This is an upgrade, right?

"PowderHound" (PowderHound) 01/11/2016 at 14:37 • Filed to: None

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I have…news! Good? Bad? I don’t know, take it at face value. Call came in from the mechanic and we are going with a whole newish engine. Everything else we had found was fairly high mileage but he seems to have found a deal on an 80k mile example for 3k. My old engine was 185k miles so first off I would imagine that 100k miles less is a great start. It also comes with a 12 month 12k miles warranty, although I’m not all sure what this would cover based on the short phone congo I had. I’m excited to get my car back even if it does seem a bit pricey.

I also forgot to ask but hopefully I will get to keep my old engine to rebuild myself for the experience, and to either save for when the motor goes again or sell to recoup some costs. The new/used engine is coming from a wrecking yard in California so I can’t imagine they want a core to lessen the price and unless the mechanic offers some money for the old engine there is no way I wouldn’t get it back right? I’ve been getting a little bored at home and building an engine seems like a great pastime.

Pic is my car at the mechanic sans-engine.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > PowderHound 01/11/2016 at 14:55

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I had so much drivetrain trouble with my Bugeye.

Anyway, make sure you do the head gaskets before putting that engine in. 80k is right on the deadline.

Dusty Ventures > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 01/11/2016 at 15:00

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Head gasket, timing belt, water pump

PowderHound > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 01/11/2016 at 15:05

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Weird. I haven’t heard of too many issues with 2.0L Turbo headgaskets. Mostly the older non-turbos.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > PowderHound 01/11/2016 at 15:13

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No issues with the head gaskets in particular. 80k is just the recommended switch.

My issues were with a siezed engine, a shattered transmission, and a ground up center diff.

Needmoargarage > PowderHound 01/11/2016 at 15:27

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I think 3k sounds a little pricey, unless that’s covering labor and everything. I think I paid just a bit over 2k for a complete ‘04 engine with 57k miles from a junkyard. As mentioned by others, do all the maintenance items when it’s out.

Sometimes the core charge is so cheap it’s not worth shipping the block back, so you might ask your mechanic if you can just have it/buy it back from him.

Needmoargarage > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 01/11/2016 at 15:29

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I had the exact same series of catastrophic issues on my ‘02 Bugeye! I finally sold it and swore off turbo Subarus.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Needmoargarage 01/11/2016 at 15:37

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Yeah, there were a lot of problems with the ‘02. Over my expensive years of ownership, I came to surmise that Subaru added alot of power, but didn’t strengthen any of the drivetrain components. When my diff disintegrated, it was because a snap ring came loose and got caught in the gears. They used a thicker snap ring the following year, but never issued a recall. The transmission is commonly known as “glass,” though I didn’t know this before buying the car.

I still don’t know what went wrong with the engine. Even the guy who bought the car from me took it apart and couldn’t figure it out. It just seized.

I still like what Subaru does, but it’s hard for me to recommend them to people. I haven’t had that car for a year and a half, and I’m still paying for one of the repairs.

PowderHound > Needmoargarage 01/11/2016 at 15:38

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At this point I think I don't care. If I was doing it myself I'm sure I could find one cheaper. But fuck it. I just want my car back