Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Hi

I may soon be in need of full head gasket engine rebuild for my hawkeye. I have been in touch with scoobyclinic but they have would need car for about 4-6 weeks. Can anyone recommend any other specialists in the North or Midlands - i live near York

I may go with scooby clinic its just a long time to go without the car

any ideas/suggestions welcome

banny sti

iTrader: (68)

Richard Henry Motorsport in Bradford

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Richard Henry Motorsport. Number is 01274 732508. Give them a call and speak to Andy or Simon. They're in the Bradford/Leeds area.

Tidgy

scoobyclinic up at chesterfield

thenewgalaxy

I'm surprised you still have that car to be honest.

Either way it needs a rebuild. 4-6 weeks is not an unusual amount of time to have an engine rebuilt to the standard required let alone a job with bells and whistles that many of us on here would recommend.

By distance alone I would recommend Scooby Clinic of Chesterfield.

Slightly further out (Blackburn) is CAMS who have an outstanding reputation among members of Lancashire and District Subau ( 01254 68 999 4 ). He has just built an absolute monster of an engine for a friend of mine.

You may also wish to enquire at three well known specialists on here, namely Finch Motorsport of Northampton, API of South Warwickshire and Alan Jeffrey of South Devon.

Don't go for the budget option with one of these rebuilds, get it done properly. Buy cheap and buy twice as they say.

I would recommend as a minimum forged pistons, uprated head gaskets and studs. You may wish to uprate the bearings too. Some would recommend forged connecting rods and also an uprated fuel pump as well as doing the clutch at the same time.

Hope it all works out for you my dear

Steve's Sti

iTrader: (2)

+1 Finch motorsport, as you haven't just booked in and it needs done you will have to wait that time im afraid

Tidgy

O just a bit of further info, you can't rebuild a car engine over night properly. stripping it down, getting it machined or skimmed etc takes time to do right. Clinic built mine and its ace, took them similar time, but build it right and your larfing, rush it and your crying.


sure kev will have advised crank bearings (if he thinks they need doing) and also if engines being split, take the opertunity to gets some decent rods and forged piston in it.

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Hi guys


Agreed this is not about a rush job or doing it on the cheap . I will be going for all uprated parts . Helpful to get your advice! especially on expected timescales. Fair enough

Tidgy

I'm trying to think how long it took clinic to build mine, was roughly that sort of time frame, well worth the wait though. Don't forget your gonna have 1000 miles of runnign in no mater who builds it.

Im 400+ bhp on mine hehe

Steve's Sti

iTrader: (2)

ring around and ask for quotes to your spec and what they recommend as end of day they will know what you want for a start, i had mines done took 10 days well worth it, mines was booked in 4 weeks prior

jazzyjembreaze

iTrader: (11)

Hi picklemaroo
I too am a bit suprised , what was the outcome once you got the car back to garage for there diagnostic ? Are they footing the bill ?
I don't wish to scare or in anyway disrespect you or your car
But if they have just agreed to slap a head gasket on that is not exeptable. Your car had been subject to very high engine temps & the EJ257 been prone to having ringland failures .
You will need the engine fully checked
If you just settle for the head gasket & new studs & there is a real chance you will still have engine failure in the near future ./ as I say I don't wish to jump guns , but the car you purchased has problems & if it was purchased knowing & the engine to be fully rebuilt that's fair play . But I don't think it was , so I say this - I would ask for a full rebuild or return the car & get your money back , or be very deep out of pocket
Because any reputable company will 99% tell you / just changing the gasket isn't goin to save .. All the guys recommendations above

Regards mic

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Hi there thanks

Just to be clear I will not be taking the car back unless they agree to contribute a good amount to a proper uprated build with a specialist . I have taken advice from here and that is exactly where I shall stand. If the money is not enough then they can have it back. So yes I'm taking your advice and all the other helpful guys on here.

Fonzey

iTrader: (5)

Vote for Richard Henry here too. Scoobyclinic is hard to ignore with their facilities, but definitely see who can be most competitive price wise as either will do a fine job.

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Cheers Fonzey worth a conversation

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

I still have the car, or should I say esp do because it had to be diagnosed by them. If I want a hawkeye then chances are engine will need rebuild so it may be a case of better the devil you know if they stump up enough cash towards specialist rebuild.

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

That is exactly what I will be doing budget is not an option or they can keep the car , I may be a lady but ain't daft ! Uprated and the proper works or not at all !

thenewgalaxy

A sensible and very fair assessment of those fragile 2.5s. If they weren't such good engines when forged these cars would be impossible to sell again.

Never said you were daft and that certainly was not my intention if was felt to be implied, you can probably park your car better than me and likely a higher IQ!

Bang on though, you need the full works with one of these things there is someone recently on the 2.5 engine thread who had a car go bang twice as only the HG were replaced first time.

I'm running a 2.5 with the works thrown at it and it is a fantastic engine. They can run 400bhp all day long and are reliable and good for daily use with regular oil changes.

Jacko4130

iTrader: (3)

Give Glenn @ Carnetix a call

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Brill , no worries at all didn't take offence full works indeed quite happy with standard bhp must be a monster with 400 bhp sounds great ! Done a number of subaru rally days and loved it!

big_joe

iTrader: (1)

I had mine rebuilt by Andy from Williams Motorsport.....great price and service.

Tidgy

your gonna get alot of opinions on this thread, as your finding out lol

Best advice is go see a few places and get a feel for them, see who your hapy with. I've seen some companys recomended that turn out to be right dodgy bunches, yet people still swear by them


Few questions i had.

Am i right in saying you bought the car form a dealer?

What do you know about the history of the car?

What milage was the car on when you bought it?

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Yes thanks good advice


Car was not from dealer but high end garage who sell performance top end cars, scooby was one of the cheaper vehicles ! Mileage is 37k full history and already liaised with previous owner so legit.

Fai17

iTrader: (2)

If you are going to rebuild the 2.5 then the option list opens right up.

Best bet would be rebuild it with strong internals ie rods pistons and bearing.

Bolt on a bigger turbo/injectors if required then a remap which is a must.

Then sit back and enjoy!

Tidgy

i know you have been speaking to him lol

i was pondering on if that garage had given it a few spirit 'test drives', i know it was in top condition when it got traded so was trying to figure out why it had suddenly gone

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Hello all just spoke with ESP who are just going to refund me and do a standard fix themselves and then sell it. Gutted and they are fools. Now without a scooby

Warning to anyone on here about buying this car !!!!

jazzyjembreaze

iTrader: (11)

Best result for you me thinks
Good luck on your next purchase pickle lol

thenewgalaxy

You have had a lucky escape

Hopefully no one on here will go anywhere near it either.

If you want a Hawkeye 2.5 without a forged build you'll need to set aside the cash to do it, it is an inevitable failure if our collective but anecdotal opinion is valid.

It might be a better idea to consider a 2.0 JDM although a rare car they come in white quite often, and it is also a good idea to seek something forged such as a Type 25 Litchfield or car with a forged build from a reputable specialist and good service history.

If budget is tight then you may wish to consider a 2.0 Widetrack preferably with a PPP kit. That is a fantastic car with an engine far less prone to blowing up.

My advice is not to hurry into anything, these are performance cars and if you get a bad one it will leave a very bad taste in your mouth. Get a good one and it is a sweeeeeet experience

AS Performance

iTrader: (4)

we are a couple of hours further north from York (just near the "angel") and do an awful lot of engine work both std and forged/tuned

P555SBR

iTrader: (1)

I would go with alyn at as performance or steven darley as sd motorsport alyns in Newcastle and steven is about 5mins from elvington both very good at what they do

Picklemaroo

iTrader: (1)

Cheers thanks for this. Since this all kicked off had to return car back and get full refund as they insisted on fixing head gasket themselves and I insisted a specialist or didn't want it back . Will be getting another hawkeye though but will plan and budget for forged rebuild thanks for all the comments !