Holy Balls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a crazy thing to happen. I am amazed that the engine made power and could even function at 1000RPM. Sorry for your loss Joe, hope you see the light at the end of the tunnel soon!
Yes, it was delivered to them on 6/11 and I heard back from them yesterday. "The entire shortblock was dropped on the crank snout based on the size and depth of the dent. This created a small stress fracture in the #1 main journal rear fillet. Over time the fracture expanded to the point of failure." Which makes sense I guess. The majority of fault is on me for failing to speaking up when I saw it initially and just making **** work in order to not slow down progress. I never imagined that seemingly minor "dent" actually broke the crank inside. It is a little ironic though that IAG announced that they've redesigned their shortblock boxing a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to get into specifics, but they've offered discounted pricing on machining, labor and parts in order to get it fixed. It's not exactly what I was expecting, but it's still better than nothing at all and for that I'm grateful. I'm still discussing details with them through email on how we should (if at all) proceed. Maybe the third [shortblock] time's the charm? CARNAGE pics...
Holy sh!t... And they're not just covering it? I get that's a big one for them to eat but damn, it's completely their fault. Edit - props to you for not blasting them all over the interwebs, but I'd be steaming.
If it doesn't work out I know of some local H6 engines that you could build... In all seriousness that is some crazy carnage. Hope to see you back up and running again soon.
Ultimately, it falls on me for not at least reaching out to them about it when I discovered the damage in the beginning...but instead just pushing it along, not realizing that little ding would be catastrophic 4k miles down the road. Realistically, if I would have shipped it right back to them in the beginning, I'd likely be in the same boat except I would have saved myself the cost of all the gaskets, oil, misc parts, time, etc etc I'm going to have to replace now. Bottom line is that it's not a "worksmanship" related issue and there's really no proof when/if/who dropped it if that's actually what had happened. Curious what the estimate will be. Waiting on that and going from there. Another few grand is just a drop in the bucket at this point LOL
I can't even imagine that. I barely have a "few grand" I to my whole car. Haha. May the Subie gods look upon you with favor at some point here.
If I was smart, I'd cut my losses at this point and start the fire sale. Clearly I'm not that smart, but it is still a possibility LOL
It says “joebush44”, not “joebushsmart”! Agreeing with Cody for the “Subie Gods” to shine on your ass for a change!
Finally just got done reading through this build. Nutso, props for doing this, I'd love to tackle something like that but it'll never happen. Good luck with this next process, I hope it turns out well.
Well, I haven't burned this car to the ground or pushed it off a cliff (yet). I've kind of just taken a break from the car since pulling the motor and sending it off last month. I still need to prep and paint my side skirts, tail light lower trim pieces and the JDM rear bumper that I picked up shortly after the engine's death. The rear bumper that I got from across the pond is pretty rough though. I bought it expecting it needing at least a respray, but there are holes drilled into it where they mounted rear spats with drywall screws along with an ample amount of expanding foam aiding with their adhesion to the bumper. It looks like it's been resprayed at least once and the majority of that paint is cracking or flaking off at this point. I've started sanding the rear bumper down, but haven't made a whole lot of progress on it. Currently waiting for IAG to complete work to the block and ship it back to me along with all the necessary parts to put it all back together again. There will be a couple of changes in terms of some of the misc parts being used, but no major changes to the overall setup. The plan is to have them punch out the block to 100mm, give it the v3 closed decking treatment, new 100mm Manley platinum pistons, reuse my Manley H tuff rods, new 17+ nitride crank, new King main bearings, new ACL rod bearings, line hone, reassemble block. I'll also be upgrading from ARP 2000 head studs to ARP 625+ head studs since it will be pushing 30-35psi. Hopefully within a couple of weeks that delivery will arrive and reassembly can begin. In other news, I've always had a little "notchy" spot in my steering column. When I turn the wheel either way I'd get a pop, turn back the other way, another pop, repeat. You could audibly hear as well as feel through the sterring wheel. I thought it was that the column had worked itself loose from being bolted to the dash, but found that wasn't the case. With the engine out, I had easy access to the steering knuckle. This is an iWire GD column to GD steering rack in a GC adapter knuckle (essentially a GD knuckle with a section cut out of it to make it shorter, then bolted/welded back together). I found that the two pieces are actually bolted together, then the bolts are tacked to lock it in place. The tack welds had failed and the bolts weren't tight enough to hold it together so there was some play (1/8 inch) when turning the wheel - that was the source of my noise/notchiness. I pulled it out and welded it up and now it's nice and solid. I also pulled all of the ABS module wiring harness out of the car. The harness runs from the driver side fender, down the radiator support behind the radiator (between engine and radiator), to both cooling fans, then up into the passenger fender well. I don't have a recent photo, but here is a photo of the harness in question, pre-swap: Until recently, I just had the giant ABS plug all taped up with electrical tape and tucked out of site in the passenger wheel well. As I was pulling the motor, I noticed this bundle of wires had begun melting (in the area where the arrow is pointing). I had the harness tucked away from the header as best I could but there just isn't room to route it any other way. This USDM chassis was never designed to have a turbo header routed a few inches from that harness. It was mostly just the wire shroud that took the heat (pun intended), but a couple of wires were bare after the shielding melted off as well. Luckily those two wires were for the passenger side headlight which I no longer utilize since I have an aftermarket HID harness in its place. I took all the wire shrouding off of that harness for the length of the radiator support and figured out what I could get rid of and cut out all the unnecessary wires. It was a pretty hefty bundle of wire that I got rid of. By doing this, I reduced the diameter of that wire bundle so that I could reroute it in front of the radiator support (between the radiator and FMIC). That bundle of wire will now be out of sight, looking much cleaner, and will no longer be at risk of turning into a molten puddle of plastic/bare wire. Evidently my extra wordy, long winded posts are back...but just wanted to assure you I haven't given up on this thing yet. More to come soon! Edit: Updated with after pic of harness reroute
At first glance that wiring harness looks like a frickin sway bar. Nice work, Joe! Glad to hear you're at least back on the horse. Hopefully awake and facing the right direction as well.
After a loooong delay...take 3 of "finding an engine that will stay together" is underway! The shortblock was delivered on Friday, but the rest of the parts/misc gaskets/etc will be here today so I can finally make some actual progress. It was a bit of a tease getting the shortblock Friday, but not being able to do much other than install head studs and oil pickup on it. Heads are currently in the machine shop getting cleaned and decked and should be ready to pick up today. Besides the shortblock and the head studs, nothing much else with the current setup is changing. The goal is to have it ready to rip for Subaru Nationals on 9/30, which by the way - if you like fast Subarus, this event will be worth the trip! There will be some crazy fast cars this year. If all goes as planned, Jr will be doing some last minute tuning at P&L on the 29th so I'll head there Saturday and get the tune touched up before Sunday's event. The new shortblock is essentially IAG's stage 2.5... Case converted to closed deck Reused the H tuff rods from previous block 100mm Manley platinum pistons new OEM 17+ Nitride crank I also upgraded from ARP 2000's to ARP 625+ studs for the extra insurance
You’re getting alot of Subaru engine building experience out of this one! Well maybe there is a small Silver lining? Looks like a badass block setup that you’ve got there!
Nice Joe, looking forward to seeing this thing back on the road! Also I was wondering why your getting the heads done? Cleaned makes sense, but I assume the deck should have been fine? -Eazy
Cleaning was a necessity because the two cracked pieces of the crank were grinding against each other and had a bunch of black goop (finely ground powdery crank material) run through everything. They probably didn't need to be decked, but figured since they were all torn down, why not. Didn't want to take any shortcuts that could lead to the motor chucking a head gasket.
This actually got me thinking about the head gaskets I ordered. I got the .039" JE Pro Seals. After discussing this with Jr yesterday he advised I should get the thicker .051" JE's instead. Those will be here Friday, exchanging for the .039's. IAG recommends the .039" thickness HG when they close deck a block and when paired with NEW B25 heads. Considering my heads have been decked twice now to my knowledge (possibly more prior to me having them) and the block has now been decked twice, the .051" HG makes more sense. I got the oil pump and oil pan on last night, but I'm pretty much stuck till Friday now without the head gaskets...to be continued.
I made some good progress this weekend on reassembly. Everything is pretty much back together with an exception of the front timing covers, flywheel/clutch, and now I'm waiting on some misc AN fittings for my new crankcase vent setup. The .051 thickness JE headgaskets showed up on Friday and I got the long block assembled You may (or may not) remember I had issues with my power steering pump bolt holes pulling the threads out around the time I discovered the issue with the crank. I decided since the the motor was out this was the time to get it corrected properly. I've never used these before, but heard good things about Time Serts in the past. Because I had already tapped these holes out from m8 to m10, I went with their Big Sert kit which would get the hole back to an m8 bolt size. The kit is quite pricey at $85 and only comes with 5 inserts, but they worked really nicely. I put the inserts in all 3 PS pump bolt holes (one on top of block pictured and the two on the front of the block). Alternately, I used a 6mm x 1 helicoil to repair one of the holes for the coolant crossover pipe on the block that was stripped out. Although they are much cheaper for a kit at ~$28 and you get 10 coils, I wouldn't trust them for anything you are putting a decent torque onto. For smaller bolts like this they work fine...I'll mention installation is a bit more difficult compared to the Time Sert as well. In other news, I decided I need to relocate my FPR. The wimpy bracket that it used to sit on wasn't doing the job. It let the FPR bounce around too much. As a result, I might need a new 90* fitting for the front LH side of the fuel rail - there seems to be excessive play in the fitting. I'll have to keep a close eye on it when I prime the fuel system. Since I was already in the helicoil mood from the coolant crossover pipe (and the fact that I couldn't find a smaller drill bit and I'm too cheap and lazy to go get new ones), I drilled and helicoiled the Alt/AC bracket to mount the FPR to. Much sturdier and I think it looks cleaner too. I did have to remake a couple of fuel lines, but no biggie there. Get a Dom Tune cyl 4 cooling mod installed, because why not since the motor is out and everything is easily accessible. Said screw the OEM allen cam bolts and got the TIC FU cam bolt set I switched my RH AVCS cam with a spare that I had because the one that was in my motor originally looked like it had some abnormal wear on the internals of it when I took them apart for cleaning. I had installed the replacement gear, got the timing belt and components installed and then realized there was a broken bolt inside one of the holes that hold the oil cover onto the AVCS gear. :/ Luckily it drilled out easily and I chased the threads with a m5x.08 tap and she's good as new. As she sits currently: Side note: Company23 cam hold tools FTW! I've never had an easier time timing a motor. No more using an old timing belt and a couple of vice grips to hold the cam gears in place. Thanks to Drew C. for the loan on the tools!
AN crankcase and turbo oil drain fittings.. With my fairly lengthy parts order from IAG, I also get their crankcase ventilation AN fitting kit. Here is the center vent with a T that goes to each valve cover. The LH side will work just fine with the straight fitting that's on it, but the RH side will need a 45* fitting so it can go up and over the turbo inlet (this is one of the fittings I'm waiting on) LH side valve cover going to center vent T Needs a 45* fitting going to the RH valve cover to clear the turbo inlet --->> I also got the 10An turbo oil return fitting from Tigwerks. Can you tell I'm tired of oil leaks? With the crankcase vents and the turbo drain being all AN fittings, it should hopefully remedy that. I had to notch out a pretty big chunk of the up pipe/bellhousing bracket so the drain will have a straight shot from the turbo to the 90* fitting on the head. I don't think this drain fitting is really designed with stock location turbos in mind, but I'm determined to make it work. I ordered a new turbo oil drain flange with a 10AN fitting on it that I should be getting this week sometime. I also had to slightly notch the turbo compressor housing so that I could move one of the coolant feed lines out of the way to that the new flange will fit without interference. My biggest challenge remaining is what to do with this main crankcase vent. I'd really like to use the -12 AN fitting in the IAG kit, but I'm not certain how I'll make it work with the stock location turbo as it will be in the way for the oil drain back line from the AOS. I need to replace this black Y fitting and hoses with the AN fitting sitting next to it. I have an assortment of fittings coming in this week that I'm hopeful I can make work. I need to get the T high enough so that it clears the bellhousing, but not too high that it hits on the turbo compressor housing exit. We'll see. If anything, I'll just use the hoses and y fitting that was on it before. If all goes as planned, the motor will go in this week and will be getting some break in miles on it this weekend!
Solid progress Joe! That thing looks sharp. I've actually spoken to Dominic from getadomtune on the phone about my EG33, and I may have him tune it one day once I reach the extent of making improvements myself.
The rest of my fittings showed up a day early. I've given up on trying to find a fitting combo that will adapt the IAG -12 AN main PCV vent. A -12 T is too large for that area with a stock location turbo...not gunna happen. I could potentially 45* over the belhousing to get it out from under the turbo compressor housing, but then I'll likely be too high up for my AOS drain to function properly. At any rate, I'm just going to use the standard Y fitting that IAG includes with the AOS kit. I hose clamped the F out of it so it hopefully doesn't seep oil so badly. It was as major PITA, but I got the turbo oil drain fittings situated. I had to take this ^ back apart and shorten the hose about 3/4" Finished the equalizing vent lines with the 45* hose fitting I was waiting on. So much cleaner than the stock setup. Motor is off the engine stand now, rear main, separator cover, flywheel and clutch are installed. Ready to stab it into the car tonight
No major issues dropping the motor in over the weekend. So far only one small coolant leak from the oil cooler which I resolved by replacing the OEM clamp with worm gear clamp. Changed the oil over to Motul 5w-40 break-in mineral oil after ~40 miles. 110 miles total on her so far and she's running well! Clip of the first start for your viewing pleasure. I'm going to try to get 800 miles or so on this week so the engine is broken in enough (per IAG's break-in procedure) to begin touching up the tune. I'll get some logs to Jr for him to review and see if we need to make any adjustments.
LOL yeah...speed density - no MAF, no intake, no care I'm going to work on a permanent solution for the coolant overflow instead of using the stainless water bottle. I'm hoping it will fit in the intake filter area. Waiting for some rivnuts/nut serts so I can mount my new overflow bottle
Updated engine pay photo (not much has changed, but I thought the lighting was kinda cool). Around 200 trouble free break-in miles on her so far.
Last night I made this ugly thing a little less ugly. New coolant overflow reservoir to replace the Subaru Rally Team water bottle that has been flopping around loosely in the engine bay. Found a home for it and mounted it after installing a rivnut in the fender.
She's still running strong after 500+ break-in miles. Idle is a little rough and getting some roughness counts on cyl 2 and 4. I don't know why I didn't do it while the car was down for so long, but I decided to send my injectors in to get them cleaned. When the car went down the beginning of this summer, it was on e85 and sat like that all summer. I pulled my injectors on lunch break today shipped them off to Off The Line Performance to have them cleaned. They are going to try to get them turned around so I can get them back Wednesday or Thursday. Also throwing some new plugs in it as well. I'm hoping that combination of clean/new parts clears up the little bit of idle roughness. It really is tolerable as is, but don't want to take any chances with a dirty injector once I start throwing the coals to her. Nothing like last minute! Stupid oil cooler coolant hose still is slowly leaking when the car is running. I'm going to fiddle with that a bit tonight. I had to "modify" (bend the hell out of) the metal pipe that goes from the water pump to the oil cooler under the timing cover so that it wouldn't rest on the header. In doing so, the coolant hose that connects that pipe to the oil cooler isn't quite long enough. I'm going to pull the clamps off of it and see if I can slide it onto the cooler a bit further...otherwise I'll have to pull that hose off and make a big mess and find another pre-bent coolant hose that will work in its place. I finally got around to prepping and painting my side skirts this past week/weekend. Side by side comparison. (Top - bare. Bottom - painted) Need to mount them still, but turned out pretty decent. Driver's side is still drying. Killed a couple of bugs/grasshoppers this weekend putting miles on... Random pic
