Workshop Services - Workshop

An engine re-build is the root canal of car repair. It's expensive, daunting and when you need it you're in a bind. We've answered some frequent questions about engine re-builds and about our service to help you if you are in this situation.

What does it mean when someone says the engine has blown up?

The term blown-up engine covers a variety of evils that all mean serious damage has been done to your engine. On Subarus the damage is most commonly damaged pistons, big end bearings or a blown head gasket. Blown Head gaskets are most common on 250Ts. The problem is that although the damaged part may be small, like the bearings inside the crankshaft, the broken pieces can damage other parts of the engine. The engine has to be removed and dismantled to get to them.

Why does it happen?

Usually because of the quality or quantity of the oil in the car. Keeping to your regular service schedule will save you money in the long run. The parts inside your engine have a very smooth surface and glide against each other on a thin film of oil. If the oil isn't there or isn't good enough they grind against each other.

In turbo cars the damage can be caused by detonation (the fuel exploding and putting shockwaves through the engine rather than burning in a controlled manner) due to the wrong fuel, a fuel or ignition system or other fault or too much boost.

What are the symptoms?

The most common symptoms are:

• a rattling sound
• the oil light is on constantly

The rattling sound is distinctive to someone who knows it - we had one customer call up when he was driving the car to ask and was greeted on the phone with "Turn the engine off NOW!"

What are my options if my engine is blown?

Basically you have two options

• Get your existing engine reconditioned
• Get a second hand engine fitted.

Generally a second-hand engine is about $1000 cheaper but reconditioning your existing engine will give you the comfort of knowing that your engine is in great shape. Whichever you choose we can take care of it (including sourcing a second hand engine).

In some cases we may recommend a third option – purchasing a new short-block engine. A short-block engine is the engine without the cylinder heads (with the cylinder heads it is called a long-block engine)

How do I get my car to you?

We can organize for it to be towed or transported if the car is outside of the Wellington area.

Do you only rebuild Subaru engines?

No, we work on all types of cars and can rebuild all types of car engines.

What do you actually do when you replace the engine

We remove the engine and fully dismantle it. We identify any obviously damaged parts and get them replaced or machined as necessary. We then check and measure all the other parts to make sure they are not damaged and are still within the manufacturer's specification. Finally we clean all the parts and re-assemble the engine.

As with all our repairs we take your car for a test-run afterwards.

How much is it likely to cost

Once we get the engine out we can see what parts need replacing and give you an estimate.

Shopping around for quotes on a blown engine is a tricky business as any figures given before taking the engine out will be based on a set of assumptions. Garages are caught between a conservative high quote that could lose them the job or a low quote which they have to cut corners to meet (e.g. by not replacing worn parts or spending less time inspecting and measuring parts).

It takes about 6-8 hours on a Subaru to remove and dismantle the engine and fully inspect it. Simpler cars may be take less time. So, unfortunately, you will already have incurred expense before any garage can give you a reasonably accurate cost. We are happy for you to view the stripped engine and damaged parts so you understand exactly what we are going to do to your car.

Will there be any hidden costs

Not hidden, but part of the process is doing a thorough inspection of all the parts in the engine. We may find that more parts need replacing as we do this and we will advise you if this is the case.

We may also advise you to replace other worn parts once the engine is out as replacing them later will be much more expensive.

How long will it take?

Usually one to two weeks depending on availability of parts and other work on.

What specials do you have

Funny you should ask - we have a second hand EJ20 long-block engine in stock at the moment for a two-litre early (up to 1996) non-turbo Subaru for $1687. Fitted price for this unit would start from $2931 inclusive of cambelt, idlers and tensioner.