crank shaft play, '97 ej25 5 speed ~150k

[johnceggleston]

the mechanic says the crank shaft has too much slop in it due to bad bearings which is causing excessive oil leaking from the rear main seal. not end play but excessive up / down bearing wear.?!?! ther was a little oil stain on the rear main seat, about 1 inch wide in the 6 oclock position. there was the evidence of excessive oil leaking from the oil sep plate, as usual.

 

you and i both know that the oil seperator plate is leaking, but has any one ever heard of slop, movement, in the crank shaft. supposedly, the max allowable is .005 and the mechanic says it has .02 movement. the hand motions he used in describing the slop was up and down like a see-saw. i assumed this was one hand on the front of the crank and one on the rear.

 

there are a lot of things i question about this diagnosis, up and down seems an odd direction for a flat engine to wear? was it really the rear main leaking? etc.

 

the shop is good, they work on a lot of big trucks & cars and because it is in SW VA, race cars, dirt track probably. but not a lot of subarus, i don't think.

 

the car ran fine before the engine was pulled. no noise, no vibrations, no overheating. it was pulled for oil leaking "from the rear main seal", and it was really leaking. no other issues. it has already had the head gaskets replaced.

 

what are the chances that the crank is fine and these guys just don't know what they are talking about. he simply found a traditional explanation to fit the excessive oil leak evidence??

 

anyone ever heard of this kind of crank / bearing wear in a subaru?

would you risk re-installing the engine with a reseal??

or is this the forerunner of a rod knock from overheating / bad gaskets???.

i would love to think that the engine is fine, but i sure don't want to install it only to learn 6 - 12 months later that it has rod knock.

 

'97 GT ej25 5 speed ~150k w/ new head gaskets.

 

input please.

many thanks.

Edited September 20, 2010 by johnceggleston

[wrenchturner]

I would back your opinion of the plate leaking on the rear of the block and the mechanic "finding a conventional answer" for the leakage. Up and down wear of the crank on a horizontally opposed would seem counter intuitive. I personally would put the engine back in and try it, but I would be doing the work myself and have the option of "throwing the labor away" and only being out the time (and some coolant and such). Just my 2 cents for what it's worth, Scott

[porcupine73]

I have heard that higher mileage Subaru engines on MT's sometimes do develop excess crankshaft play due to the force exerted on the crank by the clutch. Supposedly iirc they will still run that way until it gets really bad and the crank ends up rubbing into the crankcase thus ruining it.

[hankosolder2]

I have heard that higher mileage Subaru engines on MT's sometimes do develop excess crankshaft play due to the force exerted on the crank by the clutch. Supposedly iirc they will still run that way until it gets really bad and the crank ends up rubbing into the crankcase thus ruining it.

 

That's sounds like wear on the crankshaft thrust washers (i.e. fore and aft play.) The clutch assy is applying force attempting to push the flywheel towards the front of the engine.

 

From the mechanic's description, the play is not fore and aft, so I think this is a different issue (or a scam.)

[Fairtax4me]

That's sounds like wear on the crankshaft thrust washers (i.e. fore and aft play.) The clutch assy is applying force attempting to push the flywheel towards the front of the engine.

Sounds like someone holding the clutch down at stop lights.

 

I'd say put it back together and drive it. It's a subaru, it's gonna leak oil if it wants to, you just live with it.

[GeneralDisorder]

He gave a measurement - .02" (which is a crap load I might add - 4x the limit). The first question I have is how this number was reached. He should be able to demonstrate this for you.

 

Till I was actually shown this (very unusual) failure..... I would be hard pressed to believe it.

 

GD

[idosubaru]

unlikely. probably just unfamiliar with subarus. though rear mains leaking is rare too but certainly not impossible, particularly if previously replaced.