I have a 96 Legacy L with very high mileage (a little over 96,000). The engine started burning oil last year and the problem has gotten worse, to the point where it actually smokes now. When I take it in for oil changes the lube tech is always saying that "there are oil leaks all over the engine" which I already know since it starts smoking like a chimney about 10 minutes after the engine warms up.

I'm thinking about getting the engine rebuilt but a guy at work told me it would be better to buy a low mileage imported japanese engine and have it installed at a shop. What do you guys think, would it be better install an imported motor than keeping the one already in car and just overhauling it?

What has me curious is, how do they know how many miles are really on those imported engines and what if I lay out the cash to get it installed, only to have something go wrong with it a few months later. The lowest price I've found online for a used import is about $2500 so I think it would cost less to have my engine rebuilt right?

My 98 has started burning some oil in the combustion chamber. It's currently at 79k and it's not that bad. When the engine does get bad though, I'm going to transplant a WRX engine. It'll be a little more work than just dropping in another 2.2, but I think I'll enjoy the turbo and extra power.

Whether you recon or buy an import, it is all about money.. how much of it do you have and how much are you willing to spend?

In my opinion if this was me, (not sure whether you have a twin turbo or no turbo)
I would go for the cheapest option, But I would consider another engine, a good choice for a legacy is a EJ20R with its standard 206kw its a good engine, you could also consider looking at a STi wrx engine but again it depends on the cash flow

Man, I have never in my life seen a Legacy that is
smoking. I own two a 1991 Legacy with 231500 and a 96 Legacy with 97500. Now, 1991 Legacy has some oil on bottom, otherwise that car is like new,my 96 don't have any oil anywhere. This might have something to do with me doing the maintenance on time. But since yours smokes I recommend you probably buy another engine that is in excellent working condition, because I heard that Subaru H-4 are very expensive and complicated to overhaul, but quite cheap to buy used. Another thing, 90000 miles is probably a quarter of the engine's lifespan, if you take care of it.

it only give a small puff of smoke when I rev it. It's not like it's just pouring smoke out all over the place.

Depends on if you want more power out of this new engine or if you just want to get rid of your oil burning problem. You could spend about 2000 - 3000K on parts (Forgies, rings, stroker kit?) for your current engine and have the mechanic spend about 4 hours puttin it all in and have a really strong engine, or spending $2500 on a Used WRX engine depending on what year could give you the same results, but your probably going to spend around the same amount, either way is good but i'd go with the new engine and query how strong the internals are.
(All Prices are in $NZ and exclude GST :naughty: )
Cheers