Hi guys so long story short
brought a blob wrx a couple of month ago
its done 160k on clock
had It remapped after having full service and belts changed to get it at 230bhp

so rocker covers where leaking on inspection and a few other bits so Area 51 advised me that best practice is engine out job to get them resealed properly.

ive put new vf35 turbo on
pink injectors
3 port boost solonoid
K and n panel filter
sti Intercooler
walbro pump
decat downpipe
they Have decatted up pipe for me
back box is upgraded

they’ve managed to get it to 280bhp,
anyone know any reasons as to why it wouldn’t go over 300 as with the mods I’ve put on I was expecting a safe 320 to be honest

All I’ve had so far is because of age of engine but does anyone know exactly what the age of the engine would do to make it not be able to pass this point.

thanks
in advance guys

 

with regard to the rocker covers ,, in 20 years iv never had to remove a engine to do them lol ,, its fiddly but taking the engine out is proper overkill for that job and adding on hours of unneeded labour

 

is the Walbro a 255lph or higher? chasing those figures I would have gone for a bigger flow pump and probably RCM or SWRD over Walbro in addition are the injectors new? if not have they been flow tested to make sure they are performing at optimum?

 

Walbro 255 will more than outflow the needs of a VF35..........

 

Yes it’s the 255 which I understand would be fine for the upgrades and the jbjectors have been flow tested by the garage who have supplied them for me £180 they’ve charged

 

It sounds a bit tired out if it only made 230 when mapped the first time; it should have made 260 or more with an exhaust and a panel filter. What did the mapper say, as he would have been best placed to offer some thoughts.
As Domino said, no-one lifts a motor to do rocker gaskets, so I'm surprised a specialist would.

 

Sticky actuator could be a possible issue.

Have you changed the PCV valve. If not its worth doing.

If they are saying age of engine have they done a compression test.

 

160k is a lot of miles and wear. Needs a compression test in the first instance to check the health of the engine. Really best practise to do that first before you start investing any money on it.

 

I managed to speak to the mapper yesterday
they had some misfire issues with some spark plugs I brought off eBay before they replaced the plugs with some of there own they put the camera down to see if anything was untowards.
he’s told me that there’s evidence of a recent rebuild or at least engine being taken apart as there’s fresh marks etc where it’s been hand sanded etc.

could be a case of a bad rebuild basically as he’s saying it’s missing something or something isn’t quite right as he would expect to see it gain to 270 when I first took it in. Basically I think I’m on borrowed time with the engine now it has been running fine since I had it but I don’t really floor it and do very little mileage in it as I walk to work so I’m not sure what the plan is now but I’m considering buying a block to rebuild myself so it can just be transplanted when ready I think.

any ideas where it should be rebuilt etc I only want to keep the same mods so not interested in spending mass money on forged parts etc

 

ICP sell new short block motors, eg https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/par...or&searchPart=

I'd suggest getting any work done by an outfit that also does mapping. That way you don't get passed backwards and forwards between shops if there are any issues.

 

Too many fake spark plugs on ebay mate.

I'm not trying to be funny but your garage should be diagnosing or at least give you the option with a charge. It takes time and time is money.

Have you had a compression test done though.

 

No compression test done
feel abit let down with the lack of knowledge they gave me and had to ask them.

they had car for a week pulled engine to do gasket change then left me in dark with what was happening as it happened

 

Did they charge you to take the engine out?

 

Who are this Area 51 crowd never heard of them.

 

next they will be removing the engine to do a oil change ,, sounds like they treat there customers well

 

Area 51 have been around a while, to be fair I’ve never really heard anything bad about them.

 

Sorry area 52 it is not 52 in Kirkby in Ashfield

so had the car back since Thursday late afternoon. On driving it home it started getting warmer about a quart to the red line in temperature then flew back down. Spoke to jase I think who said it was running warm on the dyno.

just been out today for an hour or so driving no hard driving about 60 is fastest it’s been and started creeping up in temperature then drops back down fan kicks in etc.

just checked hoses and top hose is hot and bottom hose is cold and there’s red coolant around bottom of that pipe



Never did the overheat thing before
I was charged £500 in labour alone for the gaskets to be re sealed I supplied my own gaskets full set from icp

feeling abit done over now

 

I think Skull fudge or Clive had a lot of work done by them..... Back in the day over on 22b if memory serves.
Or i could have imagined it.

 

Just to echo what others have said and to give you a point of reference- a while after I bought my Blobeye WRX I fit a decent, free-flowing exhaust: a centre-pipe/3rd cat delete, de-res centre and an afterburner vortex backbox- all other cats in place. I then took it to TDR for a power run to check everything was as it should be and after an ECU reset and several runs to stop it pulling timing a bit (probably due to being run on 95 by the previous owners) it made 248hp at the wheels on what TDR said was the standard map.

 

It's about 2 hours labour to change cam cover gaskets, even with me lying on my back and my fat fumbling hands....

On the other hand, completely removing the engine, changing the gaskets and then refitting the engine, should cost a lot more than £500....
Also, if they are removing the engine, they didn't try to upsell you a new clutch, main seal, engine mounts, cambelt etc?

Sounds like they are either utterly clueless in removing the engine (and not even charging properly for it) or they haven't removed the engine at all and are just completely ripping you off by dreaming up a figure and then trying to justify it.

 

I had the cam belt and full service done a few week before that with them £600ish from memory that’s me supplying the cam belt kit

no mention of needing clutch etc

 

If you remove the engine from the car, would you think it prudent to replace the clutch at the same time? And all the other jobs that require the removal of the engine first?

Did they remove the engine when they changed your cambelt?

 

Thats shocking mate. Bleed the system and you should be fine.

Have a look at your spark plugs and see if they have been changed.

 

Wish I could get £600 labour for changing a Subaru cam belt. We usually charge around £150 labour including fluids. 2 hrs max.

 

Removing the engine is a very simple operation on an impreza except for the odd stubborn nut/bolt stud. While engine was out should of changed clutch really and rear crank seal at least. If it was out plugs and possibly cam covers should be at least checked. If it was overheating on the dyno mapping should of ceased and you should of been advised.

 

This is the problem I’ve got
wasnt advised until I had to ask to dig for more information, while plugs where out I would imagine a compression test would of been ideal following they put the camera in there to see the recent rebuild marks.

I did ask for them to check the clutch while engine out but didn’t hear anything so assumes it’s fine,
nothing mentioned about crank seals etc

 

id find somewhere else as they are clearly pulling your pants down

£500 to do the rocker covers is disgusting in my view ,,, I normally charge around £50 for both sides , takes about a hour a side , without removing the engine at all

 

Just need to find a decent rebuilt engine now anyone dealt with Macc engines in Birmingham 1200 delivered for bare full engine re conditioned

 

Do not buy from a general engine reconditioner, use only builders who specialise in Subarus. Ask how many Subaru engines they rebuild a week. What is reconditioned? Well respected builders are the likes of Finch Motorsport, Enginetuner, AS Performance and Scoobyclinic, and worth travelling to. Or go second hand off someone trusted like Matty on here.

 

What's the condition of the rest of the car? Is it actually worth spending money on?

Very much buy cheap, buy twice. For a proper full rebuild, from someone who knows what they are doing, is going to be at least £2k+ Or you can buy fully built new STi short engines from ICP for similar.
Cheapest option is probably a known used STi engine from one of the specialist Subaru breakers, such as Matty B.

Compression test the engine first. It may not need a rebuild but definitely take it to a well regarded specialist to diagnose, not just which ever garage is nearest or cheapest.