B00GNISH Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Hi all. I've owned my first Subaru for only a few months. My previous car had the tranny fail and I was able to find my Subaru for cheap. It's a 98 Legacy GT with 153K on it. I've noticed since I've had it that the car burns a lot of oil. Yesterday, I was driving through town and noticed that a knocking sound started and it got progressively louder as I drove and only when I was hitting the gas pedal. I went to Grease Monkey to get topped off since my oil light came on and the sound seemed to subside afterwards, but after a few miles, it started again. After it sat for about an hour, I had to run to the bank and while driving, the knocking started again, got pretty loud, and my car just died on the road. It wouldn't start up and luckily I was on a hill and only a few blocks from my house so I was able to coast it home. After sitting a while longer, it would start, but with that same knocking sound. Its definitely coming from the top/front of the engine and mainly near the belts. Any ideas what I'm dealing with here? I'm hoping to avoid a huge bill, but with the luck I'm having lately, it's probably something major. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks! Edited April 4, 2012 by B00GNISH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) The oil light in a Subaru doesn't come on until you are down to at least 2 quarts below full. That's half of the total capacity of the engine. That knocking noise is most likely a rod knock. And since you drove it until it died, the probability is that you spun a rod bearing. Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it's most likely that your engine is toast. However, since you didn't seem to hear the noise constantly, I am hopeful for you. As a person new to Subarus, I will tell you what I tell everyone with their first Subaru: be fanatically religious about oil changes and levels, and NEVER, EVER, under any circumstances, let it overheat. A tow is a lot cheaper than a new engine. That said, your best bet is to swap in a '95 EJ22. Much more reliable, easier to work on, and less expensive overall. (Oh, and put a new, Subaru Genuine PCV valve on your new engine.) Emily Edited April 4, 2012 by ccrinc addition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00GNISH Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Go figure. Thanks for the insight. How much cash do you think we're talking to get it back on the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 # 1#2 rod ? or coged idler pully on timing belt put a manual gague on it and check oil prehure min 10 psi hot at idle should be 15-25 hot at idle if below thiss needs berrings. I whould sugest geting a 2.2 short block and put your heads on it 2.5s had weak bottom ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00GNISH Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 So either way, I'm screwed, right? ...and I'm most likely looking at a couple grand to get back on the road then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Go figure. Thanks for the insight. How much cash do you think we're talking to get it back on the road? If you can find a good used EJ22, how much depends heavily on where you are. I hear people on here claim they can get EJ22 engines all day long for $100-200. In Colorado, they're more expensive. If you can do the labor yourself, you'd probably spend a total of about $400 with new seals, etc. I'm sure more people will chime in. Incidentally, I don't agree with Ivan. Just use the entire 2.2 engine. Much more reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00GNISH Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thank you very much. I live 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, so if anyone knows of a place/website that I can get an engine anywhere near that price range, I would be forever indebted to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 yes but he has heads already i like the 2.2 heads but he could save money buy just buying short block and skip the check engine light delemia and he dosent need a intake ect its ok none agrees with me anyway lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Davebugs lives in Pittsburgh, he knows the local places, but I don't know if hes up for doing any work on cars these day. You might get in touch with him and ask. He might even have a good engine, he had a bunch of Subaru parts and parts cars at one point, though he has been trying to sell everything off lately. You can also search on Car-part.com for an engine nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thank you very much. I live 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, so if anyone knows of a place/website that I can get an engine anywhere near that price range, I would be forever indebted to you. Check out http://www.car-part.com/ and search. It looks like there are several under $500 in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The oil light in a Subaru doesn't come on until you are down to at least 2 quarts below full. That's half of the total capacity of the engine. Emily Oil light doesn't come on when you're just 2qt low. There's no level sensor. The light comes on when there's less than about 4psi of pressure. If you get that low pressure while you're driving the car, it's a death sentence. It's cooked. It shut off on it's own because it overheated and seized. Good thing is engines are cheapish and easy to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Oil light doesn't come on when you're just 2qt low. There's no level sensor.The light comes on when there's less than about 4psi of pressure. If you get that low pressure while you're driving the car, it's a death sentence. It's cooked. It shut off on it's own because it overheated and seized. Good thing is engines are cheapish and easy to replace. No, there's no sensor. But, it's a fairly well known circumstance that the oil needs to get that low in order for the light to come on. I postulate that the extreme low level correlates to the low pressure due to obvious lack of fluid to lubricate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 The only time I've seen the oil light is when I was well over 3 quarts low. That was a long time ago... I had a bad oil leak and was a teenager. That oil light came on a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00GNISH Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Thanks everyone for all of your help, especially davebugs. My dad was able to find a 95 2.2 in my hometown with 70K on it for $575 and a mechanic buddy of his said he'd put it in for $375. I'm pretty happy to walk away from this ordeal spending under a grand. I had my wife on the hook last weekend to go check out a new WRX, but I had to stop at the post office first to pick up a certified letter. Turns out it was a notice from the borough saying that I have 30 days to fix 3 retaining walls around my house. The cheapest estimate so far is $18,000. There goes my hopes for a new car! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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