Barnes6718 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 The garage just called... Apparently the camshaft seal started wearing and is the most likely cause of the CEL to throw a code P0021 and P0011... Here the camshaft has a slight bit of play in it from the seal failing. He mentioned that the cam is slightly worn. The oprions are 1)new head 2) oversized seal 3) sleve it somehow... My question is: Does anyone know if there is an oversized cam seal available? Who makes it and where could I get it? Secondly is there a sleve availabe to take the slop out of the sealed area? Would you know where to find it? And the most important question: Has anyone else run into this problem? What has your experience been and how'd you get it fixed? Books and knowledge don't really measure up to real life experience... Thanks for you input!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerboy Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 You need to get your car to someone who knows Subarus! Those codes are from the AVCS system. Have the screens been removed from the oil lines? I would remove the screens and change the oil and retest to see if the codes return. If they do then you have an issue with the AVCS sel. itself. you can remove them from the car and test them on the bench to see if they function. Why do they think a cam seal is bad? Was there any oil trailing that they came to that conclusion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 ^ this cam seals shouldn't cause this issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 are the seals leaking ? is there oil leaks under the car ? oil all slathered on the plastic covers ? Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraw84 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 You will know if your cam seals are going bad like frank_ster said you will notice some oil. I messed up one of my cam seals while changing my uppipe and I knew instantly (no code) just oil blowing everywhere. It cost around $200 to have replaced at Subaru dealership. Definitely need to get it to someone who knows subarus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 yes the seals have nothing to do with activation of avcs its through the cam and cam bearing. yes as the guy said the cam could be loose in there. if you check you main oilpressure at hot idle you would see less than 15 -20 psi oil pressure. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes6718 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 Yes. The cam seals were leaking fairly bad. I could see a noticable drip coming from the bottom of the timing cover, and once the shop removed everything it was pretty evident. As for the screens (banjo bolts), the engine was rebuilt about 7000 mi ago. All the parts were cleaned and reinstalled. Since then they've been removed and recleaned at oil change. Went to a 5w-40 as a test to see if the codes would go away but they didn't (meaning they came back after the reset)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 that would mean they did not rebuild the heads and the cams are in there a bit loose. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes6718 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 It's only the top passenger side cam seal. I haven't ventured to testing the avcs solenoid yet. The theory was that there was a drop in oil pressure due to seal leaking, in turn causing the CEL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes6718 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 Yes. Frank is right. The heads were not rebuilt, and there is some "slop" in the cam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraw84 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 how much did they quote you to replace the seal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraw84 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Do you have an oil pressure light on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes6718 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 They didn't quote a price yet, since there's a couple ways to go about it... Head/oversized seal/sleve it???? I never got the oil light to come on, just the CEL and flashing Cruise... Any suggestions? Recomendation? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraw84 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Do you have it at a reputable Subaru mechanic? If not that's where I would take it. Like bikerboy said in post #2 thats where I would start and if your cam seals are leaking then it is time to change those too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 you cannot simply change the seal the head needs to be rebuilt or exchanged. the slop causes the seal to leak and the seperate issue of lack of oil pressure to actuvate the avcs Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes6718 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 I don't know if it's a good thing or not... But I do still have the heads from the original engine that spun a rod bearing, so we decided to do a quick once over on them and get them installed... More money, but a better fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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