WRX with Sudden Noise and Power Issue

On Mar 10, 7:34 am, "Stewart DIBBS" <s....RemoveThis@pixcl.com> wrote:
> "suburboturbo" <v....RemoveThis@westchestergov.com> wrote in message
>
> news:68b15df4-9a55-445b-901e-b3080fe52fb3@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On friday my 2004 WRX suddenly began chattering as I reached 3000 rpm
> > or so.  My first thought was a loose heat shield on he catalytic
> > converter or elsewhere in the exhaust system.  Decelerating in gear,
> > the noise got louder, almost as if an exhaust leak or turbo blow-off
> > valve.
>
> If power is down I'd say that the turbo has broken an impeller or compressor
> vane or two (or five...), or perhaps its done in the spindle bearing. Could
> be as simple as an exhaust leak on the manifold where the turbo is fitted.
> Let the dealer handle it.
>
> If its a compressor vane, ENSURE that the dealer takes the intercooler and
> hoses off and cleans them to ensure that there's no little bits of vane
> being injested.
>
> Years ago I had a Mazda 323 GTX AWD that fragged the turbo. The engine ran
> noticably rougher (thouhg still very well) ever after...
>
> SD

Worse than I thought. Seemed drivable, so I headed to the dealer
(about 3 miles away). Within 1/2 mile the minor chatter became a full
blown racket, power dropped to near zero, stalled, wouldn't restart,
and I coasted to a stop. Was able to push to a side street with the
assistance of a couple of helpful strangers, but had to be towed
(flatbed) to dealer. Waiting to hear the diagnosis. If it was the
turbo, I hope it didn't send any fragments downstream. Can't figure
what else unless the valvetrain came apart. No odd sounds from
alternator or fans, no electrical problem; couldn't find any vacuum or
exhaust leaks. Fortunately, and this was the only time I ever did
this, I purchased a 6y/60k extended warranty from Subaru of America to
ensure the turbo was covered. I've had the car for 4 years and 40k.
Have good maintenance records, although I didn't have the dealer do
30k service (have a trusted local shop that went through the
checklist, replaced the serpentine belt and radiator hoses-probably
could have covered under warranty, but wasn't expensive and these guys
treat me well). Let's see what happens.
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On Mar 11, 11:36 am, suburboturbo <v....DeleteThis@westchestergov.com> wrote:
> On Mar 10, 7:34 am, "Stewart DIBBS" <s....DeleteThis@pixcl.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "suburboturbo" <v....DeleteThis@westchestergov.com> wrote in message
>
> >news:68b15df4-9a55-445b-901e-b3080fe52fb3@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> > > On friday my 2004 WRX suddenly began chattering as I reached 3000 rpm
> > > or so.  My first thought was a loose heat shield on he catalytic
> > > converter or elsewhere in the exhaust system.  Decelerating in gear,
> > > the noise got louder, almost as if an exhaust leak or turbo blow-off
> > > valve.
>
> > If power is down I'd say that the turbo has broken an impeller or compressor
> > vane or two (or five...), or perhaps its done in the spindle bearing. Could
> > be as simple as an exhaust leak on the manifold where the turbo is fitted.
> > Let the dealer handle it.
>
> > If its a compressor vane, ENSURE that the dealer takes the intercooler and
> > hoses off and cleans them to ensure that there's no little bits of vane
> > being injested.
>
> > Years ago I had a Mazda 323 GTX AWD that fragged the turbo. The engine ran
> > noticably rougher (thouhg still very well) ever after...
>
> > SD
>
> Worse than I thought.  Seemed drivable, so I headed to the dealer
> (about 3 miles away).  Within 1/2 mile the minor chatter became a full
> blown racket, power dropped to near zero, stalled, wouldn't restart,
> and I coasted to a stop.  Was able to push to a side street with the
> assistance of a couple of helpful strangers, but had to be towed
> (flatbed) to dealer.  Waiting to hear the diagnosis.  If it was the
> turbo, I hope it didn't send any fragments downstream. Can't figure
> what else unless the valvetrain came apart.  No odd sounds from
> alternator or fans, no electrical problem; couldn't find any vacuum or
> exhaust leaks.  Fortunately, and this was the only time I ever did
> this, I purchased a 6y/60k extended warranty from Subaru of America to
> ensure the turbo was covered.  I've had the car for 4 years and 40k.
> Have good maintenance records, although I didn't have the dealer do
> 30k service (have a trusted local shop that went through the
> checklist, replaced the serpentine belt and radiator hoses-probably
> could have covered under warranty, but wasn't expensive and these guys
> treat me well).  Let's see what happens.- Hide quoted text -
>

Well, Subaru wouldn't even put the car on a lift until I would provide
service records. Luckily I kept receipts and oil filter boxes for my
own oil changes, and invoices for any other work that was done
(usually had 2 changes a year done at tire shops that swapped my
summer/winter tires). After I faxed them 11 pages of documentation,
they agreed to open it up. Service manager says it threw at least a
rod bearing, maybe chewed up the mains as well and is recommending a
full short block replacement under warranty, but is waiting for the
district rep to look at it and make a final determination. Car has
never been driven that hard. Anyone else know of bearing problems in
the turbo 2.0? Been using Castrol 5w-30, as per spec, changed every
3000 miles or so.
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