Those of you that follow the 1A Auto Blog may remember the 2006 Subaru Legacy GT project car that I bought a few months ago. If not, you may want to start off by reading Part 1 and Part 2 of the project before jumping head first into today’s post. Then again, maybe you just want to dig right into the meat and potatoes. For that, I can’t blame you. In fact, that makes you a straight shooter, and that’s what I’ve always liked about you.
Okay. Here goes…
The new-ish VF40 turbo on the 2006 Legacy GT destroyed itself in hellacious fashion recently. Yes. It was quite an experience that I won’t soon forget. Raining, muddy, on a steep hill, on a high speed road, and then shrouded in disappointment from my “towing service” who shall remain nameless. If I had only known a month ago what I know now, this horrible event would have definitely been avoided. So now, I want to inform turbocharged Subaru owners far and wide of this absolutely simple maintenance that can make a destroyed turbo totally preventable. For me, I can only blame myself for not researching this car & EJ25 engine more, because this info is already out there if you just search for it. Sadly, I just didn’t realize that I needed to. Research, research, research when you buy a car that you are unfamiliar with. Hit the car forums. Ask the people that drive them. Be your own automotive advocate. It WILL save you cash and stress.
Now let’s get to the good stuff! Once the red beauty was towed home and placed in the dry, loving surroundings of the garage, I found that the shaft inside the VF40 turbo had been completely starved of oil, and it broke in half at the center bearing. This left the turbine wheel dancing around inside the turbine housing, which is never optimal for peak performance. With the engine running, the sound could have been mistaken for somebody feeding steel chains into a wood chipper. I immediately asked myself “how the heck did this happen?!” The car had brand new oil in it, only about 2000 miles on the oil that I got it with a couple of months ago, and I knew that the previous owner took amazing care of this car because she loved it. I hit the internet in search for the answer.
Much to my surprise, there was 350+ page thread on Legacygt.com that discussed this exact problem in detail, because hundreds of other Subaru owners have had the same exact problem as me. The cause - the banjo bolt (also known as a “union” bolt) that is part of the oil feed line to the turbo. Inside this banjo bolt is a tiny little (stupid) filter. Over time, this tiny little filter does its job and filters contaminates from going into the turbo. Great, right? No. Not so much. Because most people rarely, if ever, replace them. Left untouched for too long, the filter becomes clogged, and your turbo is starved of oil, which quickly leads it to an early death.
Needless to say, I am no longer a fan of this bolt or the filter that lives inside it, and I decided that there was no way that I was replacing it with the same style system. There just had to be something better out there, like maybe an oil feed line with a washable filter, and more oil volume? ALAS! The internet saved the day again! A company called “Infamous Performance” in California created an oil feed kit that appears to be far superior to the factory system. The kit that they sell completely eliminates the factory oil feed, and grabs engine oil from a “better” location. It also has a terrific looking, larger oil filter than can be cleaned out easily at your leisure. Since I also needed a new turbo, I went with a hybrid 16G VF40 from BNRSupercars. Both parts got to me fast, and worked perfectly without any drama whatsoever. The car now is now fixed, the birds are singing, and a beautiful red 2006 Subaru Legacy GT is back on the streets again.
Now, for those of you with turbocharged Subarus, don’t freak out yet. The first step is to find out if your car even had this banjo (union) bolt with the filter inside it (Not all Subarus do. In fact, the majority don’t.). For the cars that do have it though, it is located on the back of the passenger side cylinder head, and it holds down the turbo oil feed line. A super helpful Subaru owner known as “niemkij” on iwsti.com did a fantastic write-up of how to replace one of these bolts yourself. Currently, a new “union” bolt is around $17 new from a Subaru dealer, and probably take between 15 minutes and an hour to replace, depending on your level of expertise.
For all intents and purposes, replacing this banjo bolt with a new one from the dealer is all you really need to do. I go overboard on everything that I do, so I went with the whole new feed line & fancier turbo instead of the OEM stuff. The moral is, this tiny little turbo oil feed filter needs to be replaced on a regular basis. If you don’t replace it, or don’t know when the last time yours was replaced, you may be risking the life of your turbo. Check it out, and report back your findings. I want to hear about your Subaru.
Great write up. Thank you. I heard of oil starvation with the 2010 Legacy GT that I own. If I buy a banjo bolt from the dealer are they hard to change yourself??
Hi James,
I have only dealt with the 2006 LGT, so I’m not sure what the 2010 is like, or if they still use this same style oil banjo bolt (hopefully they don’t). I think I could probably swap the one on the 2006 Legacy in about 15-20 minutes now. The trickiest part is getting the copper washers back onto the bolt during reinstallation. They tend to fall down and land on top of the subframe. Fishing them out is a hoot. I would recommend checking out http://www.legacygt.com, and http://www.nasioc.com/ if you haven’t already. Both are terrific resources for Subaru information.
If you have a pick it’s also possible too pull the screen inside the bolt out and the problem is solved for free. even dirty oil is better than no oil.
I thought subaru stopped putting the banjo filters in after 2006, much like the uppipe cat but as was stated legacygt.com will have it answered or someone will answer it for you.
Ryan, that’s a great point. Many people do rip the filter right out and pretend it never existed. I thought about doing this on my car, but the company that I bought the turbo from recommended the feed kit that I used, so…I ran with the idea.
BUT, contaminants WERE kept outta duh turbo…doncha just luuuv engineers!
Yeap, it was totally free of dirt & oil, that’s for sure!
Once upon a time and a Volvo, I succumbed to an add spouting the wonders of silicon engine restorer. WELL it clogged the oil sump ‘filter’ (guess it was there to keep odd engine internals out of the oil pump) oil pressure went to zero, clackity-clack before I shut ‘er down, got a trailer, and took it home. De-babited the mains,spewed glitter throughout, and got into the crank on one main. Thirty eight dollars, some 1000 grit shaft tape, and a day later the bomb was back on the road…sans the sump filter. Lot cheaper than a turbo…look on the bright side, time to upgrade to a triple turbo anyway!
Hi, same thing happened with my 2005 LGT Wagon. However my Banjo bolt was clean after 132k! The problem with mine was the Oil Control Valve also available at Infamous. They sell them at $80 each (Dealer: $130ea) with very easy install. I replaced both to be safe. Have the same BNR 16g now.. NIIICE turbo!!
am buying a used subaru GT legacy 2006 with 100k miles to it. Is there any reason to be worried about?
Hi Sande,
From my perspective: If you are buying a 2006 Legacy GT with 100K miles, you will want to know if / when the timing belt and water pump were replaced, because they are due to be by 100K miles. You will also want to replace the filter that I talk about in this post. I’m sure the local Subaru dealer will know what you are talking about if you ask them to replace the “turbo oil feed filter”. If the one in your new vehicle has never been replaced – replace it! Also – be sure to change your oil frequently, because if you don’t that little filter will clog, and your turbo will implode. Other than that – they are great cars!
Hi, Jeremy you seem to know what you’re talking about, so here it goes. I have an 05 legacy 2.5 GT and I just had to replace part of my turbo, apparently a bearing broke and killed my turbo (the bearing inside the turbo) is there any way that I can help this from happening again my car is just over 101,000 and it’s a beautiful car, good engine and transmission, but I may have to sell if I can’t find a way to make sure this doesn’t happen to the turbo again, if there’s anything you know that I can do, please let me know!
-Jess
Good morning Jess!
So, if your previous turbo just had a bearing problem that destroyed it, it was likely starved of oil for some reason. If I were you, I would make sure that you replace that union bolt / filter that I mentioned (and showed a picture of) in this blog post above. The hose that feeds your turbo fresh oil has this “union bolt” in the middle of it with a mini filter inside. When that filter clogs, it starves the turbo of oil, which then kills it. So if you haven’t/don’t change this union bolt, then your new turbo may face the same oil starvation issue and die an early death like the first turbo did. For what it is worth, I believe Subaru is recommending that these union bolts are changed every 30K miles now. They are only about $17 at a dealer, and it is very easy to replace. I can’t imagine a shop charging more than an hour to swap it out on your car.
)
A well lubricated turbocharger will last a very, very long time. If it isn’t lubricated properly, the bearings wear, and the turbo basically eats itself from the inside out.
With all that being said, the reason that these filters inside the union bolts clog is age / dirty oil. If you leave these filters in too long and don’t change them every 30K miles like Subaru (now) recommends, then the filters will clog up and you have turbo issues due to oil starvation. Also, if you go way too long between oil changes, your oil becomes too dirty and it can clog a perfectly good filter.
So the short answer is: Change that union bolt if you haven’t done it already, and always do oil changes on time, don’t push it longer. I would recommend every 3000 miles, but that is a highly debated topic that nobody agrees on. (All of my cars get 3000 mile oil changes for reference
Good luck, and feel free to keep me updated on the progress!
Does the WRX STi from 2004 have this bolt? I think it does have the VF40 but I am not certain.
Hi Jack,
I’m actually not sure if the 04 STi has this bolt or not. I’d recommend hopping on NASIOC.com and asking the guys/gals on there. That is by far the biggest Subaru community out there.
On my 2009 GT my turbo just went and I have metal in the oil pan. Do I just need to replace the turbo and oil feed like you did? Or am I looking a whole engine rebuild?
Hi Doug,
That’s not a fun situation to be in at all. Your repair approach is sort of a judgement call / gamble depending on how much metal is/was in the oil pan, and what the condition of the rest of the engine is. At the very least, you need a new turbo, a new union bolt/filter (I would always recommend a better oil feed line to the new turbo instead of that terrible factory oil feed system), and an oil & filter change. Then you will want to do another oil & filter change very, very soon after (maybe just a few miles miles?). Then clean or replace the union bolt/filter again probably. You really don’t want any metal floating around your oil.
There is a fair bit of risk involved if you only replace these filters / turbo / oil because if there is still metal floating around inside your engine, you may destroy the new turbo as well. If metal made it into your main or connecting rod bearings, you could develop an enjoy knock soon.
There are also two other union bolt / filters that control oil going to your cams. If they are clogged with debris, your cams could potentially be starved of oil as well. So replacing those union bolts would be smart too, but they are buried deep behind the timing belt covers if I recall correctly. (read – “labor intensive job”)
I think the short answer is: It will be an expensive repair no matter what – how big of a gamble do you want to take?
My 2006 Subaru GT Legacy turbo blew up on me this past weekend. I was not happy to find out that I needed a new turbo.I have always gotten frequent maintenance on this car(oil changes, etc.)and was shocked that this happened. I wish I found this article earlier! I am very interested in the bnrsupercars.com turbo for my car. How much more power did you find it gave your car? If I have to get a new turbo, I want it to be good!
I would like to also add to my above comment, is it wise to purchase the turbo oil supply line kit if I buy the new turbo from bnrsupercars?
Hi Shelby,
I’m not sure how much power it added, but the new turbo definitely makes the car pull very nicely! If you buy the turbo from BNRsupercars, I believe he will only warranty it IF you buy the new oil feed/filter line system from Infamous Performance. (They both are very aware that the factory oil feed/filter system on these cars is terrible). I bought the new turbo and oil feed/filter, and both companies were absolutely terrific in every way. I have absolutely no affiliation with either by the way, other than buying these parts from them.
Good luck, and feel free to let me know how it all works out!
-Jeremy
Hi Jeremy
I am the prous owner of a 2009 Subaru LGT 2.5 manual transmission. I have had a several instances where I will need to accelerate to get around another car. Press on the gas and the eingine rpm will rev up really high and drop off. Mind you I am not stomping on the accelerator, but even if I was, this doesn’t seem like this should happen in a higher gear going 60mph down the freeway. It seems this can happen in any gear or in sport or intelligent mode and there is a horrible acrid burning smell afterward. I thought it was possibly clutch slippage, but I don’t have the clutch engaged (no need to do so) and there is no screetching or whine as you would expect to hear. I’ve been driving maual transmisssions since I started driving over 25 years ago so I feel really comfortable with manual transmissions. Having read through some of the info that is out there, I’m nor sure if I have a trubo issue or if it’s a clutch issue. I did have my oil change about a month ago and swithced to synthetic, but this had happened before that swith was made. Now I just have this weird rpm variance.
Any info would be great.
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
How many miles are on your car? To me, it does actually sound a lot like a clutch slipping (Sorry to be the bearer of bad news). On a turbocharged (read: “high torque”) car like yours, it isn’t too outside-the-norm for a clutch to be worn out at a much lower mileage than a non-turbo model. Also, clutches don’t necessarily grind or squeak until they have no material left on them. Most slipping clutches will engage very normally in low gears/low speeds, but begin slipping in higher gears/higher speeds when you hit the gas. A worn clutch may also cause the clutch pedal to “grab” closer to the top of its travel (near the dashboard), rather than the bottom (near the floor). Does this sound like your car?
I checked out one of the bigger Subaru Legacy forums, and found this post about a car similar to yours with 46K miles and a slipping clutch. Needless to say, the owner was less than happy. But it does prove that it is possible with these cars.
(Note: skip over any childish banter in this post, as there is some decent info as well.) http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/05-legacy-gt-clutch-slipping-46k-milesiii-103974.html
Now, a clutch can slip because of a variety of reasons other than just being worn out. Like a stuck hydraulic slave cylinder, or leaking oil/antifreeze on the clutch disc, or a damaged pressure plate, or damaged throw-out bearing, or miss-adjusted clutch pedal. So, it is worth having somebody knowledgeable and trustworthy diagnose it in person before throwing down the cash on a new clutch. Lastly, I have seen a weird scenario on a different model AWD turbo car that acted exactly like a slipping clutch. It was a broken rear axle. The owner was 100% sure that the clutch needed to be replaced and brought it to me to do. When I checked out the car, I found the rear axle had looked totally normal, but was actually broken behind the axle boot. This caused the center differential to act like a slipping clutch. Replacing the axle was about $100, which the owner was thrilled to pay.
Oh, and if it makes you feel any better, I actually just replaced the clutch in my Mazda Rx8 at ~53,000 miles because it was slipping badly, and it was having the same rev up-drop off, slipping at high speed, smelly condition as yours.
I hope that helps, and feel free to keep me updated, as I would love to know how it plays out.
-Jeremy
p.s. I’m fairly confident your turbo is safe, for now.
Hey Jeremy,
Great article and valuable information. I have an 05 Outback needing its 2nd turbo replaced, and I’ve read a lot about the VF40 sucking and BNR 16G being the replacement. Thinking BNR and Infamous is the way to go, but I haven’t read any long term results with that setup. How many miles are on you BNR turbo now?
Hi Dusty! I actually ended up selling the car to a family member that fell madly in love with it. I know that it is still driving around happily, but I will get the current mileage stats, and report back ASAP.
Hi Dusty! Here is the update: The car has gone about 21,000 miles since I repaired the valves, and probably about 19,000 since the turbo swap. As of right now, the car is still performing perfectly. The owner is also doing ~4000 mile synthetic oil changes if you are curious.