As some of you may well know I recently had a problem with my Spec C with the coolant system.

After carrying out various tests and trying to bleed out the coolant system, fitting a new uprated radiator cap (in case the old one had gone weak and was allowing coolant to be dumped straight into the expansion bottle). The problem is that under load/boost the issue occured and then you can hear the boiling coolant forcing it's way out of the expansion bottle.

So now I am faced with two choices:

1. Fit new uprated head gaskets (Cometic or Cosworth) plus an 11mm ARP head stud conversion.
2. Includes the above but also has forged Mahle pistons, ACL race bearings and bolts, plus a few other necessary jobs when the crankcase is split.

I am leaning towards option 2 but this means bang goes my plans for the Scoobyclinic SC46 turbo (well for the forseeable future anyway).

Never mind I suppose it's all part of the joys of owning an Impreza, and I had always thought the JDM twin scroll engines were pretty much bomb proof.

So you won't be seeing the Spec C at the meets for a while, and a big thank you to Dylan from me for all his assistance and for the forthcoming work.

 

sorry to hear this m8 as i said when i spoke to you earlier can't beleive it hope all goes well

 

I'm sorry to hear of your nitemare mate, cracking car you got there..

If i was you and from experience, I'd change the headgasket nd bolts, Check it doesnt need skimming. Then put it back together.. Modding stuff never ends lol.. I'm learning the hard way.. Skint.com lol..

 

Gutted Ty I know all too well !! Hope things work out for you buddy!!

 

Personally i'd just do the headgaskets, the number of built engines that i've heard of going wrong shortly after being built is stupid.... Unless your planning on running big power i dont think its worth the risk.

 

Cheers Ozz, I appreciated you took the time to give me a call, hope all is well and the family is good.

I know what your saying and I'm still in two minds, I also know skint.com as I think that's where we all go to when we own Impreza's.

 

Cheers Merv, how's the car hunting going?

Well about 420bhp I suppose and the JDM engine is reputed to be good for 500bhp in standard form, I can see the logic about not disturbing what hasn't failed and the bearings or pistons haven't failed so I could be asking for trouble.

 

It's going ok, all the good ones are miiiiiiles away!!

If it aint broke, don't fix it

 

Sorry to here this, So has the head gasket gone, I had a over heating problem on my old blue car, couldn't work out where it was, it turned out to be a new samco hose, that had de-lambed inside, twisted and blocked the flow from the expansion tank.

Just get it back running and worry about forged bits once you've broken it.

Merv, have you sold the M5??

 

Sorry to hear this Ty , gutted for you mate. They don't half try your patience these jap cars from time to time!!
I had the exact same situation with mine last year and it aint nice at all, get ya gaskets done and save ya dolly for a rainy day i rekon!!!
good luck with her, sure she's in more than capable hands.
Rob

 

Sad news Ty - Sorry to hear that Mate I know what it's like only too well, I echo some of the others don't fix what aint broke Mate and take it from there, when Dylan gets you back on the road

I'm sure that won't take too long - got everything crossed for you Ty

 

Sorry to hear this Ty. When mine went bang I took option 2. Mahle pistons are alot cheaper than the subaru option, and if you're splitting the block then you might as well fit the ACL bearings. I can recommend advanced automotive in Bristol (as per the man himself) for the parts. If you need spare piston rings I have 3 sets here.

 

+1 on Advanced automotive,very good

 

Go for option 2, afterall it's where you will most likely end up so do it now get it over with and you can fit that BIG turbo with ease.

Seriously, hope it works out, you know what you want, just do it

 

Having slept on the matter I think I'm going to get the head skimmed and gaskets renewed, ARP 11mm head stud conversion, engine oil cooler plus a few other pre-planned modifications and then leave it at that.

 

Yes I'm going to ring Advanced myself today or Monday and speak to them (it was me who put Dylan onto AA in the first place ) so I might just bring up the matter of discount.

 

Kev, I'm going for option 1 with a few other things added, I really don't want to create a problem rather than cure one.

The turbo will have to be put on hold for the moment anyway and the standard internals should cope with that kind of power with ease, but the head gaskets to be used will be uprated high performance items.

 

Gutted Ty. I'm sure Dylan will have you back in business soon though. I can see your thinking on going for option 1, i'd be tempted to go for 2 while its all apart though, but its all down to money i suppose. Just don't rush your decision, plenty of time until the summer season starts. Looking forward to hearing that beauty screaming along with a big turbo.

 

I remembered that this mornnig Had a bit of a fuzzy head when I wrote that last night!

 

Gutted for you ty, I wouldn't touch whats not broken on yours. Head gaskets and get it back on the road soon as you can.

 

Sorry to hear your bad news Ty,hope you get it sorted ready for the sunny months !

But what is causing the coolant to blow back into the reservoir ?.Have the head gaskets started to weap or did it start after you did maintenance to it ,ie coolant change.
I know you know more than the average bear when it comes to all things mechanical but an air block could cause this and would be a bit cheaper to fix

Best off luck anyway, Good job you can trust Dylan to do a good job as this would cost a fortune at CVC (Cost Varies Completley) haha !!

See you soon peeps !

 

if head gasket has gone and depending on miles of engine i would refresh bottom end as i have heard of bottom ends following gasket fail few months down the line so get it done all in one go as it will cost u more in the long run,

not sure about why you want to fit an oil cooler ? if you don't track your car on a regular its not worth it as it can cause more problems

does your engine run high oil temps ? you would be better to just run a good oil like motul v300

lets hope you can get it sorted soon sorry t6o here this ty and if you need any help with anything im willing to give a hand just drop me a pm

 

Ty,

Why are you doing all this? What is the problem with the engine? I agree with Danny, find the cause before treating the symptoms, then progress. You could spend ££££££'s when it's something very minor.

Best of luck. I suppose I am down the list at Dylan's

 

Thanks Taylor, I really do think I'll be going for option 1 as there is nothing wrong with the bottom end plus a few other little jobs I want to do as well ie the clutch.

Too much wine Rich?

Cheers Rich, although I'm not in a desperate rush to get it back on the road.

 

Thanks Marc, but it is definitely not an air lock I just wish it was.

It happened after I had a coolant leak from the top rad hose (well I think it was anyway), the cooling system is pressurising when the engine is under load/boost and all the coolant ends up in the overflow resevoir as the radiator cap is opening up due to the pressure build up.

No Lee I'm not running high oil temps but they are higher than I had in the S202 which had a factory oil cooler, I just feel happier seeing the lower oil temps and while the engine is out and everything is easily accessible I may as well get it fitted.

It's a build up of pressure in the coolant system, all the coolant is being dumped out of the radiator into the overflow resevoir. It is definitely not a problem with the coolant system ie hoses, pump etc as when the car is not under load/boost then the coolant flows freely around the system and everything is hunky dory.

Only when giving it the beans does everything go pear shaped and the problem arise.

List, what list?

 

I personaly would go for option 1, maybe stick some acl bearings in aswell, then drive it for 3k or 4k and if everything is ok go for the sc46 etc

 

The list I hope I'm on too

 

Ty i know you've probably checked but have you had a good look at the radiator.?

Reason being i noticed before xmas that mine dumped its coolant from the top hose i thought ,but on closer inspection it was a hairline crack around the back of the radiator at the top where the top hose goes in.This caused problems with my pressure (in more ways than one )

Surely a headgasket problem could be detected via a compression test or even if you have coolant in the oil or visa/versa.before you go ripping it apart.

As you said it started after a coolant loss from the top hose area you suspect.

 

Ty sorry to hear your bad news ,have you spoken to somebody like RCM to see what they think

 

Thanks Mark but I've checked the radiator and it's fine, in fact I'm surprised that it hasn't failed given the amount of pressure that's in the coolant system.

The coolant is coming out of the hose that connects the overflow reservoir to the radiator, it's because of the pressure build up is opening the radiator cap as it should do but because the pressure is so high it's all going straight into the reservoir.

But I will re-check it just in case I might have missed something.

Sorry forgot to add there's no cross contamination of oil or water but what I'm 99.99% sure of is that the exhaust gases are forcing their way into the coolant under boost but as it only happens when on boost it's hard to replicate the problem when the car is static.

The problem first reared it's ugly head when one of the top radiator hose clips was loose.