2013 STI Sedan EJ257 Rebuild Project

Installed. Break in tomorrow, symphony now.

 

How are you breaking it in? Some start and idle it for like 15 minutes and then drain the oil and then go about driving it like normal. Some hold it at 2000 rpm for a sustained time.

I heard 80% of break in is done in the first 10 miles.

 

I think I changed my oil like 3 times before I even hit 100 miles

 

long idles are not good.
start it, let it come up to operating temp while you check for leaks as everything heats up.
drive it semi-normal with emphasis on revving up, then engine braking back down over and over and over again (no constant rpms always varying them) the engine breaking and subsequent vacuum help with a really good ring seal for long miles with no oil consumption or blowby.

on this motor run 10w30 NON synthetic for the first 500-1000 break in miles then change it to synthetic. This is not my $0.02 but from Ball Engines themselves and I completely agree.

this is a great example of how to do the break in drive (scan forward to his break-in drive part)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4kMQblbfaY

 

Yeah that is what I did as well and let the motor build a little bit of boost. How is she running?

 

absolutely perfect.

I have a driveshaft-speed related noise coming from the shifter, which I suspect is the reverse lockout cable rubbing it so I need to fix that but nothing major

 

I am going to start a new thread probably about my tuning experience once I start that phase.
I started with a cobb stage 2 + SF intake 93oct normal wastegate map as a baseline, removed the necessary DTC's for the air pump delete and TGV delete and loaded it for now. The new firmware on the ap (beta) is kinda buggy so be aware of that (when installing it to a car and getting it to see maps you loaded)

 

fixed the driveshaft rubbing, it was the reverse lockout cable just like I thought.
no damage to anything, it was barely touching but still enough to transmit a noise through the shifter.
moved cable, retied / secured and fixed.

man so far, I have to say, andrew ball of Ball Racing Engines built one hell of a motor. This thing is QUIET for a 2618 alloy based piston, and the thing is just tight inside, you can tell. I am not exactly sure how to explain it but you can just tell when a motor is setup right by the way it sounds and feels. Compared to the stock shortblock there is a huge, huge difference and it's ALL for the better.

I plan on stopping by their place as soon as I can to personally thank them for an outstanding job.
Also, just put another 15 break in style miles on it to finish the tank of gas it had, and put a fresh tank of shell 93 in it for the rest of breakin and tuning.

Oh, did I mention, no leaks AT all, belts are all perfect, and guess what i'm driving to work tomorrow

 

Nice job man....I am sure this experience is something you will be telling to your grandchildren.

 

Drove it this morning to work, so far still so good.
I need to get the A/C recharged to be ready for next year. Can AllPro do that for me? I am allergic to dealerships at this point.

 

I will say this, and I also desperately need to update my original post with new pics and updates but too busy with work at the moment.

Dedication, perseverance, motivation, willpower, patience & PASSION for something will get you through any obstacle. Never give up, never think that someone else knows something you can't LEARN, and take your time.

 

Why does the AC need recharge? You didn't need to disconnect any AC parts for the engine removal.....or did those idiots at the dealership do that?

 

I am guessing the idiots at the Stealership did it as he wasnt the one that pulled the motor.

 

Correct. SoG undid the A/C lines as one of the first things they did.
They supposedly "captured" the freon (at least they should have according to state and federal law) but do I get that back?
Rhetorical.

 

Wouldn't worry about working with that crap. Just get AllPro to help ya.

 

Boy after changing to synthetic oil after about 800 miles of break in, the oil pressure i'm seeing is much more normal (slightly more) which is interesting.
You can also "hear" the motor a lot more now heh