Who is in my boat?

I read so many posts about turbo's blowing and ringland failures that I wonder how much longer I have on my motor. It's 100% stock with 103K miles. I do maintain it and I removed the banjo bolt filter @80K miles.

 

My wife and I are battling over the cost of a new (used) car or a new motor for mine. I LOVE my GT but it has cost me a lot of $$ in repairs in the past 2 years which my wife is tired of.

 

I started to get some quotes from a local tuner:

 

1. Rebuild motor with JE pistons & King bearings, valve job. $5670 (+ turbo.)

2. Stock EJ257 short block, valve job. $5400 (+ turbo)

3. New turbo, DP, UP, AP, CBE, tune. (103K motor) $3900

 

I could just throw another VF40 or VF46 on there and call ita day too. But what fun is that??

Your right. The thought process is my car is FINALLY running perfect so should I get rid of it quick before the next issue.

 

I would like to replace the turbo as a precaution however if I do, will I just end up with a ringland failure and have to tear down the motor anyway.

 

The problem is I read all these failure posts!! I need to stay off the forum.

Unless you love the car or it's truly a cash limitation IE other priorities, putting $5k in a 9 year old car is foolish.

 

You're better off getting yourself into a place where you can buy a car that's more reliable, newer etc.

 

If like me other priorities take over, $5k is less expensive then buying a newer car that is dropping in value faster.

 

That said, it would suck to need a new motor just before you want to sell it.

Maybe it's because I make more money than I used to.. or I'm getting tired of working on cars.... but I would drive it until it absolutely breaks and then decide if you have money and are willing to buy new vs used. I mean.. I saw a GT wagon for sale with a lot of miles at 180K or something and it was priced accordingly.. if my car broke today I would literally fly out and drive the car home.. hehe.

 

Although I also have a spare car, I might entertain a monster build. Either way... don't even lose sleep about it until you need to.

 

What the question that you are arguing with your wife is:

1) Keep the car and deal with the little maintenance..

2) Try to sell it now/trade it... but trust me here, you're not going to get the money you want anyways. (at best 7-10K) So that puts you in the boat of a downpayment or just buying an unknown used car..

OP, I go through this ever so often. I have recently put about 5k in to my car, but every now and again I am tempted to sell/ trade and get a 5th GEN. 2010. What do you guys think about the 5th gen? Granted, my car is 9 yrs old but there's nothing out there ( That I can afford right now) that I like. And I absolutely don't want to buy brand new. So OP ask yourself, is the intrinsic value worth more than the value of replacing it.

As one of the few, the proud, er, whatever, I've got more into my wagon than I spent new. If you like and can't find anything else that would make you happier, then the money is worth it. Given my current spend, I'll keep mine until it dies. Which, at its present failure rate, is about another 10k miles. Which is about equivalent to what I would have spent leasing an Audi TT-RS for 2 years, both in miles & dollars.

 

Don't go looking for problems, trouble will find you soon enough. That said, keeping up on the maintenance will pay dividends.

 

Mod'ing your car will not. People forget that 100hp/liter was considered supercar territory not long before these cars were first released. Modifying them for even more is stressing the components even more. You want to make changes be sure you think & study all the ramifications first.

As one of the few, the proud, er, whatever, I've got more into my wagon than I spent new. If you like and can't find anything else that would make you happier, then the money is worth it. Given my current spend, I'll keep mine until it dies. Which, at its present failure rate, is about another 10k miles. Which is about equivalent to what I would have spent leasing an Audi TT-RS for 2 years, both in miles & dollars.

 

Don't go looking for problems, trouble will find you soon enough. That said, keeping up on the maintenance will pay dividends.

 

Mod'ing your car will not. People forget that 100hp/liter was considered supercar territory not long before these cars were first released. Modifying them for even more is stressing the components even more. You want to make changes be sure you think & study all the ramifications first.

 

I think specifically it's the turbo/tune. I've got an n/a car putting out 120hp/liter older, driven harder and no failures. Just regular service.

 

My biggest concern personally is turbo failure leading to motor failure. N/a motors just seem to run, maybe because even an 8 or 9 k red line doesn't compare to what that little turbo spins up too.

OP, I go through this ever so often. I have recently put about 5k in to my car, but every now and again I am tempted to sell/ trade and get a 5th GEN. 2010. What do you guys think about the 5th gen? Granted, my car is 9 yrs old but there's nothing out there ( That I can afford right now) that I like. And I absolutely don't want to buy brand new. So OP ask yourself, is the intrinsic value worth more than the value of replacing it.

 

I'll be replacing mine in a few years with a tl sh- awd. Mind you I have a back up car should this fail prior.

 

Awd and power. One thing. Add reliable and you're spending.

Why don't you get a oil analysis and do a compression test. That way you can see where your motor is and go from there

These are all really good posts guys. Thank you. The bottom line is this car caught my eye in 2005 and I had to have it. 8 yrs. later there is nothing out there that interests me. (In my $$ range) I just want to keep it and make it last. Money is tight and my max car payment would only be $200/month.

 

My local shop feels that the OEM pistons are the weak point in my motor and the factory tune is responsible for a lot of the failures. He is either correct or a good salesperson. He also feels that the VF40 is a ticking time-bomb considering their track history. (Neglect has a lot to do with it)

 

1. I can drive it, maintain it, and pray.

2. I can replace the turbo with an OEM, and hope the bottom end lives on.

3. I can upgrade to a VF52, or 16G, get a healthy tune, and hope the bottom end lives on.

4. Listen to the wife, sell it for $9k, and buy an SUV.

 

It's really hard when you have a 6 yr. old little boy that is begging daddy not to sell his "racecar."

^dude...are you me in an alternate universe? Amazing the similarities. Six yr old son, MAX payment wanted $200. Afraid of car going boom, coinage a bit tight. Wow. Seeing that I can truly empathize, I'd say, if you have the money..do the VF 52 swap. And tune to stage 1. Then baby it from there. I feel yuh bro.

 

Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow, I fear no man because Faith is my arrow.

I think the best option is 2

Wow that's funny! ^^ Ya I had a lot more $$ back in 2005 when I bought it. (Dual income- no kids)

 

I used to buy cars with 45K miles and drive them close to 200K miles. I figured if I bought my first new car in 2005 I would have it forever. I had no idea it would start to fall apart just shy of 80K miles. I still love that car though. It just doesn't love me back!

I just bought an 05 with 130k. After reading this forum for a few.days and driving my car less than 100 miles I pulled my down pipe and checked shaft play. There was some so I pulled it and shipped it to six star for a rebuild. I also pulled my filter and put in an sti up pipe. Six star did awesome work BTW, very happy with the turbo upon arrival. 500 for rebuild if you can do your own work.

Not there exactly since I just picked up my 07 with 82k on it. But these concerns are why I purchased it with an extended warranty that takes me to 130k.