engine re builder Herts

engine re builder Herts

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vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Friday 9th September 2016
quotequote all
I normally do the jdm service schedule , I don't track it but give it an occasional boot , I think 5 k is too often , the jdm one is what Subaru recommend , I know oils are better but at 10 k that oil will look very dirty , the current oil in mine is a good quality , I tend to use a thicker oil 300 v motul 15/50 due to the heat generated in the car plus two of the three Subaru engines are forged , oil loss with a thicker oil is less , I think the 5/? that Subaru say is too thin and not very protective of the engine and more intended for better fuel economy , the most important bit for me is at this time I'm not looking at a re build

TEKNOPUG

18,971 posts

206 months

Friday 9th September 2016
quotequote all
macky17 said:
TEKNOPUG said:
macky17 said:
On a slightly different note, Paul.at extreme scoobies in essex told me that an oil change every 12 months is plenty on these engines, provided you're using good oil and checking levels (and not driving massive miles of course). Most other people have said 6 months. He's got a good reputation...
It should be on mileage, not time, surely? 12 months for my car would be 30k! I aim to change mine every 6k. If you do it yourself, it's less than £50.
He said up to 12-14k on an oil change was ok - i.e. broadly average annual miles.
So you change your oil every 10 weeks?!
Depending upon what journeys I'm doing, yes, it can be 10 weeks. If I'm working up in Newcastle then it's a 600mile round trip, plus other use and mileage at weekends. Going by time is meaningless. Time doesn't degrade the oil, use does. I probably could leave to 10k but on a high mileage, performance engine, especially a turbo-charged one that has a wide range of temperature, revs and torque placed on it, why would you not change the oil more frequently? As I say, its only £40-50 a go and takes me 30mins to do. If you had to take it to a garage and pay someone to do it each time, I can see why you would be more reticent.

On the missus Golf 1.4, it gets serviced every August, as that is when the MoT is due. I never bother looking at the mileage as she barely does 6k a year and just pootles about in it. So I would change the oil every 12months to be fair but I wouldn't run a hard driven performance engine the same way.

TEKNOPUG

18,971 posts

206 months

Friday 9th September 2016
quotequote all
vxr2010 said:
I normally do the jdm service schedule , I don't track it but give it an occasional boot , I think 5 k is too often , the jdm one is what Subaru recommend , I know oils are better but at 10 k that oil will look very dirty , the current oil in mine is a good quality , I tend to use a thicker oil 300 v motul 15/50 due to the heat generated in the car plus two of the three Subaru engines are forged , oil loss with a thicker oil is less , I think the 5/? that Subaru say is too thin and not very protective of the engine and more intended for better fuel economy , the most important bit for me is at this time I'm not looking at a re build
I think that as you say 5w is what Subaru prescribe but that's probably for economy and also brand new engines. Opie Oils always suggest it as well, which makes me think that they are just going by the manufacturers quote. Pretty much all the respected engine builders will recommend 10w40 (or 50 for track use) for longevity. 5w being too thin and not offering enough protection.

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Saturday 10th September 2016
quotequote all
I agree 5/? is too thin , with forged engines I use the 15/50 only on advice from the re builder , neither car seems to use much if any oil

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Sunday 25th September 2016
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unfortunately following this on , hg seem to have gone , dropped off at Subaru4u today , and looking at a complete re build as a false economy just doing hg , especially on a 2.5 lump with 75 k miles on it

v8250

2,724 posts

212 months

Sunday 25th September 2016
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vxr2010 said:
dropped off at Subaru4u today
You're in safe hands with the guys there

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Monday 26th September 2016
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I don't look forward to the rebuild cost lol , they did my other fsti and that's still running well , I hate being with out my car especially for probably over a month

macky17

2,212 posts

190 months

Sunday 2nd October 2016
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Sorry to hear, especially as mine is on 72k... Keep us posted on how it progresses.

macky17

2,212 posts

190 months

Sunday 2nd October 2016
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I think you've been very unlucky, especially to have two engines fail. Why?

I just looked through all the adverts for 2.5 foresters for sale in the UK - well over 40 FSTi / XT cars on different websites. Some are lower mileage than 70 but many are 80/90/100+ Right up to a few in the 140s. How many ads mention ever having had engine work? None. Zero. If I'd spent all that money repairing an engine, I'd be certain to mention it in the advert. Ok, perhaps one or two have had a head gasket fail and not had the full bottom end rebuild so the seller has destroyed the evidence but it seems to me that most of these engines don't fail. I've decided mine is one of those wink

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Sunday 2nd October 2016
quotequote all
the other fsti went around 87 k hg done , by about 95 k miles the bottom end knocking , full engine rebuild , it's done around 75k miles since , the newer foz on 75 k miles , the hg is beginning to go as coolant is not returning to engine after it's cooled down and engine left with air in it , i don't want above case of a hg job then a rebuild a year later , on earlier fsti the bottom
end was fine when hg done the first time , len at subaru4u said if hg done bottom end tends to go within a year to a year and a half , a rebuild gives better peace of mind , always sort out oil pick up pipe and head studs not bolts , my fsti was just a sports exhaust cat not changed and a remap , litchfield had a lot of problems with the ones they are selling with the remap , ring land failure is rare in the engine i'm not saying it does not happen but i've not come across it , a fellow fsti owner same issues as mine at the same sort of age

macky17

2,212 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th October 2016
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No news on your rebuild?

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Thursday 27th October 2016
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hi still no news , i don't think it's been started yet there was a bit of a back log , i would rather wait as i'm sure they will do a good job , it has been agreed hg are the issue , possibly done end of november to early december based on earlier time scale

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Thursday 27th October 2016
quotequote all
i will post when it's done , and yes i must be unlucky both fsti engines going , they were around similar mileage , 75 to 83 k miles

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Wednesday 9th November 2016
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well a small update , it's currently being stripped down , the block rebore is about a month in turn around , mahle pistons arp head bolts cosi gaskets oil pick up pipe weld or replace race crank bearings at least once it's done it's done just not cheap

yellowstreak

616 posts

153 months

Thursday 10th November 2016
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Sounds like you will end up with peace of mind.

Are you tempted to go the whole hog and take the car further than the circa 350bhp limit that is often quoted on the standard internals?

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Thursday 10th November 2016
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hi , not looking for big power , tuning wise with a cat back system and remap , its still destroys by sti bugeye off the lights , the spool up is quicker , the mpg is better , a friend with the same car ruined his in his own admission he did turbo injectors etc , mpg was terrible it would be interesting to know if it's quicker and if it was how much , i'm expecting around 330 bhp same as the other one i have , it maybe slightly more power due to big bore exhaust which i will be doing a centre section silencer delete , the only way i can do that is cut silencer out and reweld a section of pipe as the exhaust is not standard

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Friday 11th November 2016
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well he has a block already rebored so that means things moving a bit quicker he's getting heads skimmed check the valve clearance then rebuild time , i'm just hoping a remap is not required , and then it's drive like an old fart for a while to bed it all in

GreyGray

52 posts

118 months

Sunday 13th November 2016
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Is there any sense to getting this work done prophylactically given its a known entity. Shirley it would cost a lot less if there is no pre-existing damage?

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Sunday 13th November 2016
quotequote all
hi sorry i don't get your last message , there is no pre existing damage , hg has gone , the rest of the engine is fine no ill effects from hg going

vxr2010

Original Poster:

2,565 posts

160 months

Wednesday 30th November 2016
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a bit more update , con rod bolts were on back order with subaru along with con rods , seems strange as engine is still being produced being a 2.5 lump , downside now i thought it had already been fully stripped on taking it apart there was wear on number 4 journal so he will see if it can be polished or a new crank , i'm not sure how much cranks are from memory around 300£ or so ? this is a bit fustrating waiting for my car back but at least it will be done properly