Hi I'm new to scoobynet and was hoping my 1st post would be something like aftermarket wheel options, but unfortunately I'm posting about engine rebuilds or replacement.

Ive owned MY07 Hawkeye 2.5 WRX only about 3 weeks, im no expert but before buying the car I checked exhaust for smoke, under the oil filler cap, the oil itself, the heater, the coolant and the engine temp, everything was fine. During the 60 mile drive home the heating went cold.

The following day I popped the bonnet to have another look and there was a whiteish powdery residue over the engine that had originated from the rad cap area and coolant expansion tank area.

I noticed the coolant level had dropped to the minimum and there was a cooper substance lining the bottom half of the expansion tank. I realised at this point that it had had some sort of headcasket sealant ran through the coolant system.

I've started the car and let it get to temp with the cap of the header tank and it got foamy like bubble bath Inside the header tank. The car don't over heat and I think the bubbles in the coolant system are causing the heating to get air locked?

I will get it sniff tested but I think a the head gasket is gone causing the coolant system to become pressurised. If that's the case im looking at getting the engine rebuilt and forged.

So to my question can anyone recommend somewhere to do the rebuild? And roughly at what cost? I'm located near chester.

For the build I'll be looking at
Forged pistons
Acl race bearings
Arp headstuds
Updated head gaskets.

I won't want more than 400bhp in the future so is closed decking and forged rods abit ott?
Is there any other engine work I should consider?
I can get a used forged engine from eBay for about 2 grand with proof of the forging, is this an option or am I better getting my engine rebuilt?

Sorry it's a long post, any advice is much appreciated thanks.

 

The car clearly had an issue before you bought it, was it a private sale ?

 

Yes private sale unfortunately, and yes it had a problem that unfortunately for me went un-noticed. The top half of the expansion tank was clean upon 1st inspection the guy probably cleaned the top half out or something. It wasn't till the following day when the coolant had dropped that I could see the bottom half of the expansion tank, im gutted tbh but it is what it is...

 

don't bother with 2nd hand engines ...bite the bullit and get it forged and you might want to upgrade the heads studs to 11mm or 14mm while the heads are off

 

I had my JDM Legacy engine rebuilt on a good used STi8 54k mile short engine re-using the dual AVCS heads - It has been going great for nearly 7 years now...

I am more than happy and very pleased with the job done and attention to detail by the lads at ScoobySpares - and the mapping by Andrew Carr

 

hi mate, as your looking for someone local, take it to adgespeed. He will tell you what you need and won’t have your pants down over it.

 

cheers mate just had a look at their page. Thankyou

 

I would recommend Scooby Clinic,they have some of the best engine builders in the uk plus everything can be done in house engine building,mapping,rolling road etc....SJ.

 

yer I seen the video of that it was bad

 

hi mate, I use scoobyclinic also and have never had a problem. My car is not too far from you and your more than welcome to have a look at the work they have done to it, as you asked for a local specialist I’d recommend adgespeed. Cheers

 

@Vxr2010 , Today 10:38 AM
I would get it all checked out first , sniff test plus fill it yourself and see if you get issues , it sounds like hg but confirm it first, no point spending loads of money if you don’t need too , other option is contact seller ? , the pressurised caps can fail and cause issues so worth repacking them first , the symptoms i always had ... 3 rebuilds later 😕 was the non pressured expansion tank on the rad would not drain back to the system plus excessive bubbles in the same tank , other good builders if it’s bad news are subaru4u and richard at Fb tuning

 

Thankyou for the advice, much appreciated

 

Bought my wagon from Adgespeed, nice guys. Had a lovely ex-WRC car there when I went.

FB Tuning probably a bit far from Merseyside, but a +1 for Rich from me. Did a great map on mine and some other bits and pieces, super knowledgeable.

RM Performance is another place to have a look at, pretty much everyone in my local clubs uses them or FB Tuning and nobody has a bad thing to say about them. I'm looking at using them for a new engine soon if needed, lost all compression in cylinder 3 a couple of weeks ago so either looking at a rebuild or just have them build me an entire new engine. Again though, probably a bit of a trek from where you are.

 

I may be in the same boat, bought a scooby yesterday, no issues during the half hour test drive or the 2 hours it was running while the battery charged or the 200 mile drive home, no issues at all with the engine, set off this morning and about 10mins later I've got a tap/knock, not determined what it is yet but I'm preparing for the worst. I did buy it knowing it had a slight engine issue and was using a bit more oil than it should but this is new. Pain in the **** tbh, luckily I do have a spare block worst case, guess I may be learning how to swap an engine sometime soon haha

​​​Do you mean ScoobySpares in Fleetwood? If so it's gone :/

 

No way mate, I swapped my LCI e60 530d for the scooby, no signs of a problem till half way home. I considered buying a used forged long block and a hoist and do the swap myself but I don't think i have the experience and none of my mates are into cars to help out.
from the advice off the lads on here I think getting a used engine forged or not is a risk that could cost you more in the end.
I'm leaning towards the rebuild option as that way you know it's sound.
I will have to save for a while anyway so I've got plenty of time to find the best builder taking reputation, location and price into account.
In the mean time if anyone here is doing a swap them selfs and are local to me I'll happily come and lend a hand even if its passing tools and making brews. I could see 1st hand what's involved in the swap then and learn a thing or two.

 

Sorry to hear about the issues!
I'm around Chester way too. If you need a good garage consider Fflat four performance, just outside of Wrexham. Rich is a great guy, always been really helpful and work is spot on.
And for engine builds i've heard good things about Andy Williams, who is fairly local too.