Cost to pull engine & do seals
Hi,
I have a 1996 Subaru Impreza LX with 179,000 miles on it. Bought it at 125K. It is a reconstruct vehicle. The body is in great shape. In January I had to put new struts on to pass PA inspection. While under the car, the mechanic found a great deal of built up oil, not sure just where leaking from.
He carefully power washed the underside to get rid of the built up oil. He changed the oil and put a dye in all the fluids that shows up under a black light. Today we went over the results. The two valve cover seals are leaking, the front and rear seals are showing leaks. We thought the power steering pump was leaking, but that is not showing up under the scope.
He said that it would be cheaper to pull the engine and fix all three than to do each one separately. I put a new timing belt in at 125K, but if there is oil on the belt that will have to be replaced.
Price, around $1200.
I am wondering if this is a fair price and given the cars age, worth the fix. I did spend $1100 for the new struts and that was a stretch on my cash. Not able to buy a new used car, and even if I did, I would probably not be able to get anything decent for the money I could spend.
The engine has not been burning oil. It gets changed every 3-4K. I check levels frequently and haven't to add oil, just barely any when I have. It runs great, handles well and everything works; except for the passenger electric window which is a little slow on the up and down.
Any thoughts on this? Any questions I should be asking? Anything else I should consider before doing this?
Thanks!
I have a 1996 Subaru Impreza LX with 179,000 miles on it. Bought it at 125K. It is a reconstruct vehicle. The body is in great shape. In January I had to put new struts on to pass PA inspection. While under the car, the mechanic found a great deal of built up oil, not sure just where leaking from.
He carefully power washed the underside to get rid of the built up oil. He changed the oil and put a dye in all the fluids that shows up under a black light. Today we went over the results. The two valve cover seals are leaking, the front and rear seals are showing leaks. We thought the power steering pump was leaking, but that is not showing up under the scope.
He said that it would be cheaper to pull the engine and fix all three than to do each one separately. I put a new timing belt in at 125K, but if there is oil on the belt that will have to be replaced.
Price, around $1200.
I am wondering if this is a fair price and given the cars age, worth the fix. I did spend $1100 for the new struts and that was a stretch on my cash. Not able to buy a new used car, and even if I did, I would probably not be able to get anything decent for the money I could spend.
The engine has not been burning oil. It gets changed every 3-4K. I check levels frequently and haven't to add oil, just barely any when I have. It runs great, handles well and everything works; except for the passenger electric window which is a little slow on the up and down.
Any thoughts on this? Any questions I should be asking? Anything else I should consider before doing this?
Thanks!
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Comments
Definitely replace the water pump at that time, though. Otherwise, you're inviting an unwanted (and potentially costly/damaging) breakdown later on.
The fact that you don't need to add any oil over the 3/4K time frame makes me feel confident that these leaks are currently minor issues. You might even be able to slightly tighten the valve covers and resolve those particular leaks.