Engine re-build

Barry

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Joined
Aug 20, 2009
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1,775
Location
Melbourne, Vic.
Just rolled over 286,000km, so starting to think about an engine re-build / changeover for my 2.5 lityr n/a. (Though hopefully not for another 12 months.)
Anyone have any experience of this / advice regarding getting this done in Melbourne - pref. northern / western suburbs.
 
Maybe just get a reconditioned / remanufactured engine from our friends at https://www.alldrivesubaroo.com.au/ they say they offer a nationwide service. I have one of their motors (& gearbox & transfer case).
 
You might be better off asking on one of the turbo subaru forums, since there is usually people getting engines built on those sort of websites pretty frequently.

Brian at Subabits in Clayton is pretty knowledgable and a good source of information. Not the chatty sort but i've found him to be really helpfull in the past. I'm not sure if they do engine rebuilds but i am certain he can put you onto someone reputable.

Volksbaru in Dandenong are good as well.

Neither of which are really on your side of Melbourne, but i imagine Subaru specialist in Melbourne is a pretty small world and they could point you in the right direction.

Whats the reason for the rebuild though? Just kms? Your motor might do another 250,000 kms.
 
Are you saying your 05 Outback has 286,xxxkm? :surprised::censored:

Thats ALOT of km for a 05. My 01 Foz only has 153,000km.

Thats right Taza!

Actually a Sept '04 build, so one of the first of thethen new body shape - has the '04 wheels, which I think look better than the later ones anyway. It had 178,000km when I purchased it in Jan '09, thankfully this was made up of a lot of Melb - Adelaide country runs, rather than daily commutes.
Since then I have been doing 750km a week daily commuting Melb - Geelong, as well as my big trip through outback NSW and southern Qld in Oct - Dec '09.

I recon that, by the time I need to replace the timing belts again (~400,000km) the best bet will be a re-built engine. Kevin's suggestion is probably good advice.
 
... Whats the reason for the rebuild though? Just kms? Your motor might do another 250,000 kms.

Thanks Venom,

Yes, primarily kms.

When I first had the car it was regularly doing 700km per tank of 91 RON and virtually no oil loss. Now getting 600km on 98 RON, and using about 2 litres of oil per 5,000km. On that comparison I figure the engine is a bit tired.

Given the price of fuel and the distances I drive the increased fuel economy would assist in recouping the cost of the engine over a couple of years as well. (100 weeks by, say, $30 / week saving = $3,000!)

Will follow up with lines of enquiry you suggested.
 
Maybe just get a reconditioned / remanufactured engine from our friends at https://www.alldrivesubaroo.com.au/ they say they offer a nationwide service. I have one of their motors (& gearbox & transfer case).

I have heard good things about these guys. I contacted them via email on Sunday just gone and then Yesterday revieved a phone call at work even being over here in W.A. I was enquiring about a new gearbox as mine is on the way out (yet only done 153,000km). They seem really ontop of things and very helpful.
 
Yea 2 ltrs of oil for 5,000kms i quite a bit. An important question is wether its burning oil or simply leaking it. Almost every hose/seal or gasket on my H6 is hard and brittle. So it leaks a bit of oil in a couple of places. The crankcase ventilation system was also not working efficiently because of hardened rubber hoses.

For the amount of oil you must be going through it could be worth investigating and maybe fixing some leakseven if you will replace the motor. If its burning the oil then i don't think there's much you can do about that.
 
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My engine burns some oil, but the valve cover gasket seals around where the spark plugs are gone. They leak quite badly but it runs fine so for now im not going to worry about it.
Thats quite a drop in economy, what about performance?
 
No visible sign of oil leaks below engine where I park at night.
Performance is fine, although the 4 cyl n/a engine doesn't exactly want to jump away from a standing start, and certainly has the "I'll stall if I want to!" attitude of the 4 cyl boxer at low revs when taking off from stationary! :lol:
 
I feel a H6 conversion coming on.

Not me Venom, I'm happy with the compromise of 4 cyl n/a and improved low range manual transmission.

However, it would be interesting to see the difference in fuel economy between the 4 and the H6.
 
Maybe just get a reconditioned / remanufactured engine from our friends at https://www.alldrivesubaroo.com.au/ they say they offer a nationwide service. I have one of their motors (& gearbox & transfer case).
Thats where I got my new gearbox from too & it's brilliant :iconwink: Great service & fantastic to deal with :ebiggrin:

I have heard good things about these guys.........They seem really ontop of things and very helpful.
They sure are & yes they really know their Subi's :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
You have had to get a new gearbox for your 05 XT?
Yes that correct.
Long story short....The thrust bearing (& sprigget bearing I think) let go (about 6 mths ago in Feb) & stuffed it unfortunately :(
The small shaft on the front of the gearbox casing (which the thrust bearing fits on/over) is totally stuffed. :( So I have to replace the entire gear box casing as it's all in one piece (casing & shaft) :yell: :sadbanana:
It was cheaper to replace the entire gearbox than having to replace just the casing & have the gears etc taken out & put into the new one.
Do you have dual range or just the stock single?
No dual range mate, still just single :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Barry I'm thinking that you don't need a rebuild. I think I need to come over when I'm home and have a poke around under there for you :D

I think you just can't sit still... just like the rest of us :twisted:

Dad's old rangie (89 model) got 500k from the engine when we rebuilt it, it didn't really need it but when we got it back it ran no where near as good as it used to, it was a dog to drive. It turned out that one of the centrifugal weights in the dizzy had lost its spring. Only thing was that by the time dad found out about this issue both had gone and it wan't pleasant to drive at all. After fixing this it was back to sports car mode like it was before we had the rebuild.

Subaru engines go for a lot longer than what yours has before they need major attention like an engine rebuild - unless you've got a highly modified turbo donk that's built for racing that needs to be rebuilt in shorter intervals to maintain peak performance.

Cheers

Bennie
 
Bennie I know your pretty knowledgable with Subie N/A engines. Hell you even spent the night repairing your old EA81 or EA82 when you drove over to W.A a few years ago.
What would you say if you took a guess at it that would be causing Barry's fuel economy to reduce so dramatically if all maintenance is kept up to scratch?
 
Thanks Bennie,
More than grateful to take up your offer when you are home, just say the word and I'll pop up to Cobaw. Would really appreciate you assessment. Unfortunately my 'smarts' end with early beetles! (LOVE my old mechanical dizzy!)
Yep, I recon I have another 100,000 km in the engine, by then it will need the timing belts replaced, etc, just working out my options.
Was thinking I should get a compression test to rule out rings, check / replace spark plugs and get a good tune done. Probably should give it a dose of subaru head and injector cleaner as well.
I'd be happy to get the performance back without needing to do a re-build!
 
No worries. I think I've lost your number Barry, send us a text and I'll save you again.

Cheers

Bennie
 
No need for a tune, there's nothing to adjust physically or electronically so theres no point.

I agree with Bennie's point that fuel economy isn't necessarily related to the health of the engine block and its components.

Oil consumption just means the rings might be a bit worn, so some is leaking into the combustion chamber and been used up in that process. Worn rings don't always equal extra fuel consumption though. I would try a heavier oil, like HPR 10 and compare the oil consumption.

The only real alternative is oil leaks. . I'd look at the engine crossmember, the valve covers and timing belt cover to make sure there aren't any leaks stains. Like you i go through about 1-1.5 ltrs every 5,000 and my car doesn't leave a bloody drop on the driveway, but it sure comes out of the timing belt cover when its on the road.

Servicing doesn't mean that all the consumables on the car and in good condition. Especially if you take it to the same place and they just do the regular oil/oil filter and air filter type service without actually check things like spark plug condition, fuel filter condition and other things that get replaced at much longer intervals like every 50,000kms.

If it was my car i would immediately put a fresh oil filter in and try a heavier oil. It won't hurt your car because its designed for motors with 200,000+ kms.

I'd put a fresh set of spark plugs in, air filter, fuel filter and use a fuel injector cleaner and a can of upper engine cleaner. The UEC won't do much on your car though, long trips like you are doing tend to keep the cumbustion chamber clean anyway. Its more short trips to the shop down the road every day that the car runs rich at warm up and builds up carbon, varnish etc.

Roof racks, driving lights and any other external adds on will add noticeably to your fuel consumption. So will tyre pressures, i have mine on 40PSI which is a bit higher than recommended.

Also sensors like the throttle position sensor, idle-air control valve and maybe some other things may not be functioning correctly and they don't always cause a check engine light. Oh that reminds me about the O2 sensors as well! Again they don't always show a CEL when they're not working. I just replaced my IACV and it caused no light, my TPS is malfunctioning and again i have no CEL.

The point is there's a huge long list of things that effect fuel consumption, and even assuming that your engine is worn (i think its just worn in personally), i don't think it accounts for all of the lost efficiency. Swapping a fresh engine won't address many, if any of thoseproblems and hence potentially won't do a whole lot to improve efficiency.

After all combustion is just fuel, air and heat and there's a list of things that regulate those components of the process. Its a pretty short list and there are methods to test most of them are working the way they should.
 
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