2012 Forester X spun rod bearing

6930 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by stan_t, Jan 28, 2014

Pravus2112

Discussion Starter · Jan 28, 2014

Hey guys, don't normally post on forums much, but I figured I'd post my recent adventure as more of an FB25 "FYI" type thing.

As stated in the post title, I have a 2012 Forester X. It's basically a commuter car, but I live in the Foothills of California in a town which may as well be sponsored by Subaru as everyone here seems to own one. I have @ 82k on it, and it's been a great car. I change my own oil (M1 0W20, OEM filter), fluids, etc...and have never even come close to the 7500k interval (maybe 5500 max). Anyway, two weeks ago it spun a rod bearing (#1 cyl). Luckily I have an extended warranty on the car (7yr, 100k) through Zurich.

In a nutshell, I took it to the local Subaru dealer and Zurich paid for a new shortblock. I also had the dealer flush tranny/diffs and refill, and also put on a new serpentine belt. I talked to the mech who did the teardown and rebuild and he showed me the bearing (scored bad, but everything else looked brand new...crank, heads, cams, etc...). The cylinders also looked good, some carbon build-up in the middle but none on the edges. I typically use Chevron, and will throw in some Redline Fuel System Cleaner every once in a while, so it's good to know that it's keeping my motor nice and sparkly.

The odd thing was when I was talking to the service guy when picking it up. He mentioned that it took a couple of extra days to get the shortblock released from SOA. His counterpart piped up with "they are holding on to them for the newer Foresters". Not sure what that means, but his impression was that SOA were "reluctant" to ship it to them.

Anyway, tally up another FB25 Forester with a spun rod bearing. I don't ever recall the oil being really low, and never got any lights. It just kind of started tapping. Hopefully this doesn't develop into a pattern...

Cheers,

~A

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devildogsubie

· #2 · Jan 28, 2014

Pravus2112 said:
Hey guys, don't normally post on forums much, but I figured I'd post my recent adventure as more of an FB25 "FYI" type thing.

As stated in the post title, I have a 2012 Forester X. It's basically a commuter car, but I live in the Foothills of California in a town which may as well be sponsored by Subaru as everyone here seems to own one. I have @ 82k on it, and it's been a great car. I change my own oil (M1 0W20, OEM filter), fluids, etc...and have never even come close to the 7500k interval (maybe 5500 max). Anyway, two weeks ago it spun a rod bearing (#1 cyl). Luckily I have an extended warranty on the car (7yr, 100k) through Zurich.

In a nutshell, I took it to the local Subaru dealer and Zurich paid for a new shortblock. I also had the dealer flush tranny/diffs and refill, and also put on a new serpentine belt. I talked to the mech who did the teardown and rebuild and he showed me the bearing (scored bad, but everything else looked brand new...crank, heads, cams, etc...). The cylinders also looked good, some carbon build-up in the middle but none on the edges. I typically use Chevron, and will throw in some Redline Fuel System Cleaner every once in a while, so it's good to know that it's keeping my motor nice and sparkly.

The odd thing was when I was talking to the service guy when picking it up. He mentioned that it took a couple of extra days to get the shortblock released from SOA. His counterpart piped up with "they are holding on to them for the newer Foresters". Not sure what that means, but his impression was that SOA were "reluctant" to ship it to them.

Anyway, tally up another FB25 Forester with a spun rod bearing. I don't ever recall the oil being really low, and never got any lights. It just kind of started tapping. Hopefully this doesn't develop into a pattern...

Cheers,

~A

This is the first ive heard of a spun bearing in these engines. Also watch out as someone is going to tell you that Mobil 1 is the cause lol.

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Blue Fox

· #3 · Jan 28, 2014

devildogsubie said:
This is the first ive heard of a spun bearing in these engines. Also watch out as someone is going to tell you that Mobil 1 is the cause lol.

There's good reason we do. Not the first time I've heard of a spun rod when people exclusively use Mobil 1. But since I'm not the one that tore down the engine, I can't say or even speculate as to what caused the failure. But I have experience with Subaru engines and spun rods (and both used Mobil 1). But, take that as you will.

In fact, there's a trashed STi block sitting in my garage with a spun bearing that primarily used Mobil 1. Hmmmmmm.

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Inactive_131113

· #4 · Jan 28, 2014

Problem with the Mobil1 theory is that it is the most common used synthetic oil on the market. I would say this is due to oil consumption like all the others.

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schan1269

· #5 · Jan 28, 2014

I exclusively use German Castrol.

Mobil shearing earlier than other oils has been common knowledge for...like, ever.

The only people I know that use it are drag racers that tear their motors down all the time anyway.

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Pravus2112

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 28, 2014

I've heard various grumblings about the M1 thing as well (on here and on BITOG as well), which is why I asked both the mechanic who tore it down and the service manager. Both said it wasn't the fact that I used M1. They seemed to think it was a good oil actually.

I'm inclined to agree with Burwood69 that it was prob a oil level issue. We'll see if I have any probs with high oil consumption with the new shortblock.

It was pretty amazing that literally the only thing that "appeared" to have suffered damage was the #1 cyl bearing. Everything else was immaculate. But hey, those shavings gotta go somewhere right?

Cheers,

~A

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Blackheart

· #7 · Jan 28, 2014

It was either Mobil1, or, the Polar Vortex hitting the Midwest and Southern States.:icon_rolleyes:

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bluesubie

· #8 · Jan 28, 2014

Blue Fox said:
There's good reason we do. Not the first time I've heard of a spun rod when people exclusively use Mobil 1. But since I'm not the one that tore down the engine, I can't say or even speculate as to what caused the failure. But I have experience with Subaru engines and spun rods (and both used Mobil 1). But, take that as you will.

In fact, there's a trashed STi block sitting in my garage with a spun bearing that primarily used Mobil 1. Hmmmmmm.

Let's not confuse WRX and STI owners, that are probably running the wrong oil grade for their application, with using Mobil1 0W-20 in an FB engine.

Yes, Mobil1 is the number 1 selling synthetic oil in the world and M1 0W-40 is ideal for Subaru turbos.

-Dennis

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stan_t

· #9 · Jan 28, 2014

I doubt it was a problem with type of oil, rather lack of it. Comparing to STis with spun bearings isn't completely fair as their problem is often detonation/preignition which is hell on bearings.

Stan

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