[mattybear]

So basically got hand-me down from my cousin whose out of the country now..

Took it to the shop because it was having a rough idle and i ran into a deal of trouble
He must have blow the bottom engine block somewhere along the lines and replaced it himself with a 2.5 non turbo block and kept the stock wrx top heads...pretty frankstein job
the car ran fine for a while but it needed some maintenance as follows
belt kit , idler bearing , idle tensiomer water pump
high flow oil pump
cam seals
thermostat i guess he drilled into the housing? and it didnt work
and also i had a turbo dump leak and they're fixing that as well

So he said once hes done with all this work that the car will run but suggests i immediately get a dyno tune because a lot of the parts put on were done incorrectly or just not perfect i guess....
I'm taking his advice when I get the car back and i will take it to be properly tuned
The mods are as follows
flydline racing radiator
sti intercooler
walbro 255 fp
kinsler fuel fliter and steel fuel lines
aftermarket BOV
possibly an aftermarket cold air intake but ill have to double check on that
and maybe a few other small interals things that i can't see....

WELL ANYWAYS
i don't really know what to do i really want to keep the car so after the tune im just going to baby it going to school and work
And the shop recommends once i have the money to just drop an original 2.0T wrx engine in it....Just want to hear some thoughts out there? I was thinking possibly to saving up and dropping an sti engine in there if thats possible? Im a newbie this is my first turbocharged car im lost please help

 

[xxxxxxxAnub1s]

A block designed and built for N/A is not going to last long with a turbocharger slapped on it. It's just not built for the high stress that forced induction places on the components. A custom tune will be absolutely necessary in this case to get the most life you can out of it, I'd suggest something rather conservative so make sure when you consult with your tuner that you tell him EVERY detail of the car that you know about.

As for what's being fixed, the timing belt and associated tensioner and idlers as well as the water pump is a good idea, but I see no reason for a "high flow" oil pump. Replacement of the front main seal on the oil pump is a good idea, as is the cam seals. What is meant by the thermostat being drilled into the housing? It just sits in there and is sealed up with a gasket, the housing is bolted to the water pump. Also what was the turbo dump leak? Are you talking about where the wastegate dumps into the exhaust? Unless there is an external wastegate, or the downpipe is after market, there shouldn't be any specific dump leak, simply an exhaust leak at the downpipe to turbo mating surface.

Being that you're new to the FI world, I would suggest an EJ205 (stock WRX engine) when that engine bites the dust, followed by another custom tune. No point in switching out a working engine just for the hell of it. STI engines will fit and mount properly, but there are some issues that need to be addressed with that so it isn't a standard plug and play.

Good luck with everything, come back with any other questions you may have and we will do our best to answer them.

 

[mattybear]

Hey man i really appreciate all the info, it was very much needed. The leak was fixed so I'm not sure specifically what it was but im guessing just exhaust leak at the dp to turbo surface. Also, it regards to the oil pump and all other maintenance i guess it was needed from the car always being ran so hot and hard before I got it.

As far as the information on the engine thats a big help as well, I just got a job so soon enough I should have enough money to switch it with a stock one eventually. The car has almost 80K on it how long do you think (rough estimate) this engine will last with the mis-matched block and heads?

I'm going to the shop tomorrow so i'll get some more information about everything thats going on and i'll be back if i have any more questions. Once again thanks so much!

 

[xxxxxxxAnub1s]

Cool cool, sorry for all of the questions. What I really don't like is that people are often taken advantage of and charged for work that didn't need to be done in the first place. So, I just wanted to know what was going on to make sure you were being taken care of and not advantage of.

Glad to help, and congrats on the job. Like I said I wouldn't really worry about replacing it before it goes out, just ride it out and make sure you have the fundage to replace the block when it goes. It's unfortunate, but I can't really estimate the amount of time you have with it. It could be tomorrow, could be years from now. It all depends on the tune, the hardware, and how strong the parts are. It's reasonable to suspect that the parts aren't exactly up to the task of being pushed by the turbocharger. So, you should request a conservative tune, one that is safe to drive daily on but not pushing any kinds of limits, that way you get the most life out of them.

Beyond that, keep up on your maintenance, and I mean religiously, that goes a long way to help as well.

Never hesitate to ask, it's what the board is here for.

 

[mattybear]

No, not at all man i appreciate all the questions haha. The mechanic is a family friend and is pretty wealthy so i assume he wouldn't lie to me about what parts are needed seeing as he's not even charging me for labor. Thanks for watching out though man

Thank you I'm gonna be pumping out like 30 hours a week plus 15 credits so hopefully I can squeeze some time in for my baby and her maintenance !

Also, thanks for the info about the conservative tune, only one thing. Do you think it will be a problem for them to tune it with the mis matching block and all? Because my mechanics shop is neighbors with subie tech and he's helping install some of the parts on my car as a favor to my uncle although he refuses to do the dyno tune because of the non tubro block :/ So as soon as I get the car back on saturday hopefully I will have found someone that will dyno tune it even in the condition that it is. Is that something normal with tuners ? Ill call around some of the local shops (orange county area) and Im sure it will be good just wondering if anyones heard of that happening before?

 

[xxxxxxxAnub1s]

That's a tough one, it's going to be solely up to the tuner on whether or not he will touch it. It's a hard situation because like I said it's not a strong block. Tuners will typically push everything they can out of the engine while maintaining a level of safety as far as fueling, boost pressure, and timing. With your car, they're going to be very minimal in what they can do without blowing up the block.

The tuner will be the best person to ask about these kinds of things though

 

[mattybear]

For sure thanks Ill get in touch with some tuners and get their opinion on it and let you know how it goes.