FS: 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX - AT

I am the original owner of a 2002 WRX and have decided to finally go for a new vehicle after having recently invested $2000 in maintenance, only to have the timing belt now break. The timing belt wasn’t old by any means. A full timing belt/water pump kit replacement was last done April 2020.

I suspect one of the timing pulleys (possibly H20) may have seized which had a domino effect causing the belt to break.

I’m at the point that I don’t feel like repairing the car just to sell it.

I have always done all my own maintenance/repairs aside from; AC work, wheel bearing and head gasket replacement. This car has always been a great runner and no other major functional problems.


I figure since many people like to install reman/modded engines it wasn’t worth spending anymore time and effort into repairing the belt or pulling apart the engine to look at the condition of the valves if someone was primarily looking to replace it anyways.

So here are the specs

Asking Price: $3000 OBO

Car:
2002 Subaru Impreza WRX sedan (AT)
Mileage: 258,000
Automatic Transmission
No accidents


Location:
Twin Cities, Minnesota

Drivetrain & Suspension Upgrades:

GP Moto Intake Elbow
K&N drop-in panel filter
Samco MAF hose
Perrin Silicone Turbo Inlet
Samco IC Hoses
Silicone Radiator hoses
Ported & Polished TD04 Turbo
GrimmSpeed Lightweight Crank pulley

Exhaust
GrimmSpeed Header CrossPipe
ScoobySport Stainless Catless Up-pipe
ScoobySport Stainless Catless Down pipe and cat back exhaust/muffler
(original 3rd cat/resonator pipe still installed)
Mishimoto Radiator with add-on cooler for AT fluid

Cobb Access V3 (Stage 2+ tuned)

Napa Auto (Monroe Sensa Trac) Struts & Shocks
Kart Boy Sway bar endlinks
Rear H6 Brake upgrade (larger rotors and brakes)



Body Exterior:

Blue Pearl
This model did not have a spoiler (Pre-June 2002)
’02 STI (JPN) hood scoop, Blue paint is chipping off

Some rust around wheel wells and near gas tank where bumper meets quarter panel.
Undercarriage shows typical rust for an MN car of this age.
Couple of very small hail dent on hood and roof from a 2005 hailstorm.
Pinch welds under car are less than spectacular, I don’t hold car up by welds anymore.
Scratch on lower rear passenger door from some unknown 4-wheeled assailant in a parking lot.
Body appearance is pretty good otherwise.
Front driver marker light cover is cracked. I’m sure it kissed a road rock at some point.
Fog lights work although lens has hole in it. *I have extra replacement fog lamps as I was waiting for OEM lamps to fail. They can go with the car.
Headlights were recently replaced so they are only ~2 years old. (previous were foggy)


Interior

Seats in great shape, no major wear. No tears or stains.
Front floor mat on driver side is worn as is the carpet where heel rests
Most interior lights replaced with LED. [Glove box, ashtray, Map, Dome, Accessory switches, HVAC controls, etc.]
Trunk light also LED
Mechanical AutoMeter Turbo Boost Gauge on A pillar (with Blue LED)
Center console arm rest extension (also LED…just kidding)
Power accessory port (for Radar detector or other device) on dash next to clock.
Subaru (single DIN) storage compartment under radio
Alpine CD/MP3 player and aftermarket Polk speakers.
Everything else pretty much stock


There are additional parts not currently on the car that can go with as follows:

Set of 4 OEM rims with Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires. Good condition ~8 winters (about 3-4 months per year) 6/32” depth
New Ball joint
Fog Lamps (unused, forgot brand name)
Cam seals, and a few various gaskets.
New brake caliper slider pins w/boots




BRAND NEW installations in the last month

Left Rear Wheel hub assy and rear control arm
4 Continental Control Contact tires (P205/55R16) with free replacement warranty coverage (Transferrable!)
Alternator
Battery
Fuel Pressure Regulator
Several vacuum lines


Synopsis of belt breakage occurrence

As stated, this car’s timing belt has broken likely due to seizure of the water pump pulley. I did not look any deeper than what I could see by removing both side covers and noticing I couldn’t spin the water pump by hand.


2 weeks ago, I was pulling into a parking lot and just shy of finding a spot the car started to run rough with no obvious warning beforehand. 3 seconds later the car started to sputter and then just quit with a CEL code for Cam Position Sensor P0340. I tried to restart the car for about one second to hear the rapid starter turnover telling me belt likely wasn’t connected. I haven’t turned the crank since. The car wasn’t idling very high at the time this occurred, so I don’t know the likelihood of valve damage vs if I had been driving on the highway when it occurred. I was probably travelling 8-10 mph when it acted up and died.


Just prior to this I was going to have the high-pressure side of the AC line replaced due to a leak at the aluminum pipe-to-hose pinch point. So much for that.

This car has been an awesome performer and never beaten hard. It was my daily driver for 19 years, so it has been well taken care of in order to get this far in life.


Price $3000

Primarily I am looking to sell the car while recouping a little of the recent investments just made in the last 2 months. Remember this also comes with Cobb Access tuner, new warrantied tires, & extra set of Winter wheels!

If I missed anything just ask. I’ll do my best for full disclosure. No surprises.


Finally, here are some major tune-up highlights

Nov 2010 Initial Timing Belt and H2O pump replacement
Jan 2014 Replaced OEM turbo with rebuilt port/polished TD04
May 2015 Replaced Head Gasket and valve cover gaskets
July 2015 Replace AC Condenser
Feb 2017 Replace Shocks/Struts
Dec 2017 Replace Starter
May 2019 Replace Brakes (Akebono ceramic) and rotors
April 2020 Replace timing belt and H2O kit (tensioners, pulleys, etc.)
Sept 2021 Replace Left Rear Wheel hub assy, control arm, fuel pressure reg, alternator, battery, all 4 tires



Must transfer title before picking up vehicle.

 

I wasn't sure what the preferred way of posting pics was so I simply attached vs. inserting into post.
Here are some more

 

Last group of photos unless someone asks for something specific that I missed.
The inside driver door pic is just showing condition, there's nothing wrong with it.

 

Pretty quiet forum lately.
Any remote interest or questions?
Hoping to get this out of my garage before the snow gets too thick. Hopefully that isn't for a while yet.
I'm also thinking about reaching a broader audience so if anyone with experience selling cars online has any suggestions I am open to them.
Thanks

 

Facebook marketplace unfortunately seems to be the go-to these days.

 

Yeah I'd tend to say the engine being replaced is likely what is keeping interest down.

 

I did.
In fact it was a water pump gasket that was starting to leak a bit which prompted me to do the replacement.
It's one of those things I think we all agree that "while you're in there" you might as well replace it all: thermostat, H2O, tensioner, pulleys, timing belt, etc.
I don't like to necessarily go cheap with those parts so I tend to either go OEM, or a recommended Gates kit. I recall recent reviews mentioning Gates wasn't providing same quality parts as they once did years ago. Maybe this is further evidence of the fact.

 

Exactly!
I knew going in with an AT that it would lose a lot of interest. I've talked to several people that didn't care about the motor as they'd be modifying it anyway, but then they say "Oh...its an auto? meh"


Thanks for the FB suggestion.

 

H2o or coolant?

 

I'd also agree that the auto is an almost certain "no" for me. Add in that the motor is likely toast, it's already showing significant rust, and it's not a wagon (personal preference) and I didn't look twice.

I also know that the used car market is pretty ridiculous right now but I've personally bought a lot more car than that for a lot less money. It's hard for me to stomach this inflated market.

 

Thanks for the additional suggestions.
I've been weighing my options and been trying to decide how quickly I want to sell this car, etc.
Based on the lack of immediate interest I will now accept "Best Offer"
Surely someone may be willing to offer a price their "other half" can't complain about.


Is it worth an admin plugging in OBO to the original post or title?

 

Just an update that the Blizzaks I intended to include with the car have been sold separately.

Since I may end up just selling my car for very little at this point, I will be unmarrying and selling the Cobb Access Port on its own.
I will post a separate sale on the Access port unless anyone shows immediate interest.

I do need to get this car out of my garage so if no offers in the next day or two I will offload using plan B.

 

I may be interested in the ap for my 03.

 

Update-
The car has been Sold!
We can close those this posting.
I will kick off a separate sale for the Cobb Access port.