3rd motor rebuild on 08' LGT

Bought a car off a forum member here last week for cheap, too good to be true apparently. I don't blame him, I should've done my homework. It had a minor oil leak, and i checked it last night and the oil level was fine. Live and learn. Not sure if the pickup failed or where the problem is, but drove it about 20 miles before I spun a bearing sitting in traffic last night. Tearing the motor down right now

 

Car as it sits currently:

 

Engine

ATP GTX3076r stock location

Cobb Accessport V2

P&L Motorsports 44mm EWG Uppipe and Dumptube

Tial 44mm EWG

Deatschwerks 1000cc Injectors

IAG Fuel Rails and Lines

IAG AOS

Perrin Coolant Overflow Tank

Gates Racing Timing Belt Kit

Killer B Oil Pickup

STI Intake Manifold

NGK One Step Colder Plugs

Tial Q 50mm BOV

TGV Deletes

Aeromotive FPR

Grimmspeed ECBS

Hallman Manual Boost Controller

Perrin 3" Inlet

Short Ram Intake

DW 65c fuel pump

AMR FMIC Custom Piping

JE Pistons

Manley Rods

ARP Head Studs

Kings Bearing

STI OEM Crankshaft

B25 Heads

Stock Valvetrain

 

Exhaust

Invidia Catless DP

Magnaflow Exhaust

 

Drivetrain

Duracon Shift Knob

DCCD Pro Center Differential Controller

2005 STI Transmission

2005 STI R180 Differential

2008 STI SPT Shifter and Linkage

Competition Stage 3 Clutch

OEM STI Flywheel

 

Thinking of going with an IAG stage 2 block and reusing a lot of the components from the old engine to save on build costs. The old motor ran for about 9K miles with the previous owner before it spun a bearing, so not sure exactly what the problem was, but I certainly want more than 9K miles out of this new one. Can anyone shed some insight on exactly what else I should be replacing along with the short block?

 

Im going to reuse all the parts off the old motor, and I thought about doing headwork as well, but not sure if its worth it. Ill be happy with 400-450whp and I think with meth thats certainly within reason on a stage 2 IAG block. Can I reuse the killer b oil pickup? Im starting to think the pickup was the reason for failure.

 

Parts list:

IAG Stage 2 shortblock (worth it for the stage 2 tuff?)

Timing Belt/Water Pump

New gaskets and seals

New plugs

ARP studs

Head work (?)

 

What else am i missing?

 

Parts to reuse:

 

ATP GTX3076r stock location

Cobb Accessport V2

P&L Motorsports 44mm EWG Uppipe and Dumptube

Tial 44mm EWG

Deatschwerks 1000cc Injectors

IAG Fuel Rails and Lines

IAG AOS

Perrin Coolant Overflow Tank

Killer B Oil Pickup

STI Intake Manifold

Tial Q 50mm BOV

TGV Deletes

Aeromotive FPR

Grimmspeed ECBS

Hallman Manual Boost Controller

Perrin 3" Inlet

Short Ram Intake

DW 65c fuel pump

AMR FMIC Custom Piping

B25 Heads

Stock Valvetrain

 

Thanks for everyones help in advance!

Buy a new oil pump and cooler, have a machine shop rebuild the heads. Have the machine shop clean any parts your reusing.

 

There was metal left in the engine somewhere. YOU need to MAKE SURE the inside are CLEAN...get the hint.

 

Have the turbo rebuilt, it will come back clean.

thanks for the info. was hoping to get away with reusing the turbo, but i guess a rebuild is a good thing to do anyway while its out. new oil pump and cooler def, should i buy a new killer b pickup and pan also, or clean and reuse the old ones?

 

basically anything the oil touches i need to replace Im assuming. But im wondering if a good cleaning will do the trick or if the metal shavings will never be completely cleaned out.

 

Based on your experience, what should i buy new and what can i get away with cleaning and reusing?

 

Thanks

Good guy to buy from right there. See what else he has.

KillerB oil pickup is rather expensive, look at the Moroso one at around 1/2 the price.

I already have the pickup on the old motor - wondering if i can/should reuse it or buy a new one? still in the process of tearing down the motor, but i storngly suspect a spun bearing.

If you reuse it, MAKE SURE THERE IS NO METAL IN IT.

 

I can't stress that enough.

 

Seen to many people rebuilt an engine to have it blow again a short while later.

thanks, i think ill err on the side of caution and get a new pickup

Are you buying some things from www.AZPinstalls.com they are a great vendor and fairly close to you.

 

They are someone your going to want build a relationship with.

 

Tell them I sent you.

 

When it comes times for a tune, contact www.tuningalliance.com only place I'll let tune my cars.

ive done business with azp before - they installed my turbo fuel pump etc on my old LGT. Ran into some issues with them but they fixed everything to my satasfaction, so if i need to ill do business with them again. My buddy who owns a shop out on LI is doing the work for me. As far as a break-in tune is concerned, il cross that bridge when i get there.

 

thanks for the info

Looks like you have a well thought out plan.

Sub'd for the fun.

heads are going out to be cleaned and redecked with new valves tomorrow. Going to stick with stock heads for now.

 

Thinking about going with an HTZ Black or BCP x500+ and selling the ATP GTX3076R. Not going rotated though. I think on meth either of the 2 turbos above will see high 4's on 93.

 

Considered going corn but the availability in the city is terrible, only 1 place I know of in queens by the airport.

starting to second guess this build.

go for an IAG stage 2 block plus all new oiling components, send out heads etc is gonna be well over 5K said and done.

Any ideas what the car would be worth as it sits? 129K, built bad bearing motor has 9K on it, has an 05 sti 6 speed with dccd pro and a new clutch. atp turbo and top notch parts on it. Wondering if i should cut my losses and try to get out before i go in over my head?

I have tons of other bnib parts including 18x8.5 +45 Wedssport SA10R BLC with 255/35s, Fortune Auto 510s, cf roof spoiler, Stromung Exhaust JDM dash with brand new 7200NEX navi etc etc etc.

Is the shell worth 4K as it sits?

Id like to avoid parting out if at all possible but I know that 6 speed setup complete will sell for $3000 and the turbo, IAG AOS, ewg setup and magnaflow exhaust has to be worth another 1500 to 2K. Then the shell is a good $500 with no rust. Ugh, what to do what to do.

trans is def the best part of the car...the body needs a little paint work for sure, hood is faded from when it sat for a year from the first rebuild. other than that no real door dings or dents and the rear bumper is in perfect shape.

tough decision here for sure. Before i bought this on a whim i was cross shopping a 17' camaro 1LE, 17' SS Sedan 6 speed and Golf R. Certainly wouldnt be in this situation had i sprung on one of them, but i figured who needs car payments and missed my first LGT. I go through too many car phases to buy something new though, as I learned with my 13Evo X and got rid of it 2 years later. Big mistake ever buying this car, but its a learning process for sure.

If i do build it, im not settling for less than 430 on pump. With this turbo i might have trouble hitting that #, so im considering the HTZ black or x500+.

Do what I did. EJ257, vf52, great tune. I have put almost 90,000 trouble free miles on my wagon since May 20 2012.

 

With the 6mt you'll have a great car.

 

My wagon still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, its my DD.

eh been there done that, after putting down close to 4 im itching for more.

I know these motors are ticking time bombs, but when they run right its a blast.

Looking to find a good tradeoff between power and spool, i think the x500+ is the way to go.

I considered going back to a vf52 on e85 but there isnt enough availability in Queens.

Stage 2 vs Stage 2 tuff block ala IAG - Does it make sense to spend the extra $350 for the tuff? Not interested in a closed deck, unnecessary at my power levels.

 

Any thoughts?

Tough decision. If you have the means and like the car, fix and keep it. If not try selling it as it sits, otherwise if you can part it out.

Did we find out who your Tuner is...not that it matters now. I highly recommend www.tuningalliance.com for you next build. I'm sure he can tune you a motor that will last even at your HP goals.

 

He is that great.

 

Talk with him about your set up before you buy a bunch of parts that don't work well together...

He's a couple hour drive from you and dose use a dyno closer to you, or did a short while back.

I used EFI for my past tunes, but not since Chris passed unfortunately. The tune on this car was from the new tuner at EFI, and im still determining why the built motor only lasted 9,000 miles. Could be the tune, oil starvation, etc.

 

I have a tuner out here Chris Miller Racing in Deer Park LI, he's tuned every car under the sun. Even makes his own Methanol, FTW Fuels. I like the idea that he is only a 20 minute ride from my builder and he will come out to the shop to put a break-in tune on the car. Im still deciding who to go with, but I don't like the whole idea of E-Tunes and street tune makes me nervous being I'm in Queens. Even LI I don't like having to do pulls to 120+, too many cops and bad drivers on the road.

 

Im not young and stupid anymore, so Id like to stay away from street tuning. On ramp pulls sure np, maybe a quick 60-90, but...

The Chris Miller ? LOL

 

 

Tell him the guy with the yellow hatch single cam say's Hi. What's he doing with our chassis ? I'm Ryan's Dad, he'll know. notice my avatar.

 

Also FWIW, after the Dyno, the Tuner took my wagon for a street tune just to make sure it was fine. Since that time Aug 2011, Tuning Alliance has done a couple street tunes when I've made small changes. A street tune is 3rd from 2000rpm to 5000rpm. Mike of TA will sit in the passenger seat while we do a short blast up the highway one exit.

if im 6 speed thatll prob be a 4th gear pull im assuming.

 

Yep, THE Chris Miller lol. Hes big in the Honda scene, his drag S2000 is bonkers.

 

My close friend who is building my car and owns All Out Motorworks only uses Chris for all his customers builds. Can't wait to get tuned with meth on this turbo and then see where to go from there. Im thinking I probably will just stick with the GTX3076R.

 

Ill tell him you say whats up.

Yea, he's quite the character. Was always an entertaining guy...my son and I had a great time being around that civic drag racing scene about 10 years back.

 

Yes, 6mt the pull is done in 4th gear. In a DD the all round driving is more important then all out number on the chart.