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EverettB 
Administrator
Joined: April 11, 2000
Posts: 71613
Location: Phoenix 602
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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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D Clymer
Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2005
Posts: 2986
Location: Issaquah, WA
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| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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| BlackDogVan wrote: |
BUT... they do tend to be sold by many as completely bulletproof. Reading deeper & a few chinks in their armor can be found. Am I wrong that they share a few issues with the WBX? Some are known for leaky heads, right?
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Generally speaking they are bulletproof. The bottom end is extremely durable and usually it's rings or the need for a valve job that finally makes them ready for a rebuild. This failure shown on this thread is unusual and not one that I've seen before on the Ultimate Subaru Message Board or in the Subaru Vanagon circles. The head gasket issue only afflicts 2.5 liter engines and it is not a high frequency occurance. It has been exaggerated by some to the point where you'd swear it is the same old problem the wasserboxers had. In fact it's not even close.
I think it's fair that they are being extolled by many as being bulletproof. When you take an engine, usually with some tall miles already on it, put it in a 3600-5500 lb Vanagon with a .44 drag coefficient and a huge frontal area, and then run it down the highway at 4000 + rpms and get a good long service life out of it, I think that pretty much qualifies as bulletproof.
David |
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Worms
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2009
Posts: 279
Location: Whangarei, New Zealand
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| Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:32 am Post subject: |
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I have had 3 subaru cars with 280,000 to 310,000 (our current impreza) Kms.
I have had some lower milage ones too. The 2.5 generally only blows a headgasket when it gets hot - because of the big bores, it doesn't have to get very hot though. Often the heater cores in the subaru gets partially blocked from not changing coolant enough, or from using poor quality water, among other things.
The gaskets were also a poor design, but the genuine replacements are excellent, and usually don't need to be touched again.
I haven't ever had one throw a rod, but they have all been well serviced and unmodified.
Here in New Zealand, we have a LOT of used cars from Japan (JDM cars).
It's a lot better now, but many used to have very poor service history and VERY dirty, chunky deposits under the rocker covers - plus the extended idling is bad for the oil and the extra heat causes more issues (even the wiring looms and insulation go hard!).
I run the smallcar sump, and I just slightly overfill it - about 4.2 litres in the sump, from memory - no issues to far.
As Ben has already said - check that oil pickup:
a very small pin hole could suck in a lot of air at high rpms, and the air will be fine bubbles "blended" or "whipped" into the oil - the oil pressure will show fine, but at the bearings, the aerated oil can't support the same load as normal oil.
I think it's just bad luck! |
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