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Old 12-31-2010, 11:37 AM   #1
breezy
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Default Are the WRX boxer engines hard to work on?

I am just interested to find out how difficult the engines are to work on. I am no mechanic by any means. I don't even know how to bleed my brakes, but I can do routine maintenance on all my vehicles. I think it is very important and love pretending to be a mechanic when working on my car. Is there any good books that explain routine maintenance and give technical advice on tuning your car?

I think the whole Turbo thing scares me to. I had an old 280ZX Turbo back in the day and that was a nightmare although everyone tells me that is so old school that todays Turbos are so much better.

I will keep my car mostly stock and will not do any upgrades until it is paid for. It will be plenty of car for me as it is. I will also get to learn about my car and what everyone is doing to their cars in the meantime.

Would love to hear any insight you might have on this for a wannabe mechanic and a newbie to the whole WRX game. Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-31-2010, 11:50 AM   #2
fellstar
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Nope, easy peasy.

Hardest thing to do is freaking change the spark plugs lol.
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Old 12-31-2010, 12:07 PM   #3
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First, glad you finally got the car! They aren't that hard to work on for routine maintenance aside from plugs(which are a pain in the ass, but not hard).

Im sure there's stuff you can read on tuning, but id leave it to the pros. Much rather pay a few hundred bucks to have it done. Check the tuning forum.
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Old 12-31-2010, 01:05 PM   #4
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The subaru techs knew what they were doing when they put them together, alot of bolts are interchangeable, plugs and wires can pretty much only go one spot. Plugs are a pain not because of taking apart things but the room on both sides of the engine bay next to the frame rail. One of the easiest motors Ive ever worked on.
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Old 12-31-2010, 02:33 PM   #5
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Easiest car I have EVER changed the oil on.
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Old 12-31-2010, 02:51 PM   #6
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Very cool to hear. Even for a routine maintenance guy it's good to know that it's not hard to work on. And no, I haven't received my car yet. I am hoping I will have it by the end of January.
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Old 12-31-2010, 03:54 PM   #7
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Very easy, hardest thing I've found is just the space it can be tight sometime specially coming from a v8 engine bay. Havnt done plugs yet but plan to sometime soon. Congrats on the car once you finally get it...
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Old 12-31-2010, 04:07 PM   #8
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Just be glad its not a ford Taurus
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Old 12-31-2010, 05:35 PM   #9
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Fumoto Valve FTW. I counted the days to change my oil since this part made it so easy.

I DID have a b1tch of a time flushing my coolant. Damn thing wouldn't "burp" right.
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Old 12-31-2010, 05:46 PM   #10
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Im not sure how you guys are saying boxers are easy to work on. THERE IS NO SPACE. Go check where the spark plugs are on a honda civic then go check your motor. There is always something in the way of whatever you are trying to work on, never fails. I would say Subys are fairly difficult to work on if you dont know what you are doing.

All things aside, the boxer motors are beautiful pieces of engineering..
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Old 12-31-2010, 07:54 PM   #11
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There have been plenty that said the spark plugs are not easy, we are just saying in general most of the other things are pretty easy. I cant answer for the spark plugs, I havnt had to do them. But everything I've done has all been pretty easy, I do agree that theres always something in the way (as you stated), but I dont really think that makes them hard to work on, just takes a little more time ...

They definitely are beautiful pieces of engineering.
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Old 12-31-2010, 08:13 PM   #12
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Just wait until you tackle a few more installs. Wait until you button everything up from putting in new injectors and one leaks on you. Doing a turbo inlet also makes you want to shoot yourself in the foot. It's not that its terribly hard, just cramped spaces and everything must go on in a certain order.

I will say though, a lot of my troublesome install have been with aftermarket parts, and well, thats to be expected I guess.
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Old 12-31-2010, 08:38 PM   #13
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Space is the only real issue. Also the newness of the work. For example going stage 2 took forever the first time. I could do it now in an eigth of the time. First time things take longer. Mostly because something is in the way. Space is the number one issue, second is stuck bolts.

I have a second car so I do not fear the mods because if I mess up I can still get around.
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Old 12-31-2010, 10:03 PM   #14
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Routine maintenance is relatively easy on Subaru's.

Spark plugs are not that bad to change (unless a plug is seized). Having the right tools on hand makes all the difference in the world.

Oil changes are simple (+1 on the Fumoto valve... every car should have one)
Changing the radiator fluid and hoses are easy.
Replacing any portion of the exhaust (turbo and back) is simple.
Replacing 02 sensors are cake.
Replacing the fuel filter (06+) is easy but takes time.
Replacing the transmission fluid is easy after you get used to removing and replacing the top mount. It used to pis me off but now I scoff at it.

Overall, it is an engine that most semi-mechanically inclined people can perform routine maintenance on with ease, in my opinion.
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Old 12-31-2010, 11:06 PM   #15
tank1987
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Yeah injectors are next.
Stage 2 wasnt to bad I didnt think, I thought the hardest thing was the up pipe with having to loosen the motor mounts and lift the motor alittle to slide the old up-pipe out, but laying on your back and pushing your knees up to lift the motor just a bit works quiet good.
Headers and downpipe, and large tmic all are easy
Actually I found that stupid light weight crank pulley to be a friken pain, with that key way lineing up deal.
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Old 12-31-2010, 11:10 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fellstar View Post
Nope, easy peasy.

Hardest thing to do is freaking change the spark plugs lol.
I second this, lol. It was the first thing I did when I got my subie, and man... what a task that was. Everything else has been pretty smooth!
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Old 01-01-2011, 01:07 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shewillbemine View Post
Fumoto Valve FTW. I counted the days to change my oil since this part made it so easy.

I DID have a b1tch of a time flushing my coolant. Damn thing wouldn't "burp" right.
Haha, try it on an MR2 where you have three different bleeding points...

Quote:
Originally Posted by evan_impreza View Post
Im not sure how you guys are saying boxers are easy to work on. THERE IS NO SPACE. Go check where the spark plugs are on a honda civic then go check your motor. There is always something in the way of whatever you are trying to work on, never fails. I would say Subys are fairly difficult to work on if you dont know what you are doing.



All things aside, the boxer motors are beautiful pieces of engineering..
Then look where a turbo and intercooler is on an MR2 and you'll be happy you have a Subaru.

Coming from an MR2 turbo, my Forester hasn't been bad at all. The easiest way to do a timing belt in a 2 is to pull the engine. I did it in the Forester and I wasn't even cramped.
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Old 01-01-2011, 03:04 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fellstar View Post
Nope, easy peasy.

Hardest thing to do is freaking change the spark plugs lol.
And that about sums it up!!!
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Old 01-01-2011, 04:02 AM   #19
XanRules
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The more work you do, the more you will find yourself asking "why the **** would anyone design a car like this?"
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Old 01-01-2011, 07:41 AM   #20
breezy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flimflamman View Post
Routine maintenance is relatively easy on Subaru's.

Spark plugs are not that bad to change (unless a plug is seized). Having the right tools on hand makes all the difference in the world.

Oil changes are simple (+1 on the Fumoto valve... every car should have one)
Changing the radiator fluid and hoses are easy.
Replacing any portion of the exhaust (turbo and back) is simple.
Replacing 02 sensors are cake.
Replacing the fuel filter (06+) is easy but takes time.
Replacing the transmission fluid is easy after you get used to removing and replacing the top mount. It used to pis me off but now I scoff at it.

Overall, it is an engine that most semi-mechanically inclined people can perform routine maintenance on with ease, in my opinion.
Thanks, this is exactly the kind of work I will do on my car. The rest I will leave to the professionals. The first thing I will do is have my V1 hard wired into the car. Has anyone done this on their own? I am not an electrician and think this would be a big PIA.
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Old 01-01-2011, 07:56 AM   #21
OUScooby
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Things that are easy on a subaru:
changing the oil, swapping the turbo, installing a downpipe, installing headers

Things that are a pain in the ass:
everything else.
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Old 01-01-2011, 09:12 AM   #22
iRonin
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While we're on the subject, how about some necessary equipment?

Alas, I didn't have much mechanical instruction growing up, but I would certainly like to learn. I have a fairly nice Craftsman 298 piece mechanics toolkit, so essentially a wide variety of sockets, wrenches, etc.

What else do I need?
What about suggested reading options?
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Old 01-01-2011, 09:30 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iRonin View Post
While we're on the subject, how about some necessary equipment?

Alas, I didn't have much mechanical instruction growing up, but I would certainly like to learn. I have a fairly nice Craftsman 298 piece mechanics toolkit, so essentially a wide variety of sockets, wrenches, etc.

What else do I need?
What about suggested reading options?
#70 torx socket to remove the tranny drain bolt. They made it that way because so many Jiffy Lube morons unbolted the tranny drain bolt when doing an oil change, thinking it was the oil pan. Owner then leaves with 10 quarts of oil (including the old dirty oil) and no tranny fluid. The tranny didn't like that for very long.

Tranny fluid (at least on my LGT....can't see why a WRX would be different) does not require an intercooler removal. On a cool engine, feel for the dipstick behind the turbo from the passenger side. Use a flexible tube....stick it into the hole that the dipstick came out of and fill with your favorite tranny fluid.

Everyone talks about the spark plugs. Why? Unlike a N/A subaru (which is a 1/2 hour job), the turbos use coil on plug and the 2 rear ones need to be twisted all around to get them out and away from the plug. Once out, removing the plug is a piece of cake. Then you have to get the coil pack back in. Once in and bolted in place, you gotta make real sure that the connector is plugged in fully (been there, didn't do that) or you get less than 4 cyl's firing....which is really obvious. I expect a WRX is similar to my LGT. I had to remove the air box to do the pass side ones and the battery and plastic thingy (I think it's an air pump line or something) to get to the plugs.

Anything with the turbo is going to be a pain. Since it's stuck in back of the engine, things are very difficult to get to. Also, if you ever need head work or want to swap cams, the engine has to come out.
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Old 01-01-2011, 10:59 AM   #24
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^^ Jack is right... you do not have to remove the TMIC on a WRX/STI to fill the tranny back up. I've used the long funnel with the twist open valve before and it worked well. It's just easier for me to fill it with the TMIC off (I can be messy).

Buy a Fumoto valve (only like $20-$25). I can't stress enough how much easier this makes draining the oil pan. Personally, I do not use the optional extension, but I do use the optional safety clip for piece of mind.

There are excellent tutorials here and on scoobymods that walk you through step by step maintenance and modification scenarios.

Something I learned a long time ago when replacing spark plugs was to use a small piece of fuel line hose (approx. 3-4" long and 5/16 diameter, IIRC) to avoid cross threading upon installation. The boxer engine has the plugs recessed into the block to far to use your fingers to screw in the plug. The hose provides the extension and allows you to "feel" the plug screw in properly.
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Old 01-01-2011, 11:31 AM   #25
Disruptin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flimflamman View Post
^^ Jack is right... you do not have to remove the TMIC on a WRX/STI to fill the tranny back up. I've used the long funnel with the twist open valve before and it worked well. It's just easier for me to fill it with the TMIC off (I can be messy).

Buy a Fumoto valve (only like $20-$25). I can't stress enough how much easier this makes draining the oil pan. Personally, I do not use the optional extension, but I do use the optional safety clip for piece of mind.

There are excellent tutorials here and on scoobymods that walk you through step by step maintenance and modification scenarios.

Something I learned a long time ago when replacing spark plugs was to use a small piece of fuel line hose (approx. 3-4" long and 5/16 diameter, IIRC) to avoid cross threading upon installation. The boxer engine has the plugs recessed into the block to far to use your fingers to screw in the plug. The hose provides the extension and allows you to "feel" the plug screw in properly.

excellent advice. Couldnt of said it better.
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