Did he find out what the cause was?

 

what was the failure?

 

Ask him to fit a new nitrided crank and not to re-grind the original.

Mick

 

Second that, Subaru cranks do not respond well to grinding no matter how careful the machinist

Mine had a reground crank and failed again @ 4k miles. Replace it with a good used one would be a better bet if you cant afford new.

 

A reason as to what happened would be good too lol.

Anyone can rip apart a motor and say it needs a rebuild, but actually went wrong in the first place?

 

The fact that hes regrinding the crank plus the not so positive reviews would have my spidey senses tingling

 

Don't regrind the crank, that is a recipe for disaster! Get a new 2.5 bad boy and stroker it whilst your there! If that's not your thing then at least use a known good second hand one, preferably from a later 2.0 car or a Jdm newage model, I think new they come in under £500 ( still alot of money if you don't have it, but weigh up another build when the crank decides to spit it's dummy out and it soon becomes a super super deal )

And newage more common to "letting go" than classics think that statement is a tad incorrect myself but hey ho your car your cash we can only offer advice, best of luck what ever way you choose, fingers crossed you come out the other side with a smile on your face and a good working car!

P.s using a reputable rebuilder will hold the value on a car better than some unknown builder, just a thought

 

id listen to the guys on here who no these cars and have been giving advice on here for years, i think wth jap cars you need to no that they have good feedback and background. if not you'll only end up at square one, with empty pockets. if your gonna do it get it done properly.

 

It had spun a bearing in number 3, the timing was also out by a tooth but I don't know if that would make much difference?
Okay I will say to him about the crank and getting a decent second hand one, thanks for letting me know everyone.

 

I bought a good used crank from www.finchmotorsport.co.uk reccomended seller. He has used parts from time to time.
More to the point you can rely on them that the parts have been properly inspected.

 

mine pretty much sounded like that... turned out my gasket on the manifold was leaking....

 

He phoned me up today and said there wasn't much difference in price between regrounding crank and a new one so a new one it is.
The bad bit, £4200 plus vat!! Ahhhhhhhh

 

That's about right for a proper rebuilt engine with all new components.

 

Am I right in saying this won't make the car any quicker? Just a lot stronger!!

 

Yes, if you're running standard injectors, turbo, map etc.

 

What would I need for say 400 bhp??

 

Dependent on model/year of car.Bigger injectors, FPR, fuel pump, Turbo upgrade, Map/ecu, exhaust, intercooler exhaust, upipe etc etc.
Then you need transmission capable of handling 400hp.

 

Would the standard wrx transmission be good for 350bhp?

 

There or there about yea, much more an they start to break down and become unreliable, don't get me wrong some people have ran 400+ on the 5 speed but most will say it will let go before that point.

Just a heads up but the money your putting in to rebuilding this new engine you could have an engine tuner, api, Paul finch etc etc to build one for that kind of price, a 2.1 stroker comes in around that money and you know you will have a sound engine and warranted, I really hope the guy knows what he's doing as its a lot of money to invest if he don't! And you don't want him making excuses if it goes wrong such as "it's the mappers fault" or " you supplied the parts" if you catch my drift, make sure he is willing to warrant any work he carries out as your not talking a few quid at this point, it's starting to get expensive, please don't think we preaching but many guys have been here before and learnt the hard way at least the saga with the crank is sorted

 

^^^^^ this

If you are going to spend 5k then give the money to a subaru specialist as mentioned. Don't worry about upsetting the guy who quoted you even if he has taken the engine apart to diagnose (i would have done a sniff test or compression test before I took it apart, the fact he took it apart to find that out is his problem). It's just a quote you are not tied to accepting it. The fact he wanted to reground the crank is enough to know he is not up to the knowledge of the other specialists previously mentioned.


Also how did he diagnose the gasket, sniff test? Compression test?

 

That's a very strong price mate!

I cant stress it enough to speak to a known Subaru engine builder before you commit to anything.

I don't know if your too polite or you feel like you owe this guy, but that's a lot of money!

Im sure you could get a reputable builder to do the job for less than that!

 

He is a subaru specialist, he really does know his stuff, I've spoke to guys who had engines done from him and they say there engine just seems to be getting better and better.

 

Crack on then

 

Jesus, i dont think i could bring myself to spend what my whole car is worth on an engine.

I would personally break the car and get as much monies as poss, then if i wanted another, buy another car!

But thats just my opinion .

 

Oh one more thing, why such an involved build?

If its only spun a shell i take it it didnt throw a rod?

So why not just new crank, new single rod, reuse pistons and the other 3 rods, block one new piston rings and bearings, new head gasket kit?

Would save the best part of at least a grand on forking out for new pistons and rods if you only want standard power.

Of course if you want more, change the lot

 

OP obviously wants to do it right.
Knowing that you have an engine that is under stressed, built to the correct tolerances and not been thrashed to within an inch of its life leaves me with a nice warm feeling.

BTW

Are you the bloke from margate that sold me a car with a botched engine?

 

IMHO, your predicted torque output would be a bigger factor in relation to the gearbox shatting itself at that power.

Mick

 

Me??

Sorry, i dont live in margate, im in wiltshire. And i dont usually sell cars, i normally crash them before i get chance lol

Although i did buy my impreza from near maidstone....

 

I thought about that fudgey but still will only save me about £1300 so might aswell go the whole way, that does include new Cambelt kit aswell.

 

Fair play then mate, at least you know if its had a propper build it should be bullitproof (hopefully lol)

while its all apart you might as well get a bigger turbo, injectors fmic and a remap lol