gbash55 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) Hi, As I was driving across the state, 3hr into my 5hr drive I noticed my turbo quit working when accelerating and with an occasional whirling sound. Long story short I limped it back (2hr drive) to a subaru dealer after o’reillys told me the timing belt slipped/stretched/ needed to be replaced; turns out my oil filter failed and leaked causing the turbo to seize up with little oil left in the car. I’m currently getting quotes of $2500 for tearing down the engine plus a bare minimum of $3500 for the turbo to be replacement (w/o parts). What would you guys do in my position? The engine has close to 132,XXX miles for the 2006 baja and would rather not give up on it. I’ve read around and could maybe dodge the $2500 diagnostic by a quick look at the oil pan but the engine damage is a real concern (drove through the mountains for 2hrs). Should I just get the turbo replaced by a independent mechanic and hope that the turbo was my only problem? Where would you draw the line on fixing a car? (Everything is stock, 2.5L EJ255 H4 Turbo) Any advice is greatly appreciated -Thanks Edited March 13, 2017 by gbash55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) If the turbo failed due to lack of oil chances are you will need a whole engine soon. The issue is that the oil is shared between the turbo and the engine so when the turbo fails the metal from this failure goes directly into the oil pan and is sucked up into the engine and can ruin the bearings in the engine as well. You need to pull the oil pan, cut open the oil filter, and check for contamination. You can't be certain that damage wasn't done just from the loss of oil pressure, and these engines are also prone to oil pickup tube cracks, and ring landing failures so if it were at my shop we would be recommending at minimum a turbo rebuild (~$600), and a new crank, bearings, forged pistons, and a Killer B pickup tube. Typically a build such as this runs between $5,000 and $8,000 depending on what upgrades get thrown into the mix. There are lots of hoses that will be shot from age and heat, it will probably need a new turbo inlet, and there are many opportunities for upgrades and power adders as well. Even if you just get a new short block from Subaru and drop it in you are looking at $5,000 for parts, labor, etc. If you try to cut corners you may as well sell it as soon as it's running again because half measures don't work for long with the EJ25 turbo models. They are too complex and you need a good Subaru performance shop that knows what they are doing or you will leave with a time bomb. It may not look like it, but the engine is identical to an STI - just with a smaller turbo. You own, effectively, a 300 HP turbocharged, AWD rally car that's been slightly detuned and had a body styling change. Make no mistake this is just as expensive to work on as the $35k 2016 Hyperblue STI we put pistons and turbo upgrade on last week. GD Edited March 13, 2017 by GeneralDisorder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 what he said. how much oil was left in the oil pan? did you refill it mid-trip or just kept limping it along that entire 2 hours with low oil? cutting open the filter and draining/testing the oil left in the pan would be a good first step that gives some (the only available) quantitative data rather than just guessing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) Hi and Welcome, Sorry your 1st post here is for such an issue. :-( +1 to all the above. You'll very (very) likely need a new engine....and I don't like used Subaru engines - esp. Turbo'd versions....you (almost) never know how well they were (not) maintained. I'd add that the Baja model seems to be holding its value better than the similar year Legacy GT, Outback and Forester XT (turbo) models due to its rarity. And since you're near the Subaru center of the universe in the NW (Seattle>Portland), you 'might' get more for it as a project for someone else, but don't expect to fix it right and get your $$ back... If you can reuse your Baja's cylinder heads, that'll save a lot, and you'll 'just' need the short block and turbo + the extra items listed above. Otherwise, yeah, whole engine. :-( As stated above, your engine (2006) is the same as in the '06-'13(?) Forester XT, Outback XT, Legacy GT, and WRX - EJ255. So, you might find some other useful info on recommended local shops (including GD's) on NASIOC.com and related Subaru sites. You'll want a dedicated Subaru shop for this repair - not the dealer. GL, TD Edited March 15, 2017 by wtdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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