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Spun rod bearing

7K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  eagleeye 
#1 ·
So after a successful head gasket replacement (1998 Legacy 2.5 dohc) and about 6k on the new HGs I do an oil change for my wife since it was running low... new oil and filter, test drive start to hear ticking... drove about 120 miles not thinking too much about it and about halfway through the drive it starts getting louder and really pronounced in the 2-3k range cruising with light pedal. Pulled the oil filter today... a nice fine mesh glitterbomb of oil. Arg. Well, looks like I'll be looking for a new motor. Whats the typical cost of either a rebuild or good used motor? I have a CA car if that makes any difference on the block... was just starting to enjoy owning a Subaru.
 
#2 ·
6k on new headgaskets……..
let me take a educated guess. This motor was cooked when the headgaskets went out. Should have never been regasketed….

I don't think there is such a thing as a "good" used ej25 DOHC motor. They are all going to need headgaskets, and hopefully at the first sign, not after a overheat cycle has been going on.

Put a ej22 in it….my advice.
 
#3 ·
Sorry to hear about that.

A few years back I replaced my 2000 2.5L (different engine I know), prices for used varied from around $800 for a high mileage engine to $1800 for lower mileage engine. I used Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market which is a nation wide wrecking yard search, you can get a good idea of prices from there perhaps.

I found what I thought was a low mileage engine from across the country that claimed it came with a carfax report. When it arrived it was obvious it was a high mileage engine and no carfax report. I called them and explained my concerns and they sent me another engine. The next one was another obviously high mileage engine with no car fax report, again. I picked the best one pulled it apart and went through and resealed everything myself. When they came to pick up the extra engine I told them they don't get it until they give me the carfax proof it is low mileage. So for around $1800 I got two engines, now I have a spare.

I am telling you this to be careful where you get it from. That and if you do get a used engine it is probably a good idea to go through it and replace the head gaskets, t-belt, components, water pump, etc, and reseal everything while it is out of the car already. If you do go that route weigh the cost of the engine plus going through it yourself against a rebuilt engine.
 
#5 ·
I honestly think that the bearing failure had to do with the lack of oil prior to the oil change, didnt realize it was losing oil somehow.. no leaks or obvious oil burning, I should have kept a better eye on the oil level but since my wife drives it I wasnt thinking about it until it needed an oil change. :(
 
#6 ·
curious of my options here, been looking at rebuilt ej25d motors... they're a bit more than I want to spend at $2-3.5k considering I bought the car for $1k. Are the JDM ej25d motors a decent option? are they identical to usdm motors minus the EGR? Plagued with the same issues? Trying to get back on the road asap
 
#7 ·
yes JDM is not immune, but they're a good option as they're easy to find and sometimes priced reasonably.
EJ25D = headgasket eater.

there was a shop in oregon rebuilding EJ25 blocks for $600 - i asked but never found out who.

but - to save money try and find a short block and then bolt your heads or used heads to it.

the full on rebuild costs escalate quickly when they get into a $500+ head jobs too. try and just get the lower end rebuilt.

How do they inspect the engines in CA? Bolt your EJ25D heads to an EJ22 engine block. that would be the cheap way to repair this and not end up with another headgasket or lower end bearing issue. And it would be hard to spot - it'll look exactly like the original motor - everything bolted to it would be the original stuff - intake, VC's, heads, exhaust...they'd have to look at the one block stamp to tell. maybe a crafty person could even make the stamp say EJ25 instead of EJ22.
 
#8 ·
For smog in CA they look for EGR and I believe engine stamp...

I did however swap a f20a which is the identical motor to the f22a stock motor on an accord, just is destroked and higher compression, just swapped over all the smog equipment and I've had it registered in Ca for a while now, just produces a bit higher nox because of the higher compression but still within the parameters.

Looks like I may have sourced an ej25d from a local wrecker for $1,000 with supposedly 1,000mi (not too sure about that though...) I would probably go through the trouble of swapping headgaskets and other hard to reach seals before dropping it in...

I'm intrigued by the 2.2 idea though, wouldn't that lower the power? The Outback already feels so under powered as is so not sure I'd want to go that route.
-Where would one look for a good shortblock?
 
#9 ·
google EJ25D shortblocks, see what comes up.

if you get another EJ25: resurface the heads and use Subaru or Six Star headgaskets.

yes an EJ22 is lower powered
with EJ25 heads it would have even less power.
sounds like not a good fit for you.
 
#11 ·
Swap it to a 2.2 or sell it and buy a 2nd gen H6. No way I'd throw upwards of $1,500-2k into a 25D.
 
#13 ·
Did you hunt craigslist for whole running cars,...or ones that have body damage? then you can hog a couple parts off one of the two cars you have and keep the one that runs best and dump the other off at the scrapper for $300.

I guess any EJ25D car from 1996-1999 is the same

something like this:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4808526157.html
 
#16 ·
So I found a Forester that someone is selling that has a busted timing belt...

wondering if the short block would be okay to swap my heads onto amg be good to go?

would be cheaper than a used engine and I'd have another car to eventually find another motor for.
 
#17 ·
^
Probably was overheated, and knocks so bad, the owner "busted" the T belt on purpose so he can try to pawn it off……If its a couple hundred bucks, go for, it. It probably need lower end too…I guess a 90+% chance its no good was run hot and cooked TOO.
 
#18 ·
timing belt goods, water pump, spark plugs and all that would be coming off my engine as it has about 6k mi on them and on to whatever engine I'd be going with. I will definitely be putting on wew 610 head gaskets with new seals and gaskets as well, that will only cost about $180 so not too bad. Still have to talk to the guy selling the forester about that engines history and hope he's being honest...
 
#19 ·
get a feel for the owners - if they're legit the car is too and yes the short block should be good.

EJ25 is a basket case engine if unknown, being the worst engine subaru ever made - so you're sort of gambling no matter what if you don't know for sure it's never been overheated. but with a wise enough purchase from a reasonable seller you should be able to get a decent short block. a thrown belt/bent valve is common enough, i've repaired them, and does insinuate the block was good prior to the belt issue.

it's pretty obvious to me when you have a married doctor in a nice neighborhood that just needs the car gone verses a guy meeting you in a random parking lot who has partially disassembled it trying to repair it, sold parts off it, got it two months ago from an unknown source and is now desperately trying to get a buck out of it....(both of those are real examples of people i've bought cars from or walked from) buy from the first kind of seller, not the second. if there's any uncertainty, walk. quite a few craigslist specials fall under the second category but there are plenty in the first as well, just keep looking.

i have a good EJ25D short block but shipping would probably kill that. a friend will be driving back to CA after new years but not sure she wants an engine in her car. lol
 
#21 ·
well I can load that in my replica world war 2 code breaking computer,

...might have a answer in as little as 5 minutes or 5 hours,...whoops that's a tough one, blew a vacuum tube,...have to reboot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer
 
#23 ·
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