Advice on Saving an '06 STI

I've been a longtime VW gearhead, but have been intrigued by the sound/power of the Subie STI's since they came around in '04.

I've stumbled upon an '06 STI which I may be able to pick up for a reasonable price which has been sitting for a year due to a rod knock and an owner that has now admitted he's not going to fix it.

If I take on this project, and I realize I have a lot of learning/reading ahead of me, I just thought I'd start with GRM to see if any guru's can shed some light.

Should I just slap a used shortblock/longblock in it and bolt it back together?

Cost effective "build" parts available since it's apart anyways for future bigger power?

I have a stupid long commute so my TDI will remain by DD, so this would be more of a fun/weekend car, but I'd like to keep this car as a full interior/street driveable "fun" car more-so than a tweaked ill mannered drivetrain. Plus it'll be faster stock than anything I've ever owned, I just wonder if there's a "while you're in there" option that makes sense considering I'm starting from the point it is at.

Didn't I just read an article about rebuilding a Subie engine?

Hmmmm. Where was that?

(no comment on the 'cost effective' part)

Can you afford to use this as a "fun" car is the biggest question,hard on tires,brakes,transmissions,cv shafts and obviously engines so....

kevlarcorolla wrote: Can you afford to use this as a "fun" car is the biggest question,hard on tires,brakes,transmissions,cv shafts and obviously engines so....

increasingly so yes. I realize the consumable increase with power. That said, I don't have time for numerous events regardless so if it breaks, it'll sit until it's fixed again. Beauty of a 2nd car. My current Rabbit is a dirt cheap consumable track car, but I'm growing out of it.

The easiest answer is yes, slap a shortblock/longblock in it. Finding used STi motors is tough because:

1. Lots of people want to swap them into WRXs, Foresters, Legacys, etc.
2. Lots of badly tuned STis pop motors.

Get a pro-tune on it. Many of the stock Subaru tunes are pretty crappy. You can go Cobb AP, but a lot of talk on Subaru Boards is that a good pro-tune is much better.

STis (and Subarus in General) are hard on wheel bearings.

If you are going to track it, oiling upgrades (new pick up tube and baffles in oil pan) seem to be important as you can lose an engine due to oil starvation in high-G corners.

I'm going to come across a bit like a troll here (humor me, it's my Mitsubishi heritage) but before you think about slapping a used STi motor in there, consider the following:

clicky!

138,000 results. 1 forum. no wtb ads.

Get a new short block and a nice 3" exhaust along with a custom rom. Subarus have good cooling capacity. The oil system seems to be their weakness. Upgraded oil pickups and pans are good but I have still seen engines lose bearings with those upgrades. Based just on observation I think the two best upgrades for reliability you can make are "blue printing" the oil pump and a port/polish of the oil return path.

But that means you need to crack open the case and that leads to another set of issues and a lot more work. I don't know if the work is worth it on a street vehicle unless you enjoy building engines.

In reply to xflowgolf: In my opinion, that is the best way to buy a 2.5 Turbo Subaru, with the engine pre-blown. Buy it for a bargain price, build the engine the way Subaru should have, and then enjoy a near bullet proof car. New short blocks can be found in the $1700 range give or take. Rebuilding the engine yourself is a lot cheaper, but make sure you have access to a machine shop that has experience with these engines. Either way, do not use factory pistons. Those, along with the poor factory tune, are responsible for almost all of the failures. The car you are looking at may be different, rod knock is not common so something went really wrong.

From what I've seen rod knock is quite common. Oil starvation in high G corners. Overall seems like a very fragile engine. The machine shop that did my Honda machining gets a few Subaru motors a week & he said he would never own one. They are just too fragile.

There is not much different between a STI and WRX motor in terms of what kind of power you make so long as it's from a 06+ car when they went 2.5l. The 08+ STI, despite being the same product as the earlier one, people have problems with for some reason. Look up "ringland failure".

Just find a EJ255. It will make the same power as a EJ257 and be more reliable (so the "ringland failure" people say)

Whats interesting in the WRX and STI world Cobb tuning took a bunch of stock 09+ WRX and stock 08+ STI and ran them all on their dyno and they made the same WHP. Generally they will with the same turbo as well.

You could use the EJ20 too, if you want. It really doesn't matter because the point of the STI was the brake upgrade and transmission and AWD system. You can make power with any of those turbo motors. The weak link on older WRXs, Foresters, etc was always the 5 speed transmission, not the motor. If you want something interesting try to get a EJ207, they are a lot more revvy than a EJ257 at a oem 8250 rev limit. The EJ207 is semi-closed deck, all forged internals if it's V7 or lower. Much stronger than any USDM motor. If I blew mine I would probably source one of those. Avoid the v8 edition of that.

Many of the stock Subaru tunes are pretty crappy.

It's in fact so bad they recently had a recall over it for current model WRX cars. I had my opensource tuned about 1 month into ownership though.

Don't even mess around with Cobb AP, waste of money. A tune from someone who does opensource tunes cost me $400 and I didn't even have to buy anything.

From what I've seen rod knock is quite common. Oil starvation in high G corners. Overall seems like a very fragile motor. The machine shop that did my Honda machining gets a few Subaru motors a week & he said he would never own one. They are just too fragile.

I hear this all the time but never see it myself. Kind of like when I had an Eagle Talon, I heard about crankwalk all the time but never known anyone who had that problem.... that was back when most younger people had 1gs though. Sometimes I think these issues are more meme than problem and are more a problem because of reckless kiddie owners.

People like putting a huge turbo with a ton of boost on there not realizing that the purpose of this car is not drag racing and the motor is not a 2JZ. If you keep the power mods reasonable you wont have problems. Everything on NASIOC thouogh seems to be about 1/4 mile and dyno queen numbers. It's annoying. I have the stock turbo at 19psi on my car and do track days all the time have had 0 issues. People that want huge power, and do it right, have EJ207s or fully built motors. I bet all those blown motors you've seen were stock with GT30/35XX turbos that were running 22+psi boost like 1/4 the people on the NASIOC dyno numbers subforum. A few weeks later you see those same people whining about rod knock and engine falures and wanting to switch over to the EVO.

My lgt spun a bearing on the highway. They do have oiling problems. Cylinder #3 is the usual culprit.

That said, it can be fixed and much fun can be had.

If you want it go for it. Dependant on price, it could be a money making proposisition to just part out the remaining parts. Oiling is important, and always makes sure it is full. I'd personally go with a 2.0 liter build.

Would something like an accusump accumulator help the oil starvation problems ?

I've never owned a Subie, but I've admired them from a distance for a long time. If it were me with the opportunity to pick up an STI with a preblown engine, I would go for a new short block, check into the possibility of an oilpan/sump/oil pump& pickup tube upgrade, and make everything else stock. After it were was up and running, I'd take it a reputable tunner to get the most out of the stock hardware with a good tune.

Armitage wrote: I'm going to come across a bit like a troll here (humor me, it's my Mitsubishi heritage) but before you think about slapping a used STi motor in there, consider the following: [clicky!](https://www.google.com/search?q=sti+blown+%28motor+or+engine%29+site:forums.nasioc.com+-wtb) 138,000 results. 1 forum. no wtb ads.

C'mon, man. Nobody wants the truth here.

sachilles wrote: If you want it go for it. Dependant on price, it could be a money making proposisition to just part out the remaining parts.

I realize this is true, but I've actually always wanted to own one of these cars. As a rally fan and Michigan resident, the thought of doing some rallycross events or ice racing on a good set of tires in an awd monster sound like a blast. Plus I live just a few miles from my local track (Grattan Raceway).

Streetwiseguy wrote: C'mon, man. Nobody wants the truth here.

I absolutely do, that's why I asked here first instead of amongst the forum fanbois (or is fanboi plural?)

Boost_Crazy wrote: In reply to xflowgolf: In my opinion, that is the best way to buy a 2.5 Turbo Subaru, with the engine pre-blown. Buy it for a bargain price, build the engine the way Subaru should have, and then enjoy a near bullet proof car. ... Either way, do not use factory pistons. ...

This was my initial line of thinking. Any input on what you mean by "the way Subaru should have built them"? (without going insane on the budget)

I generally like the idea of keeping it a 2.5 for the bottom end torque. More fast road/auto-x usage than flat out rpm screamer.

kanaric wrote: Just find a EJ255. It will make the same power as a EJ257 and be more reliable (so the "ringland failure" people say) ...Don't even mess around with Cobb AP, waste of money. A tune from someone who does opensource tunes cost me $400 and I didn't even have to buy anything. ...People like putting a huge turbo with a ton of boost on there not realizing that the purpose of this car is not drag racing and the motor is not a 2JZ. If you keep the power mods reasonable you wont have problems.

Interesting perspective thanks. I have no desire to build a dyno queen, and I've never been drag racing. With most anything though, some tinkering/upgrading is bound to happen. Getting the most out of the package with reasonable safety and proper tuning.

One of the more come reasons for oiling problems was the oil pickup tube. They'd crack. So like a straw that has a hole somewhere in the middle, it's a heck of a lot harder to pull the oil up. Many issues relate to having a "normal" range of oil but on the low side. If you are rebuilding, use a killer b oil pickup and tray setup if racing is likely. Always check your oil, and keep it at the full end of the dipstick and your life will be pretty good. There is plenty of power in a stockish tune, stockish turbo. Good internals, and a known good block and life is good. There were a bad batch of ej257 blocks. Depends on the end goal of the car, but i'd be inclined to find a used jdm ej20 based sti motor(the more recent the version the better). Drop it in and get a good tune from a reputable subaru place. By good tune, I mean tune for reliability, not bragging rights. Then go beat the snot out of it. They can be had for reasonable money on ebay and a few other places. A completely stock motored sti is quite competent, many get into trouble by upping the boost and changing the turbo, and that is when the stuff starts to hit the fan.