Moving!! But i ruined my car... Guess how much it will cost to fix!

I am finally going to move! Yay for being an adult! Found a nice place in Virginia. I also have a nice job lined up for me, and guess what, a CPF'er actually got me the job! Can you believe that? Ill wait till i actually start the job before i go more into detail. anyway, but i have a sad bit of news first.

My car burns oil. I have to keep the oil topped off. I drove to VA last weekend. its about 600 miles round trip. I also went down this weekend and came back home. .... Forgot to top of the oil..... seams i pretty much ran the engine dry uh oh... so im coasting down a hill and my car shuts off!! :huh2: the steering gets very hard, and the breaks are very tough to engage. So yeah, speeding down a hill in a dead car.. gulp! So i finally got it to pull over.
Now what happens, is when i try to start it, the engine makes a ching ching noise, sounds like metal flapping around and then finally stalls out. @#%^&$&!

Did i ruin my pretty little engine? Oh yeah, about 20 minutes before the oil light blinked on, and then i had kept adding quarts.. 5 total
I really messed myself up this time!!! I should have checked but i was in such a hurry to get home that i forgot! I think a piston got knocked out of balance or something........wimper............

Being a subaru legacy *1997* im guessing it will cost about 1500 to fix.
Let me hear how much you think it will cost, whoever gets closest wins a package of Brinkamn go-leds! My sad loss is your measily gain! Whoo hoo! Ill know by tomorrow night. Im not looking forward to this.......

i need a vacation.
-bobby

you might get a good junkyard engine for 1500-2000 installed.less if you do it yourself.bet you check the oil more often now!

$1777!

You probably have a spun bearing. If so, you might be able to bandaid it by replacing the bearing (if it's a rod bearing and not a main)...but it's a PITA and I wouldn't recommend it.

See if you can find a good takeout engine from a junkyard, like Snakebite said.

JM-99

Junkyard engines, worth a look. Depends on what my mechanic says. My tow guy and mechanic are the same guy, so that makes it a bit easier. I had a shift fork break off in my transmision, the replacement peice was 60 dollars. The labor was 940.... yay subaru

nakahoshi said:

the replacement peice was 60 dollars. The labor was 940.... yay subaru

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And about $1500 to replace the engine, I say go and buy a used car in good condition is better to fix the car that cost $2500 to fix.

Oh no, I'm so sorry! What a mess.

I agree about the junkyard approach. I'd say $2,000 + $750 to install. As noted earlier you may be better off spending $1000 or so more and getting a complete replacement car.

You may have spun a bearing, but I would guess there is more damage. 5 quarts low is LOW, and it sounds like the engine got hot afterwards. Did you pull the oil plug yet? Do it and see if there are metal shavings. I'm willing to bet there are. You may have worse problems such as scored cylinders, bent rod(s), damaged valvetrain, etc.

I once has an LT1 engine go while idling in traffic ('95 Corvette). It wasn't stressed at all, only a daily 25 mile (each way) commute. I heard a bad knocking noise and thought it was the diesel truck next to me. It wasn't. A rod let go. The mechanic said it looked like a grenade went off in the block.

Buy the same model car to drive and keep the one you have for spareparts (if you have a place to put it that is )

Subaru has never been the simplest to service and repair.
I would suggest, maybe selling the rest of the car to a good junkyard if it has a reasonably straight body and other good parts.
Then set your sights on an older Dodge, or Chevy half ton pickup truck with a smallblock V8.
These are usually simpler to fix and have a good and cheaper factory and aftermarket support on parts.
If you want a foreign name, then Toyota is worth considering too.

A class3 tow package is nice too for any of these.

I am an auto parts hotshotter btw.

PS;
Find an oil catcher pan, a metric oil plug drain wrench and a couple good jackstands and carefully change the oil yourself with the Subaru.
Look for metal flakes in the old oil.
If they are softer metal (lead, copper, aluminum), then you probably spun a bearing somewhere.
If harder metal pieces (steel, or iron) are found, then something more serious broke.

I guess how about 4200$?

There's a database of junkyards at www.car-parts.com. I've used it many times. parts are shipped to you directly by state. You must know the parts you need to search however otherwise it may be daunting. Try it out.

T

So yeah, got the call today. Said ill need a new engine most likely. He is going to take off the oil pan tomorrow to see whats really wrong, and let me know if i do need a new engine. This is very very tough. He said, even if i found a replacement motor, he couldnt install it untill in the next 2 weeks, because he is going away on vacation. I have a job starting sept 1st, and was planning to move officially on august 20th. So far ive put in new breaks, tires, clutch, and rear struts. Thats alot of damn money, and now this just breaks me in two. Should I put another 2500 into it? Or should I just get a honda civic? I need something that can travel. What a lovely time for me.......
-bobby

Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

OK - you've got some new maintenece items - probably $1k worth. If everything else is in good shape then you have a tough decision.

I'm guessing a 10 year old Sub is realistically worth $3 or 4 K. If you put the $2500 in it and everything else works for a couple of years, you're out $100 month for use with little depreciation and only basic liability insurance.

If you buy new, you're out way more but you'll have no repair costs for several years. And a shiny new ride.

I've always believed that if you have a vehicle you like that its way cheaper to keep it a long time than to trade every couple of years.

Good luck

EDIT Based on the story of the current engine as you've written, I wouldn't even consider a rebuilb or repair to that engine. I also agree that $2500 is probably a low estimate.

I'm inclined to think that it's going to cost far more than the car is worth if you need to replace the engine, unless you're going to do it yourself. I think Lasernerd's estimate of around $4200 is probably going to be the general neighborhood. Quite honestly, I'd start looking at replacement options while you're waiting to hear.

nakahoshi said:

So yeah, got the call today. Said ill need a new engine most likely. He is going to take off the oil pan tomorrow to see whats really wrong, and let me know if i do need a new engine.

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It looks like I could find a motor for about 1300. Im just going to bet the labor will be just as much. just to let you all know, I can change my oil and change my air filter. thats about it, NO WAY I could change my motor! Not even a chance. I Need to find a local place that would install the motor.
Im going to start to look for a replacement car right now, but that makes me sad
-bobby

Too bad. And one other thing to consider -- getting a salvage motor is a crapshoot, even if it has a guarantee.

I once went thru 3 salvage motors for an older MBZ before I got a good one (and it was a great engine - new spec compression, no oil use and unusually quiet).

It really depends upon your local labor rate. Around these parts, the labor is around $130/hr so it adds up pretty quick and the labor can easily be many times more than the cost of the engine itself.

nakahoshi said:

It looks like I could find a motor for about 1300. Im just going to bet the labor will be just as much. just to let you all know, I can change my oil and change my air filter. thats about it, NO WAY I could change my motor! Not even a chance. I Need to find a local place that would install the motor.
Im going to start to look for a replacement car right now, but that makes me sad
-bobby

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Geez, $130/hour, I need to change professions!

Bill

try to find place that installs rebuilt motors.You probably only need the short block to fix the problem, but go for the whole block. You are probalby in the $3000 range..

That's what the shop charges, not what they pay the techician/mechanic.
Besides in this is the land of $600K average house. I don't think differs that much from what you might find in the metro Seattle area.

I think the local rate for a tow truck is at $140/hour (truck, travel time, driver; not just the driver)

bwaites said:

Geez, $130/hour, I need to change professions!

Bill

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