My 01 classic has been drinking oil so i took it to subaru who said it was also misfiring and needed checking over.

After inspecting the spark plugs they found spark plug number 2 (cylinder number 2) was black and that was where the oil was being burnt.

They now tell me that the seals could of gone on the piston or valve and that the worst case senorio would be a damaged piston and even worse than that would be if the piston had scratched the bore meaning i would need a new block,????

How can this have happened??? i take good care of it and run it on optimax and i dont give it much rag very often, its an 2001 UK PPP classic with 32500 on the clock,

Any suggestions on price for each senario and is this right for a car with so few miles on the clock,

Please help cos a big bill is not what i need, i need comforting!!!!!!!

Dave M- Stoke

 

anyone, prices? reasons why this has happened, i never red line it?

 

Subaru in stoke want £580 just to take out the engine and inspect if its the piston seal or valve seal, thats before parts and repairs!!!!!

It aint like it dont need doing so im in trouble

 

Its out of warranty so take it to someone who know the engine, not to people who are 'experts' cos theve got a certificate and contract with the supplier

Ring david at API or another repitable specialist.

Simon

 

If its an engine out job it will cost quite a bit where ever you go. Api have a great reputation and rebuild many impreza engines.

 

did they do a compression test?
have you had clouds of smoke coming out from the exhaust?

 

thats what I was thinking, did't you say its been using that amount of oil from new ?


phone API

 

The car was using loads of oil and it was smoking a bit out the back although it was nothing really bad, just seemed to smoke a little more than usual.

The compression test is due to take place today or tomorrow, then i will know more,

The car used about 4-5 litres of oil since its service in september,

 

Thanks all for recommending APi

Dave M UK sorry mate but it won't be great news - looks like you've melted a piston crown through det and the oil is coming up past the rings.

Oil use such as you have, is not an indicator if an engine in good health.

Give me a call if you wish and l'll talk you through the options. We'll be cheaper overall than a Subaru dealer with their monkey mechanics, but to fix your problem is not a simple fix.

Good Luck - kind regards - David

APi Impreza / APi Engines
www.apiengines.com

 

Hi Dave, good to hear from you as you know what your talking about.

The car is at a local garage right now with a guy i know and trust.

I know its going to be a big and expensive job but can you shead any light on what causes this to happen,

as i have said before the car only has 32500 on the clock, i have owed it since august last year and only fill it with optimax and i never abuse it, i drive it quick now and then but would never thrash it or red line it, its a 2001 classic so should really be performing at its best with the milage its done and the fact its only 5 years old,

I just dont want it to happen again in another six months, any idea how it could of happened??????

 

The MAF is always a good starting point on that model car. It's a well known weak point and will wreck the engine if it fails. Probably worth doing an ECU check before the battery is disconnected to see if there are faults logged on the system.

Good Luck - keep in touch, David APi

 

How would i be sure about the MAF, if it is true that a broken MAF can damage the engine then my first perceptions of the imprezas boxer engine have changed from it being a great engine to what a pile of tempromental gay ****e,

Is it worth replacing the MAF? The car is in the garage now and i doubt they have the capability to check the ECU for logged problems, can a MAF really do this much damage?? if there is no way of telling when its on its way out then surely every impreza owner is sitting on a time bomb????

 

the boxer engine is a great engine. Its just that sometimes components fail which can cause issues with engines. It can happen to any car running with a maf, its just that certain years of car the mafs werent as good as previous/later years

A crude way of seeing if it is faulty (not 100%) is to disconnect it with the car idling. If it doesnt stall then the chances are the maf is faulty.

 

no more monkeys than the baboons who think they are better!

 

I have seen a few instances of new age WRXs consuming oil. The later cars have longer service intervals, and perhaps many people should consider that they give their car "heavy" use as descrbed in the owners manual. Sticking rings, in paticular the oil control and second compressing ring mean lots of oil coming past the top ring and into the cylinder.

The first thing you should do is a compression test, I suspect that it will not be that bad at all. If that's the case it's more than likely that the problem is gummed up rings. Unfortunately I don't know of any magic additives that can clean up the rings, so the likely fix is going to be a strip down and either new rings or decoke the old rings.

I wouldn't subscribe to the 01 MAF being weak, its the same part as used to the current day, and they are whole lot more robust than the 99/00 parts. A specialist with ODB or select monitor tools should be able to determine if the MAF is toast, as the fuel correction will be on the high side.

It will not have a hole in the piston by the sounds of it, it would be VERY noticable.

Paul

 

Thanks for suggestions guys,

The results from the compression test are as expected, all clynders are giving correct readings except number 2 cylinder which is way down meaning subaru were correct and i aint just got a problem with a sensor or a bug, also my guy at the garage has had a quick look at the piston with a tiny camera and it looks to have no damage.

So it is looking more and more likely to be a problem relating to the valve, either a seal has gone or the valve itself is damaged, either way the engine is coming out next monday so i will know more then,

Please note the car is 2001 but is a classic, not a bug eye.

Thanks, dave m uk

 

quite possible engine is as david describes then. How down is "way" down?

Paul

 

i expect the rings have broken up by the sounds of it.

 

Paul, it's a classic this car just registered late in 01. So it has the rubbish MAF.

David

 

I say !! That's a bit steep !! been called many things in my life but never a baboon before - congatulations.

Baboon, APi Engines / APi Impreza
www.Baboon.com

 

Surely it must be piston/rings as ive never known a valve to show bad compression unless the thing is bent or its so loose that its rattling arround.

Simon (higher order ape)

 

Its the clyinder that showing low compression so it could still be a piston seal although we wont know till next monday when the engine is taken out and opened up.

The piston has been looked at in a fashion with no obvious signs of damage so its likely to be either the piston seal or valve seal, or a bent valve, any 3 really, bets on if you want and i will let you know exact problem when its opened up,

Thanks, dave m uk

 

i'm going with the rings broken up

 

Im going put me money on a worn or broken valve seal then, im tempted toward a bent valve but i feel thats a bit extreme

 

Don't go getting red in the face over it David!

We won't be able to tell whether you're coming or going

 

No need to go bananas about it

 

When I go out to the restaurant I usually order a mixed gorilla. Boom Boom

That's enough you can all stop now.

David - APe, Sorry! APi.

 

don't give up your day job david!

 

well guys we were all wrong, number 2 piston has melted, scored the bore and now i have been quoted at around £1500 to repair it

Dont care what anyone says, imprezas are ****.

Whats the point of having a decent car that goes fast if it blows up, i have a citroen AX as a run about car and although it aint that quick it gets me from a to b unlike me subaru thats sitting in a garage with its engine out.

Any one wnat to buy my car???

 

Timing belt broke on my ax at 28000 miles (out of warranty of course) :P

Thats bad luck, hope you get it back soon and are trouble free for the next 5 years (at least)

Simon