Potential Cause of rumored GR86’s blown engine? Seal packing(RTV) was peeled off

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by mycrors7

i still dont believe the clogged pickup only damaged a single rod bearing

blocked pickup would damage all 4 bearings to some extent.

any way you can ask the dealer to check the other rod bearings for damage?

iirc, there's 3 failures that are all related to a cyl 1 rod bearing

They probably are not going to bother to check. I doubt they would check the mains either.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

They probably are not going to bother to check. I doubt they would check the mains either.

Ya at the dealership level they are only go to go until they find the smoking gun. I would hope that Subaru checked the other parts though.

[Teseo]

@Kevinvo

That was madness. Those engine are more cursed than 1st gen valve springs

[removedonut]

Here’s my contribution.

11/21 build date. 10,200 miles, car driven as it was intended (which may or may not include non-timed non-competitive closed course driving events)

External signs of issues visible in RTV oozing out of timing chain cover at all sides, longest glob I found was about half an inch in length. Oil pan RTV intact except for one ~2 inch dangly piece. Definitely overapplied at the factory, per subaru’s own specification. Several small pieces of RTV hanging out in the bottom of the oil pan.
Didn’t find any RTV in the oil filter after 4k miles.
One small piece of RTV on dipstick (although considering the dipstick sits right on top of the RTV bead, i don’t think this indicates any real issue).
RTV clogging pickup screen, definitely not the worst i’ve seen. I’d estimate 1/3 of the top screen is blocked in some capacity.

[Petah78]

Originally Posted by removedonut

Here’s my contribution.

11/21 build date. 10,200 miles, car driven as it was intended (which may or may not include non-timed non-competitive closed course driving events)

External signs of issues visible in RTV oozing out of timing chain cover at all sides, longest glob I found was about half an inch in length. Oil pan RTV intact except for one ~2 inch dangly piece. Definitely overapplied at the factory, per subaru’s own specification. Several small pieces of RTV hanging out in the bottom of the oil pan.
Didn’t find any RTV in the oil filter after 4k miles.
One small piece of RTV on dipstick (although considering the dipstick sits right on top of the RTV bead, i don’t think this indicates any real issue).
RTV clogging pickup screen, definitely not the worst i’ve seen. I’d estimate 1/3 of the top screen is blocked in some capacity.

Thank you for the datapoint. Did you drop the pan because off issues observed? Or just being proactive? Any flakes/shimmer in the pan?

Thank you.

[removedonut]

Originally Posted by Petah78

Thank you for the datapoint. Did you drop the pan because off issues observed? Or just being proactive? Any flakes/shimmer in the pan?

Thank you.

I have the tools, know-how, and a couple hours of free time so it just seemed like a no-brainer to get in front of the issue. The heaping globs of RTV hanging around all edges of my timing chain cover definitely motivated it, but no actual issues. I have an oil pressure gauge and my oil pressure consistently doubles subaru’s specification even with that RTV in there.

No flakes. I have a magnetic drain plug and there was nothing on there other than the normal black sludge. There were 2 small flakes in the oil filter I used from 5k-9k, but that is fairly normal.

[Petah78]

Originally Posted by removedonut

I have the tools, know-how, and a couple hours of free time so it just seemed like a no-brainer to get in front of the issue. The heaping globs of RTV hanging around all edges of my timing chain cover definitely motivated it, but no actual issues. I have an oil pressure gauge and my oil pressure consistently doubles subaru’s specification even with that RTV in there.

No flakes. I have a magnetic drain plug and there was nothing on there other than the normal black sludge. There were 2 small flakes in the oil filter I used from 5k-9k, but that is fairly normal.

Thank you for the detail data, lots of great information, especially with the oil pressure gauge and magnetic drain plug. It's good to know that there doesn't appear to be accelerated wear even with the the top partially blocked pick up. I would have likely done the same had it not be for warranty concerns. I will monitor via UOA and proceed with caution. Thank you again.

[Grif]

A close up and personal inspection of the oil pickup screen/basket.
Really gives you perspective of the surface area at play.

https://twitter.com/yonsama800/statu...69665373138945

[Thatllbuffout]

Originally Posted by Grif

A close up and personal inspection of the oil pickup screen/basket.
Really gives you perspective of the surface area at play.

https://twitter.com/yonsama800/statu...69665373138945

Interesting, I did not realize just how small that filter was. Thanks for sharing.

[Grif]

It looks like it could hold a considerable amount of debris before clogging up, albeit this does not factor in any cavitation issues that may occur.

Any fluid dynamics experts or submariners here that could chime in on working out the requirements for cavitation?

[Petah78]

Originally Posted by Grif

A close up and personal inspection of the oil pickup screen/basket.
Really gives you perspective of the surface area at play.

https://twitter.com/yonsama800/statu...69665373138945

Thank you for posting this info. I have long suspected that the top doesn't represent a large percentage of the total surface area of the pick up but this post confirmed it. The 4 sides looked to have a much larger surface area and by estimation, i say the top is about 1/7 (14%). I wouldn't think flow is the problem even if the entire top side is blocked. Cavitation is a real concern though. I am not an engineer but i think cavitation will only become an issue with:

- Higher oil temps
- Higher pressure differentiation pre/post pump (how bad the blockage is)

Any engineer can confirm?

[mycrors7]

I have some bad news regarding the STI brz cup car oil pan..

My last resource couldn’t get it claiming it’s discontinued. I’m 99% sure it’s not possible to obtain the oil pan unless you are a shop/team building a documented cup car

I’m looking further into it, but I’m not hopeful anymore

[Doc_Bch_Stkrs]

Originally Posted by mycrors7

I have some bad news regarding the STI brz cup car oil pan..

My last resource couldn’t get it claiming it’s discontinued. I’m 99% sure it’s not possible to obtain the oil pan unless you are a shop/team building a documented cup car

I’m looking further into it, but I’m not hopeful anymore

Not for nothing, I'm sure you want to use a Subaru part with a Subaru PN, however the Trust-Power Greddy JP site lists their oil pan baffle as being a part of the GR86/BRZ cup car.

I plan to go this route in the future.

[mycrors7]

Originally Posted by Doc_Bch_Stkrs

Not for nothing, I'm sure you want to use a Subaru part with a Subaru PN, however the Trust-Power Greddy JP site lists their oil pan baffle as being a part of the GR86/BRZ cup car.

I plan to go this route in the future.

Subaru USA considered the brz STI cup oil pan an aftermarket part, because it’s not available in their system.

Tbh there’s no real reason to go with the brz STI cup car oil pan. I had already started the process for purchasing it and made a payment as well. ETA was 9/8/22, then I was hit with the info I shared.

If I can Get it, I still Will, but I can’t recommend it when there’s options that cost half as much and get the job done