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Tehnation's Ballin on a budget rebuild!


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So... I guess its my turn for the rebuild thread! My car has oil everywhere, it leaks everywhere..... it's just that time. But I couldn't justify the a new shortblock for 1600-1700, especially when I have a close friend who's high performance engine certified from Wyotech.

 

I am in the middle of pulling the engine, the damn downpipe bottom nut is seized and won't come off, so I have to pull engine with downpipe. Will be doing that tomorrow.

 

 

My end goals are 400-500whp, or whatever my DW65 and 1000cc top feed injectors can handle.

 

Cylinder Heads:

-Brian Crower Stage 3 Cams BC0622 $600

-Brian Crower Springs BC0600 $220

-Everything else Stock

-Rebuild with said parts $700 for both heads

$1520 total for rebuilding heads

 

Why I went with the BC's? They were cheap, mild and simple, no grinding or modification needed, completely plug and play, also works with stock springs. A lot simpler to rebuild for the average machine shop. And from the looks of it they stand behind their product. This is my DD and I drive in NYC a lot! 18g turbo will get me to about 7400-7600rpm redline, bigger turbo like the 20g will get me to 8000rpm redline(forged pistons recommended at that point).

 

Edit: I went to stage 3's instead of 2's .... why ... racecar! I don't see much info on the stage 3 cams so I will see how the fair.

 

Standard Parts Engine Stuff:

-OCV x 2

-STI 11mm Oil Pump

-Gates Racing Timing Belt Kit w/ Kevlar Belt and Waterpump

-Oil Cooler

-Subaru Master Gasket Set

 

 

Before I actually see the piston walls and block condition, I have 2 routes for the short block.

 

Short Block

If the walls are in good shape, play ball! I will simply just replace the piston rings and keep it moving until the block goes! If the walls aren't in good shape and needs to be honed/bored, then I will split the block, and rebuild with new bearings, and forged pistons. Will have the stock crank and rods tested(x-rayed) and if they are good I will reuse them, which they most likely are. Everywhere I look >500whp builds are flawed by pistons or poor tolerances/tunes....nothing to do with stock rods, which are forged, cheap forged, but still forged supposedly. For my goals, stock crank and rods are more than adequate for a sub 7400-8000 rpm redline.

 

 

Other Engine Mods I have (will get pricing and links for everything later on):

-Agency Power LW pulley

-DW 65c fuel pump

-1000cc DW EV14 injectors

-Exedy LW Flywheel

-Spec Stage 3 Clutch

-BNR 18g Turbo (I also have an extra 18g which bnr said they would upgrade to a 20g with bigger bellhousing for about $400-500, so I will be sending that out after I am done with my rebuild if the 18g doesn't get me past 400whp)

-Cobb 3 Port Boost Controller

-Torque Solutions TMIC

-3" CNT Downpipe to stock

-Catless Uppipe

-My Own Top Feed Injector Mod My top feed mod

 

Suspension Mods:

-100% Whiteline Poly, I have every suspension bushing replaced with something whiteline.

-Hotchkiss Swaybars w Avo rear bracket mounts

-Kartboy Endlinks

-Koni Adjustable Struts

Tein-S Springs

*Cusco Front and Rear Braces and Power Braces(ordering)

 

Brake Mods:

SS brake lines

Slotted Rotors

 

Some pics thus far

https://goo.gl/photos/RQ2Dby14McbQdtyi6

Edited by Tehnation
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Looks like my shortblock is in awesome shape surprisingly.... the cross hatching is still showing. So a simple breakdown, cleaning and hone as well as new piston rings and gaskets is all I will change for now. When I get to the crankshaft I will inspect the bearings. If everything looks good, play ball.

 

Looks like my headgasket was starting to go, and several valves looked worn, and needed adjustment. Bringing them to the machine shop on Monday.

 

But so far everything is going good, engine is out.

 

WTF t 50 torx plus bit,??? Why?? who's going to steal a flywheel, to use a more expensive bolt like that.. sometimes i wonder about the Subaru designers some times.

 

Where can I buy this bit. Jesus christ no store sells this thing.

 

I will compile all my pictures in a photo album to check out how dirty my engine was. I can't upload photos for some reason, nor do i care to try and figure out why lol.

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305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Rear main seal, and oil pump seal were both leaking. Bought a case of engine degreaser, omg its looking like a new engine again. :lol:

 

I am also going to clean the pistons, lots of carbon buildup. There are a bunch of ways to do it! Just search on youtube/google

 

 

The soaking method seems the way to go so you can clean the grooves as well. But the other way would be good if you don't want to remove the pistons.

 

You can get the pistons out of the block without splitting the block, just need a 14mm hex bolt to remove the plugs for each front cylinder so you can get to the pins. The rear ones, not sure yet, damn flywheel is in the way.

 

Edited by Tehnation
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Rears come out same as fronts, once you get the FW out of the way. The RH access port is behind the big cover.

 

Lots of us have seen pristine cylinder walls but found broken ring lands on teardown. Don't be too hasty -- check carefully. Unless your pistons are forged or super low KM, it may be easier/safer to buy a new set on the board. Not too long ago I got a set of new OEM pistons, pins, keepers and rings for less than my dealer quoted for rings. Worth keeping in mind.

 

If you don't split the block, you may save yourself some headaches. I think you can pull the rods out of the bore (never done it myself, but it looks do-able; normally the crankshaft and rods go into the block as a unit) break the glaze and replace like with like, in terms of piston grades -- they are stamped on the pistons and on the top of the block. Then the only measuring needed is to gap the rings . . . and to hope for the best which is another kind of measuring I suppose. Having said that, it looks like you plan to put some $$ into the top end. Will this investment survive a bottom end meltdown?

 

Once you spit the block and start measuring, that is a whole other deal with these engines.

 

 

Rear main seal, and oil pump seal were both leaking. Bought a case of engine degreaser, omg its looking like a new engine again. :lol:

 

I am also going to clean the pistons, lots of carbon buildup. There are a bunch of ways to do it! Just search on youtube/google

 

 

The soaking method seems the way to go so you can clean the grooves as well. But the other way would be good if you don't want to remove the pistons.

 

You can get the pistons out of the block without splitting the block, just need a 14mm hex bolt to remove the plugs for each front cylinder so you can get to the pins. The rear ones, not sure yet, damn flywheel is in the way.

 

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My block looks like it has under 50k miles on it which is weird. But i'll take it!

 

Cylinder walls are very clean, all the crosshatching is there, no scratches, so my pistons and rings are in good shape. My valves on the other hand.....

 

The carbon is easy to get rid of. If i buy any pistons, they will be forged :lol:.

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This is an awesome video for anyone interested in tackling their engine on their own. If your familiar with engine building this will provide all the info you need. Only thing complicated about these blocks are that you have to split it and seal it, other than that I don't see anything special about these blocks.

 

 

SUBARU MIKE FTW!!! Best video i have seen so far!

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Rears come out same as fronts, once you get the FW out of the way. The RH access port is behind the big cover.

 

Lots of us have seen pristine cylinder walls but found broken ring lands on teardown. Don't be too hasty -- check carefully. Unless your pistons are forged or super low KM, it may be easier/safer to buy a new set on the board. Not too long ago I got a set of new OEM pistons, pins, keepers and rings for less than my dealer quoted for rings. Worth keeping in mind.

 

If you don't split the block, you may save yourself some headaches. I think you can pull the rods out of the bore (never done it myself, but it looks do-able; normally the crankshaft and rods go into the block as a unit) break the glaze and replace like with like, in terms of piston grades -- they are stamped on the pistons and on the top of the block. Then the only measuring needed is to gap the rings . . . and to hope for the best which is another kind of measuring I suppose. Having said that, it looks like you plan to put some $$ into the top end. Will this investment survive a bottom end meltdown?

 

Once you spit the block and start measuring, that is a whole other deal with these engines.

 

 

So much rain, pulling all the pistons as soon as the weather gets better. No point to split the block if all the rings are good.

 

The heads have to be rebuilt, its in dire need of a valve job, its impossible to get a proper tune. I purchased the stage 2 cams a while ago so they are just sitting around, its more like why not. Also had a gates timing belt kit sitting around, oil pump, etc.

 

I most likely wont even rebuild with new springs. If they are worn then I will replace with the BC set but if there fine then no point, i'm really only just paying for the rebuild of the heads which is pretty much a necessity at this point.

 

But all the oil stains from everything leaking and constant refilling and topping off, paired with my clutch going out, probably due to the rear main seal pissing all over the flywheel. I decided to pull the engine and fix it all, so as long as it gets me about 20k miles i'll be fine, until i rebuild it again.

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I'm a firm believer in "if aint broke don't fix it!" I would rather break it and learn more than just make assumptions about the subaru hp gods. It may or may not hold it, I guess i will just have to find out when it happens! :lol:

 

I have triple a plus!!! 5 tows a year, 100 miles! Best 150 bucks a year I have ever spent!

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How many miles are on the car now? There were so many items that were high mileage and old that I really didn't want to have zero plan for replacing.

 

Ballin on a budget...My build is pretty standard, and there's no way I could do it with a small budget!

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  • 1 month later...
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Subscribed because I am a new Subaru owner(06 lgt 5 mt), and if something decides to take a dive, I like to have ideas for my gameplan. It's a bone stock LGT, going to get it to stage one power (UP and tune), in a couple weeks. Excited to learn more as I fix and improve this car. Love the idea of ballin on a budget
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I want to see how much more bang for my buck I can get spending 1800 on rebuilding vs, 1800 on a shipped shortblock.

 

So far its going to be

about 500-600 for some forged pistons.

300 to have block cleaned, bored and decked. That is after I disassemble and split block!

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I want to see how much more bang for my buck I can get spending 1800 on rebuilding vs, 1800 on a shipped shortblock.

 

So far its going to be

about 500-600 for some forged pistons.

300 to have block cleaned, bored and decked. That is after I disassemble and split block!

 

Once you get the crank/rods out, clean the mating surfaces and torque the case halves together. Now measure the mainline (without shells). You will likely find #2 and #4 pounded out oval. Now measure the crank main journal. Also oval, a little bit at least. Trouble is, each of these can be out by like 1/2 the spec running clearance, or more. Put them together and you have a real challenge to hit any consistent clearances, even by mixing and matching half shells, trial fit, moving things around etc.

 

A couple of options to simplify things.

 

If the mainline is half decent, consider a new crank. That gets some of the problem out of the way and you can get slightly oversize (+0.025mm from ARP?) shells that are handy to clean up main clearances.

 

If the crank is decent, you can have the mainline honed out to take ever so slightly oversize bearings (for example. . . King?) and probably hit your main specs pretty close.

 

If both are pretty bad, consider a new SB. But then your goals in post 1 may mean dropping the stock pistons and putting in forged. Hard to classify this last option as low budget!

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The real fun begins !!!! :rolleyes:

 

Best case scenario would be :

 

"If the crank is decent, you can have the mainline honed out to take ever so slightly oversize bearings (for example. . . King?) and probably hit your main specs pretty close. "

 

I think a new crank goes for around 325 , so far this option would be 325+600+300=1225 round it to 1300 for the cost of bearings, so thats not to bad of a second option.

 

Otherwise a new shortblock for 1800.

Edited by Tehnation
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Nice thread so far! Keep up the good work.

 

What forged pistons are you considering?

 

I'm at basically the same point in my build. Have, not one, but TWO pistons with cracked ringlands! I guess after finding one it doesn't really matter how many others are cracked. :)

 

Waiting to hear from the machine shop about my bores. Not sure if I will need stock 99.5mm or oversized. Should find out in a couple days.

 

Not sure how much research you've gotten into with the forged pistons, but I found this link to give a clear explanation, pros and cons, ect..

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907570

 

I know its ebay, but not technically 'ebay parts' and they are a good price:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wiseco-Forged-Pistons-99-5mm-Bore-std-9-0-CR-Subaru-STI-2004-2013-K598M995AP-/291016141441?hash=item43c1e9ea81:g:KyoAAMXQWzNSeThQ&vxp=mtr

 

Those are 9.0 CR, but I was thinking of going E85, as it is avail in my area.

 

Here's a link to my thread if you want to compare CARnage, I'd love to see some of your pics:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/jayrex-05-lgt-engine-and-5eat-rebuild-251549.html

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For pistons nothing special.... probably going to bore to 100mm dish.

 

A while back I had been talking with a racing motor builder, he specified in race bikes and imports, mainly subaru's. He builds pro racing motors that win, so i have been going by his advice. He said at my level, 400-500whp, piston choice is not that important, so i am mainly going by price and weight! CP, wiseco, going with whatever I can get my hands on for a good price, and if they are all the same price, then weight of the pistons will be my next factor. I guess i'm going for price to weight ratio! Anything else I don't really care, as long as its forged lol!

 

Even the stock head bolts are fine at this level. Its mainly the tune, tune makes all the difference. Stock long blocks are putting down 400whp with just turbo's and bolt ons easily....

 

My main reason for wanting to go forged is because I want to be able to rev to 8k!:lol:

 

So my main research atm is what to do about the rods... trying to see if they can hold up to 8k rpm. Only bottleneck at this point are the rods..... and once again price vs weight.

 

lighter rotating assembly equates to quicker engine response.

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Rods, that's easy, we use a set of this brand in the Civic's race engine.

 

http://pauter.com/shop/rods/subaru/

 

For the high HP 2L Honda engine we had a set made from here.

 

http://www.bmeltd.com/rods.htm

Edited by Max Capacity

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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