camshaft

C

clamshell

I have a '98 Legacy Outback wagon. Does anyone know of any issues or problems with the camshafts in these? I have 82,000 miles on mine, had repairs done to the timing (a belt tensioner) and then the engine siezed about 2 miles down the road after I picked it up from my mechanic. He said that the oil was not getting to one side of the engine. Wouldn't there be some type of warning over a period of time if the camshaft were bad? He said that what I experienced has been a common problem with the 2.5...???
 
OK - it works for 82,000 miles, a mechanic works on the TB system,
engine seizes (EXACTLY what does this mean?) 2 miles later and he says
one side of the engine got NO oil?

*COUGHbullshitCOUGH*

Carl
1 Lucky Texan
 
Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!
 
Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!
 
Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!
 
I think he MAY be trying to be honest about the TECHNICAL reasons the
engine failed without taking any responsibility for it. I don't know if
you'll EVER know what really happened but I suspect the mech knows that
something went wrong with his work on the TB 'system' that caused cam
timing to slip on one side. And that may well have led to oil starvation
of some type or valve clash. I'd be tempted to educate myself a little,
get in his face and demand that he explain/show you, in clear terms
precisely what happened to your engine. OR just forget him and go elsewhere.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had
a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!
 
Carl said:
OK - it works for 82,000 miles, a mechanic works on the TB system,
engine seizes (EXACTLY what does this mean?) 2 miles later and he says
one side of the engine got NO oil?

*COUGHbullshitCOUGH*

I concur.
 
Not sure why my post keeps re-posting. They supposedly test drove my car. If the cam shaft caused this to happen, should they have noticed that something was not right? Is there some type of early warning sign? Or does this just fail?
 
Keep in mind that I am guessing. In general, the system will try to
compensate at all times, and the engine will run with
1-2-3(probably)-4(maybe not) teeth off timing - incresingly worse of
course, until there is valve clash or the system is in 'limp home' mode
or something.
BTW- I don't think there is much else we can do here, but you could try
posting this issue on the forums over at www.usmb.net . Those guys are
great (if they're convinced you used the search function first to
educate yourself a little) and have a lot of experience with engines and
dealerships all over the country(world even). If you ask - they can
probably post links to some photos /drawings of how these parts work
too. Search for recent posts by legacy777 ,he has a lot of photos
available. Also, do post type car,mileage,service history etc.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan
 
I don't know what you can do now but, I certainly feel that your mechanic
screwed up and is weaseling out of his responsibility. I would try to
confront him but, if that doesn't work be SURE and find another mechanic
that understands Subaru's. eddie
Carl 1 Lucky Texan said:
Keep in mind that I am guessing. In general, the system will try to
compensate at all times, and the engine will run with
1-2-3(probably)-4(maybe not) teeth off timing - incresingly worse of
course, until there is valve clash or the system is in 'limp home' mode
or something.
BTW- I don't think there is much else we can do here, but you could try
posting this issue on the forums over at www.usmb.net . Those guys are
great (if they're convinced you used the search function first to
educate yourself a little) and have a lot of experience with engines and
dealerships all over the country(world even). If you ask - they can
probably post links to some photos /drawings of how these parts work
too. Search for recent posts by legacy777 ,he has a lot of photos
available. Also, do post type car,mileage,service history etc.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan
car. If the cam shaft caused this to happen, should they have noticed that
something was not right? Is there some type of early warning sign? Or does
this just fail?
 
Could a jolt such as getting hit from behind somehow screw up the timing? I was hit pretty hard 2 days before all of my problems started. The roads were icy and there was no visible damage. I felt that the bumper really did it's job.
 
clamshell said:
Could a jolt such as getting hit from behind somehow screw up the timing? I was hit pretty hard 2 days before all of my problems started. The roads were icy and there was no visible damage. I felt that the bumper really did it's job.

Hi,

Manual trans? I've heard of such things--somebody warned me a thousand
years ago in high school about getting engines from junkyard cars that
looked like they'd come to a screeching halt (not too likely on ice,
though, is it?)--but never seen them myself. With an auto, I kinda doubt
it.

Rick
 

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