TheDuke

He said it could make the car have lumpier tickover and not as good at cold starting with uprated headgaskets + the originals are good for more power (like mine were huh?)
This is what scoobyclinic told him.
What is this valve cutting work on the head exactly?
I didn't get a second opinion on the problem.
Yeah I just read about 06 sti plastic engine mounts being crap. Think I'm being paranoid now. Will I have to bed the new gaskets in?

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

Maybe I am just paranoid too but did you get photos of the old head gaskets to see where they were leaking ? or where the valve seats need re-cutting ?

Plastic engine mounts aren't the best in the world but they are good enough for a std car. Going for stiffer mounts isnt always a great idea.

53

iTrader: (41)

Worth it on a classic sitting on 10 yr old mounts but not on an 06STi for most people. Makes things pretty unforgiving and you get lots of noise transference into the cabin. Great mod though not done it on the SpecD bar the pitchstop.

scoobiewrx555

Speaking of gaskets. Thicker head gaskets lower compression a bit but it does mean that you can run a bit more boost. When you've had a head skim go for thicker than OEM gaskets. Cometic multilayer metal gaskets are very good.

TheDuke

I didn't get photos dynamix. Why what are you paranoid about? Do you think it could be something else?
Reading about car trouble is like looking at a medical journal. You start off with a headache and end up thinking you have some rare fatal illness.
I thought the original Subaru headgaskets are good. Should I get uprated ones? I just want my car to be reliable.

STI Mav

Well - today was the day for mine to go into Torque of the Devil to get this Thermostat fitted and have the cooling system fully flushed and refilled. I'd been out in the car over the weekend and done a long run from Chelmsford to Clacton and back with some town driving and my temp gauge hadn't budged once. Then I took the car out Sunday to the fish shop which is 10 mins down the road and the problem seemed to start up again - did it the whole way there and back and again when I took out yesterday evening on a 20 min run into Chelmsford (there and back).

The drive to the garage this morning wasn't much fun either, stuck in M25 rush hour traffic with the car overheating really wasn't very enjoyable - but I managed to get it there without any issues.

Thermostat was changed and cooling system flushed, boost gauge fitted and I've done the journey back, taken in some town driving and have purposefully been giving it some beans to try and get the temps up

The result - Temp gauge won't move at all

Don't want to get to over excited just incase the problem comes back in due course, but given that it did it all day yesterday and the whole way to the garage this morning I'm reasonably hopeful that my issue has been fixed.

If that's the case big shout out to Dynamix for his reassurances and anyone else that chipped in as well

Oh and just out of interest, does the Zero/Sports cool running thermostat give any performance gains ?? perhaps it's just me but the car seemed more responsive and defiantly more aggressive when I stamped on the loud pedal. Just wondering if the ECU picks up the fact that the temperature has been lowered and allows the car a little extra performance ??

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

No probs - glad it has sorted it.

Yes, the cooler running makes it run better. If it was overheating before it will remove ignition timing to try and cool itself down as part of the ecu's strategy for dealing with coolant temps. They also have an added advantage of letting the oil run cooler too (which is good).

53

iTrader: (41)

No but a cooler engine is a happier engine. Important bit about the zerosports is that in the event of failure it fails open.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Paul at Zen did comment that when mapping mine, it wouldn't take as much timing as expected.
Also noticed that oil temps don't rise so quickly when giving it beans.

what really annoyed me in tracking it down to the thermostat was that it seemed to play up intermittently until the last month.

STI Mav

Just been out in her again, to get some petrol and there is a definatly a noticable difference I have to say. Perhaps you wouldn't notice it so much if the standard thermostat was working properly, but going from one that isn't to a cooler running one feels quite a bit different.

Once again loving my car i'm pleased to say

Fingers crossed it stays that way

53

iTrader: (41)

Where did you have the work done Mav ?

STI Mav

Place called Torque of the Devil in Uxbridge. The team used to work at Power Engineering before there was a huge bust up and 90% of the team moved over to TOTD. Really good bunch of lads with alot of collective experience - and a very very good rolling road setup.

I would highly recommend these guys to anyone who needs work done on their Impreza or simply just wants a tweak to what they already have.

Website -> Torque of the Devil

TheDuke

Good news STIMav, I'm happy that you got it working. Congratulations.

STI Mav

I had a feeling the fix to my STI Hawkeye was to good to be true, and my fears were confirmed this morning as the temp gauge jumped to over the 2/3 mark as I was parking the car this morning

So I've had to book the car back in again, but it now looks very much like it's the head gasket that's at fault. Fortunatly I do have some warranty on the car and I have confirmed with them this morning exactly what will be covered. They have advised that they will cover all labour costs (max of £50 an hour - TOTD charge £60) and the head gasket/bolts.

So whilst I'm far from happy I still have a problem I will at least get it looked at mostly under warranty which is a positive I guess. Just got to spend a week without the car now

TheDuke

I'm half way through my second week without my car.
At least you get yours covered under warranty.
I just hope that this head gasket replacement solves the problem.

STI Mav

Have they found any other issues with yours other than the head gasket going ??

Kinni

Interesting read through all this as a Hawkeye owner, i'll be careful with how I right my words as don't want to tempt fate on myself. But some people are questioning the reliability and I'm sure potential Hawkeye future buyers will scan through this thread in the future and have doubts.

I've not got the running water sound certainly never heard it.

Car is about to hit 40k miles and it's a 2006 Hawkeye. I'm running 361.9bhp / 412 ft-lb torque @ 1.55bar boost and i've not had any issues to date and I certainly don't drive like Ms. Daisy.

If you did a poll of those with and without problems I think those with would be in a massive minority of around 2% which you will get from any car / manufactor.

You guys are just in that very unlucky minority, hope you get your probs sorted.

TheDuke

Not yet, The heads are not back from being skimmed yet and they had to do the valve seats on the heads too (£105 per head)
Saying that the engine isn't built yet.
Saying we are in a minority 2%, although true, is still crap. I might be selling mine if this doesn't get sorted. God knows what it's going to be like in the summer.
Reminds me of my renault five days. If it wasn't blowing hoses it was breaking clutch cables. I'm not going there again.
After I get the subaru fixed, if it rises up over the first 1/3 mark again, i'm getting rid and buying something else. I don't need the hassle, or the expense, especially this time of year.

STI Mav

Believe me I can understand your frustrations at the moment. This sort of problem was exactly what I was really hoping to avoid when buying a Scooby. To be honest it's part of the reason I elected to spend a bit more on a base STI with PPP from a "dealer" and get somesort of warranty.

Even if it doesn't cover the whole cost of the repair it should at least keep it reasonable......... I hope !!

53

iTrader: (41)

If it has complied with all the warranty stipulations then I would hang out for everything tbh !!! I guess the only problem is your choice of out of house repairer ? Most dealers would outsource a HG these days I reckon though.

STI Mav

That's a fair comment and believe you me, I will be doing everything I can to get everything I can out of the warranty company. Having said that the warranty is very specific as to what is and what is not covered. Basically if it's not in the handbook it's not covered - it's one of these RAC gold warranty's so I'm not expecting to get everything covered.

We can but try though

TheDuke

Just saying I get my car back and it happens again. What could it be?

53

iTrader: (41)

The same thing if not done properly. Worry about it if it happens mate.

scoobyboy

usually after a spirited drive on a scooby with overheating issues if you stop and just let it idle thats when the gauge rises as it gets heat soak. also if you check the expansion bottle it's normally bubbling away, had one today that was so bad you could smell petrol in the radiator!

STI Mav

Well that's pretty much exactly the problem I get with mine - except I don't get any bubbling in the expansion tank.

Are you sure you don't have a problem with yours ?? Sounds to me based on the contents of this thread that there could be an issue there.........

nug172

Hey folks just an update on my early problem. After I changed my thermostat the car ran with no overheating. As it stiill is but I'm still getting this black crap in the water system. I foned dirk from Powerstation and in formed him of the problem and he has informed me that this is the start of the head gasket braking up. He was saying they have changed a few. The issue is on the early 2.5's they had crap gaskets and brake up over high miles and big boost. As my car has 60k on the clock and running 1.5 bar this I'm sure is the problem. I was going to fit cossy gaskets is any one else using these are they any good?

STI Mav

Yep sounds about right. I'm just hoping once they get the head gaskets off there's no further damage or any problems underneath.

Not seen these Cossy gaskets before so would be interested to know if they are that much stronger than the head gaskets fitter to the later Hawkeye's.

TheDuke

Hopefully I'll get mine back on Monday. I just hope to god this is the end of it. Will this original Subaru replacement part be a better quality one than the one that's in it? i.e. Did they revise the headgasket on later hawkeye 2.5 models?

STI Mav

Well that's certainly the last time I will be using AMC Subaru of Chelmsford.

Just had a call from my garage confirming that they have done a sniff test on my Scooby and have found exhaust gasses in the coolant - meaning I also have a head gasket issue.

On the plus side the warranty company have agreed they will foot the bill for the work and my engine is currently being removed for the head gasket's to be done. TOTD have confirmed they will order the Cossy head gaskets and fit those, and I'll also be getting my exhaust replaced and front splitter fitted at the same time

TheDuke

My heads are still not back yet. You got me thinking about the uprated headgaskets. Don't know wether to get them or not.
I Don't fancy the harder cold starts or tickover issues my mechanic said I would get. Arrghhh don't know what to go for. Bullet proof engines my ***!