johnsturbo

hi i have just brought an 02 imprezza turbo with 75000 miles on the clock .but has has a brand new engine fitted with receipt for 4kat 73000.it was brought from a dealer ,but since i have had the car 1st gear has started to crunch and i took it for a short blast up the bypass and when i got back i noticed water leaking from the left side just under the top up cap also smells like theres some burning .i had the car one day now its back at the garage and dont know weather to keep it ,are these usual problems ,can you help ,
thanks john
also as its the bugeye with the quad light conversion why does the main beam not work is this sloppy fitting ,

Scooby-doo97

iTrader: (1)

Hi john,

The burning smell could well be your clutch if you've given it a good ragging, or, it could be your brakes - mine usually smoke a little if I've thrashed it through the twisties!

Edit:Can you describe the smell? Is it a funny-ish smell or just normal?

EVOLUTION

hi mate

If it was bought from a dealer, it should come with the SUBARU PROVEN WARRANTY.

That should cover the crunching on the box, sounds like a syncro or something...

as for the water, was it just little drips, and did you have the aircon switched on, as that could explain the water, its a common mistake made by quite a few. Like said above, if you had just given the car a spireted drive, could simply have been clutch or brakes, or both, its easily done...

Have the car checked by the dealer before making any drastic decisions...

Ps, was the engine fitted by ta subaru dealer, if so, i cant really see you have ing any major problems getting it fixed, maybe a little bit of a headache, but thats about all


John

turbo tony

i had the smell of burning from my car take the dipstick out from the side of the turbo if it smells the same u will know the clutch has not got much life left i only know this coz mine and a few mates have had the same smell b4 the clutch has gone but its only advice i dont know as much as the other guys on this site i hope i helped me matey

EVOLUTION

isnt that the diff oil dipstick???

im not saying your wrong here mate, but i cant see how that would tell you if your clutch is on your way out, or am i missing something simple here

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

All clutches seem to stink a bit if you've been slipping them a lot when pulling away, or if you hold the car on uphill bits on the clutch rather than the handbrake ( my wife does this all the time and I keep moaning at her about it ! ).

Actually, the gear problem points to the clutch as well - does it tend to crunch when you first start using the car ? mine does this sometimes when the car is cold, but once driven for 5 minutes it goes in fine with no crunching.

Might be worth taking it back to the dealer and asking them to check the clutch and make sure it is OK as you've not long had the car.

Beware though that Impreza clutches do seem to be a weak point on the car, it could just be getting used to its quirks compared to what you've been driving before - it seems to effect different cars differently as well, so it doesnt mean yours is knackered just because someone else with the same model doesnt do it !

johnsturbo

hi i dont think its the clutch as i was going up the bypass and was in 5th most of the way .the brakes was could as this was the first thing i checked when i noticed the white smoke coming from under the bonnet.thanks john

EVOLUTION

did it smell like a seriously bad curry, thats the nearest thing i can put it to, if so, it could be a coolant leak somewhere, would also explain the water.

Anthoer possible for you

johnsturbo

hi not sure if the engine was fitted buy subaru but it does come with a warranty but its inconvenince taking it back as the dealer i brought if from is quite a way from where i live?

no the aircon wasn,t on at the time ,it was dripping quite bad and was quite worring at the time when i opened the bonnet {thought it was going to burst into flames} also just wonderd what the wrx,s do to the gallon as this one doesn,t do much or is it my heavy right foot?

johnsturbo

[QUOTE=EVOLUTION]did it smell like a seriously bad curry, thats the nearest thing i can put it to, if so, it could be a coolant leak somewhere, would also explain the water.

hi the nearest thing to it would be melting or burning plastic it was quite potent and made my eyes water when i tried to get me head under the bonnet to see where it was coming from ,also i could smell coolant in the car coming from the heater blower so there is a leak of some kind.there was a small puddle of water under the car also ?any ideas or should i just get my hard doe back and look else where
cheers john

johnsturbo

hi it was doing it once the car is warm .mainly changing into first a bit quick it would crunch but not if i was taking it real slow .also changing down from second to first at a junction its realy bad .

are these gearboxes nochy or is it me as my last car was the new shape celica and that was great {if a bit well ok a lot slower}.
thanks john

johnsturbo

hi didnt get it from a geniune subaru dealer but i do have a warrenty with the car .the aircon wasn,t on at the time and yes its was dripping but quite bad also noticed a pool of water under the car .
thanks john

johnsturbo

hi it smelt like melting or burning plastic i had a 2000 early model a few months ago and that one gave me no problems at all.

EVOLUTION

There never good, but i have several problems with mine at the moment, mine wirks out at about 11 to 13 mpg, thats on an 05 WRX with ppp. I have an emmisions warning light on and theres black smoke just started coming from the exhaust, what i can only presume is unburnt fuel. But its a dealer problem, they will fix it...

You should see 20+ mpg driving it normal, but driving hard, you should be able to see the gauge move whilst driving it.

As for the smoke, i would ring them, tell them it isnt safe to be driven on the raod, tell them your worried it might catch fire and to come and collect it. That way, if it does do something, its in there hands and the ball will be in there court to fix and pay for it.

Someone may be able to help here, but if a SUBARU PROVEN warranty is transferable betweeen dealerships, you might want to take it to where the engine was built.

Do you know why the engine was rebuilt in the first place?

Must admitt, doesnt sound good, and from what your describing sounds very much like bad workmanship, which you could get as easily on a £70,000 motor. On the whole mate, there quite good, strong and reliable cars. I had a classic and the only problem with that was a coolant hose blew off, local specialist (claimed) fitted a new one, it blew again, turns out it was another old one he just had lying around.

Sorry to hear your getting this kind of crap after such a short time.

Another wise move maybe to contact citizens advice if your thinking of the getting shot route


John

johnsturbo

hi also just wonderd i had an early version of the wrx that was chipped and remapped [apparently}but this new bug eye is a lot qucker then that whats the bhp and how would i find out if its none standard .also what should i expect miles per galon as it ai,nt doing much.
spend more time at petrol station than driving it?
thanks john

tyre kicker

would have they would have put a new clutch in when they changed the engine

johnsturbo

cheers mate for replying only i put £20 in when i got the car and it did around 86 miles before i had to go a refill again .ouch . its quite hard not to put your foot down as i,m used to quick bikes and this is the closest i have driven that gives the same exhiliration .whats the bhp on the bug eye model wrx.as i had an early wrx on a v plate .that was remapped and chipped and i think this is quicker ,
thanks john

EVOLUTION

Not if it didnt need doing they wouldnt have. Sounds to me, that if it was subaru who did it, (given its got a warranty now, i would have said so) likely hood that this car would have been out of the warranty period (manufactures) therefore the clutch becomes one of the consumable items and is no longer covered. The guy whos car it was will have more than likley had to foot the bill so unless it need doing, it probs wont have been done, i wouldnt have.

The car may have a PPP on it mate. Though on the bugeye, im not sure how you would tell. What exhaust has it got, 2 peashooters out the back or a bigger bore pipe???

surely you aint driven it enough to work th MPG, (not insulting you there, but you have only had it 3 days now???)

You should see more than 20 mpg i would have thought


John

Ninnybobs

John,

The bugeye shouldn't be quicker (in standard form) than a classic as it weighs considerably more.

Power 'out the box' was 215bhp for the early newage WRX cars and IIRC 225bhp for the later 'bugs'.

MPG should average around the 25mpg mark.

Martin

johnsturbo

hi yes 3 days i have had it and now its back at the garage whats ppp?brought from a none subaru garage but did take out warranty didnt feel like the clutch more like synchro ,and put £20 in when i got the car and it did around 86 miles before it wanted filling again ,the exhaust is standard i think will 2 outlets.but if i do need a clutch and i had the car thursday afternoon surley its the dealers problem and not mine,

also as its the bug eye there isnt any main beam as the quad light conversion has bean fitted ,does this mean it has bean fitted wrong
thanks john

johnsturbo

hi so mine is 225 bhp then ,as it feels a lot quicker than my older one,

cheers john

Ninnybobs

Hi John,

A twin peashooter exhaust is normally an indication that the vehicle is running in standard form. This is normally the first thing to go.

Quad (morette) style lights DO have a full beam. This would suggest that it hasn't been fitted correctly.

PPP stands for Prodrive Performance Pack. A subaru approved enhancement that raised the WRX output by around 30 bhp.

Martin

johnsturbo

well you would have thought so .just got the recept for the complete engine dosen,t say what was replaced .
john

Ninnybobs

John,

The bug weighs so much more than the older classics that the power to weight ratio is less.

Although smoother, the bug should be slower.

Martin (bugeye owner)

johnsturbo

ok thanks for that

johnsturbo

ok thanks will presume mine is standard then .also i,m glad the exhaust is standard as did test drive a bugeye with a stainless exhaust on it and the niose was terrible inside the car even on tickover.are there recomended exhaust,s to fit or engine mods.
john

EVOLUTION

im not sure about the main beam question, maybe martin can help you on that one, though im not sure if he has the morrettes in (quad conversion), have a look in the members pictures, pm someone who has the same lights as you, they will be able to tell you for certain...

As for the cars problems, thats the standard exhaust by the sounds of it so its unlikley that you have the ppp on your car. PPP being a PRODRIVE PERFORMANCE PACK, your model i think it was a cat removed, a piggy back ecu and the exhaust backbox changed. Upping the power by about 40ps i believe.

In order for you to take the car back for your money back, im almost certain that you must give the dealer a reasonable time to fix the cars problems. It might be worth geetting an AA ior an RAC inspection done on the car, it might cost you a little now, it may save you hundreds if the car has been rebuilt by a none specialist. Take the report to the garage and hand them a copy.

Did you get the car at a fair market price, ie not seriously chaep, so he couldnt turn round and say, " well i sold it for ths cheap because it had A,B and C wrong with it"


John

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

If you filled up with super unleaded and regularly take the car over 3k rpm's, your MPG's are about right.

£20 (~20 litres) for 86 miles

Therefore a full tank (50 litres) would return about 215 miles. Perhaps a little thirsty, I get 230-250 from a tank but only if I take it steady.

I've also noticed that since the mornings and evenings turned colder, mine's started drinking more fuel - my theory is that my choke is open most of the 10 mile journey between home and work each day. It's only just up to temp when I get to work/arrive home.

Edit: MY01 bugeye WRX.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, didnt realise it was white smoke from the bonnet as well when I posted !!!

If you're getting puddles of liquid, then something is leaking that shouldnt be, quite possibly the smoke is from the leak hitting the hot exhaust or engine. Shouldnt be anything major to fix, but if its a coolant leak then the car shouldnt be driven as if it runs out you can blow the head gasket. Could be as simple as a loose fitting or split in a hose.

All these problems ( gears etc... ) would have been there when the car was sold as you've only had it a few days, so any decent garage will take the car back in and fix them for you for free.

It is quite possible that the garage had the car in on a part ex and stuck it straight on the forecourt without really giving it a thorough checkover, so they may not have driven it enough to be aware of the problems ( happens quite a lot ) - BUT by law they have to tell you if there are any known problems with the car before they sell it to you.

Give them a chance to fix it and put it right though and see how they behave with the whole thing before steaming in with threats of trading standards and the usual crap some people start with.

johnsturbo

thants great thanks will give them a week or so to get the work done .the only thing that was bothering me is that there seem to be quit e a few problems like 5 or 6 ,usually expect one or 2 with a newer puchase but definatly not a gearbox problem on a 75000 miller ?for instance when you go over 60mph the tracking is all over the place and the steering wheel had a realy bad wobble .
also they did service and mot the car plus a full inspection before i had it {makes me wounder}as still no main beam ?
thanks john