Most any legit Subaru owner is familiar with oil loss. One might even consider it the final initiation into being a true Subaru enthusiast. I became acquainted with it starting in 2013, but didn't relate with the hundreds of memes for it until I drove around the country in 2016 with six extra quarts of oil packed in the trunk, which I still wound up having to buy more of two-thirds of the way through that adventure. If it wasn't for my oil pressure gauge, too, things certainly would have turned disastrous: when accelerating between 60-80mph, the needle would suddenly bounce down from normal 80-ish psi to 15-20 psi and back up to float around 40. That became the instant cue to add oil - a whole ritualistic quart every 800-1k miles based on a rapidly drying dipstick. Just imagine if I didn't have the gauge around to warn me... Still, part of me wrote it off as simply requiring purchase of an air/oil separator since my heart rejected the thought of mechanical problems.
Ever since a bad tune in 2012 rendered Matches fairly unstable to begin with, I was careful to not push it. Sure, it wasn't fun driving a performance car at max 4k RPM on any given day, but my car was my happy place and I had no desire to potentially trigger more problems, especially considering my mounting struggles with income despite laboring two jobs by 2014. Working with Honda up in the desert and driving almost one thousand miles each week for the job was excruciating, too, so I took over my brother's old FJ Cruiser as a daily and left Matches to sit in the garage for a small bi-weekly cruise just to shake things loose.
In preparation of this build, my initial goal was to gain a comprehensive understanding of Matches on a fundamental level before buckling down into the nitty gritty and essentially re-engineering him to meet my driving behavior on track. The loss of oil was already a given by 2015, but I hadn't yet driven him enough to fully grasp the extent, and it remains quite possible that a 40-mph accident I got into that year only further complicated things. However, after getting him back from the body shop, and despite a subsequent number of overlooked repairs I was forced to handle myself [that place was incredibly shady], I was still optimistic about getting him into the shape I've always wanted even though I had no idea an actual repair or necessary upgrade would be involved.
When I had hours on end to spare in 2017 due to a spine injury, I read the service manual for Matches from front to back (talk about boring), researched parts and evaluated reviews, methods and speculations throughout the internet and in print. I was full-throttle despite going nowhere, and once capable again of landing a decent job later in the year, I was determined to crack down and pursue it like a pro. This, for me, was not about having a cool car, or about being some chick that wrenches on a car - this was about being a finesse driver with an excellent car, where perhaps both gender and brand defeat the odds? Plus, it was a real chance for me to fully grasp the science of Matches on my own time.
THE BREAKDOWN
My first step was to remove and dissect the engine. I had no other plans or goals at the start since there was no determined proof of any component failure. Based on my prior leakdown registering 8psi loss in cylinder 2 versus the 4-6psi loss in every other cylinder, I already had reason to believe cylinder 2 had its own story, but there was also a viscous layer of oil lining the back of the oil pan so I even considered a leaking main seal or pan, although there was never a stain or pool on the ground. Turbo failure was another potential culprit. I had known about the screens inside banjo bolts potentially clogging and starving the turbo of oil which could contribute to a wasted seal, and it was plausible in causing the excessive blow-by I was seeing in my intercooler. But, there was only one way to find out: part out!
Breaking things down, I was coming across a number of potential failures, but nothing yet that yielded absolute failure. I was able to confirm the main seal was in tact and not leaking, the oil pan was was air-tight, and the turbo seal was in good condition with meager signs of coking. My power steering pump was dead (again... for the 7th time...) and leaking, so the excess oil around the pan was likely blow-back of the steering fluid down the engine since it was also pooled up on the RH side.
Venturing further, I found that two idler pulleys for the timing belt were grinding when spun freely, so they were verging on failure. After removing the rocker covers, though, even my inexperienced eyes were enamored with the clean health of the camshafts and valve buckets. The scoring was so minimal, they embodied what could have amounted to less than half the mileage they actually endured. All the valves and guides measured straight and true, and while I didn't test any of the springs, they were free of any visible wear.
Once the heads were removed, signs of trouble were again narrowing down to cylinder 2. The other combustion chambers were evenly worn, but cylinder 2 had splotched and uneven signs of lean production and moisture embossing the valve heads and spark plug. The piston dome was burnt in a crescent-moon shape, too, indicating excess space to one side. The question then arose as to whether my cylinder 2 bore was out of round since one side of the sleeve was glazed, and the excessive carbon build-up showed hints of oil and saturation. Evidence also appeared of a failing head gasket, so there were a few red flags to consider.
Removing the piston pins and splitting the case, I pulled the crank to find what I first thought was heavy scoring from the counterweights surrounding the main bearings until I learned they were normal casting marks. The thrust bearing was sheared - no telling where those pieces disappeared to - and the rods revealed scorched and melted surfaces on every bearing. The crank itself, though, was in great shape: all the journal diameters measured exactly the same to the thousandth with a micrometer, the amount of scoring was nominal, and plastigauge was in perfect spec from within the case. (The only thing I lacked the tools or chemicals for was checking cracks on the crankshaft, and it wasn't something I considered consulting a shop for at the time. It will go when it goes, I guess... :/ )
When I finally got around to removing the pistons, the first three came out in decent condition with some carbon build-up, faded skirts and worn down oil scraper rings. I was beginning to think that it was just the Subarus-are-oil-eaters aphorism ringing true, and that nothing was in fact wrong with the engine. (...yet.) When I finally pulled out piston #2, though, I noticed a perfectly clean section of the 2nd land while the rest of the piston was covered in thick soot. It was strange since both compression rings were in decent shape, but once I set it down on the bench, that clean piece fell right off and, alas, all the Subaru ringland memes floating in the universe were suddenly met with authenticity.
All in all, I was fortunate enough to not have a "blown" engine. It was certainly on its way, but I may have caught it just in time. I drove around the entire country with a busted ringland, but possibly due in part to my overbearing love and care for this car, Matches likely made it all 8,123 non-stop miles thanks to my obsessive maintenance and driving habits. (Or, perhaps it really was pure luck.) With the increasing loss of oil, I took it upon myself to tear it down early and was able to salvage more parts than had I just waited for engine explody. (I do have a habit of "waiting until something breaks before I upgrade.") Either way, regardless of nearly 90k miles and having quite the oil appetite... it would appear that I had a well-oiled machine.
Now, let's just see if I can really rebuild an engine by myself.
TO BE CONTINUED in PART II
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Until next time…
Maintenance regularly; drive often.
All photos/videos by me, unless otherwise noted.
Life’s obstacles are more entertaining with a sports car.™
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