John Drivesabox Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Picked this little fella up from a guy in Williamsburg, VA. As this is probably my 20th Subaru, and my 4th or 5th Subaru project I'm ready to dive right in. Aside from the front-end being crashed up a bit, it runs like it's got one fuel injector. Tossed the wheels in the trash and swapped on a set of 2012 Impreza alloys and 2014 STI Dunlops. After pulling the front-end off everything frame-wise is straight. Air bags are still intact, and the sensors were completely undisturbed. Hood and fenders are straight; whatever this car hit wasn't that brutal at all. I already picked up the bumper and foam for $70 from a junkyard. And while every body shop in the world would probably advise me to scrap the front cover, I think I'm going to repair this one. I don't get to do body work too often, so this is a good chance to practice repairing plastic. More to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Diagnosis with the motor... Compression and leak-down all good. Doesn't appear to be any metal in the oil, but the turbo is pissing oil into the up-pipe. http://images.craigslist.org/01515_aECeJlcvsgG_600x450.jpg This was installed where the turbo should go. :-) Swapping this out for a VF-52 and a new Perrin up-pipe. Down-pipe and catback appear to all be aftermarket, except for the mufflers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmaresmk Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayInVA Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Ah, so you were the guy who bought it! Saw it on craigslist and was trying to buy parts off of it. He was waiting to show it to someone (you, I assume) before selling me anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTris Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hey, I remember you! Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Check the oil return hose for leaks or cracks. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Yeah, this thing needs a lot of love, but all the parts are there; even the cover for the tow-hook. I'm glad he didn't part it out. Yeah, MrTris, I've been around. I miss the West coast, but the Navy pays me quite a bit to be on the East coast right now. But it's so hard to find a rust-free project on this side of the country. And with their weather, it's either a rust bucket or a hurricane victim. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreday00 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 this looks great wanna see what you do with it. I'm a newbie with a 2005 LGT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingFoz Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Nice, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 So...4 months later it is relatively straight body-wise, but I'm really starting to think I made a mistake taking it to a shop who specializes in Hondas, not Subarus. Once the new turbo (VF-52) got swapped on, and everything was bolted back together the shop was noting low oil pressure, and a rich condition. After swapping and cleaning some AVCS solonoids, and trying to un-stick cam gears, and a few other small parts, the motor was running fine, but then the tranny wasn't shifting properly. After replacing the tranny wiring harness, then the shifting solonoids the tranny was up and running, but the issues with the motor were back. So, as I understand it... There is no oil pressure being read AFTER the oil pressure switch. I don't know enough about these motors, but apparently it's a ghost gripe that only returned after the tranny work was done. They were supposed to pull the oil pan to inspect for particulates (which I asked them to do back in February), to see if something keeps flying around and clogging the oil system. This motor had better still be good, because I don't feel like laying down $3000 for a new short block install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 All said and done I'm currently into this car for just over $2500. Not too shabby, I just hope the repair bill for the motor doesn't come to $4000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Thanks for the update, hopefully the oil pan is clean. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travrach Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Have the banjo bolt filters been removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Pull the pan and check out the oil pick up. They have been known to crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Cool, thanks for the tip. Yes, the filters were pulled and replaced. The old ones were kind of crushed and mangled, which makes me question every bit of workmanship that went into this car. I trust this shop, it's just that Subaru is not their specialty. It's been a stressful troubleshooting period. If the oil pickup cracks, will that entirely starve the crank of oil pressure, or just affect readings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmaresmk Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Starves entirely. Look up killer B. I have the moroso version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Okay, I just spoke with the tech. He's had this car for over 4 months and is definitely ready to get this troubleshot and repaired. It sounds as though the oil pickup is working, as there is oil pressure at the sending unit (where he's reading), which would mean that there is oil in the crank. The problem is there is no pressure in the AVCS/heade, so something is stopping up the oil between the block and the heads. does that make sense? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Also, there is no oil light, another sign that the oil is making it to the crank/oil sending unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJMC Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Okay, I just spoke with the tech. He's had this car for over 4 months and is definitely ready to get this troubleshot and repaired. It sounds as though the oil pickup is working, as there is oil pressure at the sending unit (where he's reading), which would mean that there is oil in the crank. The problem is there is no pressure in the AVCS/heade, so something is stopping up the oil between the block and the heads. does that make sense? Any ideas? Did you check the AVCS feed line and the filter in the banjo bolt? http://www.iwsti.com/forums/2-5-liter-litre-factory-motor/101927-turbo-oil-feed-avcs-line-replacement.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Do you know the build date ? Late 05's and early to mid 06's had oil pick up tube issues. 4 months.... 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Did you check the AVCS feed line and the filter in the banjo bolt? http://www.iwsti.com/forums/2-5-liter-litre-factory-motor/101927-turbo-oil-feed-avcs-line-replacement.html I thought they checked both the banjo bolts and oil feel for AVCS. Its possible they didn't, I'll need to check again. ****, I don't like not having my own parking spaces/garage to do work in. I don't like that I can't just go outside and look myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 Check the oil return hose for leaks or cracks. I think I missed this suggestion the first go around. The iwsti.com link below mentions the same issue, I think. Are you referring to the AVCS oil feed on the passenger side? Or another line I should be looking at. Can I just search "oil return line crack" in the forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travrach Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 How much oil pressure does it have? If it's like 20 psi, replace the oil filter, maybe it's in bypass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 When you say "oil filter", do you mean the engine oil filter? Or the AVCS banjo filter? Will the engine oil filter cause bypass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travrach Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 When you say "oil filter", do you mean the engine oil filter? Or the AVCS banjo filter? Will the engine oil filter cause bypass? Engine oil filter. Yes they can stay stuck in by-pass. I have seen it happen. Only allows oil pressure to go so high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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