BigTDogg's Engine Rebuild Thread

So on August 1st I get a report from Blackstone Labs on the oil sample I had sent in. I had stopped sending samples in after I landed happily on Shell Rotella T6 for my 3 season oil, but this last OCI I had high consumption. Was actually more like 1.5+ quarts. Their analysis was as follows:

This increase in chrome and iron is quite unexpected. Chrome shows ring wear and iron is from steel parts. It doesn't take a lot of chrome to show a ring problem and we certainly can't rule that out here. We usually see a little aluminum from the pistons with ring trouble, but not always. We don't suggest compression test too often with cars, but that might be a good idea here. No fuel or coolant is present. The TBN is fine at 5.8, showing lots of active additive left since 1.0 or less is low. It's a good idea to get this engine looked at.

Edit: Added Blackstone report with history and oil type.

Well FML then… I bring it to Motive Auto Works, the only place I bring my car, for a compression and leakdown test. Cyl #1 90psi compression, awesome… Leakdown of 90% in 3 seconds… Sweet!! I decided to drive it for a bit to wait till I got my CEL. Fast forward 2 weeks… ugh. So I began asking questions, doing research, hunting classifieds. Root cause? Bad gas, borderline tune (I only did an e-tune), age (166,000 miles) any combination of the three, I’m not sure. But I’ll be eliminating 2 of those 3 variables with a newly built engine and a dyno tune.

I sat down with Alberto and discussed options for rebuild and replacement. He was thorough in explaining options and game plan. I honestly can’t say enough great stuff about this guy and his shop. I wish I remember who referred me to Alberto, because I owe them huge. Like cup the balls in a reach-around huge.

I decided that a stock STI shortblock would do the same thing as my bottom end just did, eventually. So I opted to go with Wisecos. But I also wanted to keep it simple, because she’s my daily driver, and reliability is paramount. So enough rambling, here’s the parts list (in no particular order):

Aftermarket Parts

• Motive Auto Works Shortblock with STI crank, King bearings and modified oil flow
  
• Brian Crower Intake valve set
  
• Brian Crower SS exhaust valve set
  
• ARP head studs
  
• Brian Crower valve springs and retainers
  
• Defi White Racer Series 60mm Boost Gauge (PSI)
  
• Wiseco Subaru EJ25 99.5mm Pistons
  
• Killer B Oil Baffle
  
• Killer B Oil Pickup
  
• Perrin Turbo Inlet, Black
  
• Defi White Racer Series 60mm Pressure Gauge (PSI)
  
• ARP Head Stud Kit
  
• GrimmSpeed 05-07 Subaru Legacy GT (without VDC) Master Cylinder Brace
  
• Cometic Subaru EJ25 100mm Bore .030" Head Gasket
  
• Mishimoto Oil Sandwich Plate Adapter with 3 x 1/8" NPT Ports
  
• Tokyo Roki Oil Filters & Crush Washers - 6 pack
  
• TSK3 Replacement Bearing
  
• Southbend DXD Clutch
  
• Group N Pitch Stop
  
• Kart Boy Short Throw shifter
  
• NGK Subaru One Step Colder Iridium Spark Plugs
  
• Perrin headers
  

OEM Parts

• WRX SMFW
  
• Subaru USDM 04-06 STI gasket and seal kit
  
• STI 11mm Oil Pump
  
• OEM oil pan
  
• OEM Oil Cooler
  
• AVCS Solenoids
  
• Clutch Slave Cylinder
  
• Water Pump
  
• Water Pump gasket
  
• Timing Belt
  
• Tensioner
  
• Idler Pulley, Left Upper
  
• Idler Pulley, Left Lower
  
• Idler Pulley, Right
  
• Crankshaft Gear
  
• Thermostat and gasket
  
• Coolant Conditioner
  
• By-pass Pipe
  
• Upper Elbow Hose
  
• Lower Elbow Hose
  
• Upper Elbow Hose Clamp
  
• Lower Elbow Hose Clamp
  
• Motor Mount, Left
  
• Motor Mount, Right
  
• Transmission Mount, MT
  

Add that to my existing mods

1. VF-52
   
2. STI UP
   
3. Cobb DP
   
4. AEM panel filter
   
5. BPTMIC
   
6. AP fuel rails
   
7. DW65c pump
   
8. IP&T oil feed line
   
9. Grimmspeed 3-port EBCS
   
10. TGV deletes
    

And I think I'll have a pretty fun lil DD on my hands Once the Grimmspeed TMIC comes out I'll likely snag that, as finding a LGT specific Process West kit is harder than finding a Prius not driven by a liberal douche.

While she was down for the rebuild I also refinished my Hella horns and got my headlamps retrofitted with a Morimoto TRS kit. I pick her up tomorrow around noon and I’m sure I’ll post more after. Definitely will post pics if Alberto took any. Not sure that he did though since time was of the essence.

First and foremost, I have to thank Alberto and Motive Auto Works. He was able to turn this around in relatively short time and helped me keep my costs to a minimum. I had to rent a car for the duration since the LGT is my DD and my Z32 only has 2 seats and I can't drive it to work. Next I have to thank Jeremy and the crew at Subaru of Wakefield for great prices on OEM parts. They've also revamped their website to make searching and finding PNs easier. Lastly I've gotta thank msprank at Infamous, as he was an excellent source of parts and always had great communication. And having an awesome 10% off sale.I had good experiences with a couple of sellers on Nastycock (Perrin headers) and a local guy who did the retrofit. I'll judge the retrofit after a few washes and rainy days, but so far the work looks awesome.

*Edit*

Added one pic Alberto sent me, looks nice and stock, just the way I like it

After three New England winters, my Hellas started looking pretty rugged...

So I took them apart, wire brushed and sanded them, then finished them off with some brake cleaner to get any oils off. Hit them with some Rustoleum hammered finish silver metallic for the guards, and satin black for the actual horn piece.

Then put them back together with stainless M4x0.7 BHCS and nuts.

After you taunt me with the tagging? No way dude...

Just labor, I did nothing myself, I drop off and pick up, about $3500.

Well, damn. I thought I was gonna get to see you get some grease under your nails. Why didn't you go for it?

In any case, glad to see it worked out OK and you're back up and running with a new motor -- it's always a good feeling.

It's my DD, no time. 2 kids and a job that won't quit (I'm up working now). I do all my own work on my Z32, because I can afford the downtime.

I hear this.

Yes, good to hear it went well.

Jerm, be careful what you wish for...that could happen tonight.

60s yesterday. Snow tonight. Maybe it's time to put the snows on. May have been bmx that turned you on to Motive. That's who clued me in a few years ago. That or sigmafour. Both guys that have gotten their fingernails dirty in his shop. When you pick it up, ask Alberto if he had any flashbacks to working on mine. Although, at this point, you've had his hands a lot deeper in your car than I have in mine, so it's really mine that reminds him of yours rather than the other way 'round.

Where'd you get the hex stainless hardware for the hellas? Just the local hardware store or something a little more specialty? My hellas aren't quite that bad, but they are heading that direction. I can't believe that they give you crap hardware that rusts and stains after one winter. I was shocked when I first saw that happening. And it's progressing quickly. Nice to see them clean up so nicely though. Will have to do that soon.

Any Ace hardware or True Value will have them Dujo. Home Depot does not.

Car feels great, more details later. Dealing with a sick kid now, so time is short.

Guy in Medfaaad named Danny Nguyen. So far so good. I needed to adjust my driver side beam, as it was high and I was getting flashed a lot. The cut off still isn't razor sharp on the left side, but I'm working with him to figure it out. It's a Morimoto Quick Retrofit kit, and it looks good when I am driving, but I'm kind of anal retentive about things.

Below is before adjustment, from about 10' away (driveway isn't 25' long, need to find a new location to do an accurate alignment)

And a quick shot of the exterior, after polishing, before grill reinstall (new clips and hardware.

Did my 500 mile oil change today. Collected a sample to send out to Blackstone. So far so good. Another 1000 then I can tune. I should have 350 or so by next Sunday. Then it'll slow down for a bit. Likely tune in early February.

Installed new grill clips and replaced the hardware with some stainless flat heads and finishing washers. Have a ton of these leftover from my Z32 engine, so why not use em?

Just got some OEM mudflaps I cleaned up today and will be installing after my next car wash. May look for some JDM spats too.

Still have to install the boost and oil pressure gauges, but I need another day off with decent weather to do so.

Break-in is so painful, but I've pretty much mastered the double-clutch 5-4 downshift. New flywheel and a short throw change things up a bit, so had to relearn a bit.

So little update on the status. Umm, forgot to snag a pic of this, LOL, guess this ain't right...

From my old engine. Yeah, that'll cause a bit of an issue.

Just passed the 1000 mile mark on the break in. The cold weather had me a bit concerned as she'll burn a bit of oil upon start up. So naturally I panicked, given how much money I had just dropped into this build. So I brought it to Alberto for a quick check up.

He took her for a spin and reassured me everything I was hearing was just normal, forged engine, cold weather start up noise. He also said my basic eTune from Tuning Alliance was solid enough to have some fun. So I got on it a bit, nothing more than 12psi so far. God it sounds awesome, pulls hard, and I can't wait to get a real dyno tune. I hopped on the Grimmspeed TMIC GB today as well, then she's done.

Couldn't resist, had to do a pull today Maxed out at 13psi, still on the old tune. Can't wait to really tune.

So today I threw a P0031 Front O2 Sensor Low Input.

The sensor is OEM and only 30K miles old. Any thoughts on what would cause this? Excessive blow-by? Bad seating/sealing to the header? Any thoughts are appreciated.

But the original one lasted 144k, so unless they moved MFG to China or something, I'd be surprised if it's the sensor.

I'm not saying it's not possible, and I'm going to replace it anyway, but I'd be surprised.