Only thing I i could really ask is does anyone know of the nearest Subaru specialist or somewhere could taken the Subaru to be checked out near swansea in South Wales?

As already mentioned, you can't rely on the factory gauge. It sits in the middle for a HUGE variation of temperatures from well below warm to dangerously hot. It will only go up in extreme cases.


You can use your android phone or tablet with a cheap EML327 Bluetooth adaptor and torque app for less than £5 in total. Would be worth doing in my mind.

The bottom end was replaced and rebuilt by East Kent subaru less than 20 k ago could it really have gone already

I think he got the wrong thread - https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...illing-up.html

think a few of the welsh lads use 3 arches garage?

Just to give you a reference point for your coolant temperature....


My standard dash gauge reaches mid point showing at temperature when the ECU is reading only 70degC from the coolant temperature sensor. It then raises to normal running temperature of around 90degC and if sitting in traffic the fan cuts in at around 95degC to cool it back down. My car never reaches 100degC.


Just monitor yours using the ODB2 port and see what you're getting daily. Make sure your fan is kicking in when required.

Have you driven it hard at all since you've checked the coolant level?

Get rid of it mate, it's simply not worth what it will cost to put right properly. :(

HG failure symptoms, don't usually reoccur unless you boost the car. I nursed mine for about a month until I got it down to Alan at Engine Tuner in Plymouth. Fully Forged and Studded, it's never missed a beat ever since- 5 years and 28,000 HARD miles.

Temperatures have stayed below 100 and both fans be kick in when they should be but I have been driving around like im trying to get good mpg 😂 taking it easy. Coolant levels are still exactly the same not dropping so happy there’s no leaks. Going to take it for a bit of a blast over the next few days though to see what happens then. Thinking maybe when it’s under boost, the issues then is going to show signs of head gasket.

Good luck!

Not a cheap repair (even just standard HG's fitted and nothing else). However, and it's a "How deep are your pockets?" however, the benefits of better HG's, machining, honing, forging, studding etc is key to a cracking 2.5 road car.


With a good map on a built 2.5 WRX you'd perhaps see at least 310 horses and plenty of torque which a decently built 2.5 offers....and above all, reliability. Throw some breathing apparatus at it and you'll see even more power gains I reckon.


It will never run right as it is from what I'm reading....you need to either get it gone, or get it good.
WRX is a more comfortable ride, and 5 gears means less up and down the box compared to an STi. Best of both worlds for some.


My 2007 STi Spec D suffered the same fate a few years ago, got it built, mapped and have never looked back. Sure, piston slap when she's cold, but that's just a trait of forging, no biggie, just how it is.