CarlJA1960

In September 2020 I bought a 2006 Hawkeye Impreza WRX SRI Type Uk. Since then I have had several minor issues with it which I've been able to deal with. Then... Because of lockdown I had never done a long trip until last week. Due to a family issue I had to use it on a 500 mile round trip. It has 91K on it. I had concerns about the oil consumption before but as my Focus was off the road until this week I had no choice. So I checked the oil before the trip and topped it up to full.By the end of the drive I rechecked the oil level...and it was below the dip stick. I topped it up again and by my return home when I rechecked it, it was below the dipstick. The car is using synthetic oil and super unleaded. The oil warning light has not illuminate with the engine running. No errors come up on scan and the main warning light is off with engine running. There are no obvious leaks in the engine bay and nothing seems to be leaking onto the drive. There is however soot in the tailpipe which the car wasn't doing before as it was polished. There seems to be a very light blue grey smoke on startup which again it wasn't doing before. Also when I first bought the car I didn't notice any noise from the dump valve it is now very noticable. The car had an mot test in january which it passed with no issues on emmisions. I've got no idea where to start....

nicam49

I suppose you can start by taking the plugs out and seeing if they're covered in oil - the oil seals in the rocker covers might have gone at that mileage. Then do a compression check on the cylinders while you've got the plugs out. Look behind the cambelt cover-any sign of oil - which might mean the cam seals are leaking.. Thats about it on my knowledge, hopefully someone else on the forum will respond soon.

stockcar

are you keeping the oil level between the 2x drill holes or using the 'notch' higher up as the top level (incorrect) as this in itself can cause oil use / loss.......

unlikely to be external leaks / selas gone unless you have puddles everywhere!!

the 2.5 can be prone to heavy oil consumption and would have to be monitored / logged correctly to identify the reasons

NOSSY_89

Check/replace your PCV valve.

CarlJA1960

It's up to the F. thanks for that though because I never noticed the notch or the hole before... On both trips it has dropped the level to below the diptick. There seems to an awful lot of oil missing with no obvious leaks. There is soot in the tailpipe which wasn't the case as I been polishing it.

CarlJA1960

Thanks. That was one thing I did suspect, I'm waiting for a delivery.

Gambit

iTrader: (6)

Clutching at straws with pcv valve

ST-X

Had one we worked on which was drinking oil like this and it was cracked ring lands on three pistons. Several litres in 300 miles basically. Rebuilt it and then the big end bearings went. I'd brace yourself for a big bill, which is likely with these 2.5's, and then if it is something minor (very unlikely) then you'll have a nice surprise.

CarlJA1960

I'm expecting it to be expensive.Cars normally are. At least I'm retired so I don't have to get to work so there is no time pressure, and I still have my ST170 and my wife has a Jeep. Strangely the the last fix was only @ £20.00. Ring failure is one of the other things I suspect. The weather here still isn't great so it's going to sit in the drive for a bit.

CarlJA1960

Fingers crossed I've got an E bay delivery pending. That's where I'm starting anyway.

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Would you forge the engine if needed a rebuild? Or replacement engine? Seen a few go down the 2 litre route.

CarlJA1960

I'm not sure yet. I need to find out what the problem is first. About 30 years ago I did rebuild a boxer engine in the form of an Alfa Sud 1.5, the engine survived but the rest of the car rotted rapidly around it, in the end it grenaded a drive shaft in a supermarket car park. Bottom line is how much more expensive our Goverment can make life and how far the bank of England can raise intrest rates. So cost is a major factor I need to negotiate a budget with my wife when I know what ballpark we are in. Hopefully the PVC will be arriving soon, so I can rule off a cheap option.The other problemette is I need to keep the car in a running state for immediate future as we borrowed a digger off my Father in law to do some landscaping at the back.It's going to be an ordeal to move the car onto the front lawn and back as the driveway is only just wider than the width of the car and of course on a slope. Plus I still have to pay out for some work on my ST170 which is my main car. In an ideal world I'd like to rebuild it with a modest power hike. But like I say it's all down to how big the problem is and budget. I haven't even looked at it properly yet I just parked it and walked away untill yesterday, when I pulled the air intake to get a better look into the bay and no sooner did I start than the rain arrived. I did notice one of the HT leads is a different colour (why not change them all? ). The weather isn't that great here and I have to work on it outside, but we do have a cabin once / if I need to pull the engine and strip it.

stockcar

HT Leads?? its a coil direct on plug system...........

CarlJA1960

My ,incorrect, description I did grow up with old tech (Mini 850,slidey windows, MG Midget 1500, Alfa Sud 1.5, TR7 FHC, TR7 DHC, Vauxhall Carlton 1.8 (urrgh), Sierra 2.0 GTI, Astra Mk2 1.6 (urggh), Astra Belmont 1.6 (urggh), Golf GTI Mk2 16 valve, Sierra 2.9 XR4X4, Vectra 2.5, Focus ST170 & Impreza) the older ones with points, distributors and carbs. Three of the leads to the coil pack on the plugs are black & look origional 1 is blue and isn't. I've never done any work on a coil pack, So far..

CarlJA1960

Can you still get things like gaskets through Subaru I'm going to need things like a gasket for the divertor valve on the TIMC. There's a dealer just opened in Warrington. Or is there a better place you know for things like that?

stockcar

easier and cheaper to avoid the dealer...........

nicam49

Can a cracked piston ring be detected by a compression test?
Or in other words.. Will a cracked piston ring result in lower than normal compression?
Else, is the only way by stripping the engine down and taking a look?

CarlJA1960

Thanks for that.. I've been using E-bay so far. Any recomendations for a specialist.

ST-X

It's not actually the rings which tend to fail but the grooves they sit in, especially in the 2.5 as the skirt is already pretty thin. Not sure whether a compression test would pull it up for sure but I imagine it would. You may be able to shove an endoscope down into the bore with the plugs removed to see if there's any sign of scored walls or odd bits on the pistons. If you're after parts then I recommend ImportCarParts, they're amazingly helpful with stuff and have a plethora of all the random bolts, nuts and gaskets etc. Much cheaper than the dealers too although I do find my local dealer pretty helpful, just a bit expensive!

CarlJA1960

Thanks many for that. I found Ford are not always the most helpful people in the world locally.,A an aside many years ago I bought a Kawasaki Z1B, after an oil change during my ownership I noticed bits of metal in the oil. After pulling it apart all was not what it seemed. Someone had put in a Yoshimura big bore kit in it and the piston skirts were actually disintegrating. Not helped by my my supposedly been to colledge to train on motorcycle mechanics brother having mis set the ignition timing. In the end it was stupidly expensive we are talking 1983 and a Yoshi head gasket alone was over £80.00 I was a filing clerk so it had to go.

NOSSY_89

Wasn't trying to be doom and gloom, seen non subarus with a blocked PCV valve or equivalent causing oil consumption and I lost a subaru engine to a blocked pcv valve. If loads of oil is getting past the rings due to failure I would suspect a compression test could highlight it.

1509joe

iTrader: (2)

Leak down test would be better.

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

ICP and advancedautomotive are both on eBay and have there own websites. Both good for gaskets etc.

1509joe

iTrader: (2)

Alyn @ AS Performance 01914103770

CarlJA1960

With the air box out, the bolts were only hand tight. I can see that it doesn't go to the coil pack. So O2 sensor resting on the cylinder head.

johno01

hello mate, as your in Runcorn I’d recommend giving adgespeed in irlam a call for any Subaru work you need doing. I’ve been using him for over 10 years now and he’s a top guy 👍👍

not many people I’d trust with my pride and joy but you can rest easy with adge 😎

Don Clark

It's clipped to a bracket attached to the coil pack to keep it away from the exhaust.

CarlJA1960

Not in my car, which why I was confused as to one blue wire looking like it was heading for a plug. It's been routed inside the lead to the coil pack, which will keep it in close proximity to the head. There appear to be two white plastic clips on the wire and it feels like a small hole in the chassis, but it looks like it's not designed to fit in there. I haven't had a chance to look properly as on top of a pretty bad Month we had to take one of our Maine Coons into the vet today for an unplanned overnight stay which cut short any car work.Thanks for the schematic.