mickytrus Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Hello, I have a prospective vehicle I may obtain..... It is a 2005 Subaru Outback Wagon. Automatic.... I am waiting on additional information.... I have yet to see the condition of this motor. Supposedly, car is very very clean.... I am not sure if the motor has to be replaced or if I can just do head gaskets on the engine..... Perhaps, someone in the forum may be able to provide some insight....... From what I was told the motor started smoking out the exhaust. while driving on the highway.... I am hoping that I can just do a tear down to "just" the head gaskets If anyone can provide some info regarding (highlights) of the process that would be good.... I have done head gaskets on Ej22's and EA82's. This will be my first 2.5L.... Is the 2005 05 SOHC or DOHC? Is the only way to do head gaskets is to pull the engine? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 if possible, do a compression test first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickytrus Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 Motor is a 2.5L Turbo....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Turbo is DOHC. Best to pull the engine to remove the heads (probably possible without, but it's best to tilt the engine on it's side, as the cams have to come off to get to the head bolts). Smoking out the exhaust could be just about anything. Without a pretty in-depth diagnosis, assume it needs a complete new engine w/turbo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickytrus Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 Thanks! I was looking to see if there was any motors in my area...... Looks rather grim.... ( was looking for turbo motors) So what would entail to change over to NON-turbo. Say 2.5L non-turbo......... Seems like it would be alot........ anyone versed in this type of modification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I would not attempt changing over. You would need the ecm and the harness. Non turbo 2.5 would be sohc Smoke out the exhaust sounds more like your turbo than head gaskets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 1 hour ago, montana tom said: I would not attempt changing over. You would need the ecm and the harness. Non turbo 2.5 would be sohc Smoke out the exhaust sounds more like your turbo than head gaskets. Yep, my first thought is turbo, but it could be a lot of things. Also, if the turbo is bad enough, it can introduce debris into the oil, which in-turn kills the engine (which is why it's hard to find good used engines). It would be possible to put a non-turbo engine in. Would require many modifications. And you'd want to have the ECU retuned (the advantage of the turbo ECU is it is tuneable). But being that the non-turbo cars are so much more common, it would make so much more sense to just start with one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 can the pipe be dropped and shaft play inspected? is there spec for shaft play? turbo seal leak could actually be better news than some other possibilities - if it's dealt with before a catastrophe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 (edited) Blown turbo. Could need a whole engine. TONS of the 05/06 LGT / OBXT in the junk yard because of VF40 failures. Typically you end up replacing the entire engine which is often $6k to $8k. This is essentially an STI engine with a smaller turbo. They are NOT CHEAP to repair and if it's done wrong or poorly you WILL be doing it again. Best practices are to change over to forged pistons, welded pickup tube, and re-route the turbo oil feed to prevent failures in these critical areas. If you don't know what you're doing you WILL screw it up. Honestly I would pass. They are too much trouble and 5EAT isn't that great either. They had their own problems. GD Edited April 21, 2019 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 On 4/21/2019 at 3:11 PM, GeneralDisorder said: Blown turbo. Could need a whole engine. TONS of the 05/06 LGT / OBXT in the junk yard because of VF40 failures. Typically you end up replacing the entire engine which is often $6k to $8k. This is essentially an STI engine with a smaller turbo. They are NOT CHEAP to repair and if it's done wrong or poorly you WILL be doing it again. Best practices are to change over to forged pistons, welded pickup tube, and re-route the turbo oil feed to prevent failures in these critical areas. If you don't know what you're doing you WILL screw it up. Honestly I would pass. They are too much trouble and 5EAT isn't that great either. They had their own problems. GD Answers my question about the Outback XT at the dealer with a blown turbo=pass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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