WTF are you too like, a pair of old wimen

self motivation!!! (says he who cant be ar5ed finishing his off, although it is kind of in progress)

 

Motivation is starting to come back now I've got the happy pills though In Em's case she's just knackered from working for 9 months with no holiday and then for the last 3 months of it having to commute 4 hours each day...

 

as much as i love subarus micky, i'm not able to disagree with you.
feel free to slaughter me here anyone but only with valid arguments and not "subarus are great cos i love em and theyre nice an sthuff". you would think with the amount of engines subaru have manufactured that they would be getting it a little more "right" by now. in fairness radweld is not what anybody wants to be putting into their engines. ive had to use it in two of my imprezas when the rads cracked in the same place on both of them, each when i was many miles from home. in each case the small metal overflow pipe across the top of the rad clogged up!! not good!!! and now subaru are recommending it?? i spose i have to allow for the possibility that the "conditioner" is not radweld and while i love the car i still have to say.....C'MON SUBARU, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER FFS.!!!!



let the slaughtering begin.

 

I don't have a knife out!
I am not sure the Impreza is a very robust design/manufacture when the car is 'disturbed' from stock.
I had a UK turbo in 2000 to 2002, did 48K miles as a Company car.
Had its probs, weak build quality (zillion miles off the Audi A4 that replaced it) but I loved the way it did 'thrill'.
Bought an Sti v3 to race as a result to replace my slow 911.
The car has not been robust, but I've messed with it and the weaknesses start to show as a result.
Subaru did not build the 2,5 with people tweeking to 400x400 and well beyond in mind, but adding Radweld to shore-up a production issue isn't right!

That 911 is still with me after 16 years and a total rebuild and 10 years of hill climbing competition too. Broken only one in 50K miles. It was made in 1973.

911.

 

Well, in Subaru's defence I put 90k+ miles on mine (MY98 UK) from new fairly standard up until 50k miles (exhaust, airfilter suspension and brakes being modified over that time) when the Link ECU went on and it got a bit more serious In that time the only mechanical failures have involved the gearbox; 4th gear syncro (replaced under warranty at 50k) and then a snapped 3rd/4th selector rod (at 75k, probably compounded by the worn syncro).

Admittedly I've had a particularly slappy engine, which I took out last year to upgrade to more cc's but it was still running fine when I turned it off for the last time. By that stage it had been seriously pushed with virtually every conceivable 'bolt on' modification carried out (at least 350 brake and 310lb/ft). I think it had at least 5k in track/drag miles under it's belt by that point!

Still, doesn't excuse Radweld

 

Is it radweld though? From what i take out of this it's only the bottle that's the same shape as radweld!!

 

exactly Alan,

ps you will have mail shortly

 

I'd say this, from the bullet sounds more like just the bolt that's the same as radweld:

'the product begins to circulate through the cooling system and is attracted to the suspect area, the heat of the engine acts as an activation agent and hardens the engine conditioner to help seal the suspect area'

Maybe they have a better product that doesn't mess up all the passage ways etc but from that description i'd say it does exactly what radweld does.

Tony.

 

Something John Banks said on 22b got me thinking about this...if it is a heat cycling issue rather than an actual leak eventually leading to component failure it's possible that the way Radweld coats all the surfaces that it comes into contact with helps to provide an additional layer of thermal insulation, particularly around the headgasket/bore mating areas...

 

thats probably right tim, as you know, mine went around 8000 mile mark

 

I'm now wondering how long Radweld has to flow through a system before it 'cooks' and whether I could bypass the turbo cooling and heater matrix while in the early stages of running the engine in (with no wastegate so the turbo doesnt get quite so hot...) then after that drain the coolant system, clean the water temp sensors and then reconnect everything refilling the coolant system with normal coolant...hmm...a plan...mind you I'm probably only going to do a few thousand miles a year in the car, so it'll take 2 or 3 years to notch up 8k by which time we'll have the answer

 

...which makes me wonder how the application has been carried out. Was the radweld just poured into the system and left to find its' own way around or was the coolant system drained and a concoction made up of water/anti-freeze/radweld suitably shaken not stirred.. before refilling.

 

i was under the impression the us sti's didn't have a headgasket problem. it was only when people used other heads it became a problem. radweld and the like are good at holding in cooling system pressure but are crap at cylinder pressures.
i have done 8000ks on my ej257 and had no problems but i don't run big boost.

i might have a talk to my subaru guy here in NZ because we have lots of 2.5 turbo foresters.

 

I had a leaking head gasket on my Sti V3 hill climber. it would blow all the coolant out racing, but not on the road driving. This was due to the boost levels reached in anger, I drive gently on the road..

To try to patch the car before the heads came off, I drained the system (by racing the car....) added a well shaken/stirred fresh Radwell tin all mixed in a normal water/antifreeze cocktail.

Did absolutly nothing to help except earn me a bollocking off David at API when i delivered the engine to him for the head work. The amount of Radweld granuals everywhere was rediculous.

I agree with the above:
Radweld is for system pressures of 10psi or whatever not when the car is running hot at 1.3 bar!

911

 

might be worth asking the NAISOC guys to pester their dealers to find out exactly what the 'additive' is, then source 'it' and then do a GB if there is enough interest?

 

I have done about 12000miles on my rebuilt 2.5 after the first one let go at 1300miles. Now have Arrow rods, Omega pistons, 7600 rev limit, 14mm head bolts and 1.5bar run at 380/380 for that time, may be a little higher now after the last session with Bob. My cams and turbo set-up won't let me run much above 400bhp but am getting fed up with spending money

Scott

 

what happened the first one scott?

 

Melted piston!

It was still on the 2litre map and running massively lean, was fast though!

 

understandable.
id say you did well to do 1500miles with that ecu.

 

Been running mine since september with MY99 heads, TD06/garrrett turbo 1 step smaller then the one Paul/Rob has.

Running ~4Kmiles, boost was first 1.5-1.7 because of creap. Now @ max 1.2-1.3Bar due the problem of mapping it in the Winter

Only problem I have had is that I did blow a water hose when driving on the ice, very hard on the cars since you keep max rev all of the time.

Turbo was just soread after just a lap round the ice track.

power arraound ~400/400 with current boost.


Jan

 

Have just spoken to Peaty. He is of the impression it's radweld.

 

Does anybody have an absolute confirmation on the additive??

 

This was added to the N/A 2.5litre engines as installed in the 2.5RS and 2.5TS, not the USDM STi.

The oficial SOA bullitin is below.

Service Program WWP-99
February 2004

Dear Subaru Owner:

This email is sent to you in the interest of continued customer satisfaction. Subaru of America recently announced a campaign on certain model year vehicles starting in 1999 through 2002. Official Owner Notification Letters will be mailed to all affected customers starting in late February through May of 2004. The timing of the mailings is based on the vehicle model year, starting with oldest affected model year in February through the newest affected model years in May. The following text is similar to that contained in the Official Owner Notification Letter that will be sent to you during the mailing phase affecting your vehicle. Therefore, this email is most likely arriving before most owners will receive their official Owner Notification Letter in the mail. Please do not schedule your vehicle for an appointment for this campaign until after you have received your Official Owner Notification Letter, unless you are experiencing vehicle problems. You can contact your local Subaru dealer for any questions related to this or e-mail us at Subaru.com, contact us.


CAMPAIGN MESSAGE
As a precautionary measure, SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. is recommending that a special conditioner be added to the engine cooling system of certain 1999 through 2002 model year Subaru vehicles equipped with 2.5 liter engines. This recommendation, which applies to your Subaru vehicle, is made to prevent a possible external coolant leak at your vehicle’s engine cylinder head gaskets.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
Once you receive your official Owner Notification Letter in the mail, you should contact your Subaru Dealer as soon as possible for an appointment to have the Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added at no cost to you. The approximate time to perform this operation is 15 minutes. However, it may be necessary to leave your vehicle the full day of your scheduled appointment to allow your dealer flexibility in scheduling. Please present the official notification letter to your Subaru Dealer at the time this repair procedure is performed.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Your vehicle’s engine cooling system contains liquid coolant/anti-freeze. Over time, it is possible for small external coolant leaks to develop at the engine cylinder head gaskets. This is the result of normal expansion and contraction of engine components caused by the heating and cooling of these parts. To prevent coolant leaks from developing or to correct existing leaks at the head gaskets, a special Subaru Cooling System Conditioner should be added to your vehicle’s cooling system.

FUTURE MAINTENANCE
In the future, it will be necessary to add Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner to your vehicle’s cooling system whenever the engine coolant is replaced. The recommended service interval for coolant replacement can be found in your Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading “Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services”. As a reminder, with the official owner notification mailing, we will include an update page that should be added to your Owner’s Manual and Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. We ask you to keep in mind that replacement of fluids (including Subaru Cooling System Conditioner) during inspection and maintenance services is not covered under warranty.

WARRANTY EXTENSION
Once you receive your notification letter, you should have this Service Program repair performed promptly. If so, Subaru will extend coverage under the Subaru Limited Warranty on your vehicle for cylinder head gasket external coolant leaks to a period of 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was delivered to the first retail purchaser. If the vehicle was used as a demonstrator or company vehicle before being sold at retail, warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was first placed in such service. As a further condition for this extended warranty coverage to apply, you must have Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added to your vehicle at any subsequent cooling system services at the interval specified in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading “Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services”. Resulting damage caused by a lack of maintenance or low coolant level will not be covered.

CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS OR SOLD YOUR SUBARU?
If you have moved or sold your vehicle, please reply to this message with your Vehicle Identification Number and your updated information.

IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR A RELATED REPAIR
In the event that you have already paid an authorized Subaru Dealer for repairs to remedy an external coolant leak in an engine cylinder head gasket at less than 100,000 miles and your Subaru’s cooling system has been properly maintained, you may be entitled to reimbursement for the head gasket replacement costs. Any reimbursement by Subaru will be based on our suggested retail parts pricing and suggested labor time multiplied by the dealer’s hourly labor rate at the time of repair. Because Subaru Dealers are independently owned and operated, Subaru of America has no control over the actual charges. The actual repair cost may be higher or lower than the rate used by Subaru of America to calculate reimbursement. If lower, reimbursement will be limited to the amount you actually paid. Please send the ORIGINAL service repair order, which has complete information including the name of the repair facility, date of repair, mileage at the time of repair, complete vehicle identification number (17 digits), and your name, with correct mailing address and telephone number to the address listed below.

Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer Dealer Service Department
Attention: Service Program WWP-99
P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000

Please send original receipts only and retain a photocopy for your records. Please be assured that we will attempt to process your reimbursement request as quickly as possible, but may take up to 120 days for this process to be completed.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM
Should you have any questions regarding this customer service program, please contact your nearest Subaru Dealer. To locate the nearest Subaru Dealer you can access our Website at www.Subaru.com and select “Find a Dealer”. Or, you may call us at 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) during normal business hours for assistance. Please call us immediately if the dealer fails or is unable to make the necessary repairs free of charge or write to the address listed in this email.

Again, this email is possibly being sent before you will receive your official owner notification. Therefore, we would appreciate it if you would wait until that time to have the service campaign completed. Your continued satisfaction with your Subaru is important to us. Please understand that we have taken this action in the interest of your vehicle’s proper operation and we have staged the owner letters in phases so that Subaru dealers can perform this service within a reasonable time frame. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this matter may cause you.

Sincerely,

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

This aditive is used to fix external water leaks, it isnt a fix for blown head gaskets where the fire ring seal has failed. The head gasket has been redesigned on the later NA 2.5L engines, so this external leak isnt a problem on current MY engines.

 

Thanks for that John, interesting to know it doesn't afflict the turbo models with the later gaskets. Helps us to focus on other issues.

 

There is also a dealer technical information bulletin which states that it is added to ph.2 2.5L Turbo Engines: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/att...achmentid=2666

Andrew...

 

interesting Andrew, thats the first mention of it being used in the 2.5T i have seen. Do you know when that bullitin was released?

 

its a pity we cant seem to determine if the conditioner is a different cocktail to the radweld. i'd be very interested in hearing comments regarding internals after the conditioner had run thru for some time. anyone know?

i spose the next question is ...how easy is it to get hold of the Subaru approved stuff.?

 

Subaru dealer couldn't find SOA numbers on his system understandably.

 

JF, afraid not, that was one of the documents posted (along with the one you posted above) in the scoobymods thread I originally posted a link to on 22B. Whilst I agree that the link to Headgaskets failures isn't mentioned, SOA have been reimbursing customers for the cost of HG replacements done by dealers outside of the normal warranty.

JB, I know you have been in contact with Quirt Crawford re. the USDM 2.5, did you discuss the coolant conditioner issue with him?

Andrew...

 

Its Holts Radweld