decision time for me guys, i have an rb5 wr sport and the engine (piston no 4 , crank etc ) have let go. Its in the garage awaiting repaire (was doing 145mph at time)
my problem is apart from poodling around how do i stop this from happening again ?
im fed up now with this happening and think it might be better to get a bmw , wot do you guys recon?

 

Did you have any warning before it let go or was it very sudden?
Did engine sound sweet before the incident?

 

Simple, dont rag the **** off it in top.

 

Your trying to sell it are you not?

 

Has the car been modified or oil recently been changed?

If answer to former is yes did your boost gauge, KnockLink or AFR meter give any advance warning, and if the latter, who did it?

 

One of the most common reasons For no4 big end failure is usually down to oil temperature exceeding 120 deg C. Not surprising since you were caning it in top gear....LOL The oil gets very very thin and No4 journal is the furthest away, seen this on my friends Sti III Type R three times! Get yourself an oil cooler and and oil temperature gauge to keep an eye on things. Hope this helps.

PS Mates Sti III Type R doesn't suffer this problem any more, even when chasing motorbikes LOL!

 

I've had the same problem recently and have had an uprated oil pump fitted, a decent oil (castrol RS) and try not to keep the car over a ton for prolonged periods.

 

Cheers for the replys, i thought id get the cheesy take it easy ones!!

Was trying to sell 2 days before probs so i will prob keep car now or trade it in .

I had no warning what so ever otherwise i would have slowed down!

 

Begs the question then - did you have a KnockLink, boost gauge etc. fitted?

 

greasemonkey
no i didnt, should i have then ?
downpipe de-cat is the only mod its had

 

ahhh
me thinks its been over boosting and running lean

 

just looked at JW Racing site and now i tend to agree with you.
Why didnt the garage recommend this to me ?(im a novice who knows very little)
When i get the car back i think i will ring Jamie to stop this happening again

 

greasemonkey,
to answer your question about the oil change, the answer is yes as it had a service 3 weeks prior (quenby in Baldock).But i checked oil levels and they were fine.

 

Probably because you didn't ask, and that they don't sell them! Unfortunately there are plenty of garages/dealers around who are more concerned with making a quick buck than giving you good advice. They probably feel that they'll make even more money rebuilding your engine when it pops, so why go to the trouble of making sure it won't?

To be honest though, that's no excuse. It should go without saying that any modification that alters engine power delivery can have consequences, and with resources like Scoobynet around there's little reason not to go into something like this with both eyes open.

Good move. Quality boost gauge, KnockLink and preferably also an AFR meter should be considered essentials for any modified Impreza - no matter how mild the mods!