Bought a UK MY98 about a year ago which had very mild piston slap. This has (obviously?) got louder with the cold weather, but a recent oil change made it even worse.

Looking to keep the car a fair bit longer, so just considering my options at the moment. Is it something I should get fixed sooner rather than later?...what sort of damage will it do if I leave it?

What do I need to fix it - short engine or just piston & rings?

I guess if I ask a garage to do it, I'm looking at 500quid and upwards. Is is something I can do myself with a bit of help?

Opinions and experiences welcome.

Cheers,

Andy

 

Sorry for bad news Andy, but the £500 will probably pay for half of the job.
I had quotes from £800 (bore 1 cylinder and add O/S piston) to £2000 (complete short block overhaul).

If the noise is going when warmed and you're not drinking oil then start saving your pennies.

I got out the easy way and sent the car back to the HP company.

Have a chat with David OBrien at API Engines as he gave me a lot of help.

Nick

 

Andy YHM

 

Some info here

 

Nick - noise goes when coolent temp rises. Oil consumption zilch (at the mo).

Thanks for the info so far, will read it all after lunch. I was hoping it might be a DIY job when I do the timing belt and maybe a few other mods at the same time.

I've heard that it's often just one piston (No 4?) that needs replacing. Alternatively I could just drop in a 2nd hand STi engine - what are the difficulties there?

Andy

 

hi thought this might be of interest to u i brought an my98 uk turbo from main dealer in newcastle under lyme and had probs with piston slap which they had the car baqck three times blaming it on the belt tensioner so i still wasnt happy so i took the car to my local dealer carstins for a second opinion the car had 69000miles and was out of subaru warrenty but they had a look and confirmed that no4 piston was at fault very common on my98 cars an to my very big suprise they informed subaru and because it was a known fault they authorised carstins to repair it because the car had.nt been called back to do the known fault so as u can imagine i was very chuffed didnt cost me a penny that was back in 2002