[Trackrider54]

I wonder if Subaru made any corrections in the assembly process during the model year run. My 2022 is a late model year car made in December 2022. Pulling the oil pan is pretty involved. Sort of makes me wonder if anyone has experimented with trying to flush it out somehow...if that's even possible.

 

[Trackrider54]

You can spin the engine backwards with an impact and pour oil from the top with drain plug removed. This will reverse the oil pump and force oil back out thru the pickup tube and drain plug.

I've been doing some reading and it appears everyone is in one of two camps....1) OMG! Your engine is going to explode or 2) The oil strainer is oversized and designed to catch debris like RTV...don't worry about it.

I fall in the middle. I'm not "worried" about it, but I would like to see if I have the issue and if there is an effective way correct or partially correct the issue without dropping the pan and sure enough voiding the warranty.

First thing I did was order a borescope. I'm going to take a peek inside and see what I can see. If I don't see any RTV...whew...I'm done. If I do, I'll keep an eye on it. A few small pieces won't concern me. Big chunks will. I will take pictures using the borescope and keep them for documentation should I have any issues. If it's bad enough, I may see if the dealer will drop the pan for me and clean it out.

I can't find when the first issue was reported and I haven't found anything stating Subaru has corrected the overuse or RTV. So my hopes that later 2022 models may not have the issue or that Subaru will own the problem and offer some sort of extended warranty at no cost are pretty dim.

One idea I have is to see if I can rig up an electronics vacuum that I might be able to wiggle in and suck some of it out. Just have to see what the borescope shows and how difficult it is to access the pickup.

 

[Trackrider54]

It's been an issue in some form since the 1st gen BRZ was introduced so chances of Subaru correcting it are low. Typically it won't do any damage but any chunks in oil pickup can obviously screw it up.

Dropping oil pan doesn't void warranty.

Based on the process I've seen to drop the oil pan, it's pretty intensive and a multiple day job. I'm a fairly competent shade tree mechanic, but breaking studs and having to weld bolt head on the get them loose and having to re-tap them and such appears to be well outside of my skill set. Lots of opportunity to screw up and good ammunition for a dealer to void your warranty...or at least make an argument for it.

If I can find a local trustworthy mechanic I might see what they'd charge to do the work. I would imagine the dealer would charge at least $1000 to do it. I read somewhere that a guy paid the dealer $750 to drop the pan and they told him if there was no RTV then he would have to pay but if they found RTV then they would cover it under warranty. So if I have the issue and can show there is RTV in the pickup, perhaps I can convince them "fix it now for a little, or fix it later for a lot".

 

[Trackrider54]

Tf? That sounds like either a terrible mechanic or a really rusty car. If it's anything like the VA, you take engine weight with a top side engine support bar. Then unbolt steering rack from engine block, unbolt engine mount top nuts and 4 subframe bolts with a trans jack under the subframe. Then lower subframe a few inches and clear access to pan. Unless there's a crash or heavy corrosion, nothing on the car should need drilling, welding or taps.

Well that's good news. Then this guy must be full of $**t. But that said...I don't have the required tools to do the job.

 

[Trackrider54]

Thanks for the info.

So long story short, dump the car before the warranty runs out unless you want to spend thousands on preventive oil pan drops.

Guess Subaru has become like BMW. Don’t own one out of warranty.

 

[Trackrider54]

I was quite happy with my long out of warranty bmw. There are quite a few e60s here at work pushing well past 200k.

They are not specifically unreliable, just expensive to work on, more now that bavauto is gone.

I didn't phrase that very well...you're right. I was referring more to the cost of ownership. There are a lot of cars that I could afford, but can't afford to maintain. Instead of spending $30k on a WRX, I was looking at used Corvettes, BMWs, and others...but I knew they would more than likely be money pits. Plus, with an 18yo driver on my insurance policy, my insurance is already high enough.

I'm an old fart, my first car had a choke and a carb. Granted, it was an RX-7 and when the apex seals bit the dust and it looked like a crop duster driving down the road...I sold it. But older cars were mostly pretty simple to work on. You could take them apart and put them back together with just a basic set of tools. I used to park my cars stradling a drainage ditch so I could get underneath them to work on them.

My plan with the WRX is to drive it like I stole it, and if the engine dies from oil starvation I'll let Subaru fix it. I work from home so I have no commute. The WRX is just a mid life crisis car to relive the days of my youth when I used to drive my RX-7, Corrado, Conquest, Miata, etc. By the time the powertrain warranty is up, it will either have been sold or long paid for (since I only financed it for 48 months). I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.