Porsche is the only one in the industry that has a current reliable box arrangement i would say. But the way they had to make it reliable is expensive, they have a rather intricate cooling and oiling systems compared to Subaru's, they still leak like anything else after a while though.

Boxer and flat engines belong in the air. I do not think they belong on the ground.

Honestly, the 2 best things you could probably do to your subaru to make it last a long time is to change the coolant every 30000 miles and convert it to a dry sump oiling system.

They haven't fixed that yet? My '81 Subaru wagon blew the front and rear oil seals (at different times) in the late 80s/early 90s. Total cost to repair was probably $900.

Ol' Marco is still around!!! IIRC, Marco fucked a customer, customer complained, and Marco graciously fucked him again.

Should be "a piece of cake" for a guy that works on Kias. So, you still drive the land yacht, eh? You could fit a Kia or Subaru in the trunk of that thing.

It's easy enough, but everything is heavy, really heavy, I'm only 5 foot 6 and a 135 pounds.

Just gotta "work smart". And rent/borrow a trans jack if you have to pull it out. Way simpler than dropping the drivetrain from a FWD car. "Not the size of the dog in the fight......"

If not fully rebuilt that was a huge waste of money.

It's a scoobie. Ever take one apart?  You'd be amazed it ever worked.   Dumbest fucking engines ever.

First time I ever heard it called reseal.

I've loved/love my Subaru's but yes I'm surprised they haven't started transitioning over to a regular I-4 arrangement. I wish Mazda would do some "hot rod" shenanigans and throw the new I6 in the CX50 or CX70. I don't really need a CX90 but really love that new turbo I6 drivetrain.

OP was bent and sent

If they did head gaskets and valve seals and everything else while in there and did rigs if compression was weak it was a good move.  You'll get another 100k out of a Subaru motor with that.

That guy convinced you to replace every seal and gasket on a 2019?

OP come on

So at 120K the motor is leaking oil so bad you're willing to dump $4K into it knowing full well that it'll leak sooner next time?

I don't think you'll be doing a favor passing that thing to anyone you like.

Yeah the Subaru boxer engines are not that difficult to work on. Just get the tool that holds the cams in place 'cause that timing is critical for an interference engine.

Well, he's now posted that they did pull the engine, but he seems completely allergic to providing any actual details on what was done, instead using general descriptive terms which don't really help. Even the parts list would help.

Maybe he is one of those people who doesn't actually want any answers or help; only wants to vent and feel that he has been heard?

This.

A new crate engine probably would be a better investment if it’s that bad. Otherwise, if it’s running well, I’d just consider it a “total loss” lubrication system and keep it topped up with a filter change on a regular basis.

What a odd thread

Yea. You def drank the water at camp lejuene.  I couldn’t understand half of what you wrote.

This right here. I used to buy used (less than 20k miles on them) entire engines (not just a long block) from Japan for a few hundred dollars. K Watanabe in Torrance, CA. and they shipped anywhere continental US or you could go pick up. Japan's emission laws are so strict that they basically just replace engines when they fail emissions tests rather than rebuild them. Far cheaper and they can export the "used" engines.

We have not been told anything about whether it was running well or not, or what led up to the decision to spend $4k on it. Many cars use some oil in between changes; this is why we check our oil. Once upon a time, when there were "service stations" they would always check your oil for you as they gassed up your car.

I have a lot of friends and relatives who used to (or still do) own Subarus. The more recent ones don't seem to have any chronic issues as far as I can tell. I did a lot of digging not long ago to see what the current consensus was on their reliability. I was surprised to find that they seem to be much improved over the older ones. Enough so, that I bought a late model WRX. Of course, I wanted a fun to drive 4 door AWD sedan with a manual transmission that was not FWD and not faux AWD (meaning FWD until it notices slip). Those are like hen's teeth unless you want to spend big money to buy and maintain, and I am not an Arfcom Millionaire^(TM) so WRX it was. I will be keeping a very close eye on oil consumption as well as the rest of the mechanicals. I have owned multiple boxer-engined motorcycles, and kind of like the feel of those engines, so we'll see how it goes with the car.

I think op was having a conversation with someone about his car and Siri thought he said to create a thread on Arfcom.

If it's not an SRT-4, I'm sorry.

If that fixes your car, it was cheap as hell.

The Dealership Dildo rarely arrives lubed.

Maybe it needs a "reseal"

No, we are smart enough to not buy Subarus.

Almost all serous WRX and especially BRZ racers do just that. Standard oiling system on those subaru boxers goes kaboom once you start turning a lot and fast.

Can yo suggest another AWD with a 6 speed that can easily be modded to 350 HP for under 32k?

No, most of GD wonders why the cost is about the same as a rebuild.  Or a donor/crate.  And if I'm pulling the motor, I'm absolutely doing a rebuild.  $4k for seals is crazy.  Not only that, but it absolutely is uncommon.  I raced Subys for years.  I had 3.  I have never once heard of anyone pulling a motor for a "reseal".  I had both the 2.0l and 2.5l motors and this wasn't a thing.

hot fucking garbage motors.  limp dick open deck blocks, leak everything, the EJs have stupid oiling systems.  Sound like they are dying even when they aren't.

Fucking guides fall the fuck out of the heads.  My father in law loves the damned things, I literally had to make a tool to install new guides because when he was doing the timing belt he noticed half of them were loose.

The EZ 6 cylinder has some potential but nobody does anything with them. They fixed a lot of the EJs issues with the EZ.

"A ton of miles" and "lease" don't go together at all.

This.  I have been a part of quite few rebuilds and replacements.  That's a lot of effort to not replace internals at over 100k miles.  I'd prefer a drop in replacement unless this was a built motor already.  No way I'd do just seals.

Okay, Sorry I have been working.  I did talk to my parents.  My ex-fiancé was living with them for a year while I was deployed.

The car was in for its 120,000-mile service, that is where they noticed the coolant and oil mixture.  Over the winter driving back and forth from Alabama to Virginia for Reserve Duty I have smelled some stuff in my AC vents that eventually will go away or I got used to the smell.  I asked about the other services and why it had not been seen and was told they were not performed per the owner's request.  The dealership never asked about them when I took my car in.  I got to see the engine before had, I know a little about aircraft Maintenace.  I did look at the seals and the oil and it was the same smell I smelled.  My oil was more than a quart low and I had just changed my oil 3500 miles ago.


Until 2021-2022 I was deployed, moved to Huntsville, and drove a lot because I do not like to fly if it is within 7-8 hours.  

In 2021-2022 my ex-fiancé who did not have a car because her car caught on fire an Audi (should have been a hint but she is a lawyer) drove my car and I would always send money for the car to get serviced at the Subaru dealership.  My old dealership in Virginia I had free oil changes. My last big mileage replacement was not done before my 100,000 warranty but I was told it was done but when she was visiting friends in Florida.  

I always got synthetic I was told she probably did not.  

I have not had time to review cars and I have another 7000 miles to drive before I retire in November.  

My car was a mess when I got back to the US.  It has almost 3,000 miles added in a year.   I had the large 60,000 mile done right after I moved in early 2021 I got home and the car had 100,000 miles on it, I f'ed up.  


Just to let you know there are other parts that are being replaced not just the seals because they are replacing worn parts.

It's pretty clear here the OP knows very little about cars. However, it's impossible to for us to know what was wrong with your car over the internet without seeing it, thus impossible to know if you got ripped off or not.

That said, there are lots of little things here that just don't add up which make me highly suspicious that they saw you coming from a mile away and sold you a bunch of work you didn't need. Their boxer engines often leak. Usually bad enough to pay $4k to have the motor pulled? No. I also highly doubt you were able to smell a blown head gasket through your ac vents. It just doesn't make sense. Not to mention the head gaskets tend to leak oil externally in my experience. Thus not mixing the oil and coolant. Her not using synthetic oil isn't going to ruin your seals either, and the fact that no other mechanic had seen it, all just smells like bs. Which is unfortunately all too common in the auto repair industry. You should have definitely gotten a second opinion.

If the oil was a quart low at 3,500 miles, that's really pretty normal for these motors. They burn oil. It's just what they do. It doesn't mean it was leaking somewhere, and I highly suspect it'll still use at least that, even after your reseal.

I understand what a reseal generally is and if the price you were charged was fair, all depends on what was done. I strongly suspect you were sold something you didn't need, or you had a minor leak which probably really wasn't urgent to fix, but like I said, that's just a guess without having seen it. If they pulled the motor and resealed everything, it's probably in line.

All of that aside, if you really did fix the issues for $4k, and get another few years out of it. Which should be easy, you're coming out significantly ahead versus buying a new car that'll lose at least that as soon as you drive it off the lot. It's pretty rare that I think replacing a car is a better option than repairing an otherwise solid car, even when you get into these repairs that are several thousand dollars. I'd quit worrying about it since you can't do anything about it now. I'm the future I'd get a second opinion. Until then, enjoy your car for a few more years, and not worry about a new one. Invest what you would have spent on a new car. Your wallet will thank you.

So you're a mechanic or a tech? If you were then you'd know that you're wrong.

Pulling the engine and taking the entire thing down to put new gaskets, if that's what happened is a huge job.

Hopefully they put some new bearings and oil pump in there, you'd be nuts not to do all that other stuff with it already torn down.

Hopefully it all works out. The car should last a long time if taken care of. Make sure the dealer does a CVT fluid change too. Dont spend the money on the motor and skimp on that.

Oil/coolant mix…… not common on newer Subarus at all. Coolant smell is almost always the cross over pipe o rings and coolant pooling on top of the motor. $10 in parts and some time to fix. Not super hard.

Women and cars are expensive. You mixed them like……. Oil and water, and fucked up A-Aron.

It sounds to me like you took an out-of-warranty car in to a stealership and they fucked you, as expected.

Next time go independent for major work on non-warranty cars, or at least get a second opinion.

I was quoted 8k by a dealer to do the same (was there for routine maintenance). There was no oil on my driveway and I wasn’t losing oil so I said no. That was about 3 years 60k miles ago. Still doesn’t leak oil.

It's not the same as a rebuild, a rebuild would cost even more. Just sending the heads off for resurfacing will cost you $500, thats not even getting into replacing valves and springs.

GD can't wrap their minds around the fact that things don't cost what they did 50 years ago. I don't care that you raced "subys" for years, I've worked in dealerships for years including Subaru and it most certainly is a common repair on these cars.

If you're buying Japanese the only acceptable brands are Honda and Toyota.

Nissan and Subaru are hunks of shit.

Sounds like the OP was taken by a shady shop

car barely worth 10k; could have saved $3500 labor doing the work yourself

Replacing 2 head gaskets on a turbocharged car engine is worth more than $3500 of my time. That would take me weeks with jack stands and hand tools.

He's from Alabama

I'm going to say the OP may have screwed up depending on what is actually being done to the car.  But, even a $4k bill is still cheaper than buying a new car right now and he just needs basic transportation from it.  Drive it until the wheels fall off.

It honestly doesn't sound like anything was really wrong with it other than the standard Subaru engine problems which they all seem to have.

I knew a guy who put 10k a month on his truck.  He leased it.  Never understood how that worked.

Nah, never messed with them turds. I’m a Honda/toyota man myself.

I don't drive a Subaru, but any car I have that needs a $4,000 "reseal" is getting a brand new crate motor.

There’s a wealth of knowledge here and a lot of good people, but; GD is powered by hate and ignorance.    

The more you know about a particular topic, the more the
DK Syndrome* bois will leap out at you.  

It’s interesting how the truly stupid, have no idea how ignorant they are.    

*Dunning Kruger.

Yep. Absofuckinglutley.
Crate engine is cheaper if you keep driving car, valve jobs , ti.ing belt/chain ,plugs, shitload misc parts such as PCV valve buried behind a ton of junk , water pump replacement and so on.

I was recently quoted about 5K for an engine replacement for an Outback.  Not sure I'd want to spend that just on gaskets/seals.