DIGGY

you could try these breakers on this thread

pn

WRX 1997 version 3.
Was smitten with it until the big end went over a month ago. Cost to rebuild circa £5k!
Please could anyone advise a practical/cheaper way to resolve the situation.
Does anyone know where I might get a solid second hand wrx engine?

A particularly non-technical guy would really appreciate some help on this one!

pat

Diggy,

nice idea, shame it's such a pig to fit. The Phase II has different idle speed control. The rest isn't that bad to transplant. Sadly, since the bolt pattern on the Phase II heads is different to the Phaser I EG20K in pn's car, you can't even swap that over (you can between the old EJ20G and EJ20K). Best to look at an alternative, IMHO.

pn,

You have a problem with your short engine, so any compatible short engine would get you out of trouble. That means that you can go for any 8.0:1 compression (watch out for wagon engines, some are 8.5:1) EJ20G or EJ20K engine, basically anything from 1994 to 1998, maybe as far back as 1992. If you get something really old, then odds are you'll get a closed deck block, which is, without a doubt, the strongest block Subaru has ever made, event the STi VII isn't as strong! Shame about the innards... all the cranks and rods are the same anyway, but you won't get forged pistons. You will get piston oil spray, so at least the cast ones will get cooled down

You can transfer the ancillaries across, been there, done that. This may involve moving the intake manifold across, but that's not too bad. You should be able to get a decent MY97 UK lump for about a grand... OK, it won't be as strong , but there does not appear to be a difference between MY97 WRX and MY97 UK engines... and MY97 WRX engines were rated to 280BHP.... go figure. I'm running an MY97 UK lump and seeing the figures on the interesting side of 300BHP from it at only 1.1 bar boost! It's my daily runner, I'm clocking 1k miles a week in it!

As for places to get second hand stuff, you could try Grade A or Central.... they'll usually have UK stuff in stock, import stuff a bit rarer but you might strike gold.... I recently bought a Type R transmission for a thoroughly respectable amount of cash Not that I had a choice... ripped another gearbox to bits!

Hope this helps,

Pat.

pn

Thanks guys for your most useful help , I believe to have sourced a wrx engine in exchange for my old one at £1,150 incl vat and 3 month warranty, is that reasonable?

Also, what could I do to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again and that I can continue to use my car without the fear that it won't happen again. (mine is a wagon version 3 1997 240bhp)

Is there a way of telling which lump the engine is based on and whether it will definitley fit?

pn