Subaru diesel reliability

[gmaz]

I've spotted a few Subaru Legacy Diesels on ebay at ridiculously low prices as they seem to have fatal engine problems. Is this a common thing with Subaru diesels and what can be so wrong with them that they are uneconomical to repair?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-SUBARU-OUTBACK-REn-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Outback-Re-Boxer-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Outback-2-0D-R-20...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-SUBARU-LEGACY-RE-BO...

[Jimmy Recard]

I think they have a common problem with running away which breaks crankshafts and blocks

[gmaz]

Jimmy Recard said:

I think they have a common problem with running away which breaks crankshafts and blocks

I wonder if that's the boxer layout that causes it.

[Jimmy Recard]

I think it's usually due to failed turbos letting oil into the cylinders

[battered]

News to me that they did diesels.
A diesel runaway sounds nasty, I have heard of these things. Don't you end up putting the thing in gear and then stalling it on the brake?
Something similar happened to a mate's Golf TDi, it didn't run away but it did suck his sump oil through the turbo, burn it as fuel and then go bang when the oil ran out.

[Depthhoar]

My neighbour's Subaru Legacy diesel boxer went bang when the crankshaft let go a month or two ago. Just out of warranty (of course!) and Subaru don't want to know even though it's an acknowledged problem with a certain production run of the diesel engine.

Apparently, some sealant was incorrectly applied at engine assembly stage which partially blocked some critical oil ways, restricting but not entirely blocking oil flow to the crank. Crank grenades itself only after 'x' thousand miles (from memory...neighbour's went at 80k+ miles?).

'Hope springs eternal' with my neighbour and he's hoping to rebuild the engine with a "re-built" crank from Poland for £750 (good luck with that!). He's in danger of chasing his losses and should probably just take the financial hit and scrap the car as it's not worth a whole lot even with a good engine.

[RPB160511]

Completely agree with the sealant dripping into the oil gallery issue. My then dealer (2010) was very proactive and told me not to drive the (owned from new 08 reg) car once he heard it. Took 6 weeks for a replacement engine to be flown in and fitted. On top of that, had 3 clutches (and dual mass flywheel issues) a gearbox which baulked going into 2nd and reverse and a chassis which should have been better. Front wheels also went out of alignment and chewed up inside tread on a couple of occasions. Despite all this, when running, it was a complete delight, even if the fuel consumption was very low 40s. Eventually had enough being an unpaid development driver for Subaru and sold it back to the dealer at a considerable loss. Just wanted rid of it.

Edited by RPB160511 on Saturday 16th January 14:44