Expected life of MY08 Liberty GT Tuned by STi engine

[Russ tiger]

G'day Guys

I was after some clarification on information I received today.
My car is a MY08 Liberty GT Tuned by STi running an EJ2.5L Turbo with 6 Speed manual.

Last week I noticed oil pooling just under the turbo and could smell it and see it on the exhaust.
I took it to a local expert Subaru place and after some investigation they told me that the engine has excessive blow by which
has caused the turbo intake pipe and intercooler to be full of oil. Funnily enough even with this problem there was no loss of power at all.

Obviously this is not a good thing and on reflection, this is the second time I have had an issue with oil leaks and the turbo.
The head mechanic sat me down and explained that the piston and rings inside this engine have been designed to meet
stringent overseas pollution laws. The rings are narrow and the piston is small. They are then susceptible to getting gunk in the rings
which makes them freeze up causing this blow by defect. He also told me that it is common not just with this
engine but with other makes of cars. It usually happens around 120k - 150k, my car is at 112k and the only way to fix it is to replace the engine.

Can anyone shed anymore light on this subject please. Is this guy correct?
Has anyone else experienced this defect with this engine?

Your help is appreciated.
Thank you
Michael

[Anson]

Different engine, but my 3lt was having blow by problems as well.
Replaced the PCV valve, problem fixed.
Might be a cheap thing to try before engine swaps, ect...

[jslayz]

accidently quoted myself!

[jslayz]

If it still makes power..... probably still ok.....generally speaking.

Replace PCV with a new one, add twin catch can setup retaining the stock splitter and keep driving it add silicone intake pipe, stock ones can shag out easily if too oily.

Bet there is just work to be done to PCV system, add silicone or just a new intake pipe and cleaning of intercooler with brake cleaner.....

Just my thoughts anyhow.

[KiDo_Tuning]

Utter BS

PCV sticks open and causes blowby. $85 fix. Go see Garage88 in Eastern Creek and laugh at the answer you were given I know I will be laughing all the way home.

[jslayz]

Utter BS

PCV sticks open and causes blowby. $85 fix. Go see Garage88 in Eastern Creek and laugh at the answer you were given I know I will be laughing all the way home.

Funniest part for me was head mechanic sat me down......hahah ....let the BS begin!!!

[KiDo_Tuning]

Utter BS

PCV sticks open and causes blowby. $85 fix. Go see Garage88 in Eastern Creek and laugh at the answer you were given I know I will be laughing all the way home.

Funniest part for me was head mechanic sat me down......hahah ....let the BS begin!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS... Santa's elves dont build you a new motor though. Here is the bill.

[coyote]

You don't need a new engine, you need a new Subaru expert.

[Russ tiger]

Hey Guys

Thanks for your replies.
I noticed today oil is leaking onto exhaust even after the work they did yesterday.
So I guess a new PCV is on the cards. How easy is this to change out?
Is there a step by step process somewhere?

Thanks again.....a real load off my mind.....

[KiDo_Tuning]

May even be easier to invest in a catchcan setup: http://www.saikoumichi.com/

Otherwise, the PCV replacement has some really good videos on youtube

[bigBADbenny]

Remove tmic, the pcv valve is screwed into the rear of the inlet manifold slightly on the drivers side

[jslayz]

May even be easier to invest in a catchcan setup: http://www.saikoumichi.com/

Otherwise, the PCV replacement has some really good videos on youtube

My twin can saikou michis are we are working well, keep the grey splitter, I have plumbed my PCV system all different ways but current method uses the grey splitter and retains the PCV to good effect

J

[Shaheenis]

Blowby is not the only possibility as to why you have oil on your exhaust. Other causes could be leaking turbo drain hose (read remove turbo), possibly leaking rocker cover gasket on drivers side (as they leak from the lowest corner and end up on up-pipe). Best to buy a bendy mirror, get some good lighting and see if you can identify the source yourself.

Also, some level of blowby is normal on a turbo engine and not necessarily related to the PCV. Blowby will increase with boost and/or worn rings. Catch-can is a good idea either way and PCV is easy to test before you replace. They are a ball valve so will be obvious if stuck. Good idea to clean it with upper engine cleaner to dissolve the gunk (off the car) and save yourself $80 if that's the problem.

[Russ tiger]

G'day Guys

Thank you all for your advice on this blow-by issue.
After 4 weeks of in and out of the shop and lots of $$$$$ the source of the oil leak has finally been identified.

There were numerous leaks, rocker covers, bolt that attaches back of engine (? no idea, it is what they told me) and a rigid oil line that attaches to the turbo (photo attached).

Oil Line.jpg (99.66 KiB) Viewed 8199 times

This appears to be the main culprit. They found a hairline crack in the rigid line using air.
Not being a car tech savvy person can anyone tell me what this line is? Any chance there is a picture of the engine bay where this attaches?
I know it attaches to engine and turbo but now where?

Anyway, it appears all is good, nil leaks now.......BUT, is there a chance that the alleged blow by caused this hairline crack due to over pressure?
God I hope not......

Thanks guys for your help.

[HardwareBoB]

oh snap
I have a similar leak - that line is the oil hard line that goes to the turbo and to the AVCS Solenoid (solenoids in my case)
The middle hole is where it attaches to the block and gets oil, the other hole is where the AVCS oil ends up (at the front of the engine) and the screw fitting is where the turbo oil feed line is attached.

The lines are known to be shitty, which is why mine failed, and why yours failed.

This has nothing to do with blowby, this line is a pressurised oil line, and any leak will have oil coming out of it because it's supposed to be under pressure.
Have a look at your turbo in the middle, on the top you will see a bolt going through an oil feed line, that line you can trace back and see generally what's going on.

See my thread here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=29315 with some nice links to some legacy GT posts about it


edit: also stole on of the pics from legacy GT, here is the hose on the engine so it's very easy to see (it's different, but you get the idea)