22 replies to this topic

[themoneypit]

i picked up this 05 baja turbo, i traded in my harley on it. test drove the baja, looked it over real good, all seemed perfect! so i trailered the bike down, trailered the baja back.

i get home, tape the temp tag in the window, and off i go to cruise around and instantly fall in love with it!! UNTIL 28 miles later, im climbing a hill, the car downshifts and the boost kicks in. i hear a crunch followed by what sounds to me like a bad bearing.... i was right next to my house so i limped it home (bout 1/2 mile) and parked it. did the turbo blow?? it sure is my guess... luckily it has a 90 day warranty (which doesnt kick in for the first 100 miles so the dealer has to cover this problem not the warranty company). just would like some feedback, and i know not to drive it anymore i will have it towed to whatever shop they want me to bring it to. i absolutely love it, just wouldve liked to get more than 28 miles on it b4 its first break down.....

if it is bad turbo, i will DEMAND they drop the pan and check/clean the metal bits from the bottom of the engine, is there anything else i should get done??

Edited by themoneypit, 12 August 2011 - 06:56 AM.

[The Dude]

Timing belt is due for replacement at 105,000 miles. If you have a dealership replace all the timing related components with genuine Subaru parts it will run you over a grand. But then with a little luck, you're good for another 105,000 miles.

[GeneralDisorder]

Pass if it wasn't run with synthetic oil and had regular oil changes. Pull a valve cover off - if it's not immaculant inside there just walk away. These have issues with the oil sludging up and destroying turbo's, gunking up the AVCS control solenoids, etc. There's TSB's about this stuff. Don't buy any turbo that doesn't have excelent maintenance records and/or wasn't run with synthetic oil ONLY.

GD

[bheinen74]

turbos need oil changed every 3000 miles. If this has not been done ALWAYS, (ie no records showing this) then pass, that is for sure not a well taken care of car.....if it has gone past 3k mark on oil interval

There are lots of cars for sale with full records, indicating a caring owner. No records, no deal

[themoneypit]

sounds good. it says it has maint. records, so ill check them out. ill also try and peek in the oil fill cap to see if its clean inside. so these werent prone to h/g failures like other 2.5s??

timing belts i would just replace myself. id never pay the stealership to change them. i would use oem belts of course, and prob toss a waterpump in there and some seals while im at it...

im hoping to look at it this weekend, will post back if i get it, or not.

[WoodsWagon]

Headgaskets were fine on those. There is a problem with an oil filter screen on the banjo bolt that feeds the turbo or the variable cam timing actuator, forget which, but it would fall out of position and block off oil to the turbo. The fix was to remove the screen. Do a search on that. Banjo screen or something should pull it up.

[grossgary]

so these werent prone to h/g failures like other 2.5s??

no.

and prob toss a waterpump in there and some seals while im at it...

tensioner and pulleys are more prone to failure than water pump. a search on any subaru forum will show far more EJ tensioner/pulley failures than water pump. and that has been my experience.

[bheinen74]

The banjo bolt filter/screen attaching the oil supply line to the turbo housing is the culprit. It could gunk/clog with non frequent oil changes, sludging up, and basically causing a turbo heart attack from lack of oil. Most of these occurred about 50-60k miles, and then Subaru under warranty would replace the turbo. BUT.....Read this+++++++++> by the time the problem in the turbo was detected, just replacing the turbo was not enough, as many of the spit up there bearings into the bottom end of the engine. So, eventually, block damage occurs. So, make sure you look at records. If the turbo was replaced, make sure the bottom end was checked for turbo bit damage.

[GeneralDisorder]

It really needs to be stressed that if the engine wasn't run with synthetic and regularly maintained - just walk away. The whole turbo return banjo-bolt screen and the AVCS valve banjo-bolt screen issue is just a symptom of poor maintenance and incorrect lubricant. The screen was put there to prevent blown-up turbo bits from getting into the engine - but proved to be more trouble than it was worth because people here in the US don't seem to understand the need for synthetic oils in turbo-charged engines that experience localised high oil temps that cause conventional oils to sludge up and burn. This is the same basic problem with the VW 1.8T (though it's much more widespread and worse on the VW's).

I have a customer with an '04 FXT - I just had to clean out the AVCS control solenoid on the driver's side because it was sticking and causing the intake valve timing to not retard properly and the idle was all F'd up. I also replaced a valve cover gasket for her and the inside the of the engine is DISGUSTING at 115k miles. She has all the records of frequent oil changes AT THE DEALER because she bought the car with lifetime lube and oil. But she never popped for the added cost of synthetic and now I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before that turbo and her engine just gets so sludged it up can't lubricate itself anymore.

GD

[bulwnkl]

What really needs to be stressed here is to look at the TSB. Not all '05 Bajas are covered by the banjo bolt/screen TSB(s). Mine is not, for example.

My Baja ('05 turbo A/T) has ~123k on it, and runs beautifully. I take great care of it, but have no clue how the original owner, who put the first ~75k on it, took care of it. I have a suspicion it got book maintenance at best (NOT 3k mile oil changes), but stacked on LOTS of miles VERY quickly (lady was in sales). No issues, no troubles, no worries. Depending upon how I'm driving it, and particularly the oil I use, the truck will use a little oil, and I do believe that's coming through the turbo (I've had the I/C off for maintenance before). If I use one specific oil and grade, it doesn't use measurable amounts of oil between 5k-mile changes. I run oil analysis on this truck, and use the best oil and filters for it, based on those analyses. 3k changes are not required in any respect whatever, so long as one tests and uses quality fluids. Renewable Lube is your friend.

[themoneypit]

i havent seen it in person yet, but is the oil filler a straight shot down to the top of the head?? ie, can i look down there with a flashlight and see if theres sludge?? if not, worst case scenario, i could always run a few engine flushes thru it and start using the full synthetic i suppose.. if it hasnt been using it already

i havent driven a turbo baja yet either, are they pretty peppy? or do they suffer from turbo lag? what can i expect to get for mpg's with it (mostly highway drive to work).

thanks again for all the suggestions

[GeneralDisorder]

You can't see down the oil filler - it's twisted around into a strange shape because of the DOHC head arrangement.

Look for evidence of driver's side valve cover leaks - the turbo cooks them.

Yes they have decent HP - I think it's around 220 or so. They are very "peppy" engines. Not a lot of turbo lag. They used a smaller turbo to keep that to a minimum.

MPG will be..... frankly it will be horrible. . If you are looking for a powerful, fun ride - the EJ255 is a great engine for that. If you are looking for mileage - lotsa luck to you. I beleive the rating for them is somewhere around 18 to 24. If you enjoy turbo power you will be lucky to see a consistent 18. Mileage is not why you buy one of these. My '91 2.2 turbo (slightly modified) is lucky to get 16 mpg with the way I tend to drive it.

Oh - and besides the crappy mileage you MUST run premium as well. Further sticking it to your wallet.

GD

[themoneypit]

does a cooked valve cover mean they were running regular oil and not synthetic? or do they all just cook the gasket??

well around town, yeah im sure ill enjoy the turbo, but on the highway, i usually just cruise around 75, so that shouldnt kill the mpgs too bad. running premium kind of sux, since i run it in 2 of my cars already (my new camaro and one of my xt6's).

if i get it im bartering my harley for it, so if it happens, cool, if not, no biggie either. i just dont ride the bike anymore since i got the camaro

Edited by themoneypit, 22 July 2011 - 09:54 PM.

[bulwnkl]

I get a pretty consistent 23mpg in mine on my commute (mostly freeway @ 60 - 75), running QT fuel. In city traffic, it's more like 20, though I avoid the heaviest traffic because of my slightly offset schedule. I know not everyone gets as good with turbo Bajas. When I lived northwards (COLD), it'd go down to 18 in the winter, especially with short trips.

I've put thousands of commuting miles on mine on 88 octane fuel with no ill effects whatsoever. It'll pull timing like crazy if you try to make it work hard with that octane, though. Now that I live where it's super-hot, and no longer high elevation, I put only 91 in it. For commuting, I'm quite certain it'd still run fine on 88, but traffic sometimes dictates that I put my foot in it.

As was said, you won't be able to see inside the engine through the filler. I'm not sure there's a good (quick & convenient) way to see inside, actually. <shrug>

I don't know about the right-side valve cover gasket getting cooked, either, as I don't have that issue. Lest anyone should think I've never worked my trucklet, I have. I used to tow an over-max-rated trailer up into and over the mountains for hours at high boost. The stock cooling system isn't actually up to the task of pulling even max-rated weight, even at ~80 degrees. I had to go to 90% water for summertime towing, and even then I sometimes had to back off. I tried 'alternate' ECU programming to try to combat that issue, too, and while that worked, it had some drivability side effects I didn't like, so I went back to stock.

[themoneypit]

I get a pretty consistent 23mpg in mine on my commute (mostly freeway @ 60 - 75), running QT fuel. In city traffic, it's more like 20, though I avoid the heaviest traffic because of my slightly offset schedule. I know not everyone gets as good with turbo Bajas. When I lived northwards (COLD), it'd go down to 18 in the winter, especially with short trips.

I've put thousands of commuting miles on mine on 88 octane fuel with no ill effects whatsoever. It'll pull timing like crazy if you try to make it work hard with that octane, though. Now that I live where it's super-hot, and no longer high elevation, I put only 91 in it. For commuting, I'm quite certain it'd still run fine on 88, but traffic sometimes dictates that I put my foot in it.

As was said, you won't be able to see inside the engine through the filler. I'm not sure there's a good (quick & convenient) way to see inside, actually. <shrug>

I don't know about the right-side valve cover gasket getting cooked, either, as I don't have that issue. Lest anyone should think I've never worked my trucklet, I have. I used to tow an over-max-rated trailer up into and over the mountains for hours at high boost. The stock cooling system isn't actually up to the task of pulling even max-rated weight, even at ~80 degrees. I had to go to 90% water for summertime towing, and even then I sometimes had to back off. I tried 'alternate' ECU programming to try to combat that issue, too, and while that worked, it had some drivability side effects I didn't like, so I went back to stock.

nice, i could deal with that... 20s on 89 octane... now i just have to see if i could work out this deal and get this thing....

[themoneypit]

i should be picking up my baja turbo on thursday. heading to jersey to get it. their taking my harley in on trade, and as long as all goes well, will be home and driving it thursday afternoon. man i cant wait....

[themoneypit]

so i got it yesterday and already broke down wtf... check the first posting of this thread and read more about what happened.... love the car, not happy about the break down thou...

[bheinen74]

so i got it yesterday and already broke down wtf... check the first posting of this thread and read more about what happened.... love the car, not happy about the break down thou...

We have listed there were risk when getting a turbo. No maintenance records, no deal.

[GeneralDisorder]

Typical of these. Sorry about your luck but we warned you!

GD

[themoneypit]

its all good, its warrantied so it will be fixed and should be good. the car ran great on test drive... hopefully it will be good from here on out. ill make sure to have them check the pan for metal pieces too...

i still absolutely love it, and to me, im kinda glad to be getting a new turbo free of charge while under warranty. im anal about my vehicles, so from here on out it will get only mobil one and 3-4k change intervals.

[themoneypit]

anyone know the part number for the turbo i need?? would like to get a new oem subaru turbo for it

[Cougar]

I suspect that the service folks may go with a rebuilt unit rather than a new one in order to save on costs.

[themoneypit]

nope, brand new OEM subaru turbo , oil line/screens (which are coming out after 1st oil change), pan cleaned/engine flush, was all done early last week. all paid for by the dealer i got it from in jersey.

this weekend it got new plugs, timing belt, idlers, waterpump, t-stat, crank seal, oil pump seal, and rad fluid/filter change courtesy of yours truly . this things ready for the upstate ny commute it will be doing almost weekly starting next month.

I LOVE IT and couldnt be happier with it!