So Ive met a few of you, enjoyed my subaru experience so far...Ill get back to that. Well, to be blunt, Im a dumb ass. Willy subaru kicked me square in the balls and Im still trying to recover. It all started a few months ago. Getting a new car, well new to you, is always exciting. This was no exception, in fact besides my last car purchase this was the most exciting car venture Ive made. Never had awd or a turbo car so if you can understand where I am coming from you know how I felt about this purchase. Needless to say Im kicking myself in the ass right about now for being truly, utterly stupid. Its amazing what a little alcohol can get you to do. That being said, there is a post floating around with some of the details but heres a recap. Maybe Im alone here but I like to test my car when I first get them. Gotta know the limits. Well this evening I tested top speed. So now I know, only problem is this...in the process cylinder 4 has no compression what so ever. Car still runs and drives which in itself is a testament to Subaru engineering. And to top it all off I have not a clue as to how this happened. I can speculate but honestly at the end of the day Im no mechanic. Perhaps one day, for now Im content being the noob who blew his motor. So where is all this going you may ask. Well, Id like to get this beast back on the road. My original plans for the winter was to get the subbie as a beater that would last ALL winter and work on my first engine build. This wasnt supposed to be the subbie engine I was working on but it looks like thats the way this journey is taking me. What Im not to sure about is where to go from here. Basically Im not looking to build a monster, stock is fine for me but I want it done right. All I know is I need to take the head off to see what exactly happened in there. The biggest hurdle is cash flow so Ive kinda put this on the back burner beings I just started a new job today. I would love to hear some feedback or advice.
First off, sorry to hear about the motor. What exactly happened? You mentioned no compression in cylinder 4, did something blow up during the test run, or do you just need to fix the compression issue? I am not a pro by any means with Subaru engines, but my first guess would be a head gasket... Someone else who knows more than I may want to chime in here though...
Might help if you mentioned which model and what year. If its an ej257 its probably a busted ringland. If thats the case replace your pistons with aftermarket forged pistons. Could do an after market oil pickup, oil pump, and headstuds while youre at it too.
i had this happen on my 02 wrx when i 1st got it as well swaped a 05 wrx motor into it and all has been good. when i broke down the 02 motor it had melted the side of cyl #2
<---Cars a 93 SS wagon, stock. What I remember is the car sputtered for a sec then made a loud pop, very distinct. Never overheated, not since Ive owned it. Boost is consistently 9 psi max. Spark plug was melted and porcelain blistered. I was lazy today so nothing got done. Did a bit of research though on removing a head, looks fairly straight forward.
So tore into the head today, well didnt quite get to the head. Got the intake mani off, tomorrow shooting for exhaust mani and head. I cannot believe how brittle plastic and rubber get after 16 years. I broke a few things. So its turnin out that this is now my project for the winter. At this point I may need a parts car or engine. Mainly the plastic connectors for various hoses is what I broke. Not so straight forward so I dont want to do this again for awhile. Looking like this is going to be the new DD once its done so reliability and efficiency are at the top of my list.
