blue_scooby187

Hi again every 1 all I want is a full rebuild for 3.5k max to handle 346bhp won't be going over this would I get a rebuild for this budget?

Brun

Do you read the replies?

User 21721

The way I would do it of I was going down the route of a forged rebuild would be to buy a 2.1 stroker kit from wms-racing (he is on SN aswell). I have been quoted £1250 for a 500hp kit which would consist of "ej257 heat treated crank, acl race series bearings, Williams H beam rods and Mahle 4032 stroker pistons 92.5 or 93mm"".
All you would need then are some head gaskets - cosworth, OE will do and a modified 11/12mm oil pump AFAIK. I would say ARP head studs but you won't need them at 346hp.

Yes it is a '500hp' package and it will not be any cheaper as you can't get forged stuff that will only handle 350hp as they are a bit pointless.

In total that would put you at around £1500 in parts (depending on where you source it from) and then all you need is a clutch and someone to fit it. Either way it will be under 3.5k.

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Buy a cheap used engine for £400. Drop it in and sell the car.
Then use that money and the remaining £3K you've saved up to buy a nice bug or blob STI.
You must be mad throwing £3500 at a 10 year old WRX.

AndyBaker

Sounds good advice to me, maybe I would listen

blue_scooby187

I like the car I got to be fair it's had a lot of money spent on it brakes coil overs etc etc plus this will be my toy as have 3 daughters and need an escape and won't be used on reg basis and who's to say I buy an STI and that blows up and I've gotta find another 3.5k to rebuild that?? Another quick question do ej205 heads fit straight on ej207 block thanks again for every 1s help and options

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

I wouldn't base my decision to keep it on the fact it's got some cheap coilovers and Ksport front brakes.
Trust me, you will end up regretting it if you throw 3 plus grand at it.

blue_scooby187

Trouble is if I do what you say buy STI and that blows up I'm past square 1 by a long shot where as if I have this built buy some STI stickers couple of seats and a dash 400 I got an STI lol k sport brakes and bc coil overs and some pff wheels or should I just buy an evo lol

User 21721

I don't think a STi will encounter the same issues as yours giving that it was looked after and covered decent mileage. I am not 100% sure but your engine may have failed due to it being at it's limits and may have had a hard time from the previous owner. As not many people tune their WRXs to say 350hp to just go from A to B in an ordinary fashion, most people do it for the extra power so that they can enjoy themselves a bit more. As if you wanted to have a large amount of power on a WRX you will need to spend a couple grand on a rebuild/new engine whether it be a week, month, year from purchase. The problem is that new parts such as brakes, turbo, injectors and miscellanous parts are so expensive that most people don't see the point to spend an extra 3k on a rebuild if their engine and box 'will handle the power'.

What mileage has your car covered aswell for interest? It's up to you what you want to do as if you want to spend 3.5k on a rebuild and then fix your gearbox later on or buy an STi lump and gearbox and hope neither blow up then do it. Either way you will need to fork out a large sum. As I am not aware of how much your car cost then I will not be able to say whether doing the above would be 'worth it'. For example if the car cost you £2k then this would be worth doing as in the end it would probably owe you around £5-6k which is not bad for a car with that spec. Although, if it cost you £5k then I personally would not do it as at the end of it the car will owe you £8-9k, unless you feel that you would happly spend that sort of money on the same car then go ahead.

My third and final recommendation would be to source a salvaged newage STi, preferably the same shape, and pick and choose bits that you want. Any that you don't want you can simply sell

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

blue_scooby187

The car has covered 82k and has been looked after by scooby clinc from the previous owner he had the car for 5 yrs I did not pay to much for the car it has all them bits on you mentioned vf34 turbo pink injectors simtek ecu ect ect it was a weekend car for him! I have been looking in to the STI engine but apparently the wiring is different not sure how true this is but was thinking ej207 bottom end and my heads would this work? I would like to keep the car if I'm honest rather going down the route of fixing it (2nd hand engine) selling it and buying another one I was eventually going to get a 6 speed conversion done or maybe just have the Bhp turned down to say 300 thanks again

User 21721

I wouldnt sell it as it sounds like it has some very nice mods done to it and with the engine and box sorted out it will better than an STi other than cosmetics.

You shouldnt have a problem with the wiring AFAIK it was the classics that needed modification. As for heads I am not too sure although I know you can run earlier (V3 STi) heads so surely yours should fit?

As your happy with your current power figure I would say an STi engine would be a wise option, don't listen to others saying that it is old and will blow up it will be fine. Just try to get one with as low miles possible but still be in your budget and you should have a winner. I just thought that as you are having the clutch done aswell it may be worth getting a 6 speed when you have it all done as it will save you some labour costs.

If you are worried about it blowing up then a good route would be to buy it from a reputable trader on here. As they should stick to their reputation and some, I think, give you warranties with them also.

EDIT: After a bit of research it seems that you are right with the loom problem. "I have a newage MY02 WRX wagon and put an STi8 into it earlier this year. The engine goes straight in and so does everything else but if you want to take advantage of the AVCS you have to change the wiring loom as well so i had to rip out the old loom and install a V.7 STi loom and make several changes to the loom in order to run items like the rear washwipe, headlamp levelling and a couple of other things. Without AVCS it will be a bit laggy but it will still run without it if you don't change the ECU".

Apparently this doesn't apply with the shortblock, and with the shortblock you will be able to run your WRX heads. Short engines are only around £600-£800.

Also, welcome to the Subaru Community please feel free to post some pics up

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

CutMasterT

iTrader: (2)

I would seriously consider getting a fully forged short block done by a reputable builder. Your budget is enough for this and it will be able to run 300+bhp with ease all day long. If you drop another 2nd hand sti engine in then who's to say that wont fail?
Do it right first time and you are potentially saving a lot of headaches and money

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

So your giving him your personal guarantee then? if it blows up are you going to pay for it to be done again?

I don't care what you do pal but like I said in my first reply, "engine out / engine in plus gaskets and fluids is a good £1500 then your second hand bottom end is going to cost you around £800 for a circa 60k one when another £400 will see you with a NEW bottom end built by a reputable builder you've got to be bonkers to go for the roll of the dice over circa £400 when your spending the best part of £3k.

User 21721

The STi engines are supposed to be quite reliable and I haven't heard of many 2.0 engines that have failed

I think JollyGreenMonster had a blobeye STi which was running over 500hp on standard internals whilst being thrashed and still didn't blow up, and only rebuilt it because it wouldnt give way!

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

blue_scooby187

That's what I was thinking as it has been looked after was just it's time to go pop do most subaru performance places supply and fit the STI engine? Or is it best I supply the engine and ask them to fit? What's the avcs heads? Thanks again for your help only one who seems to give good advice!! Rather than sell it scrap it or strip it kind regards

User 21721

No worries mate

AVCS varies cam timing in order to improve throttle response. You do not get AVCS heads on UK Bugeye STis but from then onwards you do. It is not worth doing IMO and don't just take my word for it:
"You can do dual AVCS, but you will need to totally swap out your cylinder heads and cams, the entire engine wiring harness,
the front bulkhead harness, the harness from the main connection to the ecu, and you need the dual AVCS ecu. You will also
run into some issues with the speedometer funtions as the 08 cars get the signal from the ABS sensors, and the earlier cars
get it from a speedo sender in the transmission itself. For all the effort you are going to put into performing the swap, the power gained will really not be worth it. You would probably be better off running a set of aftermarket camshafts in
your existing heads. Price would be similar and gains would be more with the aftermarket cams."

As for who can supply and fit off the top of my head would be API. They are a well known tuner and are know very well in the Subaru Community. The only thing is that they may charge you a bit extra than normal for the engine but it's worth the piece of mind as if it fails then API shouldn't mess you about. Then just ask them to not fit the AVCS or get a Non-AVCS engine to save hassle and labour costs.

Here you go: http://www.apiimpreza.com/index.php

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

Brun

Trot on and buy a second hand engine which you don't know the history of and fingers crossed you are not back soon crying abou a fooked engine...... again!

Would I buy a second hand engine??? Like ****!

You've had some excellent advice on this thread but you seem to ignore most of it as it's clearly not what you want to hear.
You and Subaru Collectorr 555 should get a room!

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

,STI engines are good but buying second hand is still a risk as you can never really tell how it's been treated and that my friend is the rub right there,me personally would not buy second hand if I knew I could get a fresh rebuild for around the same money,but as they say you spend your money you make your choice,the ***** in your court do what you think is right for you,but just remember if you go the second hand route and it let's go keep it to yourself unless you want to be "FLAMED".SJ.

User 21721

It's people like you who should be banned from this forum
Obviously your input must be greatly enjoyed or have you nothing better else to do?

All I am doing is offering advice based on my current knowledge which has built up over the years and I rarely see threads about STi engines having issues except for the 2.5.

If you read through my post you would have seen that I told him to get the engine through a Subaru Specialist API who like to check over their engines before fitting and would happily offer a warranty

For the OP's budget he would be able to get a decent engine and a 6 speed whereas this would not be obtainable with the latter. So whats better a bulletproof engine with a more 'risky' gearbox or a slightly 'risky' engine and a bulletproof gearbox?

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

Brun

Ban me - so what!

I was simply saying that there has been plenty of advice offered and the OP seems to ignore most of it.
One of the most respected builders on the forum basically said that the build could be done for the £3.5k and what was the OP's first response???? He asked if the build could be done for £3.5k!

User 21721

Oh what have you calmed down now? Please read through your own post as you were not "simply saying" anything

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

Brun

Not simply enough for you it seems!
Jog on and get your gob job from the OP - there's a good chap

just me

iTrader: (3)

What is the longevity on forged engines? And will standard new age sti heads (avcs) do for 500+?

smiffywhu

I have a lovely "used" STI engine for you,

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

Im personally yet to meet anybody that has had a newage sti engine drop it's guts.

Shreksta on here has had it happen to him so yes it does happen.

Like anything you get what you pay for, but saying buying a second hand engine is basically a no no I disagree with.

Not everybody has the funds to get an engine built (que the " if you can't maintain it then you shouldn't own it brigade ) mines been running 453 on a standard bottom end for 5 years and it gets driven, when you have roads like we do in wales it's a crime not to I'm just in the process of taking it up a peg with some meth. Is it going to last forever? Doubtful. Am I aware of that? Dam rite but to me it's part of the fun with cars so if it gives up the ghost it won't come as a massive surprise after all it will be running a substantial increase of power on a bottom end that's 11 years old.

Would I put another standard bottom end in at this point? No I wouldn't I would have one built, but I would seriously consider if not just buy another motor second / third / forth hand for the power the op wants, especially when you can get one and have the thick end of 2k still in your back pocket.

It's not for everyone granted, but imho a newage sti long engine would suit his needs, albeit through many people's eyes it will be "hit or miss" but that's life and the gamble you take, if you didn't take risks in life ( to a degree ) where would you end up

edsel

iTrader: (2)

At the end of the day the only time you wont have that doubt in the back of your mind each time you give it some beans, is when you have a freshly built engine by a reputable builder.
If you have the funds then its a no brainer. £3.5k will get you a very nice engine from a proper Subaru specialist. £2k will get you a lick of paint on the engines cases and some new gaskets (if you're lucky)

Subaru's aren't hard to work on, if you you can strip back and build up the engine from long block you can save a lot on labour costs.

Dunno where you are in Essex but you're welcome to have a chat, I was in the same position as you and recently had an engine built within a similar budget.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

edsel

iTrader: (2)

Do you buy a lot of scratch cards?

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Exactly.

HELLO OP, you and a few others seem to be missing my main point so i'll try one last time.

If you can not take out and refit the engine as well as, fit a new water pump, oil pump, modine, head gaskets, rocker cover gaskets and bolt on the heads then it's going to cost you the thick end of £3k for a second hand unknown lump.

I've done it so I actually know what i'm talking about.

Peace out.

blue_scooby187

I am gratefully for most of you opinions especially 555 as he has advised me of many options rebuilds source of a good STI engine or bottom end! Thought this site was ment to be for sc

blue_scooby187

Scooby lovers what with the comments it's a cheap bit of **** wrx scrap it strip it or get a cheap nasty engine and sell it to some other poor unsuspecting person then he/she has the same problem!!! Think that's have the trouble with this world I'm going to call a few people today on prices and I live near chelmsford Essex thanks again 555