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Old 07-01-2007, 03:47 AM   #1
lasvegasbugeye
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Exclamation Help! 2003 WRX Motor Blown! How? Why? What to Do?

I will give you guys the short story. 2003 WRX, 95K miles, stock other than K&N filter. I was driving fast. Made it to 110s-120s pretty quick, took a minute or two to make it to 137. Service Engine Light came on. Slowed down, heard engine clatter. Parked car. Checked oil, smelled of gas. Car remains parked.

Now I guess my questions are:

Are there problems with this motor/car that I should know about? Weak parts that are prone to breaking? Special instructions pertaining to this particular car?

What to do now? Rebuild stock, rebuild w/ better parts, or buy used motor. Not looking to spend a lot, but if I can add a couple of parts to keep this from happening again, that would be great.

Any info would be a great help, Thanks guys.
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Old 07-01-2007, 04:32 AM   #2
FRWRX
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Unless you have a FMIC, never drive a Scooby that fast for minutes.
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Old 07-01-2007, 04:33 AM   #3
scottD
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120's ??? Oh boy!

I'm just here for the gang bang....
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Old 07-01-2007, 04:40 AM   #4
Umphreys448
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I'll spare you the lecture you're going to get from a dozen other people about how going that fast is a terrible idea aside from it breaking your car...

You need to figure out what's actually wrong with the motor before anyone can give you advice on how to rebuild it...

In the mean time you should read all the FAQs and stickies about built motors and oil and heatsoak, as those will probably be helpful.

The only advice I can give you is that if fixing the problem includes dropping your engine out then you might as well do a swap now for a better motor so you can save yourself the extra labor costs. A 2.2L Turbo Legacy build?
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Old 07-01-2007, 05:09 PM   #5
lasvegasbugeye
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FMIC... check.

gang bang... check

Read FAQs and stickies about built motors, oil, and heatsoak... check.
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Old 07-01-2007, 05:18 PM   #6
mxboy15u
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Let me see...turbo at boost for long period of time...heat...older motor...gee why did my engine assplode?
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Old 07-01-2007, 05:42 PM   #7
skimobile
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For an easy check,
Drain oil, see if any particles are in the fluid, cut open oil filter and see what it caught.
Slightly harder would be to check compression.....
(From one with a blown engine right now)...
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Old 07-01-2007, 05:43 PM   #8
LewisWORX
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if something did go wrong...I would imagine you not spending a lot will not happen.
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Old 07-01-2007, 06:06 PM   #9
MasterKwan
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That's pretty Fing sad. I mean that a suby motor grenades like that not that the OP was goin 130+. After reading here for some months, it appears that the 02/03 engines are time bombs just waiting to blow up. Sad, because I have an 03 with 80K miles. Properly designed, properly maintained and with the proper gas, these engines ought to run full boost all day long. Makes me think there's some inherent design flaw in the 2 liters.

Knocking the way you say it is, you probably need a shortblock. I'll bet you spun a bearing or two. Probably find a used one for $500-1000. A new 2.5 liter STI block can be had for about $2000.

I've already started a 2 liter replacement block build for my own inevitable spun bearing.
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Old 07-01-2007, 06:26 PM   #10
dankEe
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i have a 02 wrx wif 96, rigorously maintained, i mean rigorously, some might say overkill, and ive never had any sort of problems.. i take my car down on road trips push it to 120-130 all the time..

i definately dont think its inevitable..
people just dont know how to drive
- Danny
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Old 07-01-2007, 06:46 PM   #11
Mitsu
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what oil you running?
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Old 07-01-2007, 08:07 PM   #12
dankEe
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5w-30 mobil 1..

theres always people that swear by it , or say its the worst, never really in betweens.. but honesly i think its all abou consistency.. if you use it, use it dont be changing the oils all around that can mess up the results

i dunno, just my opinion
-Danny
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Old 07-01-2007, 08:15 PM   #13
anthonyrb98
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mobil 1 + high speed runs = spun rod bearings
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Old 07-01-2007, 08:30 PM   #14
MasterKwan
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Yeah so it seems. I'm running thicker oil these days. Thickest the manual says I can run.
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Old 07-01-2007, 09:05 PM   #15
surowrxa
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Yeah, all the clank-clanking in the 2.0 after high speed runs is very disappointing. Hard to determine if it's an inherent flaw because of the terrible driving habits/maintenance of some people, but disturbing nonetheless.

OP: here's a thread for your future endeavors

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...1194462&page=2
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Old 07-01-2007, 09:59 PM   #16
Rokkit
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so can someone point me in the direction of the "reason why speed of your car relates to spinning a rod bearing" thread? I still fail to see why you it would spin... the motor is loaded at higher rpms?
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:11 PM   #17
edo2000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rokkit View Post
so can someone point me in the direction of the "reason why speed of your car relates to spinning a rod bearing" thread? I still fail to see why you it would spin... the motor is loaded at higher rpms?
I don't think it's about rpm; rather, the motor is working very hard at 130+ mph; our cars are just not very aerodynamic. But I agree, it shouldn't come apart, simply because it is called on to make near maximum power for 3 or 4 minutes. I have run my car up to 130 a few times; I must admit, I'll be a little nervous about it the next time.
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:13 PM   #18
Rokkit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edo2000 View Post
I don't think it's about rpm; rather, the motor is working very hard at 130+ mph; our cars are just not very aerodynamic. But I agree, it shouldn't come apart, simply because it is called on to make near maximum power for 3 or 4 minutes. I have run my car up to 130 a few times; I must admit, I'll be a little nervous about it the next time.
Now... if someone said they were running +stock boost and the egt's were approaching dangerous levels... THAT i could see... but in that case i would assume a piston would go 1st.

Hm - I know people who track wrx's - I dont hear about them blowing their crap up
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:27 PM   #19
WizardGandoff
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyrb98 View Post
mobil 1 + high speed runs = spun rod bearings
ha happened to me.

it 5000 for a stock 2.0 installed at the dealer. they wont do a hybrid swap stuff for you
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:32 PM   #20
Rokkit
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What im trying to figure out is how to relate a "high speed run" to blowing up your motor...

couldnt you just as well blow it up any other time?
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:34 PM   #21
linsavy
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Tracked WRX blow up all the time, Dude. They are not race or rally cars. Short bursts of speed are OK, but long term high speed produces too much heat. The bearings get too hot and then spin.
On the track, watch your oil temp gauge and run high octane like 98 or better.
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:37 PM   #22
MasterKwan
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What kind of answer are you looking for? You were running it hard and it broke. On the track, say, Summit Point, you're WOT and hitting 130 for perhaps 20-30 seconds tops before you have to brake at the end of the main straight. Even on VIR with it's long straights, you're probably WOT for under a minute at a time.

I consider 95K miles to be high miles. To most people, that many miles is end of life for the car (I know many people get alot more miles out of them than that).

The 02/03's seem to be prone to a number of issues.

1) Blown head gaskets

2) Spun Rod bearings

3) Blown transmissions.

It's just sort of the nature of the beast.

Is there actually some answer that'll make you happy?
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Old 07-02-2007, 06:35 AM   #23
sexualtyranasaur
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i would bet dollars to dognuts that you were a quart or 1 1/2 quarts low on motor oil
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Old 07-02-2007, 06:37 AM   #24
Rally_WRX1
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Sorry about your luck..but these cars aren't made to be going no 140mph...I say get it rebuilt then do the speedlimit.
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Old 07-02-2007, 08:36 AM   #25
elohdaeh78
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I spun 3 rod bearings a few weeks ago, I had 51k miles on my 05 wrx and i was using mobil 1 5w30 since day one, changed every 3k miles, the motor blew at around 91mph in 3rd gear. Goodluck, I lost all faith in my wrx that day. Faith that my car can't be pushed to its redline for a brief second without blowing up is a sad sad reality. I paid $5700 for a new short block installed at subaru, got really ripped off, but I had no choice i needed the car back asap and they got it done in a few days.
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