kevschu

So, long story short, My MY04 FXT is losing ~1/2 Qt of oil every 1,000 miles. It was not visually leaking anywhere, wasn't blowing blue smoke, no oil in the coolant so i took it to the dealership, they did a 100pt inspection on it, and a leak down test and concluded that i need new piston rings.

They quoted me $5,800. They suggested that i get a new short block, timing belt tensioner and a couple of other things.

They said i should get a whole new block because the chances that new rings fixing it themselves is low due to the car having 142k miles on it.

So, before i dish out $5,800, i wanted to see what others thought, and some other opinions.

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

You could buy a complete, better than stock rebuild from SSI Subaru Specialists for HALF that...

Everything but the block heads and crank would be NEW

Stealerships are just that

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stan_t

^^? $5,800 for a short block with labor isn't that bad.

Agreed on new OEM short block vs. fixing the old one. Better pistons would be great, but that adds extra $$$ to the final cost.

Of course, you could just keep driving it as-is -- $5,800 worth of oil is a loooot of oil lol.

Stan

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Shocks > struts.

trailangel

What kind of oil are you using?
I would go to the next heavier grade of oil and see how it does.
Like Stan T says "$5800 buys a lot of oil!"

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TrailAngel
2010 2.5X 5MT

kevschu

Thread Starter

Currently using 5w-30 synthetic. just cant afford to dish out 5,800 right now, it isn't losing it so badly that it has to be done right now. Was hoping that i wouldn't have to replace the block. figured new rings, maybe some pistons and some machining would do it.

OldGoat38

Unless there's blue smoke out the exhaust pipe or scary noises from the engine, there is no way I would rebuild the engine just because it uses a quart per 2K miles. Just keep on paying for that oil - which works out to around 0.3 pennies per mile.

guroove

^ Agreed. There's still a lot of life left in that motor. I drove for 2 years with my motor consuming a quart every 700 miles until it finally let go. Even then, it probably still had a bit more life left in it, I just figured it was time when the motor started to get hiccups because of it.

Did your leakdown test show one cylinder being really bad, or was it marginal on more than one? There is a chance that you just have lots of carbon buildup on your pistons and valves.

Also, I'd put something more stout than 5w30 in it. Look for HTHS > 3.5 for these motors. Rotella T6 5w40, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel / Truck 5w40, Penngrade 1 10w30, Castrol GTX 10w40, Rotella T 15w40, etc. should all reduce oil consumption.

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2005 Obsidian Black Pearl XT w/4eat

wtdash

+3

- that's not oil consumption that's worth your worry. Even Subaru will tell you it's not excessive. When you get to 1 quart every couple hundred miles, then you have an issue.

If they did a LD and compression test, what were the #'s? They should've recorded them and you can let the smart guys on here review that info.

Start saving now for a new block or just have yours rebuilt w/forged pistons....and making friends w/a local Subie mechanic who can do the job for <$2K....like mine.


GL,
TD

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2004 FXT

kevschu

Thread Starter

I didn't have time to get on their case when i picked the care up, but they didn't give me any numbers. Yesterday they told me it wasnt that serious but a new block is recommended for the fix.

Then when i go in today during lunch to get it they tell me it should be done in the next couple of months, etc. When i asked for the tech sheet they said they didn't have one, they just went through everything and everything checked out except for the rings. They did tell me it was on the driver side pistons though.

All i got was a receipt saying they looked for an oil leak, did a leak down, and suggest a new block.

wtdash

Go read up on the STi EJ257 block- the '04-'05 Forester EJ255 is the same - and you'll see the #4 cylinder (back of driver's side) is prone to the piston's ringland cracking.

But I reiterate, your oil consumption is nothing, as you described it. My car was still drivable, and didn't smoke when my #4 was bad...but was using 1 Qt of oil every few hundred miles.

TD

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2004 FXT