Okay, now what? (sperry's motor tear-down thread)

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

I never said they wouldn't charge you. I just proposed it as an alternative instead of waiting until 2010 for your shed and free time. And I couldn't find the sarcastic smileys for that suggestion post.

I never though you were implying that Nissan would do it for free. I just said it would be expensive and inconvenient.

And my "waiting 'till 2010" was, at least I thought, obvious hyperbole.

[MPREZIV]

...It's one thing to have a stock motor pulled out and another one put in. It's another to roll a trailered racecar up to Nissan and have them pull the motor and deal with a rolling around a motorless car. Is Cory going to leave my car on his lift for 3 months while AIMS checks the motor and I source a new shortblock to get the car running?...

I did it with a black Z for almost a year...

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by MPREZIV

I did it with a black Z for almost a year...

And how'd that work out for you?

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by sperry

They also told us however that we do whatever we want as long as it's below the fence line.

[MPREZIV]

Originally Posted by Kevin M

And how'd that work out for you?

It wasn't so bad once I cut the roots that it grew into the concrete.

[JC]

I'm glad you finally decided to get rid of the old albatross. I know it's a hard decision but it's a good one. FWIW the new STI is supposed to get DI in the next model year or two. Might be worth holding out for.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by JC

I'm glad you finally decided to get rid of the old albatross. I know it's a hard decision but it's a good one. FWIW the new STI is supposed to get DI in the next model year or two. Might be worth holding out for.

Deciding to sell it, and actually selling it are two unrelated things. I don't think I can get what I need from a buyer to let it go. I think I'll have to drive that bitch until I crash it and part out whatever's not destroyed.

[JC]

Originally Posted by sperry

Deciding to sell it, and actually selling it are two unrelated things. I don't think I can get what I need from a buyer to let it go. I think I'll have to drive that bitch until I crash it and part out whatever's not destroyed.

True, but you've taken the first step to recovery.

[wrxkidid]

Originally Posted by sperry

I think I'll have to drive that bitch until I crash it and part out whatever's not destroyed.

If you would like I am more than willing to strap myself in and take it past the edge out at RFR.
Then you get a new car and I can tell all my girlies that I rolled a car just make sure to get it on video, one in car and one from a distance.

[van]

Originally Posted by wrxkidid

If you would like I am more than willing to strap myself in and take it past the edge out at RFR.
Then you get a new car and I can tell all my girlies that I rolled a car just make sure to get it on video, one in car and one from a distance.

If he breaks a leg, I've got second dibbs, just with a bunch of semi fast laps and a dumb easy crash...something like a pacecar might experience.

[wrxkidid]

You gotta total it though none of that pacecar stuff.

I trust Scott's saftey equipment.

[sperry]

This isn't supposed to be so familiar looking.

[A1337STI]

Maybe someone already suggested this but if not

Perhaps consider buying an STI short block (Stock) put it in with a stock turbo, leave the front mount, tune it to stock boost levels, and sell it as a running STI swap, with lots of spares... ?? (and or spares extra) .

hey do you happen to have the WRX rear diff , half shafts and drive shaft still?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by A1337STI

Maybe someone already suggested this but if not

Perhaps consider buying an STI short block (Stock) put it in with a stock turbo, leave the front mount, tune it to stock boost levels, and sell it as a running STI swap, with lots of spares... ?? (and or spares extra) .

hey do you happen to have the WRX rear diff , half shafts and drive shaft still?

I'm probably going to end up going to a stock shortblock, but leave the fpGreen, Hydra, etc. Doing a true "stock" STI swap is going to involve wiring and a new ECU and cost a bit too much to be worth it.

And no, I don't have the rear diff or axles... they got "lost" by S-Squared. But I do have a non-LSD 3.545 R160 out of my SVX. I'd be happy to sell it to ya for cheap, and you're just a LSD carrier away from a spare WRX rear-end.

[sperry]

I dropped the motor off at AIMS this morning. Robert was really cool about looking into the motor and told me he'd be happy to take care of the labor for fixing it if I cover the cost for parts. The real question will be whether or not the block is salvageable.

Personally, will all the problems I've had with the block, I'd prefer just putting in a brand new short-block and just dial back the boost for the lack of forged pistons. But on the other hand, if I can get the motor running again for just the cost of new bearings... that would save me oh about $1800.

Either way, +1 to AIMS for being willing to work with me on the situation.

As far as the damage, Robert says that usually if the motor was assembled with the incorrect size bearings or something like that, it either would have failed nearly immediately or even just failed to turn over... not 400 miles into the break-in. But there's still the chance that the clearances were just a touch too tight for the oil pressure I was running, which was MikeW's guess at the issue.

Most likely, according to Robert, the problem was debris contamination in the motor. But AIMS hot-tanked both the heads and the short-block, and I either replaced or cleaned out all the hoses and oil fittings, etc that went back on the motor... I really made an effort to ensure everything was as clean as possible, including throwing out my oil cooler with the knowledge that I would likely never be able to get it totally cleaned out. I can't really see how there would be enough debris in there to destroy the bottom end during break-in.

So, next week they should be able to get the motor apart and figure out what can be saved. If the pistons look like they're okay, and the crank can be reused, I'll probably just order up some Cosworth main and rod bearings and give the block another chance. If the crank is dead, or there's more damage than can be machined away, or if the heads are toast... then I should probably be looking for a 2.0L WRX long-block for cheap to get the car running and past smog and sell it that way to someone looking for a racecar.

[sperry]

F-you credit card!

I just ordered a new STi shortblock from Subaru. Should be in on Thursday. Got it at the wholesale price which is still a bit more than the online price, but even with tax I'm still coming in reasonably when you consider shipping from elsewhere.

And the reason for this of course is that I got the news that my old block is not going to be salvageable. The crank has seen too much damage from the latest bearing failure, and the cylinders are too scored (from the previous wear on them that couldn't be totally honed out because it was already bored, plus what appears to be some wash-down wear from idling too rich in open loop early on).

As far as what caused the bearing failure, AIMS believes it was debris from the previous build still in the oil. Even though I clean the bejesus out of the oil/water heat exchanger, apparently that is *not* a part that can be reused on a block after a bearing lets go. Robert over at AIMS has seen it a bunch of times... reuse the heat exchanger or oil cooler, and you get about 500 to 1000 miles into the new motor and there it goes. He even warned me about not reusing the "oil cooler", which I took to heart and tossed out my old oil cooler while thinking nothing of the heat exchanger which is also sort of an "oil cooler" as well.

So, I'm gonna get this thing back together with a fresh OEM block, switch back to 91 octane, crank down the boost to 18psi, and target the retune for around 300-325awhp. Then I have to make the hard decision about whether or not to sell the damn thing.

[van]

Yay for new shortblock!
fuck your credit card...and crickets too!(for Dean).
I want to see you at the autocross, for the first time since I started going, not competing....just going

[sperry]

Originally Posted by van

Yay for new shortblock!
fuck your credit card...and crickets too!(for Dean).
I want to see you at the autocross, for the first time since I started going, not competing....just going

Well, MattR and I are event chairs for the August event, so if we ever get a location squared away, I'll at least be at that one, with or without a car.

[moose]

Auto-X the SVX.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by moose

Auto-X the SVX.

Just what I need, two busted cars!

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

Then I have to make the hard decision about whether or not to sell the damn thing.

You know you should sell it...

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

You know you should sell it...

That's the problem... I don't know.

If I sell it, sure I'll likely save myself some money the next time it breaks... but at the same time, if I want to go racing, I'm going to have to buy something else (like a SBC powered Z-car)... and who knows how much cheaper that will be. The WRX is still probably my cheapest option for going racing, as it's already paid for.

Really, the decision here is not whether or not to keep the WRX, it's whether or not to keep racing. It's been over a year since I last drove the car, and I'm really missing it.

[sperry]

Welp... it just turned over twice and started right up.

I'm still missing a cap for the water injection port on the intake, so I can't just go drive around under boost (plus it's a little late to drive something so loud)... but the car is running!

[van]

Awesome! when are you going for a tune?

[cody]

Awesome!