Update guy's on my compresion problem:

On investigating the problem it seems that there has been to harsh a valve seat grind, to the extent that on the back of the cam lobe, there is still tension keeping the exhaust valve open.

Further inspection finds the following problems:

crank pulley bolt, shortened, then loctite in place. This has worked loose and screwed the woodruff key channel, e-longating the key way, scrapping the crank.

Also has an oil spray nozzle missing in the bottom of No 4 cylinder, lowering the oil pressure to the other 3 cylinders.

It does not end there:
The engine is out of a Subaru Legacy & is not worth repairing.

I'm absolutlely gob-smacked, the car ran so well, very quick & quite. Just goes to show you never know what your buying.

On the plus side, the car is having another engine, costly but worth the investment. It's being sourced & fitted by a well respected company, so let's hope its sorted soon cause I miss me Scoob.............


What a story, Guy's beware there are serious problems out there, some of which you cannot hear or see, but cost a packet.

PNB

 

PNB

Got mine back last Friday, had a brand new motor fitted.

Running in at the mo, it's like having a new car so quite.

What a bummer about your motor,never mind get it sorted and enjoy. Keep us posted.

Red

PS. The sump had been off mine at some time and that was below 24k, you never know.

 

Hi Red rocket
Glad you have yours sorted now, hopefully mine should not be to long.

Cheers
PNB

 

Red
Can I ask, what did the whole job cost in the end, as I'm still in the dark as regards a figure to look at, plus we still need to find a replacement motor.

Cheers
Phil

 

PNB

You have PM.

Red

 

Update:
After nearly 3 months a mint engine has been found, having found a few others for sale, on investigation most suffered the similar low or no compression problems.
For me it's going to be costly, as the rest of the motor was a bit of a dog, but in situ it looked as if it was the original engine, looking visually untouched & drove superb, how wrong was I.

The final bill will be around 5-6K, but for that I will have had quality service from a quality company, plus a couple of other mods.

As mentioned in previuos threads, buyers beware. Check & double check engine quality & most of all insist on a compression check, cause this easily un-noticed problem can cost a fortune.

Update to follow when in receipt of the car, running perfectly I hope....!!!!!

Cheers

PNB

 

Unfortunately compression tests on Scoobies are not the easiest thing to do, due to access to the spark plug holes for the gauge. Most private sellers couldn't do this, and many garages wouldn't / coundn't do this free of charge as it is fiddly and takes longer than changing spark plugs! So "costs" them approx £100 to check with no guarantee of a sale.

Best bet is still to look for uneven running and any signs of blue or black smoke from exhaust I think.


For causes, MAF failure would make engine run lean hence HOT and may melt piston, down side seems most common failure. Poor fuel - I mean less octane rating than engine expects - so even optimax in a jap STi etc will be marginal, and may well lead to det, hence the comments about get a knocklink to see the det...

 

pnb, that amount is ridiculous.

go to api engines or grade a subaru and you can get a complete sti engine fo under 2k of the correct model year.

Thats assuming yours is an sti,

if its a uk then engines are in ample supply at around the 1500 mark.

From there I fail to see how it costs £4000 to fit. Its about 6 to 8 hours labour to swap an engine.

Don't go wasting money just because they are a trusted garage.

Barretts motorsport in canterbury are one of the best garages for this sort of work thatg I know, they will remove strip rebuild and fit an existing engine for £1500. You aren't even talking about an engine build here.

Something is amiss with that cost unless you are modding heavily at some point along the way.

Hell you could buy the sti 4 head on bbs.22b.com for £500 and get a s.5 sti short block from lateral performance for £1500 or so. You would then have a storming 400plus bhp engine for £2k and get it fitted with a funky ecu with anti lag and launch control (which may be necessary if your loom and ecu is pre version 5) for less than another 3k.

For 5k you have a monster. Think before you spend!!!

You have leanred one harsh lesson, learn another before its too late.

Forgive the patronising tone, but I think I have probably wasted more on unnecessary costs on subarus than anyone else on this board. (no exagerration 30+k down the line spent on my ongoing 22b project )

 

Adam M
The cost is I agree a little high, The car is an original MY093 Wrx-Ra in outstanding original condition. So the excersise is not just to put any engine in place, it's to have the correct engine for the model / year, hopefully maintaining its original state.

My choice to use the company that is doing the work, is based on being new to my local area, and after asking many questions & advice via this forum, I found the guy's that I would be satisfied with & trusted to carry out the work. Had I known this company were in the normal road going repair sector, I would of chose them myself.

I'm well aware that the bill may be a little over the top, but it's my choice to use these guy's & I trust them completly. I intend keeping this car for a long time, as I love the classic's. I'm also planning using it for hill climb / sprint work, so I need the engine to be pucker.
To spend money on more horsepower, for me is pointless. The car is quick enough, 300 BHP & the nature of the short gearbox is ample. all I need is it to handle & stop.

Yes there are mod's, organic clutch, lightened & balanced flywheel, and a modified de-cat exhaust system, with a large open neck down pipe.

If you look at my original thread, right at the begining. You will see what my car originally went to the garage for, so all this came as quite a shock. It went like stink all of the time & never missed a beat. But sadly or strangely it was barely running on the fourth cylinder, un-believable performance for a sick motor. And yes I witnessed the engine running without the ignition lead on No 4, it made no difference at all, apparently as much as 40BHP down, it will feel pretty quick when finished.

Costly it is, and my missis is going nut's, But I work hard and I want my toy's. It's been quite a lot of head scratching trying to come to terms with enormity of what was found wrong, but hey I don't drink a great deal & don't smoke, so my hard earned goes into my Scooby.


Thanks Adam / Guy's for your comments, I appreciate feedback/advise.


No offense ment to any smokers/drinkers or any other garage that could have done the job cheaper.


TTFN PNB

 

pnb,

all fair points, but bear in mind that the car is probably worth les than what you are doing tofix it.

You would be better off to buy another car identical to your own and use yours or the new one for spare parts.

Obviously I don't know the milage of your existing car but I really can't imagine it being worth the work being done on it.

Nothing wrong with keeping it original, but people do that to retain its value. Its isnt worth spending its value to keep it original. I am sure you know what I mean.


Having said that, its your car, and I love mine to pieces and will continue to spend to keep it healthy.

Just remember the financial points of above and also consider that if you are hill climbing the greater low torque of the 2.5 even running at the same 300bhp will make for a far more drivable and less tressed car.

Also, if running on 3 cylinders, its probably fair to assume it was more than 40bhp down.

If there really was zero compression I don't see why you shouldn't lose 25% of the power ie. 75bhp.

 

The beast returns, it's been a long time but Oh how worth the wait it has been!

Nothing more to say than Mint.

Massive thanks to the guys at RCM


Red Rocket you have PM

PNB

 

PNB,

You have PM.

Cheers Red.