BRZ/GR86 Cleaning the Oil Pickup of RTV Step by Step! 

Ernie content is golden! Thank you for another beautiful video! Also, I am glad you didn't fall coming back in from the blizzard. Cat like reflexes!

This video was great! Informative and the humor landed! Very well done!

best video on this issue so far. great work!!!

Someone needs to make an aftermarket solid oil pan gasket so we can stop worrying about RTV clogging the oil pickup and oil system. Or better yet, Subaru themselves need to make it.

Keep the BRZ videos coming! Loved your steering wheel upgrade video, very helpful!

Great video, and thanks for stating where the RTV is coming from.

Instead of removing the sump, if you put compressed air through the oil filter housing, and then put engine in the sump without the sump plug, I’m pretty sure the rtv would come out. Ps if you removed the sump you should install a baffle plate at the same time, if you are going to track it.

Great video, well said. Thanks for the video

Love this content. "These nuts" heh - you got me there. Very well laid out and well spoken. Subscribed now. Thanks again guys/gals

wow the amount of RTV in that pickup is insane.

Shame on Subaru. This should be a class-action law suite.

Thanks for sharing! I though it was only GR86's but damn, no one is safe 😢

Really great video thank you

You’re right. Executive compensation packages… designed by investors, for investors.

The entire situation with the engine in these cars is super frustrating but that still did not stop me from placing an order. That being said, I'd hope that Subaru and Toyota both show some more integrity with regards to the excessive RTV in the oil pick up tube as well as the oil pressure loss with certain driving maneuvers. I've expressed my concerns in an email to Toyota of USA, and I hope that other 86 and BRZ owners also do the same. Attention cannot be taken away from these issues, only consistent spotlight will lead to some form of action

Less than a thousand on ODO on my GR86. I will be dropping my oil pan for the first time in the fall of 2024 when I have close to 10k on the ODO. Based on what I've read and seen, I'm guaranteed to find some RTV in the pickup. I'm not paying a dealership to do it when they obviously don't care about it in the first place. They could easily just tell me they performed the procedure only to have lied about it and I end up with oil starvation. Depending on how much I find in the pickup, will determine how often I drop the pan to inspect the pickup. This car is eventually get getting a V8 swap, but until then it is my daily driver, so I need to take care of it. Thanks for the step-by-step Ernie. I'll definitely be referencing this video when the time comes.

I will do it myself in a 2022 GR86 with 2900 miles The dealer doesn’t want to do it They want 2 choices 1.- just change the oil for free 2.- charge me $450.00 for 2 hours of labor!!!!! Otherwise I have stay as I am So after watching your video I will do it. Thanks

Good keep.

Damn, ive been eyeing the gr86 but this is the one thing holding me back. Also, this is a super thorough rundown. Thank you!

Subaru should take care of this issue. It’s ridiculous that they continue to ignore this. Kinda like they did with their head gasket problem’s they had. I guess they are going to have to have a class action lawsuit against them to get them to address this.

Great video. Great production and editing. If you would have stated the torque specs that would make this video definitive.

Subaru needs to adopt Toyota’s kaizen approach.

There are a lot of comments all over the interwebnets about having to perform this procedure every few thousand miles, but... it's not like there's going to be a ton more RTV to knock loose right? It's not like a haircut, the RTV doesn't grow back. Is there a large chance of more excess RTV flaking off as time goes on?

Thoughts on installing the Ansix oil pan with inspection port to save all this work yet allow for inspection on every oil change?

It won't matter the engine is defective. I will starve in RH turns on a track anyway. The CEL is the change engine light in these...

I read that if clean it once the problem will not return

Wait, so the dealership won't do this for you? I was thinking about getting one but I'm worried about the rtv

Looks like the pickup tube and the drain plug line up a little. Anyway you could run a flex camera up after the plug is removed?

There should be a recall for this.

I’m curious how much of the basket needs to be blocked before any real oiling issues occur. It looks like a lot of RTV, but it’s a 5 sided basket, and only 40-50% of ONE side is blocked by that much RTV. Like could you 100% block 4 sides and still be fine? Would be intrigued to know! Subaru obviously made it a basket like that on purpose. Thanks for the video 💪🏻🔥🔥

Why don't you just use a plastic blade on the aluminum mating surface?

How many miles were on the BRZ when dropping the pan? I'm thinking about dropping my GR86's pan during my 2nd oil change (6000-7000 miles), but I don't know if that's enough mileage for most of the RTV to shed...

Apparently subaru subscribes to the "bigger the gob the better the job" philosophy!

Was there any rtv in the pick up tube ? Daily or track or both ? Curious to know since I only daily with a little spirited driving

That timing cover holy shit! Do you think this is an assembly error or poor design? Both?

Pretty sure this is enough for a recall

It’s Crazy that you have to do this on a new car because of shoddy manufacturing !

Go HALF of Subaru recommendations. You saw how their applications of RTV turned out.

Honestly speaking tho why couldn't they just put a normal gasket on it instead of using silicone on it? Could anyone explain that to me because I really really want to buy this car but I don't want to have to worry about cleaning the RTV every couple thousand miles just to drive the car normally.

Subaru has been ignoring and failing to correct manufacturer defects for a long time. Take the blown head gasket problem. This is a problem that can be corrected buy using better gaskets, yet Subaru has failed to do that forever.

So the entirety of the engine assembly from the factory is completely flawed. Even if I pull the oil pan, the amount of RTV is other areas are still pretty excessive, and only gets worse as the miles rack up. For all we know, there could be even larger chunks falling off at 15k miles, which would necessitate the need to pull the oil pan and clean. Again. Or if it's tracked, the high heat and loads could force rip chunks of RTV off pretty easily even at low miles. What crap QC and assembly this is. Subaru could literally program their engine assemble robots to use even less RTV and it would quite literally mitigate this problem once and for all, while saving them a lot of money along the way. Like holy crap this is infuriating to say the least. What the hell are they thinking??!?! I wanted to love this car, but this isn't something that should be an issue at all, since it's such a simple fix from the factory. Instead, this extra maintenance is left to the consumer, assuming their engine doesn't blow up first. Never going to buy a Subaru product ever. There's crap QC and then there's Subaru QC, which slots several levels below crap.

Wanted to see some donuts in the WRX. :sadface:

dont use razor blades or that platic brush you will ruin your car. Use this instead 3m 18733 roloc white disc its good for aluminum too.

There should be a better tool for applying RTV. I think he used way to much, and doesn't that defeat the goal of not having RTV engine failure?

I am keeping all my RTV intact. Also tracking the car and doing 5k oil changes just to prove the point that this is purely overblown BS.

I hate colorado

"More cleaner"? *Sigh*

2 minutes of blah blah blah get on with it already

yeah, doesn't seem like this engine was engineered well. This and the several incidents of the vehicle over heating on the track due to oil pressure issues support my point.