(ADVICE - PLEASE HELP) Sell or Motorswap - My 2005 OBXT Stage 3 baby needs new engine

Hey guys,

My 2005 Auto Tranny OBXT thats been tuned up to stage 3 and the build done in 2009 from everything I learned on the forums here.. finally is needing a new engine Im at 200,000 miles with her and on the fence if I should do the motor swap or get a new car.

She has been meticulously cared for but finally having internal oil and coolant leak and we've deduced its either ringland failure, head gaskets, or etc. But motor is the culprit.

MY mechanic said he can do it for $2000 for the whole labor part of the job. But I must find the motor and auto-tranny also.

IS there anywhere specific I should look if Im in NYC area ?

I was told to be looking for this motor type - EJ255 with d25 heads. Is that correct exactly? Thanks for help

She's at 200,000 miles with lots of new parts and I did the tune with injectors, fuel pump, intercooler, turbo, catback, suspension, shocks, brakes, crazy sound system and audio/security/lighting project and new tires and etc. 200,000 miles and running good just burning oil/coolant and smoke out the tailpipes at idle.

What would I charge for selling her at this point in this shape? Just curious... if I dont drop $4-$5k into her again for a new motor and sell instead As-Is in current state.

Pic below

Thanks for all advice

Just some internal oil and coolant mixing? I’d probably say it’s the headgaskets. If it is then there is no reason at all it needs a new motor. Swap the gaskets get the heads decked out it all back together and have fun.

Honestly don’t know since I personally didn’t look at it. Could always take it to a different place to get a second opinion. Just “it’s the engine” wouldn’t sit well with me since there is multiple things that can break. Headgaskets? Easy ringland? Ok ya that would be time for an engine lol

Guys can you help with a quick question ... my current setup is VF52 turbo on this Outback into an Nvidia Downpipe, then full 3” catback exhaust .., if I wanted to remove the Downpipe and exhaust and keep for my next car ... can I but the stock obxt Downpipe and exhaust on it ? 2.5”. Will it mate up to the VF52?

And the old car will need a retune for the smaller Downpipe and original exhaust. From stage 3 to 2 or something like that.

Just let me know if the size of stock parts will mate up to the vf52. Thanks !

Do you like your OBXT enough to rebuild it? If so, rebuild it right and youll be happy for 200k more miles. On an engine that old, a turbo h4 at that, i bet if you split the case, it would instantly be be out of tolerance, when you bolted it back together for assembly.

If you have $4-$5k and are thinking of parting it out you could consider the revised amount, that much more towards a newer car, a newer Subaru. No wrong option except half-assing the rebuild, then youll have a problem car with more money tied up than its worth, at least if you do it the right way youll have more money tied up than it worth BUT it's fun to drive

Also dont hack it back together and dump it off on some buyer that might be thinking they got a deal on a OBXT Do the right thing.

If you do indeed need a full trans, do all us AT owners a favor and pick this up on the east coast.

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2005-legacy-gt-5eat-w-hexmods-vb-285601.html

Needs a good home. You may qualify.

Do you like your OBXT enough to rebuild it? If so, rebuild it right and youll be happy for 200k more miles. On an engine that old, a turbo h4 at that, i bet if you split the case, it would instantly be be out of tolerance, when you bolted it back together for assembly.

 

If you have $4-$5k and are thinking of parting it out you could consider the revised amount, that much more towards a newer car, a newer Subaru. No wrong option except half-assing the rebuild, then youll have a problem car with more money tied up than its worth, at least if you do it the right way youll have more money tied up than it worth BUT it's fun to drive

 

Also dont hack it back together and dump it off on some buyer that might be thinking they got a deal on a OBXT Do the right thing.

EXACTLY what GEE-OTTO said. I do not, for a minute believe that you would do this based on your description of how you take care of the car and your concerns about it. But PLEASE don't hack it back together and trade it in with the attitude that it's someone else's problem now. I think that everyone on this forum has read the "I just bought the car and it ran great until I was on my way home and the turbo grenaded and wrecked the entire engine" on many more than one occasion.

I just went through this decision myself, my '07 Spec B was nearing 300K and the oil consumption was starting to effect the way the engine ran. So I asked myself, what do normal people do in this situation (I am not normal when it comes to cars)? Answer, it's time for a new car. So are started looking, trouble was I couldn't find anything that I liked better, at least not in my price range. My choices were limited by by two deal breakers, must be RWD or AWD and must be manual trans.

So I doubled down on the Spec B and after a couple of months searching I found a perfect donor, a relatively low mile (130K) '07 Spec B that was totaled due to a hit at the A-pillar. I payed little more than a engine rebuild would have cost and got a much smoother shifting 6 speed and color matched body and interior parts as a bonus.

But the only thing that made this work is that I did all the labor myself (and had a spare car to drive). I have now swapped the full drive train and both front/rear subframes complete. All the lower mile mechanicals have be installed, even the clutch/brake hydraulics and fuel tank. I'm now working on moving over any body and interior parts that are in better shape. Point is, its a ton of work, and if you have to pay a shop to do it, the numbers don't make sense.

Gary

your question is should I put $5+k into a car with a KBB value of $6k? **** no you shouldn't IMO.

Whoa whoa whoa! Who allowed you in here with that common sense?!

Thank you guys so much. It’s been a huge love for me getting this car tuned and built the way I like it. The sound system inside has so much custom fiberglass work and equipment that I enjoy, that it put in at least double the price into the car!

I don’t want to just sell it for $2000 As IS. I’d like to get it working again but my max is probably another $2500-$3000. After that, it’s better to just pull the sound system and some performance mods out and start on another 05-09 era car with lower miles.

If it’s something smaller like a headgasket… I would def do that job! But where can I go in New Jersey to have someone look at that? Does anyone have a recommendation?

If it’s cracked rings on the pistons or something major where the whole motor needs to be replaced then I think it should be sold to someone that can do that job without paying a shop.

Thanks for advice everyone. Been paying insurance and registration on it for 6 months now while it just sits in the garage.

We pulled the turbo out and cleaned it and looks ok.

But another shop said it may be bad, and not sealing properly. Even if it looks ok and has no play.

I would IM Max Capacity and have him chime in. Dude knows whats up.

https://legacygt.com/forums/member.php?u=907

Also the compression #s on the car are 100,100 on drivers side and , 110 and 120 on the passenger side

Those are low compression numbers which is a sign the motor is worn out. I wonder if whoever did the compression test had opened the throttle, but even with the throttle open vs close, I wouldn't expect to improve enough to not be considered low compression. [When I did my 2 stroke boat motor, the first batch was 100-105 with the throttle closed, it went up to 115-120 with it open.]

I’d like to get it working again but my max is probably another $2500-$3000. After that, it’s better to just pull the sound system and some performance mods out and start on another 05-09 era car with lower miles.

 

If it’s something smaller like a headgasket… I would def do that job!

A head gasket still involves pulling the motor and the disassembly of doing a head gasket is not trivial. I would expect your mechanic to add additional labor to the bill for HG. Plus you really should have the heads measured for cam to bucket clearances (and it will likely need them adjusted) and you could need a few new exhaust valves. With the car being salt driven and being 15+ years, can easily eat up your 2500-3000 budget of rust/worn out parts.

What your OB needs is only semi cost effective for a DIY mechanic.

A head gasket still involves pulling the motor and the disassembly of doing a head gasket is not trivial. I would expect your mechanic to add additional labor to the bill for HG. Plus you really should have the heads measured for cam to bucket clearances (and it will likely need them adjusted) and you could need a few new exhaust valves. With the car being salt driven and being 15+ years, can easily eat up your 2500-3000 budget of rust/worn out parts.

 

What your OB needs is only semi cost effective for a DIY mechanic.

So there are different understandings on the subject of compression tests but what I've been told is that the closeness of the numbers is more important than the value itself. I'm no mechanic but it seems to me that one side is reading fine and the other is reading lower. That side is similar between those 2 cylinders. That kind of speaks to the head gasket idea. Again, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. A head gasket job might not be trivial but it's still a lot cheaper than replacing a motor. The real question is whether the OP wants to get rid of the car as is or start the process of removing the motor because once the motor is out its not hard to see what's actually wrong.

OP if you're going to commit to getting a new engine you shouldn't buy one until you've pulled this one and had the mechanic actually look at it rather than just guessing the internals are dead. That's IF.

sounds like your mechanic wants your car. i'd get a 2nd opinion. a new shortblo from subaru is 1800$.

parting out is a pain. both mentally and physically. putting more money into the car is tough.

I see you say NJ.

Easy, contact Mike at http://www.AZPinstalls.com they are in northern NJ. Tell him I sent you.

After reading you only have less the $3000 to put in the car, sell it now and move on.

If you really like the car and it has little rust, it will cost you $6000 to have it done right. Doing it right will give you many years of driving pleasure.

I see you say NJ.

 

Easy, contact Mike at http://www.AZPinstalls.com they are in northern NJ. Tell him I sent you.

 

After reading you only have less the $3000 to put in the car, sell it now and move on.

 

If you really like the car and it has little rust, it will cost you $6000 to have it done right. Doing it right will give you many years of driving pleasure.

9 days later same answer

your question is should I put $5+k into a car with a KBB value of $6k? **** no you shouldn't IMO.

I would IM Max Capacity and have him chime in. Dude knows whats up.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/member.php?u=907

Not even a thanks Max?

Thanks Max! I will sell the car and move on then.

It sounds like head gasket and turbo is needed.

Do you know how to unmarry the Cobb accessport from the car?

I have the software for their racetuner and took the class from Cobb, to do my E-tuning last year.

But back in 2012, it was easy to uninstall one of these access ports and sell it to someone else to use. Must be for 2005 outback XT or Legacy GT.

Now in 2021 it looks like Cobb must do it at their HQs and they charge $325 to divorce it from the car

I just called Cobb, they said for my V2 AP... you simply connect it to the ECU and uninstall it. It will revert the ECU back to the factory map without all my mods.

Then the AP can be used in any subaru model between 2005-2008 (Outback, Legacy, WRX STI)

I think you need to connect the green connectors to remove the MAP then after loading the stock MAP unplug them.

The directions should be on there site. I downloaded the manual for the AP and keep a printed copy with it.

I just called Cobb, they said for my V2 AP... you simply connect it to the ECU and uninstall it. It will revert the ECU back to the factory map without all my mods.

 

Then the AP can be used in any subaru model between 2005-2008 (Outback, Legacy, WRX STI)

Support for V2 AP discontinued and they aren't worth much. Unless you are parting your car out, it needs a tune for your mods.