Car of the week blog:
Week 2:
5/21/15
Bud’s is here to report in for week 2 of Car of the Week!
It is funny how things happen but… his week our featured vehicle is another2005 Subaru Legacy. The customer came in because of a “knocking sound”. They could tell that there was something wrong with the car but didn’t know what. They may have searched “why is my car knocking” or “what is that knocking sound” on Google before scheduling an appointment, maybe not. Either way, they knew that our techs have the knowledge and tools to figure out the issue.
This Subaru Legacy came in for diagnosis because of the noise it was making. Usually when your vehicle is making a noise, there is already something wrong. When our mechanic got to this vehicle for inspection and started it up he could definitely here the knocking sound. He proceeded with the 29 point inspection that every vehicle that comes into the shop gets. He noticed that the engine oil was low. While doing the oil change he cut open the oil filter. As he looked through its contents he saw bits and pieces of bearing material. The way he explains is: “the car ran low on oil which caused a drop in pressure; the drop in pressure caused the lack of oil to the bearing; lack of oil caused the bearing to over -heat; the over-heated bearing came apart causing gaps; the gaps in the bearing caused the knocking noise”. As the bearing was losing small pieces of material, some were caught and gathered in the oil filter. Had the vehicle been receiving its regularly scheduled maintenance of “oil changes every 3000 miles”, our technician would have been doing preventative maintenance and making sure that the oil was clean and full. Bud’s recommends that all vehicles get an oil and filter change (including a 29 point inspection) every three thousand miles. In this case, the tech found a leak in the head gasket (a common problem with stock parts on older Subaru vehicles). Because of the leak and the gaps in the bearings our tech suggests either an engine rebuild to replace the bearings or a new engine all together. It’s a sad day for this Subaru owner, but….this is a preventable outcome.
Bud’s recommends that you schedule your oil changes and regular maintenance before leaving the shop at check out. That way you will get friendly reminders from us as to when your service is due.
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