i just bought (well about to) buy a WRX 1994 scooby import. The seller said the camshaft siezed on him. He was letting the car idle before going to work. Came out and it had cut out. Tried to start it.. no joy.

What could the possible damage be bearing in mind i have no clue about these boxer type engines... Thanks in advance.

Craig

 

walk away.. engine rebuild

 

As above unless it is now dirt cheap then its not worth the bother, the only way to tell the damage would be to pull and strip the engine.

 

car is £1700 quite a good sppec

Its a jap import wrx. with 76000 on the clock
Gleaming black paint with red pearl through it
toad alarm and imobiliser
tracker
coil overs, can adjust height, stiffness n camber
sti strut brace
tommy keira boost gauge
carbon affect dials
induction kit
sti rear spoiler
Black lexus lights with l.e.ds at side of them
front splitter
light weight titanium gold 17" wheels
rally mirrors not sure what make
bailey dump valve
De-cat Jap racing exhaust
tinted rear windows
sun strip
front tweeters
Good cd player with remote control and ball control for arm rest. think its sony
that is every thing i can think of

 

The fact you have to ask the question means this is a walk away job! Unless you are 100% mechanically able, know exactly what is wrong and exactly how much it'll cost to put right then buying this car would be mad IMHO.

 

Personally I dont think thats cheap. My brother has just picked up a mint sti1 wath 60 km on the clock for £3500, with bodykit, 4 good potenza's and a nur spec exhaust. Unless you really want to take the engine apart I'd stay well clear, and if its a minor problem why did the owner not fix it himself and add £1500 to the cars value?

 

walk away mate if camshaft has seized then there could be other problems with it so would probably be better to source replacement rather than do rebuild that is providing the seller is telling the truth about how it happened?
so £1700 for the motor and then however much it costs to put right will it work out cheaper to buy a running scooby?

 

you can pick up replacment WRX engines for £750 on ebay with a 3 mont warranty.

Ive yet to inspect the engine and all work would be done by myself. Its an engine ive never worked on before and know little about so hence my questions.

I dont think its a rebuild job but could work out cheaper for a replacment engine. £id say £1000 will cover the engine and the bits ie belts, pullys, oil etc

Would it be worth it then... on looking at the classified's it seems so...

 

if you can get an engine and do the work yourself for £1000 and providing there is nothing else major wrong with the car i would probably buy it for £1700 but i would try and take the **** first by offering him less and see what he says

 

yeah.. he wanted 2k originally but i got him to £1700

I dont think im keen on rebuilding it.. could be a possibly nightmate. But a replacement WRX engien could be the key and just exchange the bit from the old engine to the new. IE Turbo etc.

 

If you are going to do the work yourself it is a bargin.

The car does look in very good condition and as you say the engines can be picked up cheap on ebay.

I would say £1k is top end of the budget, if you waited for a bargin you would be able to do it for around £500.

I wouldn't worry about never working on subaru engines before they are fairly simple (for anyone who is mechanically competant) to just swap in and out as long as you have done engine changes before. Plus you will learn more about your engine.

I would check all the usual area's for sign of crash damage though.

Craig

 

well im wary about buying an engine without a warranty.... if i looking about im sure id find one cheap cheap...

 

Just make sure you get the phase 1 engine where the air intake pipe does NOT go under the inlet manifold

i.e

Phase 1 Engine

As apposed to

Phase 1.5 Engine

You will notice there are also diferences in the inlet manifolds

Craig

 

nice one mate. Cheers... I take it its after 1997 is when they changed.

Ive had a good look and the prices on engine really differ. FRom £500 to 1500 plus exchange....

 

If the camshaft has siezed it has probably been starved of oil, this can happen if the oilways up to the head get blocked, usually with the over zealous use of selant when building the engine this then blocks up the oil filters in the head and starves the cams of oil. If that has happened then i would be expecting other bearing damage in the engine.
Get a new engine for it i say.

Dan.

 

Yeah they changed at 1996/97 you need 96 and older

Thats the difference between a realistic seller and a seller who has forgot how many of these cars are on the UK roads these days.

Pay £500-£1000.

Try

HDC SUBARU
Grade A

These should give you fairly good prices

eBay will be cheapest if you wait for one in an auction.

Craig

 

I honestly thought this myself. i know they are bad for going on the turbo side but this is on the far side bank. I just hope the turbo is ok if it has been staved of oil. I know the guy and he said there was a squeel for a second then it cut out. Hr tried to restart it with zero compression. sounds like the belt slipping then bending valves. would take a hell of a long time on tick over to sieze the engine thou.... I think he's talking rubbish.

 

ah i recognise this lol.....good luck wi it, looked a bit much work for me, but good on you if you got the price down,,,,,,looks a nice car tho, will need to have a swatch next time im about.

try glenburgie for the engine, folk say liam is ok to deal with plus its local too

 

HI AYE sandy boy... well my secret is out i see. LOL

keep it hush... I know liam well but my god he is pricey... i know you get what you pay for and he is pretty good with the scoobs but im gonna bide my time i think mate... Well if all goes to plan this is what we will be going down to donny in... If you still up for it..

 

well i stripped the engine and the heads SEEM fine by looking at the, Cams certainly werent siezed... Only hint of issues were the scoring of a cam carrier left hand head, top cam. Even then it was slight and not enough to cause the engine not to start... Valves seem ok and not bent but a compression test on monday will reveal any problems.. just had 16 new valves, new caps and springs as the head is gleaming inside. New gaskets from what i can see.

bottom end turns smooth when done by hand... so im not sure where the issue lies to be honest...

 

split to bottom end. Zero hint of an troubles. Oil pump had some scoring on it... It turned smooth but kept sticking at a certain point so getting a new one. bearing are all score free....

Only problem was a goosed turbo that i can think off... needs the usual servicable items, water pump, plugs etc etc.

 

u from forres?

 

i was mate. not anymore. from nairn now.