Chris-E Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Hello All, Apologies for coming straight on here with a problem/question - but here goes. I have had my 55 reg Impreza 2.0l wrx estate for 8 months now and has generally been a lovely car - good looking, good performance, spacious and very comfortable. However the engine has just started knocking from top section, possible cam shaft?, and managed to limp car to a local garage, which luckily was only a few miles away. please note it has newly been MOT'd and serviced, garage suggested 1.5l too much oil put in during service It has been suggested with the age and the 125k miles that it would be best selling as opposed to attaining a used engine, playing with PCU etc. What are my options here, and realistically what would the car be worth if I was to sell as is - PS turbo is not damaged. Is circa £2000 reasonable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Wotcha and welcome Chris - I would say it depends on how good with a spanner you are as there are some good engines to be had for reasonable prices and aslo how much you like the car as you know its history / shortcomings etc If you go with what you know you end up with a reliable motor and peace of mind or you can offload the motor for a potential unknown which can be a double edged sword. We do have some members in your end of the world and there are also some reputable garages and RA developments not too far away so you could go for some second opinions before making your final decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Hi Chris welcome to S.O.C I agree with Jay. How much do you want to keep the car also. But a full engine rebuild would be the best bet, but could get a refurbished engine. But not always advised like what Jay said you never know how well it was built. But Tlag and Adam or Bip might be able to give you a bit more advice their all very good with the engine side of things :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 If it is valve damage due to having too much oil you could get away without having a full rebuild. It still wont be cheap as the engine will need to come out and the heads removed, but the bottom end could be left untouched. Depending on what has failed, it may then be easier to refurbish the heads or buy a set of replacements. Cost would be in the same area as having head gaskets done, plus the cost of head work or replacement on top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-E Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Thanks for the welcome guys, Im afraid I cant work my way around a petrol engine, so undertaking an engine overhaul would be way out of my depth (also time to work on it would be an issue too). It would therefore be a mechanic with the £40 per hour on top of engine cost etc. Its a bit too much of a risk for me as after all this expense, you are still with an 8 year old car with an unknown engine. (especially as I don't know the condition of other parts of engine). What Im asking I suppose is the less risky and best financial scenario. ie take £2000 and id be happy with that (even though hefty loss since purchased in March) or spend (how much££££) and get a car thats worth circa 3000/3500? Would there be interest in the sales section on here.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I think you will lose money which ever way you go. As Jay said before do have a few members from up your way I can ask a couple see if they know of any good garages. Might be surprised at the price you can get it fixed for. Like me with a clutch everyone was wanting near £800 cheapest a mate of mine would do it was £650. But Ash on here told me to try one in Sheffield £390 supplied and fitted. So even with travel and 2 movies at the cinema and a Nando's for dinner it's cheaper :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 a car that you know is good will always be worth more to yourself, if you really like the car do some research and understand all your options before chopping it in at a loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggs Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 i'm in a similar situation, i have zero funds and i'm using more oil than petrol at the moment due to an oil seal leak, i know the car has been looked after in the past as it's got history for it all the way through, it's a 97 car so quite old and has 155k miles on the clock, if i cut my losses and buy another i'm in the situation of not knowing of any underlying issues that may arise so a new car may cost more in the long term, if i repair the car myself or get a garage that is trusted to do the work then i know that it's going to be a bit less to go wrong in the future, i have been in this situation before with a car, it was a 20 year old car that because of my driving style it was blowing and engine or gearbox at least once a year, over 5/6 years i spent over 7.5k on it keep rebuilding or buying new bits for it, the last engine that went kaput was just a knackered thermostat but i fitted a new rad and blew the heater matrix and thought it was a head gasket issue so sold the whole lot for £500 with all the receipts for money spent so made a massive loss on a car that would have cost me £20 to get it sorted, on one hand i'm happy i gave up as i now have the impreza, on the other hand it pisses me off as i know i lost so much money for nothing it's a damned if you do damned if you don't kind of dilema i think if you trust the rest of the car or can get it looked over in depth and find its a good one fix and keep, if it turns out there is other issues that will cost in the future leave now and get another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-E Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Thanks for the reply gents! I had a friend who was a former owner of a wrx, and more importantly a mechanic to boot, who came round to ascertain where the knocking noise is coming from, and he is 80% convinced its the big end that's gone in the crankshaft. He is recommending I take apart engine myself (farming background has convinced him that I can handle it) as have nothing to loose. New question: The engine in the 2005 WRX turbo estate 2.0l is EJ205NW7BB. I have access to a 1999 Legacy 2.0l GL with engine EJ201NWBVD. Is it possible to swap the engine block (as same EJ20 engine) between the two, and keep all other parts including turbo and intercooler without causing any difficulty? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 The block cases but not the internals as they will not be strong enough. turbo engines also have a lower compression ratio so the pistons have shaped surface, while non-turbo pistons are flat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggs Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 If your fixing it up its worth spending the extra time and rebuild the one you have, they are know for big end issues, get some performance bearings when you reassemble so any future mods you won't be stripping it all down again, if touch do plan on big power later on it would be worth doing the con rods too, pistons are easy enough to remove without stripping the block 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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