possibly time for an engine rebuild
 

As some of you know I have had my car a very short amount of time, aprx. 1 month now. I know that the front seal is leaking oil, you can see it, besides that the engine doesnt seem to be leaking too much, it doesnt loose a whole lot of oil, but it looses about 1/3 of a quart in 2 weeks. I have done 2 oil changes with high milage oil since I have had the car (it has 150k miles) and I have noticed that when parked in the drive way after the car has been out for a run (10-15 miles on the highway aprx 55-65mph), if you rev the engine up it smokes horribly out the tail pipe. The other day I noticed when getting onto a highway smoke was flying out the tail pipe when getting up to 55mph.... so I know something is terribly wrong. The last owner did not know if the timing belt had been replaced or when, so I am considering rebuilding the engine or getting rid of the car. This car has a lot of other problems also. If I rebuild, then I will make this my winter project car and take the car completely apart and redo everything. Has anyone had experiance rebuilding these engines? Anything I should know/do while the engine is out? What would be the most likely reason for the car to be smoking like this? Any help/info is greatly appreciated.

I just bought a svx a couple months ago and I too am in need of another engine or rebuild. I started replacing the rod bearings and I called Courtesy Subaru out of South Dakota (they have a great online ordering website) for a check up on rod bearings availability. They said they would have to order them, meanwhile I struggled to take the caps off with the motor half's still together. I was able to find the worn bearing that was making all the noise today and when I called to order a set of standard sized rod bearings (because the jornals measured ok with no scratches) they said it could take 4-12 weeks to get them because they couldn't find any stateside and would have to order them directly from Japan. Now maybe I just am using a dealer that can't find them but for what its worth make sure you get someone that will be able to find the parts after you take the motor apart and prepped at a machine shop.
As far as whether to keep the car or not, I can't answer. I knew this car would have it's challenges when I purchased the car so this is no surprise to me. I loved these cars since thier beginnings but was never able to afford one when they were new.

I actually bought this car under a different understanding, the person I bought it from described it as "Fully serviced, ready for summer driving. - "When you drive it you can feel and see how well it has been taken care of." When I got the car home, I discovered it had not been well taken care of. Which this is my second subaru in rough shape. Body wise, this one is perfect, new paint, no dings or scratches. Interior wise, everything is in great shape also. And I have REALLY wanted one of these cars for a long time. And have desided if I want a subaru I might as well keep this one and redo the whole thing.
In the past I have used 1stsubarupart.com for parts for my Subaru's. They have always had desent prices for the things I have needed and will probably go through them for the parts I need, but thanks for the heads up, I might give them a call to make sure everything is available for the car before I get in the middle of a big project and have to leave it sit for a while. That would be a real pain. I am hoping to get this thing finished before the end of winter because I would love to test out the AWD in the snow. The AWD is what makes me keep coming back to Subaru's even though my luck has not been the best with them.

Thanks, I'll check them out and see what they can come up with. Good luck with your Subaru, Adam

I forgot the s on the website address. It is http://www.1stsubaruparts.com

or Subaru parts.com

Tom