R.B.5

After 1 month of the car being off the road and parked at my MainDealer i now know that i will be getting a new engine. Gearbox is rebuilt with lots of work done too. I hope now that when i get it back (monday) it will be ok.

Piston 4 melted and seized, uhm and basically the engine was a mess. A new one was the only way to go i'm told. So im happy at the moment. The bill comes to £6500 so far which i wont need to pay as waranty covers it. I also need a new clutch and flywheel. The flywheel will be a modyfied (lightened) type with possibly an STI clutch. Total cost to myself is £800.

Im glad that the decision has been made and not knowing what was happening was the worst thing about this whole ordeal. I'll be soooo happy when i pick the car up. I cant wait.

R.B.5

Forgot to ask what type of oil is the best to use to keep the engine really nice. Was thinking of changing it every two months anyway now i have a new engine.

Thanks

R.B.5

dowser

What's an 'STi clutch'?! Same as a Euro one, methinks.

Richard

TBMeech

RB5,

I use Castrol RS10/60 and change the oil approx every 2500 miles if that helps

Richard,

An STI clutch can handle power up to 280 bhp, so is a stronger clutch than the standard UK one.

Adam M

dont think there is a difference,

power makes no difference to the clutch, they are torque rated.

motul 300v seems to be the oil of choice of the people in the know.

demon tweeks.

if going for a lightened flywheels and clutch, speak to mark@leteralperformance.co.uk and get yourself one of his clutches and a billet flywheel, not a machined standard one. should see change from £800.

R.B.5

Thanks for the quick replies!

Dowser: STI clutch is from an STI

As for the oil i've used magnatex in the old engine 10w/50 as far as i can remember. Maybe 10w/40 but im sure it 50. Anyways Castrol or Motul seem to be good oils so i'll try them i think. Again thanks for the advice, im sure it will come in handy when choosing the clutch/flywheel and my oil!

What difference would a lightened flywheel make to the car then? Faster reving engine? Little bit more horsepower maybe? Not really sure which i why im asking.

MorayMackenzie

STI supply at least a couple of different clutches, each of which is different to OE european and classic WRX stuff. I had an STI disc clutch (not paddle) fitted to my previous WRX, it made a big difference. I think the cover had ~1000kg clamping force!

dowser

Then I stand corrected and apologise for my misinformed and sarcastic post

Lightened flywheel will help the engine to respond quicker to throttle changes - less inertial forces at play. I had my stock flywheel lightened to 8.5kg.

Richard

R.B.5

Yeah i was told by the service manager about the clutch judder that affects impreza's. This is the reason for upgrading to a better clutch and a modified flywheel. As well as that i get room for improvment in the horsepower as the clutch will be able to handle more power and will ast longer im told. im itching to get the car back now.

Will having a new engine affect my resale of the car? This is something im worried about and will be requesting a copy of the £6500 engine and gearbox job to show prospective buyers if i decide to sell.i'm sure it'll be fine!

paul w

Why do some of you change the oil every 2/3k or months it will be fine for twice that and every time it gets changed by a dealer you dont know if they are filling the filter back up and even if the filter is filled up by yourself there still may a short period when the mota is short of oil pressure,not ideal really.

Iain P

RB5, what was the spec of the engine prior to melt-down? Any add-ons?

R.B.5

more or less standard apart from usual downpipe and air filter mod! It was quick and i was well happy with it. Suppose it will be better now i have a new engine

Iain P

do you mean Conical filter, like K&N/HKS? There have been lots of problems reported with contaminated MAFS. Was this your problem as well?
Cheers.

R.B.5

Iain: No my problem was something happened to piston 4 while i was maybe going around a corner "fast" which i do sometimes , doesn't everyone!?

Maybe there was a lack of oil in the engine as i was told by the Service Dept at my local dealer that sometimes when cornering hard as the engine is a flat four the oil moves over towards one side. Lack of oil therefore in a cylinder will cause it to heatup rapidly and start damage. While they are not 100% sure on why my engine packed up they think this scenario is a very likely possibility.

I now have the car back and am very very pleased with it. Ultra Smooth and just a dream to drive. Most of my gearbox was also replaced under warranty. 1st, 3rd, 4th and reverse were changed along with the main shafts and other things they mentioned and cant remember.

So all in all i think a lesson has been learned by keeping a very very close eye on the oil levels as well as any other things i can check myself! All i had to pay for was a lightened flywheel and uprated clutch.

I have a digital camera now and will be taking lots of pictures to slap up on the members section so be sure to have a look! Thx for all the support guys!

Gavin

Iain P

If there was oil starvation then surely the crank bearings would be the first victim? What was the damage to the piston? Holed or scuffed?
Cheers

harvey

iTrader: (48)

Just seen this post. It is VERY important to run an engine in on mineral oil eg Shell 10w-40 for a couple of thousand miles before changing to a fully synthetic. This is to allow moving surfaces to wear together before going for the higher degree of lubricity afforded by the latest fully synthetic oils. It is unlikely your dealer will have fitted fully synthetic straight off.