scoobyrob

I recently suffered big end failure on a my98 turbo, car sold at weekend so now scoobyless! Will be getting a P1 soon so im abit worried about bigends now! What can we do to prevent such a thing happening? any parts we could upgrade etc..? If I bought an after market warranty will this be covered?

rob.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

If you're getting a P1 you should aim to get one that has been remapped -esp if it has been decatted etc... as Subaru didn't really adapt the STi 5 engine in the P1 to run on UK fuel particularly well. As a result, there has been quite a few incidences of the engines letting go at about 60k. What a warranty covers very much depends on 1) who you get it from 2) how much you're prepared to pay!

All the best.

NS04

pslewis

After market warranty should cover it.

The big secret to a relaible car, which plenty seem to ignore, is this:-

DO NOT **** ABOUT WITH IT!!

Subaru WOULD have made these cars deliver 350BHP if they thought they could do so without failure .............. they don't!

Quite why someone without the knowledge and skills and research of Subaru think they know better than Subaru is a real mystery to me

Maybe they look REALLY important with a Laptop, CockLink Lights and Dick Cans Attached?? Who knows?? Maybe the Mickey Mouse Rolling Road Graph does it for others?

Treat them well and they will treat you well ........................

Pete

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Uncle Pete, agree with the last sentiment completely.

I was suggesting a remap for safety sakes, not for extracting max power!

NS04

GC8

They arent reliable in every circumstance though Pete; its a little like saying that Achilles was a top athlete, he was but.......... Impreza big ends suffer from two principal problems. Due to the engines format they are extremely slender so the load has to be bourne by a smaller surface area. This can be critical occasionally after an oil change, although Pete wont have it. Some Imprezas, usually imported or sometimes modified ones, run their bearings as a result of pre-ignition. In this circumstance its usually cylinder number 3 that fails (as a result of fuelling rather than mechanical weakness). This would be a far less common occurance were the bearing journals not so small...

A lot of grief can be saved by the fitment of of 'Knocklink' which Pete hates. Its an ugly thing but itd save the majority of cars whose cranks fail due to detonation. Oilchanges make me nervous though; I dont **** about cranking the car without plugs although I understand how this helps. A well cared for and carefully driven car like Petes might suffer a big end bearing failure 50 miles after a dealer sevice.....


Simon

GC8

.....and; he's my Uncle Pete, not yours.

pslewis

And I might win the lottery jackpot ..............

but, forgive me if I don't hold my breath!!

Pete

Midget

If you want to keep your big ends to yourself then LEAVE THE CAR ALONE
No dump valve especially a VTA no K+N filters no chips nothing really ! IMHO once you go outside of original performance spec your asking for trouble and it will come eventually just when you dont need it and then of course you will jump up and down and say Subaru cranks are too soft or something daft like that . Use the correct spec oil and fill the oil filter before fitting .Once had a guy call in with a really bad knocking noise and he could not understand how it could happen said he changed the oil and filter every 5 K and only used mobil 1 fully syn 0W . He was duly informed and subsequently by Subaru that it was the wrong oil , He did a dance and said that mobil 1 comes with a little book and is recommended by SAAB and Porsche and some others so when i said does it say Subaru in the little book he stopped giving me a hard time and asked for a quote to get it fixed !!!!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Sorry mate, I just like the term, as well as "cocklink"

One day I will grow up.......but not yet!

NS04

GC8

I'm not certain Pete; but I believe that an aftermarket warranty has never paid out for repairs after a main or big end bearing failure; the f*ckers always attribute it to 'wear & tear'. The same goes for engine failure due to a faulty oil pump (another known issue on certain models); Im aware of one where the 'engineer' who inspected it said that it was due to a 'design flaw' and the claim was not honoured.

Simon

GirlieTrucker

IMO and experience, there's nothing you can do with regards to the 'Known fault' on the MY99-00's... Mine had been fully serviced, and I only had it for 7 days, DIDN'T give it any stick, and yet it STILL BLEW UP...

It's been 0ver 3months since I saw it, and it's STILL not ready... !!!!! You tell me how do I prevent this happening again when the MAF or summut goes wibble... !!!!

In all serious tho, is there anything I can do to a standard 99...??? Can I fit a different ECU with NEW, BETTER sensors, and do away with the defective Subaru setup... The engine itself obviously isn't an issue, as it works fine in other models, so it must be the ECU setup on the 99-00's....

Any idea's.... ???

Touch wood, they've got it going again, and have driven it about, but apparently it need two looms replacing, which hopefully will be done nxt week...


Luv
Chrisie...

pslewis

Fully serviced .... by whom? Subaru Main Dealers?

YOU might not have given it any stick, but the previous 15 owners probably DID!!

Anyway, why the hell does it need 2 new wiring looms??

Sorry, doesn't add up ................. just like every other 'disaster' story!

Pete

'T'

im thinking of getting my first impreza and really wanted one but this 'big end' lark is f'n terrifying me! lol if that happened to one i got that would be it, there would be no way i could afford to pay 3-4k to get it fixed, help!

pslewis

A few pointers:-

1. Buy a UK car

2. Do NOT buy a modified one

3. Buy a one owner

4. Check over the owner, mature driver or boyracer?

5. Check service - how many times have the pads/tyres been changed?

6. Do NOT buy one thats been tracked/raced

These cars are great, but a risky secondhand buy for the un-wary!!

Pete

flat4_ire

pete man ur advice isnt exactly perfect now ok?
i dunno what u guys in england do to ur scoobs, im glad i only joined this site when i already had my 98 sti type r ordered, cos this damn site would pu anyone off buying a scoobie!!thats a fact..mine arrived last month, i dont know anyone here(southern ireland)who would buy a uk spec scoob over an import!and we aint got anything but 95 RON here and thats what the scoobs are runnin on, and octane booster maybe..mine has equal length headers,lightened flywheel,down pipe, up pipe, zero sports exhaust system, zero sports rad, hks ssqv vta dv,advan rg rims, thats modified but its completely mint,ive had it checked by a good scoob mechanic and says its extremely clean inside and our,and running lovely..all my friends run theirs on 95 and have no probs! so whats the story?? i think you just drive the absolute sack out of your scoobs over there now in all fairness, just doesnt add up to me..
so id say
go and buy an import cos you know you really want one!
modified or not, a clean car is a clean car and thats that!

Kenny.S

'T' Dont let all the so called horror stories put you off, they are very good cars and so long as you do your home work first and don't just buy the first one you see cos you think you wont find better!
Most of what's been mentioned here is true but there's also a lot of really good imports out there too which are nearly always better spec'd so dont let Pete put you off them.

I just bought an Sti v2 RA, adjustable centre diff and loads of other trick bits, wicked car!

Engine wise if your unlucky and it does fail at the end of the day it's only nuts and bolts, you dont need any fancy tools to take the thing apart just patience and a bit of mechanical know how. I know for a fact that if mine does develop a piston or bearing problem ill fix the thing myself.
Myself and a mate recently build a new engine for his uk car from a new short motor, new heads, valves etc, no previous experience just took our time and followed the info in cd rom we got from a friend who rallys impreza's, that and asking advice when required. We also stripped the old knackered block to see how it comes apart and once you've got the pistons out it's a doddle. The engine has now been run in correctly for 1500 miles (more than enough) with several oil changes and is now having a few things done prior to getting the Andy.F treatment

Kenny