had my 02 WRX in for a 60k service on thursday with a supposedly subaru approved garage...all seemed to go well, good, convenient customer service, etc, so was very happy...

took it out for a drive the day after and noticed a knocking/rattling sound which appeared to come from the engine bay.

it was only intermittent at first, and occurred when i changed up the gears through to 3rd...

i called the garage back who couldnt think what it might be and said to bring it in on monday...

i wasnt overly concerned so i took the car out for a local journey today but after a couple of miles the noise became alot worse and constant, not just present during gear changes...my engine management light also came on at this point...

managed to get the garage which serviced it to have a quick look at it and he said he wanted to keep it in and have a proper look...

the diagnostic tool indicated that there was a problem with the cam position sensor to which the mechanic replied that if that was the issue the engine wouldnt run at all most probably...initially he said it sounded like there wasnt enough oil getting around, but still seemed quite bemused...the sound was very audible with the bonnet up and did appear to be coming from the nearside

then another mechanic came over and said it sounded like my cam shells/shelves??? or possibly the big end bearings...he asked me if it had been sitting for a while which it has for approx 3 weeks since it was last started or run then stated that imprezas were prone to this type of fault...

all the previous services have been at a subaru main dealers...

any ideas anyone...?

cheers,

bri.

 

does the noise go away when its warm? is it a metalic knock or is it a tick?

hhhmm.... it could be another case of the imfoumous bad oil change procedure :-(

theres an argument on scoobynet which says that if you dont fill the oil filter and then build oil pressure before starting the engine after a oil chnage then you can cause oil starvation and bearing failure. can you post a video or sound file?

you have said its from one side, so hopefully its just a stuck lifter. big end bearing failure would be from the centre ish.

 

interesting...tell me more about this bad oil change procedure...?!?

the noise is more of a knocking sound that increases with revs,

i cant get a recording of it as the cars in the garage at the moment...

ill put your idea to the mechanic when i see him next...

cheers,

bri.

 

Cam belt tensioner knocking or crank pulley retaining bolt loose ??

Mick

 

having read some of the threads about big end failures after an incorrect oil change, im starting to think it sounds exactly like that...

im going to find out exactly how the mechanic carried out the oil change before i mention pre-charging the filter...

i want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt but if i need a rebuild because of an incorrect procedure by him, i dont want to be forking out 3k+ or whatever...

 

latest gen from the garage is he reckons its the little end bearing thats gone, which will still need an expensive rebuild...!!!

hes recommended taking it to a main dealer to see what they say...

whens a good time to question him on the oil change procedure...? the more i read about this problem post servicing, the more im convinced this is the issue...

 

i bet he does if it wasnt making that noise before its down to them id ask him that question straight away and see what he has to say then i would say depending on his answer you put it right down tu you if he refuses take him to court

 

Big end every time, never ever seen a little end go on a scooby.

 

what can be the cause of a big end going other than an incorrect oil change...?

is it the kind of thing that wouldve gone in time with wear and tear anyway...?

 

There are many thinks that cause it, oil pump problems, not priming the oil filter, incorrect mapping etc etc etc. in general though the big end bearings will fail, just a matter of when! Ive done re-builds on engines with just 22K on them, main dealer serviced and well looked after!!!

 

thats not very reassuring...!!!

 

Did this service include a cambelt change, or is that at 50k miles on these cars?

 

nope, cambelt was done at 50k...this was after the 60k service

im just struggling to believe that its simply a coincidence...!!!

 

i think another angle of the bad oil change theroy is that the relief vlave can stick just after/during the oil change, not sure. I defo heard something about that from a repspected engine builder on here.

 

cars going up to API tomorrow...had a good chat with david up there and im pretty sure hes going to sort it out which im pleased about...

just need to decide whos going to pay for it now...!!!

 

sorry to hear about your problem mate but even subaru main dealers do not prime the filter and certainly do not dry-crank so i doubt you will have any luck getting the garage to take blame for it as it is not standard service procedure. It is very common to hear about big ends going around 60k and a fair few straight after service. Having read and heard of stories exactly like this i do my own oil changes .... but there is still no guarantee the engine wont go even with these extra procedures during services

it sounds like you're in good hands though with david at API ...
good luck

 

why bother gettin your engine oil changed then if people dont know the correct procedure subaru shoudnt be doing that id sue the **** off that garage 3k engine rebuild id sue subaru or whoever did the change very worried now about changing my oil now as im going to point out all these factors before they touch it and if it goes **** up its down to them

 

yeah it could be just a coincidence, and i was willing to give the mechanic the benefit of the doubt all the way if hed admitted making a silly mistake, but hes since apparently blatently lied to the ServiceStop (company i booked the service through) case handler by saying i told him the car had been left standing for 6 months when i told him it had been standing for the previous 2-3 weeks only...

gloves off time...!!!

 

the take ing the **** that garage take them to court

 

If the garage has followed the the correct procedure to change the oil, and it doesn't say to prime the filter. They have done nothing wrong. I totally agree that by not priming the filter it can cause a small oil starvation problem, and on an older engine this can contribute to big end failure. But that is not the garages fault, this can be argued all day, but is Subaru don't recommend to do it, it can't be blamed on the garage.

 

thats a fair comment, cant dispute that...the fact remains regardless that if the failure is likely to be as a direct result of the oil change, theyre liable...if not, then its down to me...i accept that

 

I'm not taking sides here, just looking at the facts, if the garage followed the correct procedure then how can it be proven that the oil change caused the failure? Although many of us believe that it is best to prime the filter there is no factual evidence to show that if you don't you could get big end failure. There are many cases of big end failures straight after an oil change but that is not hard evidence, just coincidence. If you can find a way to convince a small claims court that it is down to that, I wish you luck, I still don't belive it would be fair on the garage that is following the correct procedue though.

 

maybe the reason Subaru say dont fill the filter is the possibility of unfiltered oil getting to the bearings -- just a thought

 

thats why im having an independant specialist look at it, and if the agency/garage want to have a specialist look at it thats fine too...

im not trying to turn the garage/mechanic over here, and if the specialists come back to me and say 'unlucky mate, its just a coincidence...' then ill have to take it on the chin, but you have to get these things checked out, especially after some of the threads ive read on here...

and without going into too much detail on here, there have been a couple of other things that have happened which have led me to question the integrity of the mechanics...

its all a bit of a sorry mess, and all i want is a fair outcome, whatever that is...

 

Good luck with it buddy, let us know how you get on.
Andy