I've been having some oil consumption issues for a little while now. I'm typically having to put in a quart of oil every 400 miles. Don't see any oil blowing out through the exhaust though. I can smell it while idling or when the air vent is pulling in outside air. I can see it seeping out of the I/C -> TB coupler, and can see it all around the valve covers. Which may just mean valve cover gaskets.... but with almost 200k on the clock, I want to be proactive. Motor has 178k miles on it and is unmodded. I've actually had it de-tuned by my tuner whereby he pulled a few degrees of timing out of it. It is a daily driven street car by my fiancee and at some point in the future I will have it stripped down and it will turn into a car for HPDE or road racing. Nothing crazy since it will still have the 5-spd in it. Before you guys say anything, no I will not put a 2.5 block in it so lets skip that banter. I would like to upgrade the turbo though. Perhaps one from an STi just to perk it up some. From those that have done it, what would you recommend? Headgaskets... subaru OEM... Cometic... cosworth.... what do you recommend? Car will be less than 300hp. Internals.... Is it worth replacing rods and pistons? Do the stock ones hold up well to consistent high RPMs under heavy load around 300hp? Are the stock pistons worth a damn? I'm gong to have the block re-decked and maybe the cylinders honed which will probably mean new rings. If I do replace pistons, I'd like to bump the compression to a 9:1. Heads... I will take them off and have a valve job and machined. Will more than likely put in valves, springs, retainers, and have a port and polish done to them. Any recommendations there? Thanks in advance for your help guys. --Matt
Hey Brian... after researching it, nothing but good reviews on it. Seen them being sold for 800-900 dollars... is it worth buying it new or finding it used and refurbishing it as needed?
In regards to the motor build, your setup will depend on how hard/often you will track the car. Also, I know you mentioned this in the OP but why don't you want to go to a 2.5l short block? Sorry to question your methods, I'm just curious. As far as internals go, replace them with aftermarket - the OE stuff doesn't hold up very well under extreme conditions. CP psitons, Manley Turbo Tuff rods, ACL Race bearings is what I would recommend; just make sure you have someone build it who is VERY familiar with Subaru short blocks. Leave the compression ratio alone. Because of the boxer design, raising the compression won't help at all and, in fact, will ultimately rob you of power. Headgasket: Subaru OEM works just fine. Heads: Your plan sounds great, just make sure you leave the stock sized valve in there. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions.
I would stick with stock rods, bearings, and gaskets....Pistons is up to you but just remember going the forged route has its downsides as well. I personally think OEM would be fine for under 300hp
To answer Mike@TS why the EJ205 vs the 2.5L. Cause the 2.5L is an unreliable piston crack piece of turd. And going forged pistons is stupid on a car you will DD and put a LOT of miles on cause it isn't gonna last 100k miles much less another 75k. You simply can not beat the reliability of the EJ205 on stock internals and under 350hp. I'd say 325hp for safety sake. The EJ205 is a ROCK solid engine and MANY on this forum have proved it. The built 2.5L just will not last long....they wear out way too fast for a car that isn't a weekend toy.
Just curious cool, is the 2.5 hybrid not so good? Just thinking he could buy a new 2.5 OEM short block and use his 2.0 heads?
You still have the crappy cracking ringlands. It seems the quality of the OEM pistons on the 2.5L is just poor. And being a hybrid the cylinder pressures are increased due to compression ratio increase so I'd say more unreliable. But all that said if you get a competent tuner that knows what they are doing like Doug it would live a happy life if you treat it right and keep it under 325-350 hp. The key is the tune though.
Yes, I agree with you for a daily driven street car. However, he asked about eventually turning this car into a track car and in that case, the EJ205 isn't as good as an option. Again it all depends on what his goals are. This is an option but I would at a bare minimum swap the pistons out or use something like our SS1. The biggest thing that needs to be done there is the heads need to have the combustion chambers machined to accept the bore of the 2.5l block and so that they do not raise the compression.
There is no problem raising the compression if Doug is tuning it. It'll make more power with less boost. Timing is taken away but Doug knows what he is doing. My old hybrid made great power for what little was done to it and the spoolability of it was second to none esp with the lack of AVCS.
the hybrids last i checked were also really inconsistent as well due to the variation in cylinder head between a 2.0 and 2.5.
Wossner 4000 series alloy piston with 8.0:1 compression with 2.0L heads will get you back to stockish compression ratio. Benefits of forged strength without the piston slap at start up, better ring-land design and lighter weight.
In response to why I don't want to go to a 2.5l bottom end... This will be a daily for the next 3 years, therefore it must retain OEM reliability. Once the wife gets another vehicle, this will then be gutted and prepped for some track use. During this time I will be learning how to drive on the track, not looking to break records, nor do I believe the WRX will be able to handle large amounts of power without swapping in STi drivetrain components. I also have zero confidence in the stock brakes to handle much more than stock power levels on a track. Granted, all things that would eventually be upgraded, but not at this stage. Once I'm ready for a larger displacement motor, I'll get the car suited for it first, then drop in the new powerplant. By then, this motor would probably be on its way out anyway.
Pads and fluid= handleing pretty much any street tire at almost any track. OEM braking systems have more power then alot of people give them credit for.
I'm sure with the right pads and whatnot it'll perform well, but not if I do some crazy 2.5l build and and barreling into the turns and working the hell out of the brakes. I'm sure the WRX components are prone to brake fade moreso than the 4 pistons are. No idea what this is. Searched a tiny bit, and it seems to be a JDM 2002 STi motor? I read less than pleasant experiences with wiring.
Eh... still don't want the headache right now. Since I'll likely be doing this myself, I'd like a fairly simple and straightforward R&R. I've dealt with enough headaches building my truck that I'm ready for something simple. All things considered, this rebuild is to refurbish a motor that drinks more oil than it should. If I can or need to replace anything in the process I will. Common leaks are what??? Turbo, head gasket, and valve covers, right? So I'll shoot to mainly replace those components pending the results of a compression test and teardown. Don't get me wrong, it'll be nice to swap in some meaty internals, but it'll be a waste right now if I don't ever intend on pushing that far for now. Race engines have a very limited lifespan, so I'll just have to plan for the proper build when that time comes and sell this short/long-block if it is still in good shape or save it for backup.
the wheel bearings/hubs/spindles don't take high lateral loads very well. The fixed rotor and floating caliper will develop odd wear on the pads, create a lot of heat and boil out the grease in the wheel bearings after a hard days work... of course ring lands give up 30 minutes before this
my old hybrid is well on its way to 200k with a vf39, im sorry but an EJ205 is NO MORE OR LESS reliable than an EJ257
Then it comes down to how much effort I want to put into it. Effort turns into money and I don't want to break the bank. Not while I'm in school right now. A few years and I should be making decent money.
I disagree. There are way more EJ205 with no issues than there are EJ257. There are some EJ205 with spun bearings but most are pushing the limits. EJ257 count the number of cracked ringlands in BONE STOCK form, broken oil sump supplies, etc
if people checked their oil level and kept boost in check with fuel grade there would be fewer failures... but according to the internet I'm wrong with that assumption.
When you consider that younger, naive, irresponsible adults/kids are getting their hands on these cars, modding the piss out of them, and beating 'em up, no surprise.
Oh man, what have I started here?? lol! If you're goal here is to only fix the oil consumption and prolong the life of this car as a street car then my advice would be to source a either a stock low mileage EJ205 or simply re-ring the pistons. That being said, the EJ205 does not make as much sense as a EJ257 from a road race perspective. The EJ257 will spool the turbo faster and will make more "area under the curve" power. So even if your peak power remains the same, the EJ257 will make the car more responsive and widen the power band.
EJ207 info below. Basically its a good way to just replace the short block and never have to worry about it again. NASIOC EJ207 facts This is absolutely what I am doing with mine when my engine goes south. I'm at 150K right now, so the research has begun already so I can "act" instead of "react" when the time comes.
Looks like the sound thing to do at this moment is to refresh the stock ej205 and build the race motor for when the time comes.
What do you guys think of this deal off of eBay? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-Impr...pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr $239 shipped.
A turbo? Any of the vendors here. A VF43 would work great with a EJ205 or if you can find one a VF34.
Just snag a vf39 with or without a crack for dirt cheap and save money. The wastegate cracks are typically never big enough to seriously affect performance. My 39 kicked ass on my 205 and i think i paid $250 for it?
And they're essentially plug and play in regards to inlet and outlet piping and location right? I know I'll need injectors.