CriticalCommonEngine

Subaru Legacy: GT/2.0GT turbo oil starvation and ringland failure (banjo screen, EJ255/EJ20X)

GT/2.0GT turbo oil starvation and ringland failure (banjo screen, EJ255/EJ20X) is a common engine fault on the Subaru Legacy on the 2003–2009 cars, and we rate it critical. Putting it right costs $2,500 to $9,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 54 documented faults on the Subaru Legacy.

Vehicle: Subaru Legacy
Engine: EJ255
Years: 2003–2009
Fuel: petrol
System: Engine

This page covers the Subaru Legacy as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Subaru Legacy faults54 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Turbocharger yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

Turbo BL/BP Legacys — NZ-new 2.5GT and the JDM 2.0GT twin-scroll cars that flooded into NZ — suffer turbo oil starvation from the clogging mesh screen in the turbo oil-feed banjo bolt, plus the EJ255's cracked piston ringlands when tuned or run on cheap fuel. Subaru issued a bulletin on the banjo screens and specialists remove them as routine. A seized turbo is expensive; ringland failure means a rebuild. Stretched oil intervals are the common thread in both failures.

What you would notice

Turbo whine or grinding
Blue smoke under boost
Loss of power/boost
Misfire on one cylinder
Oil pressure light flicker at hot idle

How to check it

Where to look. Turbocharger and its oil feed line at the rear of the engine; pistons internally

Ask whether the banjo bolt filter screens have been removed — the single most telling question on these cars.
Demand full oil-change history (10,000 km max intervals) and a compression/leak-down test before purchase.
Check for tuning hardware (boost controller, aftermarket BOV, exhaust).
Listen for turbo noise on a cold start and under load.

Parts involved: Turbocharger.

What it costs to put right

$2,500 to $9,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Have the banjo filter screens been removed?”
“What oil intervals has it run?”
“Is it tuned? Will you allow a compression test?”

Now check the Subaru Legacy you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

legacygt.com banjo bolt filter and ringland threads
subaruoutback.org 'Turbo Failure (clogged Banjo Bolt Filter)'
Ultimate Subaru Message Board 'Banjo Bolt Filter HELL'
ClubSUB NZ Legacy GT buying discussions

Subaru Legacy buyer questions

Is gt/2.0gt turbo oil starvation and ringland failure (banjo screen, ej255/ej20x) serious on a Subaru Legacy?

We rate it critical and common on the Subaru Legacy. Turbo BL/BP Legacys — NZ-new 2.5GT and the JDM 2.0GT twin-scroll cars that flooded into NZ — suffer turbo oil starvation from the clogging mesh screen in the turbo oil-feed banjo bolt, plus the EJ255's cracked piston ringlands when tuned or run on cheap fuel. Subaru issued a bulletin on the banjo screens and specialists remove them as routine. A seized turbo is expensive; ringland failure means a rebuild. Stretched oil intervals are the common thread in both failures.

How much does it cost to fix on a Subaru Legacy?

$2,500 to $9,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Subaru Legacy years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2003–2009 Subaru Legacy. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.

How do I check for it before I buy?

Ask whether the banjo bolt filter screens have been removed — the single most telling question on these cars. Demand full oil-change history (10,000 km max intervals) and a compression/leak-down test before purchase. Check for tuning hardware (boost controller, aftermarket BOV, exhaust). Listen for turbo noise on a cold start and under load. Look here: Turbocharger and its oil feed line at the rear of the engine; pistons internally