My engine broke. I really need advice
 

Some background. I'm trying to make this post short as possible (tldr; at the bottom) but I've been all over the place trying to diagnose this and figure out and the best way to fix my situation and I want to see if anyone has any ideas on the best way to go about it, mostly mechanically. I highly appreciate your time and thank you ahead of time for your opinions. I got a 2013 AT 80k miles and I had recall work done December of 2018. I'm 4k over the value on my loan for it (in working condition), so no trading in. Although ultimately if I could I would for a wrx as I'v kinda grown out of it with kids and all but pretty much stuck with it till end of loan espically now. Oh well I still love the car :)

Engine Noise
https://youtu.be/iIfN0SuHDSM
Pulley
https://youtu.be/S4zZlNaRvH4

A couple months ago my engine started making some ticking noise and it's really bad. I'll link some videos to check out. I also just noticed while taking them today that there's a pulley vibrating out of control which I also took a video of but frame rate makes it look weird. The sound almost goes away sometimes, can barely hear it in drive. Increases with neutral revs VERY hard to pinpoint where it's coming from. After rev it will almost die then recover. I thought it might be related to the recall so I wanted the dealership to look at it/cover it. I towed it there and they told me after starting it they wanted $1500 to tear apart and LOOK at it. Then said if they needed to replace the engine.... 10k. Tha fuq. I called Subaru and they said I would have to pay the diagnosis then IF it was directly recall related they would pay but the dealership was like "well your oil is low". And it was sadly. Which is super, super shitty. Maybe its internal not sure. Coulda very well been the cause although I had no low/hot oil lights or codes. So very low chance I would win here and I don't have an extra $1500 to waste. Towed it back home.

I had a friend at a local shop come by and look at it and he came to the conclusion that it is a spun bearing which seems likely with the low oil.
Question #1: Does it seem like this is actually what's wrong?
Now based off of that it sounds like I need to replace the short block.
Question #2: Is this the route I should take, opposed to whole engine? Note I don't have money for new engine currently.

I should specify that I'm definitely no mechanic but I am mechanically inclined. I took small engines in high school and I tore apart and thouroghly cleaned my motorcycle engine from non working condition and it runs amazing. But this is a car engine. Biggest thing I'v done is replace a clutch. Also I don't exactly have the money to do this or things would be easier - buy new stock engine swap it done. I believe I could handle that being part for part swap. All things considered I feel self replacing short block is the only current option. I'm not sure how easy/difficult it will actually be to transfer things to new short block (and correctly) but I feel confident enough I suppose. I'v watched all the YouTube vids I could find on replacing fa20s but it's not like there super detailed. So should I just go for it with a service manual? I feel like I'm getting close to the limit of my internal engine knowledge with this one, I just don't wanna screw the inside up. I keep hoping this could be an easier fix but I highly doubt it. I dabbled the idea of upgrading but it's gonna be a WHILE before I'd have the money to do that. Honestly i wouldn't mind doing MT swap. I feel it could be done for around 4k with newish longblock, I'd love some input on this also. For now she sits.

tldr; Engine is making sounds what's wrong(I have vids linked)? I think it's a spun bearing. If it is can I, having never replaced an engine with basic mechanical knowledge, replace a short block? Funds are currently limited. Would it be wise to save up a little more paying on dead horse until I can buy new engine/trans swap? Thanks again.

I spun a bearing on mine. I've rebuilt an engine before in a Civic. I did not feel comfortable rebuilding this engine so I did an LS engine swap. Now that is not practical for you, but you can get a used engine from a junkyard/internet/Craigslist and swap it in. Unplug current engine, pull, insert "new" engine... Profit? Somehow?

That will be your cheapest option. If you did the clutch you can trade engines. I didn't research much because of the swap, but I once heard the different years of engines weren't compatible. Maybe if you swap in all your current sensors a newer motor would work (definitely don't want valve spring issues again) but I simply don't know.

Also be very careful with the high pressure fuel pump. You don't want to crack a seal open and have 3000psi fuel spray in your eye. YouTube will be your best friend

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usually if a bearing is spun, the oil will look like there's glitter in it. have you checked your oil? a low oil level in and of itself is not any sort of indicator of a direct bearing issue.

how low was the oil when they looked at it?

Ya I don't think I want to crack it open. From what iv read looks like 14-16 works directly so I'll probably just stick with those years in the case of a full replacement. As far as oil I haven't actually noticed any metal glitter. It's about the bottom dot on the dipstick. I haven't added any since it's just been sitting but I want to dump it and see. I almost want to add oil and start it again but I'm sure the noise will still be there. Funny thing my mechanic said was to put tranny fluid in the oil and see if it goes away and I respect his knowledge but it seems kinda, idk, like I shouldn't do that lol so I haven't tried it

That's sounds pretty weird I wouldn't do that.

You mentioned a pulley being messed up in your original post. Which pulley is this and why haven't you fixed that to see if your other problem goes away? Or am I mistaken?

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It's the tensioner pulley and from what I understand it's supposed to move a little but this is way more than what looks normal. I guess it could be related but my first thought was that it would be because of the internal problem that caused it to do that like it was off balance. I'm not sure if it broke but sure could be. Would this possibly cause the engine knocking sound? Any way to diagnose if it's actually broken instead of just reacting ?

The ATF in the crankcase trick i remember was something people did for sticking/ticking valves... but humfrz would know more about that :)

If it was on the bottom dot on the dipstick it was a quart low iirc. I would probably pull the oil drain plug and inspect the oil and see if anything is floating around in it.

We poured ATF or even brake fluid into seized engines or with a very sticky valve train all the time back in the day. It would free them up enough that you could get them apart to fix properly but is not a "fix" in itself.
There seems to be several weird gaps in this story.
How long was the "couple of months" that the car was driven while engine was making a noise?
Was the oil checked and some added when the noise started?
Was it low all that time?
Is the guy that recommended pouring the ATF into it as a fix the Bubba that Humfrz is always talking about?

Vacuum pump

I don't believe the tensioner can be "off balance" or cause the engine to make weird noises. You could simply take your serpentine belt off to see if the noise goes away. You can't run like that for now than a short while but certainly enough to test

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Oh it wasn't driven at all after it started making the noise. I was just driving it around town having some fun. Honestly there was a couple doughnuts. But its not like I was tracking it. Then on the way home it started and by the time I was home it got to the point where it is now. Haven't actually drove it since that day just been starting to diagnose it and towing it. Haven't added any oil because ya it's been undrivable. It was low that whole day unfortunately shoulda checked beforehand. Last I checked was probably a month prior

Think that might be it? Is there a way to see if it's broken?

That's a good idea with the belt might try that in the morning

There's nothing wrong with the belt-driven accessories. The tensioner is not damped. It moves a lot.

My headphone were charging so I didn't watch the vid. Sounds like the vacuum pump to me as well.

Yep 100% normal operation.