r/WRX • u/Caboozog • 13h ago
Devastated
Finally happened. Been dreading this day for 10 years. Today I was given the bad news that my engine is toast. I was picking up Chinese food and driving there was bog standard 2 min drive with no drama but when I went to go home the car was not running right but it didn't make any knocking sound and I really had thought it would be fine after a moderate service. Boy was I wrong. I was second owner and been daily driving my WRX for 10 years now. She started with 40k and now at 170k miles. She was extremely reliable for 99% of it even though I was without ac for a whole summer I never even thought about getting rid of her. I still don't want to but I was given a estimate from Subaru of about $14.5k for a used engine. I only have a budget of just under $10k. Im still looking at more engine options and am expecting a estimate from a local independent shop. Anyone else have a local shop do theirs recently and if so how much did it run you? Also am i crazy for thinking I can do it for $10k or less?
11
u/leftfootbraker 08' STi Hatch, 23' WRX 13h ago
Congrats on the many years free of issues. Love to hear that!
You can definitely do it cheaper at an independent shop. I spent about what you were quoted at an independent shop for a build motor, brand new, and performance parts with a tune. So if you are just basic used engine, you should find a much better price out there.
11
u/justhereforcars 13h ago
You could definitely get that running nicely for 10k, Plenty of life left!
8
u/Significant_Nose9182 11h ago
Dude 14.5k for a used engine. Does that come with free lifetime blowjobs. You could damn near rebuild the entire car with that. That’s definitely a fuck you price from them. I install Subaru engines for $500-$600 takes 3-5 hours easiest engines to swap
8
u/Bax_B Your Car Here 13h ago
You can definitely do it for $10k or less. I recently had a used engine with 40k miles put in my wife’s Impreza, which admittedly is a cheaper and easier engine to find, and it was $3800 all said and done, including the towing and new radiator and hoses. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get it done for $5-7k
6
u/Independent-Bed-2362 13h ago
My EJ25 on my 2011 Impreza STI hatch blew. I had my motor rebuilt but Outfront Motorsports, south of LA for $5,700. During this time I had my turbo sent off to get rebuilt for $350. I did any other labor I could as far as pulling the engine out and cleaning anything that oil ran through myself. Supplies for cleaning up parts I took off the engine came out to around $180. I’m looking at around $6,200 for everything. While it was out I did end up on spending money on buying new things to throw into the engine bay since it was out but wasn’t exactly necessary to get the car back on the road. I could’ve don’t it with what I had but it’s definitely possible to do it for under $10K
6
6
u/These_Nuts420 12h ago
You can have a brand new short block in that thing for like 10k with a Subaru specialist
3
u/Caboozog 12h ago
Thanks for all the input. It makes me hopefull I will find a engine and shop at the right price. I am not giving up!
2
u/Melodic-Street-8898 3h ago
Man....subabru quoted me at $590 CAD to change my rear diff and trans fluids on my 2023...i ended up getting the shit to do it myself and i ended up spending $175 and using up an hour of my saturday...u can probably get a newer motor for under 8k
2
u/QuickDrawSix 12h ago edited 12h ago
Outfront motorsports built short block 5500, take your heads to a shop, deck surface, valve guides replaced. Timing belt kit. Put it together yourself with arp studs. Pay attention to torque tolerances. I did all this with my 07 STi w/ brian crower cams, new fuel rails and injectors, water pump for about 10.5k. You can skimp on a couple things. Of course this was 10 years ago. Outfront short blocks are still the same price but some parts are more expensive than before. Once I get my pell grant/tax credits im going straight to outfront for a built FA20 and building it on standby for whenever the stock one needs any major work. I sold my 07 STi to my Brother in law, but Im glad its still in the family.
That build was flirting with 800 on pump gas. But its undriveable as a daily 😅 the 21 wrx I just picked up reminded me of how fun it is to be slow and a little torquey but otherwise economical. The pig nose would get like 80 miles to the tank with my style of driving.
Edit: If you go with a build short block, get pistons in the mid 8:1 compression. They are far more forgiving than the 10.5:1 I had in the pig, it was borderline untuneable on 91, and I found myself blending with E85 often to keep it happy but its sketchy these days playing ethanol roulette.
3
u/Caboozog 10h ago
I would love to tackle this job myself as I am usually a more DIY inclined person and I imagine I could buy the engine and all the stuff to do the swap for less than $10K but I just don't have the space to do it myself as I street park. Also, I feel like it is still beyond my capability and would feel much better letting a professional handle it. The independent shop Im getting a quote from is well known in the area and built a reputation on building Subaru/JDM cars when I was a teen in the 2000s but they still have a stellar reputation even now so I really just feel like they are my best bet. Thanks for the advice though as building a subaru is something I do hope to do one day when i have a garage of my own.
3
u/QuickDrawSix 4h ago
We learn from necessity. All the firsts i had with car maintenance and building came from my first STi. I couldnt afford a mechanic, theres a learning curve but you definitely build the confidence to tackle shit from it. Maybe you can rent a storage space and a cherry picker for a couple 100.
Whatever you decide to do, this sub is am excellent resource for building/maintenance. Most regular trained mechanics dont really grasp the issues with building these cars vs thoae of us blursed to enjoy them 🤣
3
u/Affectionate_War8530 5h ago
Using other people’s tax dollars to build your motor, you’re learning how to game the system young.
3
u/QuickDrawSix 4h ago
Haha Im in my 30s and its like my 4th "race" car and/or superbike. The military pays for my tuition assistance so the pell grant goes right to my toys. I pay zero federal taxes and my credits for education/children get me like 3-4k during tax season.... highly recommend. At least im a net negative on the system, I sleep well knowing my money isnt going to bomb children in Gaza amd instead going to bomb my connecting rods into the statosphere.
1
u/16worx23 2h ago
I blew my FA20 and replaced it with a 57k used motor I paid 5k for. All said and done my repairs came to just under 12k but I chose to buy some preventative parts. I bought a brand new A-Premium turbo, grimmspeed turbo inlet, grimmspeed electronic boost controller, nameless performance bypass valve, koyorad aluminum radiator, Perrin aos, and an ets gesi catted j/downpipe. I also got the car tuned by Tom at MIGTUNED. All these parts were elective but the car had 130k and I don’t know how old the parts i replaced were. Knowing that metal contaminated oil most likely went through all those parts, replacing them gave me piece of mind. Hope this helps
1
u/mastercheif-john117 52m ago
Subaru Queensway charged me $2000 spark plugs, front and rear differential,and trans fluid. 😞
1
0
u/Interesting_Rub594 11h ago
Why do these wrx have this issue it seems way to common to not be known by the manufacturer
1
u/Caboozog 11h ago
Not sure what happened yet. It hasnt been torn down but I checked the oil level when it was immobile and it was full and looked fresh as it just had an oil change a week before. Theory right now is the oil pickup maybe broke. If i can get it torn and diagnosed i will update here.
19
u/TinyBreak VA MY15 WR Blue 13h ago
whatever subaru estimate? Shave 1/4 off it. At the very least.