I recently blew my engine in my 2005 STi that I had for a week, and after trying to sell it (no luck with salvage title), I decided to have it rebuilt and keep it. Here is the Build List so far: New OEM Nitrided Crankshaft Eagle rods CP Pistons 99.75mm bore 8.2:1 CR ACL bearing set New OEM oil cooler New OEM oil pump Gates Racing timing kit (all pulleys, tensioner, water pump) New 06 oil pickup and pan ARP Head Studs OEM Master Gasket kit Rebuilt OEM turbocharger from 6StarSpeed (VF39) Plans for the next couple weeks: Pull the engine and strip to bare shortblock + assembled heads Take all the parts to a reputable machine shop for inspection/machining/cleaning Have the machine shop rebuild as needed and assemble the longblock Have the machine shop open and clean the AVCS gears and AVCS solenoids Clean out all external oil lines myself Hope that my cam journals aren't scored (I don't want to buy new heads) Hope that my block halves aren't damaged beyond use If you have any tips in either removing the engine, taking off all accessories, disassembling, or assembling, please chime in. I am a Subaru noob but want to learn.
the egt sensor or front o2? front o2 is in the passenger side collector of the header that is right next to the uppipe egt sensor is in the uppipe on the older lgt/fxt/wrx the sti did not come with an egt sensor
Got the motor pulled and disassembled this Friday/Saturday. Some interesting things found during the motor removal/disassembly: Threads in the block holding the transmission bolts are pretty tired. Going to have the machine shop fix them with inserts. Turbocharger is/has been shot for a while. All fins on compressor wheel are curled over from hitting the housing. Ouch. Broke the up-pipe flex joint trying to clear the turbocharger of the block when removing the header/turbocharger. Ordered a grimspeed replacement Broke the crankshaft sensor trying to remove it from the old oil pump. Just being impatient and ignorant to blame Clutch is pretty toast, ordered a new organic (disc only) from ACT Heads are toast. Only me to blame for driving it around a 1/4 mile after the engine started to show signs of low power. Journals on cams and heads are done. Picking up new heads today hopefully Cylinder #3 is the spun bearing. Lots of bearing shavings in the oil pan, oil pickup Gasket maker gobs found in the oil pickup tube, heads, oil pump. I imagine this may be a contributing factor to the spun bearing (piece got through the pickup tube screen and clogged oil passageway) Most of my parts came on Friday, just waiting on Pistons for Monday and then bringing everything to the machine shop. Still have to source a set of OEM STi cams.
Thanks to AJ at Adrenaline Rush and Terry, I was able to get a replacement set of heads and cams on very short notice! These guys came yesterday Dropped them off at the machine shop this morning, and should have everything in by the end of this week except the rebuilt turbo That's the only thing stopping me from getting the car running this weekend. Guess it will have to wait until next weekend!
Update: Turbo will be here Friday for install. May fire up this weekend still! Picked up one of these pups.
The pistons are pretty! Called the machine shop today and they said the shortblock will be done tomorrow, but the heads might not be. Got my fingers crossed that everything will be done tomorrow. All my new parts came in the mail today and have the weekend wide open, so if the machine shop completes everything, the car could start late this weekend sometime.
Stopped at the machine shop near closing yesterday, and they won't be done with the heads until Monday. Very disappointing, because I have everything I need to get it back together this weekend. Oh well, next weekend it is! A few parts came in this week that I took out and inspected. Various parts Grimmspeed Uppipe, OEM cam gear (mine was slightly chipped), timing belt guide New intercooler piping The replacement for the VF39 (not going for record numbers, just wanted a little more power as it will be my dd) I was able to pick up the assembled shortblock from the machine shop, so the plan is to get everything cleaned and sorted out this weekend, so next weekend will be less headache and more assembly. I have modded Witchunter 850cc injectors coming along with an upgraded fuel pump for a power tune after break in.
Some progress pics from this weekend. Only able to bolt some minor stuff onto the block without the heads. Next weekend the real work begins! New uppipe and turbo to replace the cracked uppipe and toasty VF39 Water pump, some pulleys, oil cooler, new pan and pickup attached to block
Machine shop called today. Unfortunately someone did a hack job on my valve Buckets and ground them down on the inside. Even with a valve job, the lash is not near spec, so I need 16 new buckets. Thanks again to AJ at Adrenaline Rush, I will be picking up a set of buckets tonight from him and dropping them off at the machine shop tomorrow morning. Just hoping most of them can be used, and that the heads will be done by this weekend.
That sucks to hear. Sounds like you are having the same kind of luck I had with mine. Everything I touched was butchered and hacked.
Yeah the prices just keep adding up! But I would rather find out about these things now and put this thing together right rather than run a sketchy engine, but the wallet does not like it much.
My wife did not either. All of the money from the sale of my Cummins powered diesel pickup now resides under the hood of my LGT.
My Wife asked me the other night, "When are you going to be done messing with your car." I smiled and said never. I got an eye roll and a greeeeeaaat.
Picked up the buckets last night, and dropped them off at the machine shop this morning. Also hit up the local Subaru dealer for a few bolts, and elbow for the PCV system that cracked when removing. Taking off work early Friday to pick up the heads and parts, then off to my buddies to start assembly and installation!
Luckily I don't have to justify myself much. No wife, but the girlfriend doesn't mind me spending the money to rebuild (probably because she thinks everything was "necessary" to get the vehicle running again). I should probably get all my modding done now before any serious knot-tying is in place and take advantage of the freedom.
No news is good news! Machine shop hasn't called again since I dropped off the buckets, so that means he was able to lap the valves into spec and complete the head rebuilds. Half day tomorrow at work, then to the dealer to pick up parts, and then back to my buddies to work on the car. I'll update on progress this weekend. Excited to start the car again, so hopefully everything goes smoothly. Talked to Nuke about a tune, and ordered a Grimmspeed EBCS that I'll install with my modded 850cc injectors right before he tunes the car. Still debating on E85 and Pump gas this close to winter. Thinking just tuning on pump for now, and getting an E85 tune next spring after I can upgrade the downpipe and exhaust from stock STi trim.
Started putting the engine back together around 3pm on Friday. Unfortunately, two of the holes were stripped on the coolant piping that runs across the top of the block, so we had to re-tap them with a larger bolt (7mm instead of 6mm). After that, just taking our time to do everything right, and finding all the correct torque specs in the service manual took a while, and we ended the night with the block together. The next day we started at 11am and put the engine in. It took a bit of time to align the transmission and engine, but we eventually got it. After hooking everything up, priming the oil system by cranking it over a few times, we reset the ECU and started it for the first time. Some pics from the weekend: Re-threading the holes in the block Getting everything timed correctly Almost all together! Looks better from the back imho So far, we ran it through a heat cycle and drove it for 5 miles, then oil and filter change. I'm checking the oil level frequently to make sure it stays within range. Drove the car to Whitewater Saturday night, and right now the car has 650 miles on the new engine and runs like a champ. I've been staying out of boost and varying the speed/rpms frequently, as well as engine braking for my break in procedure. I'll have close to 800 miles by this weekend, and then time to put in the fuel pump, injectors, EBCS, and tune it. (Nuke said he probably can tune it on Saturday).
Forgot to mention, a couple coil packs seem to be in rough shape (rust on the coils, bent fins), so I have replacement ones coming.
It is for sure a big relief! I was hoping that everything was timed correctly and that we had everything plugged in. Thankfully by taking our time (and a bit of luck), it started first crank. We did have an issue with the clutch fork not being aligned, so we had to pull the intercooler and re-do that part. Hopefully can get it tuned and actually get into boost in the next few weeks.
Yes for sale on here and Craigslist. Lost motivation after the engine going after only ~300 miles and now registration problems. Great candidate for a complete, built, engine/drivetrain/suspension swap into a GC or GD!
Well, to those following my build here is the last update for a long time. In summary, I purchased the car in July 2012, with a salvage title that I assumed was legal to drive. Drove it for 300 miles and spun a rod bearing. Next few weeks were spent rebuilding the engine right, with minimal but solid supporting mods. Got it started for the first time on Sept. 22nd, and just felt good to have a running, solid car again! On Sept. 25th, I received a letter from the DMV saying the vehicle was not legal to drive, and had to pass a salvage inspection along with paperwork to be approved for road use. Talked with a few people about the car, and found it needed work to pass inspection, and had no luck trying to get info about the previous repairs. Sick of the circumstances, I put up the car for sale, and sold it yesterday. Unfortunately I had to borrow money to pay off the loan (the price I got, plus my cash wasn't enough), and I have a good amount of credit card debt from the rebuild. This was my first Subaru, and I liked the characteristics of the STi a lot, but was just sick of this particular car because of the poor circumstances. It will be a pretty long time before I can pay off the debt(s) and can afford another car. No doubt I will be much more careful this time about purchasing and more wary of sellers. Thank you all for the tech support and helpfulness during the whole ordeal (engine rebuild and registration issues).
