Hi guys been looking at loads of different options for my engine and can’t quite make my mind up I’ve got a 3k budget , the engine is a ej205 with a head gasket failure it’s from a 2003 wrx , can’t swap for a ej207 because the insurance is insane so not sure quite what to do any suggestions would be great just wanna run standard power and and make it as reliable as possible. Cheers guys

 

Why would the insurance be any different with a ej207 it is still a 2.0 litre engine it wont make the car any faster fitting one it is just a stronger engine than the 205

 

Yeah I know seems like common sense to put one in but it’s like £2800 plus to insure and I’m 27!!

 

I wouldn't even inform the insurer that you've changed the engine.

And maybe it's time to talk to another insurer, I was paying less than that for an Impreza at 19 years old.

 

Was tempted but knowing my luck they’d probably find out hell of an engine thought , looked on a few comparison sites and I did have a claim not to long ago so probably , not likely to get much cheaper and a standard wrx is about £600 to insure even thought the ej205 is pretty similar

 

Just get a rebuild on what you have , possibly forged pistons plus head studs , if you are not looking at more power you don’t need to do much to the engine , it’s well worth getting the bottom end rebuilt as heads going often leads to bottom end failure after a while so you end up paying twice

 

you will probably need a bigger budget for a full rebuild , if you just do the heads then it’s within price but i think it’s a false economy

 

Well I’m edging towards a rebuild at pole position getting a complete rebuild with new water pump , arp head studs , and oil pump that’s comes in at under £3000

 

but no bottom end rebuild , roll the dice but if it was me i would do bottom end too , the 2.5 failure rate of bottom end after hg go is around 75 per cent within a year or so , the bottom end failure rate on a 2 litre around 30 per cent do within a year , that’s from the engine builder not me

 

I think this includes a bottom end rebuild this is all the stuff I’m gonna get done plus a oil pump so I think it should be okay may have to change pistons but I’m gonna see what they recommend.


Full strip down
Engine seal kit
[font]ACL race bearings[/font]
[font]Hardened 79mm crankshaft[/font]
[font]Rebuild[/font]
[font]Oil modine[/font]
Spark plugs
COSWORTH Multi layer steel gaskets
Head machine work and pressure test
Block machine & bore
Thermostat
Timing Belt
Rocker gasket
Cam seals
Crank seals
Full decontamination
Clean and measure
Oil & Filter
Coolants


[font]Optional Extras[/font]
ARP Headstuds 11mm
Water pump

 

no mention of pistons or rods there? i'd say you'd be mad not to throw in new STI or uprated aftermarket rods and pistons if you're going to the bother of stripping to swap a crankshaft...

 

Well I was thinking of that, I was gonna see what they recommend maybe when they stripped it depending on condition of pistons in going to run it standard but then again if it’s all apart may aswell get some Sti pistons see how much they are

 

Even if you're not planning to up the power now or even soon. The extra strength in there would go a long way toward peace of mind.

 

yeah does make sense definitely worth looking at

 

Hi Jonathan.
At the start of the thread you said you didn't want to use an EJ207 but now you're talking about using STi pistons and rods, so that's effectively what you'll be doing right?
If you decide to go the the 207 route, I have a V8 short engine that will be available in the next 2 weeks. It has only covered 42k miles and is well looked after. I believe the V8's have the factory forged STi rods and crank. PM me if you're interested. If not, good luck with the build and post up your experience with whoever you use.
Cheers, Adam.

 

would make a lot of sense to go down that route it’s just the insurance even thought I’m essentially building an sti engine with a ej205 block doesn’t make sense really but that’s the wonderful world of insurance