car wont start = cracked engine block?

i wasnt sure where to post this, but let me fill in the holes to the story i alluded to in the title.

i own a 98 subaru forester with 115k miles

on monday i drove to a local coffee shop, went in, got a coffee for take out, went out and my car wont start. i turn the key, and everything powers up fine, lights, dash, radio, hands free phone jack, the works. even my power windows are lighting fast, so i know that there is juice. when the key gets to the start position, nothing, no click, no groan, nothing.

i wait 5 min, try again, nothing....
5 more min... nothing.

i look under the hood, i dont know my ass from a carburator really tho, but all the wires look ok, the cables to the battery are a bit yucky, and i know my battery is prob on its last legs, but it seems to be pushing poser to the rest of the car. 5 more min later the car starts.... right up...

i drove to the local subaru service department and went in and they sadi they would look at it frist thing in the AM. when i call the next morning, thier diagnosis- bad battery. i told them no that wasnt it. i told them that while the car was still under warranty i had the starter replaced twice. i told them that i knew the battery was old, but that wasnt the problem. they insisted it was, so i said, ok, i am not the certified tech, go ahead and fix it please. i picked it up at 4pm that day to the tune of 251 dollars (they also patchd a nail hole in one of the tires and replaced the battery holder, all with my persmission)

the car starts up..

i drive away.

this is tuesday.

i drive it tuesday for about 40 miles, lots of stops and turniong the car off and on and stuff.

i drive it wednesday, about 80 miles, same thing, prob 6 starts and stops.

i drive it thursday morning. maybe 20 miles. make 3 stops, and on the last one, i am inside for 4 minutes getting mail at my post office box and when i try to start the car... guess what. SAME DEAL. powers up everything like before. wont start, no click, no groan, no turnover....

i call the dealership and told them and they said they would come tow it at no charge and get a tech to look at it right away. this was at 11am or so.

i call the dealer again at 430pm.

bad news he said. a tech found oil in your coolant system. we are pretty sure you have a crack in your engine block. i asked him if he was sure just like he was when he sadi it was a bad battery. he didnt really reply.

ok.

now
i am not denying that i COULD have a crack in the engine block. it is POSSIBLE. but from my viewpoint it is very unlikely. i have never gone over 3500 miles between oli changes, and i was never more than a half a quart down in oil, and havent been down oil at all in the last several changes. a cracked oil block would bring on a decrease in oil pressure, would make a mess of the engine i would think with the oil pressure levels as high as they get, and would show a considerable loss in oil when i get it changed. am i way off on this?

how could a car NOT start due to a crack in the engine block unless the engine had siezed up already, which i know was not the case.

is that possible?

i still believe that there is another reason my car wont start. i HOPE that there isnt a crack in the engine block as that would be a hefty 3000-4000 bill. any experts care to chime in with advise and maybe some ammunition i can present to this service shop?

it is a subaru dealer service shop btw. in south portland maine.

glenn carey
sscotias@maine.rr.com

Chances are that a shop won't try to sell you a new ENGINE BLOCK unless you really need it. And your starting problem doesn't seem to have anything to do with the cracked block because the only way a car wouldn't start is if the engine was seized. A starter doesn't have enough power to un-seize an engine. It sounds more like you have an electrical problem to me. The technician probably saw the no-start situation, tested the battery and found that it was bad and just threw a new one in. He should have checked the starting and charging system (hopefully he did). I'd say, go to the dealership and talk to the technician and see what he has to say. He should be able to explain things clearly face to face. One word of advise though, don't go in acting like king-shit and expect people to bow down to you. That will get you nowhere.