New to the Sub board and new owner of a bastardized '02 WRX Wagon that I irrationally bought from a distant dealer. What you are about to read will entertain most who laugh so hard they blow chunks. Here are the main issues with the car that I would like some constructive advice on handling such as I have this part for sale or when you install remeber to do this. Did I mention this car was probably heavily moded and put back to stock by a blind person and I was the idiot who bought it. Should of checked out "rexwagons" or "ej20's" rides before I leaped to land of no return. :eek4: - EGT Sensor removed/plugged/resistor in place to trick comp. - Possible mapping of ECU. - STI Springs on Stock WRX struts(will be FS shortly after dealer replaces) - Aftermarket Sway Bar has mounts on backwards. (assuming easy fix?) - Turbo Charger oil return line is leaking. (should I be concerned?) - Exhaust coupling section connecting catalytic converter to pipes missing springs. (does anybody have some for sale-probably cheap at dealer?) Diagnosis by local Sub dealer who was real considerate and understanding. Hope you all get a good laugh out of this because that is all I can do after my great mess up. Enjoy! Thanks in advance for any and all advice provided. Jason
? EGT sensor removed, so probably has catless uppipe, a plus for that Tuned, that can be scary, but can be good, who knows. STI Springs on stock struts, cheap 'upgrade', but works. Sway bar, fix it. Oil Line, try loosening the bolt and tightening it back up. Missing springs from cat? U mean the spring bolts?
To be honest, the only thing that sounds terrible is the leaking around the turbo. As Nuke said, if the EGT is missing from the UP, that's ok as it probably means you have a catless UP. STI springs on the struts are fine as well, you're going to have to watch the struts on any used car. As for the ECU, if the car has all the stock exhaust, I would just have the dealer flash it back to stock. The sway should be an easy quick fix, and I'm unsure about the turbo return line. Just see if you can get the clamps on right, as that's not a normal place to have much leakage, and could indicate a blown turbo.
"Walk it off" really...it's not that bad, and may actually give you a headstart on modding it yourself. See what you need for parts and post in the classifieds here...everything you mentioned might be readily and cheaply available, possibly even the stock turbo if it is indeed blown. Alot of subie smarts on this board. BTW...welcome!
I got a Turbo(18G) and injectors(PE 800cc) for ya if you need'em. I mean if your turbo is blown and ready to upgrade.
What they said. Are you sure it's the turbo oil return line (the one under the turbo that you can just barely see from underneath the car)? If it's the turbo oil feed line (top of the turbo looking in from the engine bay), check to make sure there's a washer on either side of the banjo bolt. My guess is that the previous owner reused the stock washer on their aftermarket/upgraded turbo and didn't throw it back on when reverting to stock.
Really doesnt sound like a bad deal jason, what really matters is if the car was beat on before the purchase. A common misconception with subaru's is that parts are not interchangeable between the models. There are a few parts that cant be swapped out, but for the most part, springs, turbos, a lot of exhaust bits, most of the interior parts, nearly all of the transmissions and motors will fit in a different model, etc. As long as they are installed correctly, they will operate with the same efficiency and reliability as they did in the original car. I'm sure everyone has answered most of your questions about the issues with the car. MY RECOMMENDATION: Dont go to a dealership to have the things you see wrong with the car fixed. You will get hosed, and it wont actually change the cars performance. There are many members on these boards who are as good as dealer mechanics, AND know all of the performance stuff on top of that. Also, the mechanics and sales people at the morries dealerships are the stuff of legend. Great people, and there is an MNsubaru discount, which you can learn about in the vendors section of this site. Again, check out bikerboy or scubasteve to fix the springs, bikerboy or driftin240 (and others) to fix your oil leak. I'm sure they can help you tidy up the EGT bypass mod, and figure out the springs in your stock exhaust system as well. They do charge, but I will put my own money on them being far cheaper, and MUCH better than a dealership. You can ALSO talk to many of the guys who tune cars on here, and have them give you a good map for your ECU. The other option is to go to a MORRIES dealership and have them restore it to stock for you. I just dont want you to have a restored sense of confidence in the car, and to enjoy it. There is no reason to get stressed over a few small modifications that were done by a previous owner. We're all enthusiasts around here, and you'll end up one as well. half the fun is in the chase of a problem, or adding a mod.
Morries will use the cheapest parts to get by. They wouldn't even get me the subaru gear oil...lol "ALL we can get you is valvoline thats it" lol O my blown trannies for everyone. not me...I even head out of my way to Luther whitebear Subaru, much better service IMO... But do it yourself, get dirty learn a thing or two and get ready to mod that wagon.
Bikerboy FTW, very good work and a nice guy on top of that. Pretty good prices. Sucks that he is in Burnsville now, unless you live down that way.
I don't know what Morries you went to, but the guys in mntka are very good. I did have issues in BP. Keep in mind that just because you had a bad experience at one Morries doesn't mean they all suck...
LOL bp. Luther has taken care of me seriously though and gotten me some really good deals on parts like my SB. yea bikerboy-matt at RS is a subaru Master so...
Thanks! Thanks everybody for all the positive advice and great references. I plan on contacting them to get this project car started and actually enjoy this car. Mainly looking for the best performance improvements that are reliable and require little maintenance and cost. Some of the work I can do myself but need some direction and assistance on the more diffucult tasks such as the Turbo oil return leak. Oh yeah, does anybody have some '02-04 black/dark blue WRX floor mats laying they want to get rid of. Thanks Again, Jason
https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_49&products_id=663 Just bought them myself.
