mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Hey everyone. I haven't been on here for quite some time but thought this would be a great time to jump back on here and share my story. I've been racking up the miles on my 2005 LGT over the past few years. No major issues other than repeated brake caliper issues (seizing pistons). I noticed two weeks ago that my cooling fans came on when I pulled into the garage. The temperature gauge seemed fine. This happened the next day, as well. After some inspection, I found that the coolant overflow bottle was full. I let the car cool down for about an hour then re-inspected. It never pulled the coolant back. When I opened the radiator cap, I could see the core. Ugh. Refilled everything and started her up to see bubbles in the coolant. Either a cracked head, cracked block, or failed head gasket. Hence... the engine pull and rebuild started. I decided to go all the way down to the bare crank due to the miles. I'd hate to have just changed the head gaskets to have a bearing failure down the road. It's a good thing I did. Here is the car with 184,xxx miles on it before the work, then the accessories off, and the engine out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Here is a picture of the Gates racing Timing belt with ~75K miles on it. Not wearing as good as I would have hoped... The 10mm hex bolts that hold the cam cogs on are a B$*CH to get off. The intake cams broke free with a 3 foot breaker bar and a good amount of force. The passenger side exhaust cam came free with a 3/4" Impact running off 130 psig air pressure. The drivers side cam bolt had to be drilled out... it wouldn't budge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 I pulled the intake off and cleaned out the TGV's, injectors, fuel piping, and intake... then installed all new gaskets. The ORIGINAL FACTORY VF40 was removed with ABSOLUTELY no shaft play. This turbo has been running Stage 2 @ 17 psi of boost pressure its whole life (since 3,000 miles). Inside of the heads had a little varnish, but the cams, buckets, and valves all look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Next, I pulled the oil pan and other piping systems off the block. Again, there was quite a bit of varnish, but no sludge or deposits. This engine has been run on Valvoline Dino 5W30 most of its life. I switched to Rotella recently due to dropping oil pressure when cruising. The Rotella doesn't experience viscosity breakdown like the dino oil does. Pulled the heads. DAMN the head bolts were tight. I was scared to break the first few loose. Seemed awfully tight. Pulled the pistons one by one and cleaned them up as I went. All cylinders had minor scuffing of the walls from the piston skirts. Number 2 cylinder had one groove from the skirt that you can just barely catch a nail on. The machinist said he would see what it looked like after honing the cylinders. All of the pistons looked fine, other than the skirt scuffing. No broken ring lands or anything like that. The machinist suggested I put them back in with new rings. Here is a picture of the passenger side (#3) head gasket up close. I think this is where the combustion cylinder was leaking into the coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Here is where it gets interesting.... The oil pump was disassembled and inspected. No notable wear... so it was cleaned and sealed back up to be reinstalled. The block came apart nicely with just a little persuasion. Again.. looked very clean with only a varnish coat. The crank and rods looked good. The machine shop told me today that the crank just needed cleaned up a little bit. New standard main bearings will be needed. Also... standard rod bearings. However, the original rod bearings did show a significant amount of wear. #2 rod bearing was worn through the cladding to the copper layer. Fortunately, it didn't hurt the crank. BUT... here is a close up shot of #5 main bearing. All other mains looked OK (other than expected wear). I can't believe this didn't chew up the crank. The machinist said I was extremely fortunate to pull the block apart to find this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 As of now... the block halves, the heads, cams, crank, rods, and pistons are still at the machine shop. I've been cleaning up parts in preparation of reassembly / re-installation. I will try and post pictures during the build and install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 I'm thinking you got very lucky. Good timing on your part. Your going to be using ARP head studs right ? 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...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 (edited) Was planning on reusing the stock head bolts. I hadn't even considered studs. Isn't that overkill for a basic Stage 2 car? Edited September 12, 2015 by mccorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Did some research and decided to go with studs... looks like a more secure way to fasten the head down... and I want as much confidence as I can get. For $185, it is worth it... Thanks for the suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmaresmk Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 For stage 2 17psi from a vf40 is is low. most run 18.5-19? Might be why it lasted wasn't pushed to its limit lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmoore5 Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 You got lucky avoiding #YNANSB. That bearing looked to me initially as antifreeze damage. That was from my ancient memory. But after researching I think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Did some research and decided to go with studs... looks like a more secure way to fasten the head down... and I want as much confidence as I can get. For $185, it is worth it... Thanks for the suggestion. Your welcome. I wouldn't think of putting one of these together without them. My click here link has lots of good ideas. 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...
mccorry Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) You got lucky avoiding #YNANSB. That bearing looked to me initially as antifreeze damage. That was from my ancient memory. But after researching I think: I think you're right rmoore5. I do feel very thankful I decided to tear it all the way down. Boy, I'd have been pissed to have a catastrophic failure right after doing head gaskets.... I'd say that 185,000 miles might be due to the bearing exceeding its service life. Maybe not. I find it very strange that only the #5 main bearing showed this failure. There was one very small pit on the #3 main.. but nothing like this widespread failure. Edited September 13, 2015 by mccorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMMER DOWN Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I'd say that 185,000 miles might be due to the bearing exceeding its service life. Maybe not. Good luck on your part. To caught that bearing issue in time. I vote for "not" . If so my bearing must be paper tin by now. Mileage:331487 Retired/Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmoore5 Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) Same here, I'm at 269,000 now and starting on a road trip later this afternoon. Edited September 14, 2015 by rmoore5 mileage too low Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanyb505 Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 You guys cray cray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Got the parts back from the machine shop. Bearings, rings, and head studs showed up today. Ready to start putting this thing back together!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 are those the same stock pistons or new ones ? 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...
mccorry Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Same stock pistons. No issues. Machine shop gave me the ok to reuse them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) Gapped the new Subaru piston rings and got them installed on the pistons. Edited September 19, 2015 by mccorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snm95ls Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Just out of curiosity, did you have to file the compression ring end gaps, or were they already larger than minimum spec? Very impressed that you are able to use the stock pistons and just have the cylinders honed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Block is back together and pistons are in as of late last night. Working on installing clutch, oil pump and heads now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Genuine Subaru piston rings were all within STD spec range without any filing. I'm really happy with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRuu Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 what is the paint on the crank you are measuring with the plasti gauge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Yeah... Verified all main and rod bearing clearances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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