HOW to avoid a spun bearing>

[shamrock 05]

I read the update on Tounge tuning gears and heard that the one guy got a spun bearing. I bet his car was heavily moddified though. To where my car will probably never go past Stg 2, if that. I dont rag on my car (banging gears or racing/track events) But I do get in it (while in gear) at times. Change my oil every 3K w/ Castrol synthetic 5w-30. But I have heard stories, and Dont want that to happen to me $$$$$ So how can I avoid this situation all together.

Please give as much info as possible.
Thanks
Ryan

[pweizman]

First...

Luck?

Regular oil changes, no high revving?

Patrick

[shamrock 05]

Originally Posted by pweizman

First...

Luck?

Regular oil changes, no high revving?

Patrick

High revving means what? I thought the WRX 2.0L was a rev happy motor. Although I never take it past 6K= pointless

[rkramer]

Originally Posted by shamrock 05

High revving means what? I thought the WRX 2.0L was a rev happy motor. Although I never take it past 6K= pointless

no need to bounce off the rev limiter is what they mean.

check your oil OFTEN and do not let it get low. too much oil means it blows past seals and leaks, too little means spun bearing. better to err on the side of a little too much.

[The Blue Pilot]

Best thing is to make and save money in case it happens for a plan B.

Otherwise, use common sense while driving and your car should last you a billion or so miles

[shamrock 05]

Originally Posted by rkramer

no need to bounce off the rev limiter is what they mean.

check your oil OFTEN and do not let it get low. too much oil means it blows past seals and leaks, too little means spun bearing. better to err on the side of a little too much.

I have never and never will go near the rev limiter. I dont know exactly what rpm it is, but like I said before, my subie will never go past 6K. On the oil thing, the manual says 4.8 qts, but is it alright to put in the full 5.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it
Ryan

[Dragon Wagon]

allways check your oil level and use no less than 10-30 especially in the summer

[2ndGearFling]

knock on wood, ive taken my car up to, and bounced off the limiter many times and no problems. I take it up to 7200 almost every gear until I hit the speed limit.

[shamrock 05]

Originally Posted by Dragon Wagon

allways check your oil level and use no less than 10-30 especially in the summer

My plan is: 5w-30 in the winter and 10w-30 in the summer. Even thought the oil cap says 5w-30. 10w-30 in the summer wont hurt anything, will it??

[flyboymike]

Originally Posted by shamrock 05

My plan is: 5w-30 in the winter and 10w-30 in the summer. Even thought the oil cap says 5w-30. 10w-30 in the summer wont hurt anything, will it??

The owner's manual has a little chart with temperature versus oil weight in it. I don't remember the exact numbers off the top of my head, but 10w-30 should still be in the heart of the envelope.

[rice wrx]

It was my engine that spun the bearing! I run Motul 300V 15w50 oil ... as I think it is one of the best on the market. My car has been extremely modified..... from maxing out a stock TD04 (315 wtq/ 285 whp on c16) to VF34 to rotated 50 trim, and T04R! The engine has had a very hard life ... even before I owned the car! I run the car extremely hard... very frequently.
The bearing failure had nothing to do with the gearset, I just wanted to make that clear!
I have a 2.5L just about ready to go in
-Dan
Andrewtech Automotive

[IMjustWRXed]

Originally Posted by shamrock 05

My plan is: 5w-30 in the winter and 10w-30 in the summer. Even thought the oil cap says 5w-30. 10w-30 in the summer wont hurt anything, will it??

i know the manufacturer says 5-30 in the winter and 10-30 in the summer
but doesnt anybody else know that the motor runs at almost the same exact temp reguardless of the time of year???
mine is always ,,,,, summer , winter , fall , whatever 189-191 degrees

the only thing i can imagine it helpin outon is at engine startup

[rkramer]

Originally Posted by IMjustWRXed

i know the manufacturer says 5-30 in the winter and 10-30 in the summer
but doesnt anybody else know that the motor runs at almost the same exact temp reguardless of the time of year???
mine is always ,,,,, summer , winter , fall , whatever 189-191 degrees

the only thing i can imagine it helpin outon is at engine startup

cold startup is apparently the most damaging time for an engine, so even though a bearing might go out at higher rpm, the damage could have started much sooner. oil that is too thick can be just as bad as very thin oil, same reason 15w-50 isn't a subaru recommended oil.

[IMjustWRXed]

makes good sense ^^^^^^^
yea im starting to consider 10-30 bc apparently MOBIL 1 runs very thin when hot

[Wombat North]

A number of ways to take out bearings besides low oil.

Low level detonation you can't hear that constantly hammers the bottom end. Its why you should have some sort of electronic listening device instead of trusting someones tune/fuel etc.

Oil pickup line could be cracked

Cornering hard without a baffled sump causing pump to run dry

Poor quality oil (motul is very good as its ester based)

Cooking your oil causing breakdown.

Changing down gears suddenly without rev matching causing a very sudden increase in revs.

The list goes on I'm tired

[teddyj]

Has anyone heard of/used Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer? Supposed to help with cold starts and just wondering if anyone has ran it in their engine?

[greenshoes3]

i think common sense is what will keep bearings good. the only people I have seen bearings betray are the ones that live on the rev limiter.

[djerickd]

0w30 GC all day everyday!!

[AndrewtechAutomotive]

Originally Posted by Wombat North

A number of ways to take out bearings besides low oil.

Low level detonation you can't hear that constantly hammers the bottom end.

Very Good Point! IMO, detonation is probably the most common reason for rod bearing failures. I am not impressed with the factory ecu's logic for knock correction, at all.

[drifmtaster04]

I used to run the syn. oil stabilizer in my 99 honda prelude a few years ago and it helped with the cam follower noise i had around idle and seemed to have made the motor run a tad smoother at high rpm (8500 ish) is what i took it up to on a very normal basis and never had any problems except the one time i missed 4th and went to 2nd but all it did was bend a couple valves. But i have been running mobil 1 syn. In my 03 wrx and the motor spun a bearing and threw a rod through the top of the block a couple weeks before christmas. highest i would ever go with it though was 6500 simply cuz it didnt make any power after that. and i would rev match and everything when downshifting. As for the 2.0L being a rev happy motor, not true in my opinion which is why im saving up for a EJ207 because i like having room when downshifting when i drive spritively and will be swapping in some ra gears at the same time, hoping to have it running the the end of summer.

[legacy1907]

Originally Posted by greenshoes3

i think common sense is what will keep bearings good. the only people I have seen bearings betray are the ones that live on the rev limiter.

guess i better start saving

[WRX Shenanigans]

Originally Posted by IMjustWRXed

i know the manufacturer says 5-30 in the winter and 10-30 in the summer
but doesnt anybody else know that the motor runs at almost the same exact temp reguardless of the time of year???
mine is always ,,,,, summer , winter , fall , whatever 189-191 degrees

the only thing i can imagine it helpin outon is at engine startup

That's the whole point, the first number in the viscosity rating is for a cold engine, one that's just being started up. The second number is operating temperature. Thats why people change to 10w-30 in the summer, so the oil won't be as thin on start-up. Otherwise, both 5w-30 and 10w-30 will have the same viscosity once up to operating temperature (which can take up to 10 minutes btw).

[x99percent]

Originally Posted by shamrock 05

Castrol synthetic 5w-30

LOSE. That stuff offers less protection at high temps than M1 5W30.

Originally Posted by djerickd

0w30 GC all day everyday!!

WIN.


How to not spin a bearing:
- Don't run crap oil. This *includes* needlessly thin stuff like M1 5W30 & 10W30, along with Castrol Syntec 5W30 and 10W30. Those are decent oils, but they aren't good enough (IMO) to deal with our oiling demands under harsh conditions. Stick with oils that meet ACEA A3 specs... generally speaking, this is NOT an oil that says "energy conserving" in the rating circle.

- Prime the oil pump before you first start the car after an oil change. This may be completely unnecessary, but I *have* heard some people's cars make nasty noises when they start their car without priming the pump first. Yank the IGN fuse and crank the starter in 10 second intervals until the oil pressure dummy light on the dash stays off.

- Don't run a crap tune. Detonation beats up bearings.

- Don't run crap oil.

- Don't run crap oil.

[jack klompus]

I use castrol 5-40 all year.

M1 5-30 has been shown to break down and thin out too quickly. 30w is too thin for spirited driving.

[WeldingHank]

I've been running German castrol with good success (i've got 93K). and i take my car to 7000RPMs all the time. maybe i'm just lucky?