ScottyPPP

Hi All,

So I've got a 2003 Blobeye WRX Wagon (Originally a PPP).

Bought in March 2013 with 54k miles on it, full service history etc etc. Mechanically it was great but the paint was a bit tired so I had it sprayed and tidied up.

I left it as a PPP for about a year then got bored and wanted more power. So the following went on.

Front Entry TD05 16G
Walbro 255
Hawkeye 550 Injectors
Sti Up pipe
Prodrive Sports cat downpipe
K&N Panel Filter
3 Port Boost Solenoid
Race Dynamix Map

Running about 330 Bhp or so felt great for a few months. Then started to run into a few issues, random boost cut where it would just run actuator pressure until reset although no codes to go with it. Then a misfire, random puffs of smoke on start up, occasionally it would throw a cylinder #4 misfire code.

So started looking into it, suspected ringlands, popped oil cap off, puffing smoke out, not good . Compression test showed 80psi in cylinder #4, 100 psi in cylinder #2.....

So that was pretty conclusive.

Thought through my options, used WRX short block, used STi Short block, new WRX or STi shortblock, didn't really like the idea of a used engine, or putting a stock one back in so decided on a 2.1 fully forged stroker lump.

The engine has been built by WMS using a SCDB, brand new 2.5 crank, Williams rods, Mahle stroker pistons, 11mm Oil pimp, ACL bearings etc etc.

So the plan is to remove my engine, remove my heads, fit my heads onto the new shortblock and put it back in. Obviously a bit more involved than that but that's an overview!

Whilst the engine is out i'll be replacing the clutch. I'm still on a 5 speed at the moment so i'm not sure if a Blue box or a Pink box is best?

I also need a new gasket set from Subaru with 0.6mm head gaskets, rocker gaskets etc. Anyone know the best place to get it? I've seen them at £350?

Anyway some pics of the car below:







If anyone has any suggestions etc i'd be glad to hear them!

And before the usual "Buy an STi" crowd arrive, I don't want an STi, I need a wagon for the practical side of it and also because it does this:



Cheers,

Scott

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

give alyn @ as performance a call mate for gaskets

Tel 0191 4103770

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

+1,AS ABOVE.SJ.

ScottyPPP

Cheers guys.

Any views on the clutch? I've heard with a 5 speed its best to stay with the stock clutch? But my 2.1 will push a bit more torque than I had before.

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

go with a pink box clutch mate-again alyn can source this for you at a great price

ScottyPPP

Bucket load of stuff ordered from AS.

Pink Box anti judder clutch
RCM head gaskets
And a various assortment of other gaskets .

Current engine comes out 2 weeks today!

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Good luck with the project Scott! I might make this the last time I read this thread as I've just gone the PPP route on my wagon and love it, but have a funny feeling this thread might have me clicking more 'buy' buttons...

ScottyPPP

I liked mine as a PPP but I just wanted more get up and go, but in the process of wanting the extra power it also killed the engine!

The engine will be good for far more power now though! Just need to resist the urges to add more power .

ScottyPPP

Engine comes out on Friday!

Getting a seriously twitchy **** about parts though. AS have had an issue with deliveries to them, so my order is missing a few bits. I'm hopeful (pray) the lot will turn up on Friday!

Existing block is now at deaths door and running like absolute crap. Huge blow-by, miss firing its **** of and idling like a big cammed V8!

bullawayo

Hello mate,

Where in Hampshire are you based?

I've just moved from Fleet to Wokingham in Berks.

Nice to see another blobeye PPP local! Very interested in this build, more pics please!

Cheers

Matt

ScottyPPP

Live in Hook.

I'll get a load of pics of the process of removing, breaking the engine up, building the new block up and putting it back in.

ScottyPPP

Engine is out, was a bit of a mission to say the least. Was really really stuck to the gearbox! All went pretty smoothly apart from I've broken a vacuum line nipple from something called the Purge Valve, exactly like This.

For now I'm just going to have to Permatex the nipple back on and get a new one ordered, it was stupidly brittle, I barely touched it and it just snapped clean off :evil:

I got a quick video showing just how bad the blow-by was on the lump before I stripped it down and this was on a stone cold engine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOY...ature=youtu.be

So anyway onto a few pics of the days work

Finally split the engine from the gearbox:



Which meant it was ready to come out!


Empty engine bay:



Clutch removed and bolted onto engine stand:


Timing covers removed:


Front of the engine stripped:


Growing piles of stuff everywhere:


And that's where I called it a day, tomorrow the old engine will be completely broken down

ScottyPPP

No pictures today as I just cracked on with it. But the old engine is now just a bare block. And the new block is on the stand where I've started to build it up.

Tomorrow I'm going to clean the cylinder head faces up and put the heads onto the new block, then build it all up and hopefully get it back in the car.

Had a bit of a **** up today though, the crankshaft sprocket was (still is) seized on and I broke one of the crank sensor pic up teeth off :evil:. So I need to find another crank sprocket before I can put the cam belt back on.

JGlanzaV

iTrader: (3)

Did you undo the top gearbox mount before trying to split the engine and box? lift the whole thing up and wiggle it should come loose!

ScottyPPP

The pitch stop? Yes. The issue was the little dowels that fit into the engine from the gearbox.

JGlanzaV

iTrader: (3)

ah yes, they can be a nightmare, esp if coolant has been spilt in that area!

I use a centre punch to punch them out before trying to remove the engine!

Mustoe91

iTrader: (2)

Will be keeping a eye on this thread as I want to eventually do a 2.1 stroker in mine but surely your need a 6speed box ?

ScottyPPP

6 speed in the future maybe, but I'm not going to be blasting out 400+ straight away.

Mustoe91

iTrader: (2)

Jus wondering how much did the block and everything cost ? So I can start doing sums for how much it's going to cost me

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Hi there

You will love 2.1L ,its great engine with right heads and right turbo,you will love the engine

Good luck with the project there

Thanks,Jura

ScottyPPP

Picked the crank sprocket up this morning after a 100 mile round trip, got that fitted, then timed it up with a new timing belt and also Refitted the inlet manifold and torqued everything to spec.

Filled it with oil, put it back on the engine hoist and fitted the new clutch and then proceeded to have one almighty fight getting it back onto the gearbox.

As of close of play today its back in, on its mounts. Tomorrow I need to refit the rest of the gearbox bolts, exhaust downpipe, coolant hoses, alternator, alternator belt and electrics. Then spin it over a few times with the crank sensor unplugged to build some oil pressure, plug it back in a pray it all works .

I'll get a video of the first start. I've got a few more pics also to put up, not loads as I've been absolutely flat out.

ScottyPPP

So today consisted of connecting everything back up to the engine which is far easier than it sounds.

After many hours I got everything back on, filled it with coolant, cranked it over to get oil pressure, then it fired right up! Ran great for an hour or so getting the air out of the coolant, fans cycling as they should do. So I took it off the axles stands and went for a spin then it all went wrong

A massive misfire started, so struggled back to plug it in and see what the codes were, Cylinder #1 misfire, and the Purge solenoid I broke happens to be plumbed into that cylinders intake runner. So I unplugged the solenoid, reset the ecu and started it up again, much better! There is still a vac leak from the broken solenoid as the fuel trims progressively grow at idle and it starts to miss, but as soon as you get moving and driving it clears. So I need to find a new solenoid and get that fitted.

Few more pics:

Heads fitted to the new block:



Cambelt and intake manifold back on ready to go in the car:




Nearly all back together:



The old dead block, I'll be pulling the pistons out of this to see exactly whats gone on:


And first start, well I missed the actual cranking but this is the first time it was running :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsSe...ature=youtu.be

I've got to run it for 300 miles on running in oil, then change to semi synth and run for another 500 - 700, then I can go to fully synthetic and have the map tweaked to suit.

First impressions are good in the 10 miles I've done so far , its got bags more bottom end, really grunty at low rpm now, turbo picks up so much faster also, so much so its pretty much impossible to stay out of boost even running at under 3k rpm, although I've not really taken it over 0.3 bar or so. Clutch has a bit of judder but it just needs to bed in a bit, its nothing severe.

All in all, very happy and very tired!

modrich

iTrader: (2)

very impressed (and envious!) of your engine building skills Scotty. You should change your name to Scotty2.1 now as it's hardly a PPP anymore! Are you a mechanic or just self taught? Would love to build an engine like this.

ScottyPPP

Not a mechanic by trade no, but I've been working on cars for donkeys years, its all just nuts and bolts at the end of the day .

Anyway update on the car done 44.2 miles on the trip computer so far. Used a little oil on the first drive which is to be expected with a brand new block, topped it off last night and it's not used any today that I can see. Coolant level is also good. Runs really well other than the small vac leak which should be sorted at the weekend with a new solenoid, managed to find a used one for £25 from scooby split, they're £100+ from subaru

MOT is due on the 10th of October so I want to get the first oil change done before that, it also needs a pair of tyres and new rear pads. I took it out with the laptop to monitor the AFR's as the tune on it is for a 2.0 but they all look good as the MAF is adjusting for the extra fueling. I just can't believe how much sooner the turbo arrives now, I knew it would spool sooner, but had no idea it was so much sooner!

With the 2.5 crank you end up with faster piston speeds which means the exhaust hits the turbo moving more quickly hence spools it sooner. I also put the STi Intercooler on and fitted a turbo blanket to help keep the under bonnet temps down and the heat in the turbo where its needed.

ScottyPPP

It's done just over 200 miles now. I replaced the broken purge solenoid with a used one from Ken @ Scooby Split yesterday and that has resolved the airleak.

Dropped the running in oil out of it today which was Millers 10w40 Mineral running in oil and I've now switched to 10w40 Semi, new filter too obviously, took it for a drive, after about 30 miles or so started taking it up to about 3500rpm and all was well .

I've run the boost up to 1 bar so far, in 5th under load it'll pull 1 bar by about 2600 rpm, target boost currently is set at 1.42 Bar, so that's just over 2/3's of max boost.

One thing to note, don't let power steering fluid spill onto the chassis legs when the engine is out, the stench of it burning off is doing my head in

Going to try and get some miles on it quite quickly to get it run in as I want it to get it on the rollers at SSR to have the map tweaked to make the best of the 2.1.

ScottyPPP

Just though I'd stick a full spec list up for the car now:

Engine:

WMS Built 2.1 Short Block
EJ207 SCDB Bored to 92.5mm
Mahle Stroker Forged Pistons
Williams H Beam Forged Rods
Heat Treated EJ257 Crank
ACL Race Main and Big end Bearings
11mm Oil Pump
RCM Stopper Head Gaskets
EJ205 Heads and Cams
TD05 16G Front Entry Turbo
STi TMIC
Hawkeye 550cc Injectors
STi Decat up-pipe
Prodrive Divorced Wastegate Sports Cat
Rear cat delete
Prodrive Back box
Walbro 255 l/hr pump
K&N Panel Filter
3 Port Boost Solenoid
Race Dynamix Map

Chassis:

Prodrive Lowering Springs
Whiteline drop links Front + Rear
20mm Rear ARB
Rebuilt 4 pots with stainless pistons
Hawk Performance HP+ Pads (Sooooo good)
ATE Superblue Brake Fluid
Conti Sport Contact 5 Tyres

Interior:

Alpine CDE-133BT Head Unit
Alpine 6.5" Front Door Speakers
Alpine 5.25" Rear Door Speakers
Alpine KTP-445 Head Unit AMP 4 Channel Amplifier for the door speakers
Alpine 12" Sub powered by an Alpine M-350 Amplifier

Exterior:

Stealth

modrich

iTrader: (2)

That's some spec! How do you find the Hawk pads for dust? I've got Godspeed Kevlar pads they're good pads but really bad for dust

ScottyPPP

I had the Kevlar pads a while ago and found them awful under hard driving, they just covered the disc in pad deposits and faded really badly.

The hawk HP+ pads are great, squeal a little when they're cold but they've got awesome stopping power, no fade. Dust isn't too bad really. They're a bit of a pain to find over here though.

ScottyPPP

Popped up to see Andy @ WMS today to drop in my old block. He stripped the pistons out of whilst I was there, 3 of them were fine, the one from cylinder #4 was not pretty however. Completely shagged ring lands between the 2 compression rings and about a 1/4 of the lower compression ring was no longer there and there were pieces of it all stuck in the ring lands, so that was pretty ****ed. I'll get some pics of it and upload them at some point.

I've also ordered a Euro drivers rear light cluster to get rid of the big red blob on the back . So both rear lights will now match. The drivers rear will have an LED fog light inside.

Engine has done over 450 miles now and is running great, going to order its first lot of Fully Sythn soon, thinking Gulf competition 10w40. Once it gets to about 1k miles i'll be putting it on the rollers at SRR with Ducan to tweak the map and find out what it makes .

I've run it up to about 1.3 bar now and its been completely fine and pulls like a train .

ScottyPPP

So pics of the ruined pistons and the reason for the engine rebuild, as you can see about 1/4 of the lower compression ring is gone and there are pieces of it stuck in the ring lands, some chunks have fallen out whilst its been out of the block, it didn't come out looking exactly like this:











So pretty ****ed all in all.