Keta

Hey guys,

Probably a long post but i'm new and have questions/worries!

I am now the owner of an 53 plate black STI PPP. I have taken a risk with this one and now it is fingers crossed it turns out to be ok for me! At least not much money to plough into!

I viewed the car local to me and its in showroom condition, barely a mark on it inside and out. Went for a test drive and felt the engine before setting off, it was cold, and no smoke to be seen on startup. Runs/idles well but was never taken stupidly high on revs.

The risk being it has no service manual and no service history whatsoever!! No MOT and no tax, car has been stood almost a year in the garage. On the positives it is 53k miles and the lady has owned it from new, I'm only the second owner! The owner had a messy divorce and the file was lost/binned by the husband. The house was large and in a nice area. Long story short with the condition, the house, the lady and the area I was convinced the "lost" service book was more than likely genuine. The number plate history also appears that a divorce took place as it returned to its original plate about the sametime! The oil looked nice and clean and the service history would have stopped with me anyway. I believed it was worth the risk and paid 6.5k. Being the nicest condition I have seen!

Now for the problems I have come across! Drive home was perfect I had put in a couple of gallon of 95 Ron before the motorway as it was all that was available and I didn't know the area!

Next restart engine management light remained on. Put in the diagnostic tool and it came back with 0130, which is o2 sensor circuit. I reset the code and it didn't reappear. The car has a dump valve fitted that I thought was recirc but it doesn't have the adaptor, so its BOV. It is a turbosmart one (metallic blue). I have found the original in the boot. It seems to function correctly off the car so I will likely refit it! Could the 95 RON and BOV cause the o2 problem? Or have I an intermittent fault?

The passenger door will not lock either! Not with the keyfob or manually within the car! Another thing to investigate!

I searched on here and was going to reset the alarm keypad code but when you press number 1 it tends to flash twice like you pressed it twice! So I failed on that, anyone had that problem!?

The most potentially serious is when I took it high in the revs while stationary when I got back, a small whisp of clear to white smoke came out of the bonnet scoop. From the BOV no doubt. It didn't seem to happen again! Would this happen with a BOV? I have only had a standard VX220 Turbo as a turbo car previously and that was a recirc one too!

Any help/pointers for a new owner would be great! I will be changing all fluids and cambelt before insuring it to drive! Anything else I should change!?

Thanks guys I love the car, its like the VX but with room now needed for pram and car seat!!

Pink_Floyd

Congrats

With regards to the service history you could try and contact the previous owner again and ask who did the work. If it's Subaru (or even a specialist) then they should be able to print off the previous job cards and invoices

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Welcome
Your running an STI on 95 ron unleaded no wonder its running like a bag of nails, read the inside of the filler cap, 98 ron only! (shell vpower or tesco 99 ron fuel)
Also see which garage the car was serviced at, they will be able to supply you with a new service manual, and bin the bov, waste of time and effort and can ruin the performance of the car.
Door lock may be an issue, will it lock with the key from the outside?

Tony

thunder8

iTrader: (1)

welcome to the world off scoobys.

i took the plunge 8 mths ago and never had any problems with mine and mine had no service history.

only needed new front discs and pads so far.

Keta

Thanks

I went to the house! It was a private sale, I should be able to locate some service history I think. Cambelt was done apparently in a Subaru specialist in Featherstone! And then original dealer for most of the servicing! So the woman I dealt with today was the only owner from new!

Keta

Regarding the 95 it was all the garage had and I was about to run out!

Keta

Lock won't lock at all I need the time to have a look what is going on!

Pink_Floyd

It happens mate If you are in an area where it is difficult to get hold of then it might be worth buying some octane booster to stick in the boot. Handy when you're in a tight spot.

Keta

I have a Tesco local to home that has the 99. I was booked in for MOT and my father was driving for insurance reasons, 3rd party on the car due to not owning it. MOT couldn't fit me in and now in Friday but would have been OK with the police for being booked in! With being 40 miles away from MOT place though wasn't sure what an OTT Police officer would say so it was just a bang in the fuel and limp home job!

The smoke thing had me wondering and I suppose scared! But other than that seems like quite a minter!

I have my current car to sell and this to get on the road before moving to it! Then it is pants down insurance time!!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I'd be inclined to take off the doorcard and see if the lock actuator has come off.

Door slammed during divorce..........?

Keta

Thanks, yeah that is a job this weekend. I'll strip down the door. The actual mechanism isn't trying either but could be jammed. I will have to at least get to permanently locked if not fully working before sourcing parts!

Any comments on the smoke? Never seen a quick whiff of smoke leave my engine bay before? Or does a BOV emit some noticeably smoke? It may have been a one off but when you buy a new car stuff like that worries you

Felix79

Could have been some build up of crud from where it's been sitting for so long and when you stopped the engine and fans it would have gone to the scoop anyway. When you think it is the exposed area it would make sense that something could have gotten in through it too.

Keta

Yeah I suppose so, I will give it some time before fretting about it!

What sort of rev range does the turbo kick in on these?

Keta

Some steps forward and another dodgy finding!

Door is now fixed, assembly had come apart stopping it from locking manually! That solved the problem of not being able to lock it but it still didn't work with the keyfob. I was intending on removing the actuator assembly but when I got to it the wire wasn't attached!! Plugged it in expecting it to blow a fuse or smoke or something and now its working fully

Another problem found, one I have driven the 40 mile collection with, is a litre of oil over the max line! I drained it out today! It could also be responsible for that whiff of smoke! Hope it hasn't run for long like this!! Oil is fairly clean looking!

I have removed the BOV and fitted the old recirc! Doesn't look as pretty but we all know its for the best!! It started and ran fine but with not having it legal I haven't tested it on the power!

MOT tomorrow so see what else comes up!

Pink_Floyd

The oil is notoriously difficult to read on Imprezas. Sometimes I have to clean and dip the stick 4-5 times and if it's not on a perfectly flat surface you get skewed readings.

zayd

iTrader: (1)

You can say that again!

Keta

Yeah I did end up topping up again after letting it idol for 10 minutes or so. Did it on garage floor which is level. It was deffo over though, sounds like an easy mistake to make though I guess!

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

as mentioned - Oil reading is a bitch with them.
The only way to be sure with the oil is.
level flat surface
Leave it overnight. Let it get stone cold and drain completely back into the sump
Clean dipstick.
Leave it out for a minute or two. So there is no oil in the dipstick tube.
Get acurate reading
Between the low mark and the full mark is half liter.

Cheers
Steve

(There is a way to check it whie hot, but i dont trust it, especialy as mine has return to sump catch can, oil cooler, baffled sump, two filters.....I mean when hot who knows how much is in there. I rely on my guages in terms of temp and pressure)