Why Subaru Engines FAIL

Here's what's inside a Subaru engine and the common failure points to look out for if considering buying one.The EJ series of boxer 4 cylinder Subaru engines have been with us since the 90's. Unique for its segment, the boxer engine situates two pairs of pistons horizontally opposed. This gives the car a low center of gravity and good engine balance, with the downsides being ease maintenance when accessing components on the head.

The engine in this video is an EJ253 single overhead cam naturally aspirated engine. The common issues with the EJ series include oil burning and starvation, head gasket leaks and failed piston ring lands.

Keep your vehicle well maintained.
You can purchase engine oil here:
Quality oil filters:
Engine coolant:
Subaru headgaskets:

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[speedkar]

If you've got a Subaru, keep your vehicle well maintained!
You can purchase engine oil here:
Quality oil filters:
Engine coolant:
Subaru headgaskets:

[grimsler]

this mans hygiene is top notch, brings his toothbrush everywhere.

over 5k likes, you guys are awesome :O

[brianredmond]

This guy should give lessons on making YouTube videos . Straight down to business and no crap .

[kurtjunkersfeld]

I've never seen a professor use an engine grime covered toothbrush as a pointing stick... but man it's definitely everything I missed in my education, great video about the internals and makeup of these boxer engines. I'd never seen one take down and gone through like that. Keep up the good work!

[raisingthebar]

My dude.

This video has so much info packed in it it's insane.

My buddy has a 2010 Forester and said it's "making a weird noise".

I've never worked on these and you answered most of my questions and gave me a solid amount of extra knowledge too.

Triple thumbs up.

[harryc]

One of the rare videos where all is brief and to the point without stupid jokes or unnecessary side tracks.

[deweykiter]

i love how this guy edited this. he doesn't talk slow, gets to the point and doesn't waste time. i wish all youtube instructionals were like this guy. YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!

[metropcs]

I have never seen anybody as knowledgeable as this person.. this person is phenomenal

[dtread]

Looking at this makes me appreciate the straight 6 layout even more.

[iceclud]

This guy is like a useful and quieter Scotty Kilmer.

[philljustphill]

"Oil burning, Oil starvation, Head gasket problems, Hassle to work on."
The four horsemen of the Automotive apocalypse.

[wannabeetiger]

Some tips for keeping a Boxer running 4 a long time: Never overheat, change your oil on time, retorque your head bolts, and run some engine flush through from time to time to keep the sludge deposits down. Oh yeah, last but at least, always make sure you check your oil level regularly!

[dzh]

I have had 3 subarus in my life and all of them have easily made it to 300, 000 miles with no problems at all. They leak oil a little more than most engines and thats about the only problem. The rest of the stuff I think really only comes into play if you are trying to mod and get more HP. Which of course a lot of people mod subarus so I'm sure people have seen a lot of blown up subaru engines. But if you are just getting a daily driver that you plan to keep stock your'e not going to have any problems

[Kanamit.]

I'm a first-time viewer here. I'm very impressed with his precise narration. No "umms" "and" or "you know", no gaps in his descriptions as he tries to figure out what to say next. He knows what to say & he knows his stuff. He spoke direct and to the point. If not already a teacher, he could be or should be. Outstanding job. 🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗

[brian]

I was a service mechanic for two years and learned more about boxer engines in 15 minutes watching this than I learned in two years of practical work. Fantastic video. Thanks for the education

[clunkclunk]

In this one video I learned more about boxer engines than I’ve ever known previously, as I have simply never owned nor worked on one. Thanks for the quality tear down and explanations.

[Patatfour]

I love how educated and well detailed this video is, no repetition or imprecision or whatever. And all that precious knowledge is presented with an old toothbrush.

[davejones]

How many hours, days, weeks, years did it take for him to get this proficient and knowledgeable about how this (and other engines) work? A true master of his craft.

[kinangeagle]

This is so thorough that when he says a possible problem, he actually explains what it means since the names aren’t straight forward.
Not a lot of videos do that. They mostly expect you to just google it

[garm]

I’m on my 4th Subaru over 20 years. Never had a problem! Great cars.