Engine Failure (#4 Rod Bearing + Short Block)

[eriktherod]

I could have sworn I posted this here when it happened (back in January of this year), but I guess I didn't.

I thought I'd share the issue I had then, because my 86 is in the shop yet again for what I believe to be similar if not worse this time.

Here's what happened in January:

I was coming home with the girlfriend from an evening of shopping and dinner. I was travelling down I-485 when I started to hear a faint rattling noise. It had made noises from time to time (which I was told were normal), so I didn't think anything of it.

The noise became slightly louder after a mile and it began to worry me, which she noticed and asked me what the noise was. I turned the radio off and listened, noticing it was correlated to engine load. If I put the car into neutral it would disappear, and return once the car was in gear (fourth was most noticeable at highway speeds).

At this point I was only a mile away from my exit, but boy did the noise get louder by the second. By the time I coasted to my exit it was fairly loud when giving it throttle, first and second gear sounded horrible. I pulled into the first gas station immediately. Opened the hood and took a listen, it sounded like a spoon was banging around inside the engine, even at idle. No fluid leaks or otherwise damage from what I could tell at a cursory glance.

I was only a mile away from home, so I decided to baby it home and I made it. It is important to note, at no point did any warning lights or CELs come on. I checked my ScanGauge and no codes were stored, the system reported as ready.

The next morning I had it towed into the dealership and they took a look at it. The official verdict was #4 rod bearing had spun, disintegrated, and the short block was ruined. The technician was rather surprised himself.

They had the car back to normal within a few days and gave me a loaner, courtesy of Toyota, while the repairs took place. At this point the car barely had 25,000 miles, if that.

Here is the official report from the dealership back in January:



Now what caused me to create this belated post is that it happened to me again, the other day (March 4th) in rush hour traffic on I-85.

This time I was in the left lane going ~65mph when I started to hear the ominous rattle begin. It was faint, and like before, I turned off my music to get a better listen. The noise became more pronounced and all I could think was please just let me get home. Well, within a mile or so the car briefly flashed all dashboard lights and abruptly turned off. Yes, I was free-rolling at highway speeds with limited steering and braking capabilities.

I amazed even myself with my quick thinking, turning on the hazard lights and trying my best to slow down without causing an accident. The right lane was not an option at this point with cars all passing me and I was running out of steam. With no other option I ended up stopping in the left shoulder.

I knew this was not a good spot, and would be difficult for a tow truck to get to me, so I decided to try to start the car. First attempt failed and it started but stalled soon after. With a sigh of defeat, I tried once more and blipped the throttle to keep it alive, which somehow worked. At this point traffic was building up ahead and people noticed my trouble so they let me limp over the to extreme right shoulder safely. The car at this point could not keep idle and stalled soon after I stopped. The whole time I felt like James May on an unfortunate Top Gear episode, with countless moments I should be saying a British expletive.

Again, at no point did any CELs come on. The car reports no codes and everything as being ready.

So now I am waiting for the verdict this time. With the car actually turning off and being unable to keep idle, I think it's even worse this time. I'm not even at 30K miles yet...

I don't even know what to feel. Anger? Frustration? Regret? Sadness? I want to love the car, I really do. It's fun to drive, looks great, and has immense potential. But with issues like this I don't know what to do. Give it yet another chance? I can't keep rebuilding my engine every oil change. I don't drive the car any different than 90% of people here, so I can't imagine I am breaking it.

I've emailed the Toyota CEOs with my experiences and frustration but some emails bounced. I'll probably give them a call tomorrow to make sure they know about this recurring issue. I'll keep you guys posted.

[Zed]

Sounds like a car owner / car lover's worst nightmare... I am not a praying man, but I hope it all works out for you... Please keep us updated on how Toyota handles this. Props for keeping cool both times and doing the right thing in traffic. I've seen too many 'Muricans just keep trucking along despite glaringly obvious signs their cars were not road ready... You did the responsible thing both times despite no real feedback from the dash!

[Creole]

Ouch,

I'm sorry for your troubles mate. I also hope you can get your issues resolved and get back to enjoying your car!!

Keep us posted on what happens


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[Wepeel]

Thanks for sharing, and sorry to hear about your troubles. I had a similar experience with my STI - I was going through shortblocks every 5-10k miles and after the 4th motor was put in I just ended trading in for the BRZ. Good luck, keep us updated.

Any mods to the car?

[eriktherod]

Only two mods: The TRD drop-in air filter and the Perrin crank pulley.

[Porsche]

Did I read that correctly?

You were four quarts low on oil when you spun a rod bearing in January?

[JP]

how did you run the motor in each time?

[Hawaiian]

You have had an extreme case of bad luck sir. It's unfair that some guys can have a bulletproof car for 500k miles no matter how hard they abuse it, and some guys can't get off the lot with their car without it going down.

I hope things turn for you shortly.

[eriktherod]

Originally Posted by Porsche

Did I read that correctly?

You were four quarts low on oil when you spun a rod bearing in January?

From what the technician told me, that seems correct.

What I can't quite make out is which of these two is more accurate:

• The engine was burning oil and since #4 is the last bearing to be oiled, it spun due to low oil.
• Rod bearing #4 spun for whatever reason and since it is the last bearing, it caused an oil leak/burn.

Basically, was the oil burning the cause or an effect. I am fairly sure I only had about 2,000 miles on that oil change, so I can't imagine it would be low unless there was an issue.

What is interesting to me is... in 2013 with all this technology.. how does this car not sense something wrong throughout any of this? My 08 Civic Si would cry wolf anytime it went into limp mode because of a little mist on the intake. Here I am leaking oil like a sieve apparently, barely able to keep idle and the car says business as usual? Wild...

Not that I should have to, but I am making it a habit of checking my oil level whenever I fill up at that gas station.

[eriktherod]

Originally Posted by JP

how did you run the motor in each time?

I'm not quite understanding what you mean by 'run in'.

[JP]

how did you drive during the "break in" period when each engine was new... Did you baby it or did you give the engine plenty of cylinder pressure and engine braking to force the rings out to the bore so they bed in properly. With poor break in it's not unheard of for a Subaru engine to burn 1L of oil every 1000km.

[eriktherod]

For the first 1000 miles I kept it under 4k (per the user manual), but after that I did not baby it. I won't deny I drive it spiritedly, but not abusive.

[JP]

so you babied it for the first 1000?

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

Basically, was the oil burning the cause or an effect.

Yeah. Interesting.

Do I understand correctly that Toyota paid for these repairs?