wrx engine knocking help
 

hi guys im fairly new here didnt get a chance to introduce myself as i only bought 2003 subaru impreza wrx (blobeye) last week.

i decided to do a full service on my car yesturday morning which include the followings:
ngk spark plug
5w30 oil
oil filter
fuel filter
airfilter
75w90gearbox oil and rear diff oil

the car was driving really well and i felt a big change. however last night i decided to go to a car show and race my car around a few time, but not over the top. car was fine until all of sudden there was a very loud knocking noise coming from the engine and the car keeps wanting to die. i managed to drive home which took about 5 mins.

before this happened i realised when i go over rev 3 and the turbo kicks in the engine noise becomes deeper (negative sound).

my car is fully standard without a single mod. i diagnosed the car and found two problem.
1 - ho2s heater control circuit low bank sesor 1 which is the 02 sensor i presume
2 - turbo/supercharger wastegate problem. i cant exactly remember the code.

im so annoyed as i only had the car for a week and its got 1 owner from new who serviced the car in subaru allways.

can someone please help. thanks
regards
Jewel

Oooops :(
Well just serviced, did you fill the oil filter before fitting?
Is the knocking there all the time? (search on youtube for subaru big end failure).

Tony:)

oh dear sounds like new engine required ....

As tony said did u fill the oil filter? and more importantly did u get oil pressure before starting ? (i.e pull crank sensor off and crank over till oil light went out on the dash??)

ant

well i didnt fill the oil filter before fitting :-(
but the engine sounded sweet. i drove it for 15 miles normally before i went to the car show. it sounded perfect exept that noise after the turbo kicks in.
basically i was driving normally on a road and then stopped at a traffic light. after 10 second this loud noise kicked in and the engine kept on wanting to die.. i had to keep it reving in order for it to stay on.

im kinda confused as this is the first subaru i purchased after upgrading from a honda civic turbo..

im confused. is it the engine or the turbo? or is it both?

well engine light was on from before as i was in need of a 02 sensor so not quiet sure when the engine light came on for the second fault :confused:

more importantly the engine covered 120, 000 miles.

Sounds like bearing knock (obviously cannot be 100 % unless i hear) wrx's are known for it, espcially if oil not primed before startup after a oil change, the reason your having to rev it is because oil pressure is probaly very low, advice dont keep starting it and do not drive it until inspected by a specialist

ant

120k due a rebuild tbf....

im thinking its in need of a new engine aswel. what do you guys think. three options
rebuild it?
buy a second hand engine?
sell it and buy the wrx sti later on?

Thanks for the help guys. much appreciated :)

Second hand engine,
Sell it,
Buy a proper Impreza (STI).

yes i think you are correct Matty. i made a mistake by buying the wrx. do you think i can sell it in this state for cheap money?

You could but don't expect to get alot for it. You would probably be better off sticking a second hand motor in and selling a perfectly drivable car.
At the end of the day it's not going to be worth a great deal, it's a 120K WRX, not very desirable to be honest. Think you made a mistake in the first place by buying it fella.

How can you say he made a mistake buying the car, peoples circumstances dictate what they buy, your hardly setting the Subaru world alight with a version 3 sti ffs!

Sounds very much like what's all-ready been said mate, big end failure. couple of options second hand engine but unfortunately you don't know its condition until you fit it and run your car and could turn out to be worse than what you've got unless the seller is 100% honest with you, There are some sharks out there just trying to make a fast buck.

next option new crank, new bearing set, Oil pump & cooler, and check the condition of your conrods. and the obvious gasket set & timing belt, that way you could keep the car knowing it will serve you well for a long time.

Buddy your a Fu*king idiot.
He bought a WRX with 120K on the clock. The engines are as weak as hell out of the box let alone when they have covered that amount of miles. From what he writes he is obviously a guy who likes to drive his car hard and the car he bought is obviously not up to the job, he admits that himself FFS. If his budget could only stretch to a 2003 WRX then he could of afforded an early STI, which would of been a much better buy.
And to say my car is hardly setting the world alight, lol. Have you been in my car ??? 350bhp per ton with a brake and suspension setup that people on here would kill for. I am in a position to buy ANY Impreza I want but went with my current car because the spec was so good, plus the fact that newage cars don't give the driver anywhere near as many smiles per mile as a classic.

What car do you drive ???

Proton Savvy ;)

But to the OP either get a second hand engine, or get yours rebuilt. There are plenty of decent engines going around, and plenty of places to get yours done. Its up to you what you want to do tbh. I bought mine with a dead engine and bought a forged lump for her, but then the car cost me £500, and I knew the issues before hand.


At the end of the day who gives a toss what car you go for, as long as the owner is happy who gives a $hit??
The guy obviously liked it, so instead of dissing each others cars and bigging up your own, try and help the guy out.

Jees there are MUCH better cars around than an Impreza to be fair, but we like them so we have them.

Firsty i may be an idiot but im not your buddy! Why would he of been better off buying a classic STI? The engine is no stronger in the classic STI. Not everyone wants to drive around in an old classic but like the idea of owning an impreza so a newage car suits them better.

Your one of the reasons i no longer drive an Impreza, the new breed of owner :lol1:

BTW i drive a 1X GT with just 1 or 2 choice mods :norty:

*EDIT*

Ive just looked at the BHP leaderboard thread, didnt see your "people would kill for my car" in the list, i guess you forgot to add the details, yes of course that will be it lol

I've got a newage WRX and when I bought the car back in 2002 it was all the car I needed / wanted :D

Shaun

Your correct, your not my buddy so I am sorry for saying it. You are however a complete and utter D I C K who has nothing helpful to write nor even owns an Impreza. And to say I am one of the new breed, lol, there are no neons, body kits or McDonald wrappers in or on my car fella.
And just for your records, classic STI came with forged internals as standard, so yes, they are stronger than a stock UK blob WRX. Blob STI is another story all together. I actually run a blob STI engine in my car.

Didn't say they would kill for my car,
But my powerstation stage 4 handling package and Porsche brake set up are quite desirable among Impreza owners.

That will be forged pistons, not forged internals and even those pistons were not worth a wank! All the rods were the same, WRX or STI which were the weak point of the classic engine. You really need to read up a little more on Imprezas.

also different peoples circumstances mean they might choose a WRX over an STi, such as insurance or petrol usage etc. I think its a very stupid comment to say someone made a mistake by buying the car

Yep you buy what you want, not every wants an STI :eek:.

A wrx is a good stepping stone If you can't afford a sti straight away!!! Gives you time to save up and still great out the box performance and with a few choice mods your up to the power of a standard sti anyway but for much less buck!!

Jesus, I've seen some petty nonsense on here but honestly :Whatever_

It wouldn't matter if the OP had a WRX with 120k on the clock, or had an STi with a rebuilt motor full of Cosworth goodies. He did an oil change and didn't prime the oil filter. That's enough to knacker anything! Hopefully it will get sorted soon enough though mate :thumb:

Engines are weak as hell out of the box ? couldnt disagree more, owned several imprezas, all with high mileages, one had 150k and all ran sweet.

To the OP, i hope you put 75w/90 oil in your gearbox and not 75w/30.

If it is knackered unless you want to rebuild the engine the cheapest option will be buy a complete one of one of the traders in the breakers section,unless your planning big power in the future get a wrx engine there pretty cheap:thumb:Ps gutted for you generally the newage engines are good but this could happen to anyone :(

time to splash out. i'm sure i've seen bigarf selling his 6 speed gearbox for £1600 and i've seen someone selling a 2.5ltr roger clark special with forged internals for £2700 having done only 3000 miles (he ran out of funds after spending nearly £11k on engine).

plenty of people running out of cash these days so you should have no problem picking up a 2nd hand engine. alternatively a standard rebuild will set you back around £1500-1600

no cam sensor or crank sensor disconnected seen it all the time on blobs