bluebonnet81

I had to pay the guy to get my car back so it is in my garage now. The engine is definitely seized. I swabbed the inside of one of the cylinders and found a bunch of gunk and particles (see photo). Anybody know what this crap is?

Does anyone know of a replacement motor availability?

The Bureau investigator said that there was a smell of fuel on the dipstick in the fresh oil, and if that was a pre-existing contamination issue that it could break down the lubrication properties of the oil, and could have been a contributing factor. He could not gather any conclusive evidence, so the complaint is recorded, but closed. If anyone is interested in making an offer, I am likely to let the car go. I don't really have a good place to work on the car for an extended period of time, and it will probably just piss my wife off. I will post it in the classifieds section pretty soon, but feel free to inquire.

81 GL

Yes, you can call it an antique, and there is some sentimental value. You are probably right about the value. I might pay someone to do the teardown inspection, and then rebuild it myself, or sell it as is. I am driving my truck right now, so the situation isn't dire. I just want to find out what happened so that there is a fair resolution. I just posted a photo of the car.

The investigator from the Bureau of Automotive Repair is going to check the oil etc. right now. It has a little front fender damage, but other than that it in pretty good shape. Here is a photo of the car getting new tires about a month ago...

He is not claiming any responsibility.

The mechanic said that he has no idea what happened and there were no warning signs, and the only way to tell is to tear the engine down. He said that there was oil in it, and there was no coolant in the cylinders.

I don't think he is the type, but that mistake is still a possibility.

Does anyone know a shop in San Diego that is reputable with old Subies, or should I go to a Subaru dealer? It seems like a good idea to have it towed elsewhere for diagnosis.

I am reluctant to take the car off of his lot because as soon as I do that I then I become suspect of any tampering or subsequent damage. Isn't the mechanic responsible to provide some explanation other than now I need to pay him to tear the engine down ???

What I submitted to the Bureau of Automotive Repair: Mechanic reports engine is seized after his repairs : Since Tuesday 7/9/13 my vehicle (Subaru GL 1981 with approx 84,000 miles) has been in the care of So Cal Carburetors in El Cajon, CA. I drove my car 21 miles from my house in Mira Mesa to the carburetor specialists shop in El Cajon with no difficulty and left it at the shop. This vehicle is a reliable daily driver. The reason I delivered my car here is because the car would not idle without applying a little gas pedal, and smog was due on 7/16/13. I requested that the car be inspected for diagnosis/repair and to be smog tested. Other than the idle difficulty, the car drove excellently. This shop performed repair maintenance and smog including carburetor rebuild less than two years ago for the previous smog period. When I called the shop and spoke to Shawn, he told me that the idle problem is because of a blockage in the carburetor, so the carburetor needs to be rebuilt. He also said that the engine oil had recently been changed, it is probably contaminated with fuel because of the carburetor problem, so the oil and spark plugs need to be changed. I consented, so Shawn's mechanic reportedly rebuilt the carburetor, and changed the oil and spark plugs. He said that he fixed the idle problem. NEW problems occurred... When Shawn called me he said that the car is not driving/accelerating properly after his repair because there is a intake manifold leak so the gaskets need to be replaced. I visited his shop, and paid him in full for the work that he had performed up to that point. Reluctantly I consented to his further repair advise even though this driving/accelerating problem did not exist before he changed the carburetor. He said that part of the gasket replacement is removing all of the engine coolant, and replacing it. More new problems occur... After Shawn's recommended repair of changing the intake manifold gaskets was complete, he told me that he believe's that there is a problem with his newly installed carburetor and that he will not get replacement parts until several days later on Tuesday 7/16/13. He said that he would call me on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning I called the repair shop and asked if the carburetor was repaired and if the smog would be completed. It was at this time that Shawn told me that while test driving the vehicle the engine died while he was driving it, and that it had SEIZED. He said that they tried to manually turn the engine, but that it was stuck. I have not seen the vehicle since before the intake manifold gasket replacement, but am supposed to go to his shop today. I do not intend to pay this company to perform any more repairs. I appreciate any advise on how to proceed from this point. Thank you.

The car is 30 years old, but it is low miles, and has been maintained well. My biggest problem is that even if he did not create the problem, he repeatedly misdiagnosed it, and test drove it to failure. I will post a summary below of what I submitted to the Automotive Bureau.

I brought it in because it needed smog and it would not idle without a little gas pedal since a few days before. I specifically told him this and his initial diagnosis was that the carb needed to be rebuilt, and to pass smog it needed an oil change because the oil was probably contaminated with fuel. He also changed the plugs. It was after that the car was able to idle, but the new problem presented itself that it would hardly accelerate. After that he said that he needed to change the intake man gaskets. Then he said that he thinks there was a problem with his carb rebuild and he would call me in a few days when he got some parts in. Well, a few days came around and he reported that the engine seized. It ran pretty well since he rebuilt the carb a year and a half before. No other problems. Fluids were maintained frequently and well. no leaks.

Thanks, I will do that. I am going to look at the car in a couple hours. He said that he was driving it when it died. After that he said that they could not get it to turn manually from the crank. I do not know if they took the plugs out or not. I am going to look at the car in a couple hours. I will update after that. Thanks for the info on the water port.