Evening all. So I'm thinking of a return to subaru ownership. My first impreza was a Type R classic which suffered from the usual bottom end failure. After having it rebuilt I could never find myself trusting it and always had the worry in the back of my mind that it would go again....so I soon sold at a substantial loss.

So I find myself thinking about subarus again, in particular blob STIs. Now I know the engines are regarded as tougher....but how much so? How common is bottom end failure on the newages.....is it still a consideration say on a 60k miler with FSH? I want to be able to daily drive and get on track a couple of times a year without paranoia! Cheers

 

Newage

JDM 2.0 STI are the strongest
UK 2.5 STI are the weakest

So go for the 2.0

 

Why is bottom end failure so common on a flat four?

 

Bearings are very narrow and the design means they can suffer from oil starvation.

 

Surely only in conjunction with chocolate oil / low level oil?

 

I know the 2.5 is a no go, I've already written that off. I presume the bottom end bearings are the same across new age/classic, so what makes it a tougher engine?

 

newer STi has better quality components for one, 2.5's can be very reliable with certain proviso's

 

Is it safe to say that a properly serviced 2.0 newage should not suffer premature failure then? Or do they all have potential to go **** up? There seem to be a lot for sale with 70-80k plus with no mention of rebuilds. Cheers

 

As with all cars it depends how well it's been looked after, regular oil changes with good quality oil and high octane fuel are an absolute must, plenty of these cars get well over 100k. My WRX Wagon PPP is on 103k and still fine, it's a little rough around the edges paint work wise but I knew that when I bought it and it was reflected in the price, it's almost 9yrs old gets used daily and not been painted so to be expected, but mechanically it's sound and still on original clutch and the suspension isn't knocking. So not all the stories are true and you generally only hear about the problems from the vocal minority as the vast majority are reliable until they fall into the wrong hands and are either poorly treated or badly modded.

 

Didn't I rebuild it Joe? It would of done another 200,000 no problem ;-)
I have found that the general milage for big end failure is around 80,000. Some alot less and some will do well over 100,000. As has been said above new age STI's are about the best stock engine, thats doesn't mean they will do a high milage though, they will take more power as std.

 

I have a 2007 impreza WRX completely standard apart from a Scooby clinic Cat back zorst.... It's had a service every 5k miles... Since new, Not drive hard as some say, it's a daily drive and has been since I bought it from new.... 62k on the clock now... When should a rebuild be considered?

 

Last week, lol, joking apart it's very hard to predict if and when they will fail. The WRX's if driven with respect will last longer bearing wise as there is less 'demand' on them. The pistons are the same as the STI's so they can crack at anypoint, why, when and what milage does appear to be totally random though.
If you plan to keep the car and do further mods or just want peace of mind, a strip and refresh with new bearings, oil pump and a set of pistons is cheaper to do before it fails though.

 

What kind off money are we talking about for the above, just for peace off mind, I do plan to keep the car 3-4 yrs... Or longer

 

You sure did, it was (and still is) running sweet, I just couldn't get the paranoia out of my head. I took it on track after you built it, didn't miss a beat or use a drop of oil....but I just couldn't relax and enjoy the day. My introduction to subaru ownership scarred me for life!

 

Anyone advise on this?

 

My 2.0 Blob STi is at 80,000 miles, 330bhp, serviced annually throughout it's life, no problems to date. We drive a mixture of short trips to the shops and long motorway hauls.

 

Basic job is about £2700 drive in/out. The last few ive done came in at £3500 as they had new water pump, cam belt kit, run in and dyno, thats fully inclusive price.