SVX Woes: Expensive repairs

[Yoda3000]

First, I was wondering about how much the dealership would charge me to fix all my engine oil leaks. My car has 119,000 miles and now leaks well over a quart per month. I beleive leaks are from both sides of engine and from behind the timing belt. I don't think any non-dealership mechanic could handle work of this caliber.

Also I just had a rear bearing go out. If it's just one bad one, should I just replace it or will the other one soon follow? How much will it cost to replace one/both. (I've searched the forums and it seems like a job I can't do myself.) Would other mechanics be able to do this job properly for cheaper?

My SVX may be on it's last legs, I can hold off on the leaks, but I can't afford this stuff much longer.

[dcarrb]

Any decent mechanic should be able to handle replacing engine seals and gaskets; a really good one ought not have a problem with the rear wheel bearings. I don't recall exactly what I paid for the latter at a local shop, but it was about half what a Subaru dealership had quoted. (No troubles after 10,000 miles.)

If one bearing is shot, odds are the other's not far behind.


dcb

[Yoda3000]

So I mentioned my bearings to a mechanic at Goodyear and he said "your inner ones or outer ones?".

I was not aware there was more than one set of bearings per wheel. Which ones do you think need replacing?

There's only 1 bearing per side. And if not done correctly, they will fail shortly after installation (make sure they repack the bearings....they do not come "ready to install").


My two cents: live with the oil leak. Even a local garage will want several hundred dollars to fix those leaks, esp. since it's an engine they probably have no experience with. A quart per month isn't bad.





Dave

[Yoda3000]

That's a releife about only one bearing per side, I thought I was going nutty.

Yeah, although the leaks are getting worse I'll just hold off. Who needs oil anyway.

I still need to know how much it would cost to replace rear bearings before I start asking around.

(In the mean time what will happen if I continue to drive my car around?)

--Mike

[Chiketkd]

Mike,

Try this for your oil leaks. At your next oil change add some seal treatment additive like 'Engine Restore.' Once you've allowed that to run through for a cycle, switch to Mobil 1 10W-30 which is made for higher mileage cars.

I just did a switch to Mobil 1 10W-30 on my car and it got rid of my leak altogether! My car was dripping about 2-3 drops a day at that point so I wasn't too concerned...

-Chike

Originally posted by Yoda3000

(In the mean time what will happen if I continue to drive my car around?)

--Mike

The bearings will get louder and louder. That's about it. In extreme cases they can completely fail and leave you stranded somewhere, but I've never seen or heard of it happening....and we've seen some VERY worn out bearings before. So relax, you have some time to spare



Dave

[NapaBavarian]

Originally posted by red95svx




The bearings will get louder and louder. That's about it. In extreme cases they can completely fail and leave you stranded somewhere, but I've never seen or heard of it happening....and we've seen some VERY worn out bearings before. So relax, you have some time to spare



Dave

They will get louder and louder, then they will begin to devolop more and more heat, on an extended trip they can generate enough heat to weld the parts together, the PO of my car had this problem, the car was under waranty at the time so the repair was free to them, but the axle, bearing, and houzing were all replaced...

[mohrds]

Lwin also had a bearing fail on a long trip. The rear wheel almost came off. The only thing keeping it together was the brake caliper bracket and that was almost ground through

Doug

Well, now I've heard about it happening

You guys must have driven with bad bearings for a while.....I've seen bearings that were in horrible shape but they still worked! And no one around here can recall any Subaru being towed in for a bearing problem.....so obviously YMMV!!




Dave

[Yoda3000]

Mike,

Try this for your oil leaks. At your next oil change add some seal treatment additive like 'Engine Restore.' Once you've allowed that to run through for a cycle, switch to Mobil 1 10W-30 which is made for higher mileage cars.

I just did a switch to Mobil 1 10W-30 on my car and it got rid of my leak altogether! My car was dripping about 2-3 drops a day at that point so I wasn't too concerned...

-Chike

I have tried some stop leak products that don't seem to help but if you honestly thing a simple thing like switching oil would fix it I'd be more than willing to try.


I can't really tell which side the bearing noise is coming from (I think it's Passenger) and I'll probably just get both sides replaced. I will ask around several places tomarrow, and in the mean time try not to drive too much. I hope nothing welds ! I was on a long road trip when they went out. I was traveling at sustained speeds above 80 mph before I noticed that the road noise was above average. I still had to drive about 60 mph for an hour after I noticed there was a problem though.

[Chiketkd]

It worked for me: Mobil 1 fixed my leak!

-Chike

Originally posted by Yoda3000
I have tried some stop leak products that don't seem to help but if you honestly thing a simple thing like switching oil would fix it I'd be more than willing to try.

[Yoda3000]

Okay, so I called some mechanics and they convinced me that on repairs as expensive as wheel bearings, I should only replace the bad one. The subaru mechanic said it's hard to tell if the other one will follow, sometimes they do, sometimes they stay fine for years.

That being said, this is what I was quoted:
-Dwain's Automotive, a trusted local mechanic who replaced my Water Pump, said about $250 per side.
-Galles & Davis Subaru in Albuquerque said about $400 per side. I have never had problems with their repairs, they just charge up the a**.

Does $250 sound good? It does to me.

[dcarrb]

Does that include the cost of the bearing and seal kit? I believe the parts alone run $70-$80. per side


dcb

[Yoda3000]

That price is about right: http://www.subarusvx.com/faq.html

I will give a printout of this to the mechanic too.