thousands of cars, if not millions (since the early 90s). I doubt anyone actually knows this information, but I'm willing to bet there are a lot of epinions on the subjects.

 

All I KNOW is that pickup failures have been happening since the EJs came out in 1993 up to the current EJs in production.

 

My opinions on the ring land issue, is that it's related to the tune (since part numbers haven't changed) and relatively easy to fix, although more expensive.

 

My opinion on the turbo failures is that it's not a common problem. Except for the particle filter TSB that was issued years ago, the only other failures I've heard about are fairly rare and almost always on cars with significant mileage.

 

And as long as your turn signal fluid is kept topped off it should NEVER fail

[Mr. Sinister]

Which is more common - oil pickup tube failure, ringland failure or turbo failure?

 

Use the right oil and you could avoid all three.