SubiPilot

howdy folks, Had a frustrating problem with Subi 2 this past week and after replacing likely culprits I still have a problem of losing 2 cylinders after the engine warms up. While driving the car I suddenly lost 2 cylinders and the Check Engine Light was blinking. Replaced the coil, wires, plugs, cleared a clogged cat, and replaced a fuel injector. It runs great until it warms up and then I lose the 1 & 2 cyliinders. Subi 2 has 290k miles on her and ran like a bear up until this happened... Any ideas or thoughts? Mal

OK... well finally after 3 weeks I was authorized to have a leakdown test performed. 2 leakdown tests performed. Cylinder 1 - 17%, 15% Cylinder 3 - 15%, 12% Cylinder 2 - 10%, 8% Cylinder 4 - 10%, 8% Air could be heard through the Oil Filler tube indicating rings according to my mechanic. He feels there is a problem in the right side (passenger) of the motor. The research I have done states that a new healthy motor should show 5-10% leakage, a used motor is acceptable 10-20%. All cylinders should show the same leakage. Should a rebuilt motor classify as new motor or a used motor? Is it a concern that the right side is almost leaking double what the left side is? The solution is to change my brand of motor oil to Valvoline or Castrol for the next 2 oil changes (6000 miles) to help the rings fully seat.

UPDATE! Without having my mechanic or me perform any diagnostics of any kind, or asking any additional questions... Terry from CCR, who claims to have never encountered this before, is somehow thinking it is a FUEL related issue. Not sure how he has determined this. Mind you it's taken three weeks now to get this much info out of CCR. I guess it takes time to find a cause that doesn't point to a bad motor. Still no info from CCR on how to test or diagnose this. This is how I understand exhaust smoke issues: White smoke - water and anti-freeze entering cylinder and burned with the fuel (steam) Black smoke - excess fuel which can not be burned (running rich), fuel injector issues, fuel pump, carburetor if equipped. Blue smoke - caused by engine oil entering cylinder area and being burned with the fuel mixture, bad seals or gaskets, bad rings or valves. An article I found essentially saying the same as above (notice it's from myhonestmechanic.com): http://www.myhonestmechanic.com/articles/smoke_out_tailpipe.shtml Despite Emily's adamant claims that CCR stands behind their work, I can't help but feel like they're trying to dodge a warranty related issue. Any thoughts?

Hi Emily You and Amanda both told me I was waiting for Terry to return from vacation, now you're putting me off another five days. I'm sorry to hear about Rick, but this is the first I've heard about him, or having to wait for him to come into work, or how that would matter, since the motor is in my car ... in Connecticut. I know you are aware of the problem since I did my best to inform you. Whether you were trying to diagnose the problem or not I wouldn't know, since no one contacted me to ask questions. I'd think diagnosis would require as much input as possible from the person experiencing the problem firsthand. I'm sure even with an injured back Rick could use a telephone. I would expect you stand behind your work since you offer a warranty. There seems to be two issues at hand here: 1) your motor is failing to live up to expectations 2) your customer service is failing to keep your customer informed I hope to hear from Rick, or Terry, or someone from CCR the LATEST next Tuesday. Since I have not heard otherwise I will continue to use this vehicle. As far as advice I seem to get far more from the good people of this forum than the supplier of my motor.

Thanks The Dude, I can fully appreciate a healthy sense of paranoia serves a person well these days...and I'm trying to avoid thinking the worst since the leak issue I had was handled well. I already notified the supplier by phone and have been told I'd be contacted. Then I emailed them and received an email saying this was all noted (I sent video clips showing the problem) and that I would be contacted, Thank You for my patience... you guessed it still waiting to be contacted. I am good at keeping a paper trail so every phone conversation and email has been documented. I'll be giving a full review once/if this is resolved... still hoping for the best.

AWD, tough, reliable, safe! I stick to the 90s EJ22 models.

Best deal I've been able to take advantage of was with Subi1 a '92 Legacy wagon with 110k miles... paid $1300. Put another $1k to get it work ready and drove it 80k miles before it met it's unfortunate end in a ditch.

I think the 2010 design change is hideous and un-Subaru. Looks more like a Camry-Accord-Sonata than a Subi IMO.

Nope... I've been very careful about not overfilling it. Are there different dipsticks available? I have the dipstick that was original with the car.

huh? lost me on this one... the dipstick?

This really looks sweet! I was wondering has anyone tried 15" rims to see what the fit is? And also, does the speedo/odo need to be recalibrated after the swap for the larger rims?

Thanks nipper, yup regular dino oil at least until 10k miles... but having to change oil every 3k miles I don't think I'll be switching to synthetic until after warranty expires... too expensive. If the blue smoke were a constant thing I'd be more concerned but it still seems to be occasional altho I am beginning to be able to predict when it will smoke. Seems that when it idles at a slight incline it's most prone to smoke a bit, and then after 10-15 minutes of idling. Idling on a flat service doesn't seem to cause as much smoke. The valves still seem extra loud and it still doesn't seem to have as much pep as my '97 with 290k miles.... altho it is better than it was during the 1k break-in. I was going to replace the PCV valve and check any of other possible causes while I'm waiting to hear from the supplier.

Thanks nipper... I was checking with my mechanic and he suggested it could be a bad PCV valve (new at install), valve guide/stem seals, or that the rings haven't fully seated yet (4k miles on the motor now). Still waiting to hear back from the supplier on the course of action to take.

Thanks Gary, That's what I thought. I do have two clips now of smoking the blues... First clip was right after my 1000 mile break-in oil change http://pilotcar.tv/040809_subismoke.avi and the second clip from Friday after the first 3000 mile oil change http://pilotcar.tv/042409_subismoke.avi Both of these clips are DiVX avi the second one is just over ten minutes long. The second clip took much longer for the smoke to clear as I was driving very slowly waiting for the load. Normally the smoke clears very quickly as in the first clip. Any thoughts on this? It seems to me that if it were rings it would smoke constantly. This is now making me a bit anxious beyond the costs of replacing the motor... I need this vehicle for work and it is now our busy season. Having this vehicle out of service costs me $300-400 p/day in lost work. Still hoping for a quick fix. The motor is running great aside from the valve noise and occasional blue smoke.

OK... 4k mile update After the valve cover bolt seals were replaced and the O-ring for the camshaft cover... no leaks!!!!! However the blue smoke is still an occasional issue after idling for awhile. Just blows blue smoke for 20 or 30 seconds and then clears up. Someone suggested that it could possibly be valve guides leaking some oil after the pressure builds while idling? I've contacted the supplier and they will get back to me on this. The valves on this motor seem louder than any of my other Subs and several people have asked me why they sound so loud... beats me LOL. I've been told they are hydraulic valves on this motor. Is there any adjustment that can be made on these? Other than occasional blue smoke after idling and the noisy valves the motor is running like a champ.

I replaced the valve cover bolt seals and an O-ring... no gaskets. I've driven it another 300 miles or so since it blew a little smoke... and I've pushed it occasionally since it's now past the 1000 mile break-in....no more smoke. The motor seems to be running better every time I drive it. This motor has hydraulic valves which seem to be a bit louder than any of my other 3 Subis but aside from this it seems to be fine.

I broke the engine in per warranty instructions. Drive it normally. Nothing was said about driving it hard for the first 20 miles but it did say to not baby the motor...so I drove it normally making sure to vary the engine speed and not drive at any set speed for prolonged periods of time.

UPDATE! The company was great...very helpful and I now have an additional 1000 miles on her and all seems to be oil-tight. Replaced the valve cover bolt seals and the right side rear camshaft cover O-ring. So far so good...however... Today I was waiting at the state line for my customer, idling... nose pointed down slightly... when he came in I took off to get out up ahead of him and left blue smoke behind me... wasn't a huge cloud or anything...and after a couple of minutes the smoke was gone. It was about a 400 mile day and I didn't see any more smoke. Is this (hopefully) still part of break-in? Mal

Well in 1000 miles it prolly needed 1/3 qt. I didn't notice any stains in the road or anything, just the small drips you can see in the photos and where it's dripping on the frame. Found this pic where you can see how it's dripping on the frame. http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_09centerfront.jpg The skidplate was wet with oil...can't really see with the light reflecting off it. Mal p.s. just wanted to add that the frame and engine compartment where cleaned before the engine install.

Wow... turned into quite the topic. I expect a remanufactured motor, or new motor, to be free of leaks at least for the warranty period. True, as Gloyale has pointed out, natural processes wear the engine over time and leaks are to be anticipated to some extent...but this is a brand new remanufactured motor. I've really only had one oil leak on my previous Subarus (all EJ22s)... which was a hole in the oil pan. The motors may all have leaked a bit but nothing major judging by how little oil I have to add between oil changes. I try to keep my Subis in top shape with maintenance until retirement (typically 300k miles) and leaks have not been an issue. IMO leaks of any kind at 1k miles are cause for concern. Mal

Thanks for the input. Still waiting to hear from the supplier...but I did have a couple of pics of the top... not very clear I'm afraid, but you can see there is oil on the top of the motor as well. http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_14passtop.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_15passtop2.jpg It was wet on the driver's side too but not puddled like the passenger side...sorry the pics didn't turn out from the driver's side. http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_18drivtop.jpg Hopefully I'll hear from the supplier first thing Monday and have a course of action for resolution. I've already lost 2 mos with this vehicle and need to get it on the road. Mal

I'd rather not say just now since they are a member of the forum and I haven't had a chance to speak with them yet. I'd rather report a resolution than a problem. I did however upload some pics that I took when it was on the lift. Driver's side http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_01drivfront.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_04drivfrontcloseup.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_05drivfrontcloseup2.jpg Passenger side http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_10passfront.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_08passfrontcloseup.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_07passfrontcloseup2.jpg http://pilotcar.tv/1k_service/1K_06passsideview.jpg There was a small amount of oil pooled on top of the engine on the passenger side. It definitely seems to be leaking more on the passenger side. The driver's side headgasket looks like it might be leaking but just a trace on the passenger side. Both valve cover gaskets seem to be leaking. Is that what others see? Mal

UGH... well here I am...thought I was doing the smart thing by ordering a remanufactured motor and I have the new motor blues. Well over the past month or so I've been dutifully putting on the break-in miles, and topping off fluids as needed, anxiously awaiting the break-in so I could get Subi 3 back on the road. Today was the 1k mileage break-in service. Once up on the lift my mechanic immediately saw.... LEAKS!!! ARGHHH!!! BOTH headgaskets and valve covers are leaking oil. I called the company immediately from the shop and got voicemail. Now I'm left with Subi 3 at the shop, waiting all weekend to hear about how to proceed. I hope I can get this resolved soon, I need to have Subi 3 working ASAP. Mal

Thanks for all the feedback. Some good info as always on this forum. I like how the receiver looks on the OBW for the winch, but I would really prefer to use existing holes/hooks and run it under the bumper if possible. Anyone have a chance to see the solutions others have found on http://pilotpole.com ? Thanks, Mal

Well the pilot car industry is more or less made up of independent contractors and pilot car companies/brokers who use their services. A good place to get info on companies in certain areas, as well as state regulatons is http://uspilotcars.com I do know Colorado, Utah and Kansas require certification. Info is available on the state DOT sites. A word of caution tho... times are tough in the pilot car industry as everywhere else. To set up your vehicle for pilot car work will run you 1-2 grand... no guarantees you'll get work either. Best to check the states you're interested in to see how work is before taking the plunge. I get calls and emails all the time from people interested in getting into this business, or pilot car drivers looking for work... the work just isn't there yet this year. Mal