The 2005 legacy limited GT engine is shot. When the turbo let go it dumped well over a half a cup of filings in the oil pan.  And, half the oil blew out.

You would have to strip down the engine completely.... completely.  There is no cleaning method that will guarantee you get all the filings out.

New parts would nearly equal the value of the car if it had a running motor.

It had an aftermarket service contract. That company insisited the motor be torn down so they could send over a rep to determine cause of failure.

That procedure would cost over $1,000 and would not be a complete tear down.

Copies of all oil and filter receipts were kept, however they were not good enough for either the aftermarket service company or Subaru corporate.

 

Subaru Customer Care was contacted and asked for copies of the oil and filter receipts.  They got them and offered no help.  The are remain tight lipped.

 

We picked up a good used engine. Did a leak down test.  Nearly like new.   Cam journals and lobes are like new.  Oil pan had no sludge.

We think we got a lucky used engine.  We are now installing new cam belt pulleys, tensioner, water pump, etc.  Banjo screen will be deleted.

The turbo looks very good, no side play and spins just fine.

 

Again, the TSB directs the Dealer that they "should".  You can read the Legacy GT forum and others on wasted turbos.

 

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments.

Edited May 3, 201510 yr by cag

This is the grey area that is the TSB. But as you've found, unless you can produce impeccable records of ALL oil changes done at the exactly correct intervals, it's very difficult to get a manufacturer to side with you.

I used to see a similar scenario on a regular basis working for a dealership chain here. An engine would come in damaged, oil change history would come up, and there was almost always some discrepancy in the oil change history that would be cause for denial of covering the replacement under warranty. Twice in six years I saw the manufacturer cover an engine replacement, because the owners had been to the same dealership for every service visit, and had not even once been over the mileage for a service interval.

If an oil change has ever been late, or there are no records of it being performed, the manufacturer has more than enough ground to say the defect was caused by improper maintenance, they can effectively wash their hands of the matter, and that's the end of their involvement with it. For the consumer it sucks, but ultimately it is up to the consumer to prove that all maintenance has been properly performed in a timely manner, even if "should" should ever arise.