savage bulldogs

Dodging in and out of the rain showers today but I managed to fit everything eventually 😎 I drained the coolant system (again) removed the leaky rad to give me a bit more space ,to get to the oil cooler pipes at the front of the engine. The new samco hoses where a really tight fit onto the water pump ,new crossover pipe ,oil cooler and block take off . So that coupled with the new cheap exhaust wrap ....made this one of my least favourite scooby jobs for a long while 😏 I fitted two of the new pipes to the crossover pipe and then filled a swear jar fitting the rest but with the pipes being such a tight fit and the new spring clips being so strong .. . I'm sure it won't be leaking again anytime soon 😊 The ally rad Alyn @asperformance supplied has a slightly bigger core and 50mm thicker end caps but it fitted fine 😎 Only issue I did have was my cheapy rad cooling panel needed to have a couple of bits cut out either end , to fit round the bigger end caps . Then a few notches cut out of it for the rad shroud and expansion bottle hardlines to bolt through. So everything back together ,coolant refilled ,blead and run up to temp with the new sti header tank cap . Test drive went fine and "bang the leaks are gone " 😊 Looking forward to the Tuesday commute going back to work now , to start clocking up these running in miles at last 😉

Only sort of first hand experience I've had with cheap Ebay turbos is a mate of mine fitted one to his forged 3.2 ltr 4wd mk2 golf . It made 440 hp and went like stink ,for 1.5k miles.... then spat its seals out . He fitted a £1.8k hta turbo and it made 480 hp at the wheels and is going strong 3yrs and 20k miles later . Although I know the expensive turbos are tried n tested ,Personally I'm too tight to buy a £1k+ turbo . I've given the arashi tdo5 20g billet wheeled turbo a punt . It did seem to look reasonable quality and spool well ,even with a wrongly fitted actuator at the time . I upgraded the core to a ball bearing core but haven't got any numbers , due to currently running in. I think it's the hit and miss nature of really cheap turbos that put people off , you could be fine and make good reliable power 😎 But it could fail sending shrapnel into the inlet causing engine damage 🙁 Hence why most people wont advise you to "give a cheap ebay turbo a go ". As you won't get much change outta £2k just in parts and machine costs to rebuild a boxer lump properly, let alone labour costs . As for running 400 hp on a standard classic 5 speed and engine , I've been into scoobies for over a decade and never seen any mechanicallly standard classic with over 360hp last long . So if you do know people running 400hp I would like to see some dyno graphs ,supporting mod list and know how long they've been running that sort of power for . I don't mean to sound like i don't believe you ,its more if I'm wrong I'd like to learn something new .

Although I've personally never used Craig , hes been helpful and seems to have good feedback . So I did a little digging and found his company f.b page. https://m.facebook.com/RallyAspects/ As you would probably get a better response from him on his business page ,rather than his personal profile . Otherwise the two breakers I listed would probably have a 2nd hand sti turbo and pink injectors ,if you wanted to aim higher than 330hp (that your current 440 injectors are good for).

Decided to go with a ally rad ,rcm/samco oil modine pipe kit and a new genuine sti header tank cap . So hopefully the weather's dry over the weekend I can start to run in again and use it for the commute to work next week 🤞

Aa far as turbos generally go ,if it's under £700 brand new it's a gamble that it will work and a possibility ,that if it does fail it will take your engine with it (especially if its running a tmic ) I don't know craig that well tbh and have only spoken to him a few times but I know a few people that have bought either reconditioned subaru , hybrid or upgraded turbos from him . There's quite a few Facebook scooby breakers I've use both Jacob at "jdm solutions Suffolk " and matt at mb developments before. Either of those might be worth a try for a second hand unit , if craig doesn't get back to you .

Sorry bud , !Removed! autocorrect , Craig bellworthy on f.b , builds hybrid tdo4's and other stock Subaru turbos . Heres a screenshot of his profile page , pop him a message 👍

A good second hand sti turbo (vf35 ,vf34 ect ) can be bought for around £350 . Or someone like Craig Bellamy on face book ,might have a refurbished unit in stock . If you just buy that compressor wheel and housing , it might not fit your core and will definitely need to be sent to a turbo rebuilder . As the old turbo core will need to be torn down ,wheel removed , new wheel fitted correctly, core rebalancing and re assembly. I have bought a few kinigwa bits before and they seem ok quality, especially for the price but you'd be better off buying a "pre balanced core" that definitely fits your existing hotside.

Aftermarket intake pipes are normally silicone ,so a bit eaiser to fit . Most tend to unbolt the purge valve ,from the underside of the inlet and relocate it (cable tie it elsewhere) . This might give you a bit more room when trying to refit the intake 😉 Most breakers will have a purge valve if you need one , you do have to drain the coolant to remove the inlet manifold completely. I've only done a few while rebuilding engines and my v1 intake pipework route is different to yours . Why were you switching back to the oe intake , was the aftermarket intake pipe "mapped in " and could you just refit the silicone one for now

Nice clean looking scooby, my first one was a 97 uk turbo 😊

Been back at work this week and the a4 daily had a flat battery and was blocking the scooby in 🙄 Tbh it turns that was a good thing ,as midweek I noticed a couple of patches under the scooby 🤔 I'd bought some cheap exhaust wrap to go over the old stuff on the headers ,so got it up in the air to sort that and investigate. Soon spotted 2 minor coolant weaps 🙁 I had been using fuchs coolant with water and noticed everything looked a bit fury in the coolant system on teardown. I found a nearly new core in the scooby scraps shed for a automatic , so thought I'd fit that so the coolant system was fresh . Ihaven't a clue where it cam from (never owned a auto anything) but guess I know it will be going...... in the bin 🙁🙄😂 Its Leaking bottom right corner between plastic end cap and core . The oil cooler modine hoses and spring clips are the original 26 year old ones , so they've done well but the combination of the hoses going hard and the spring clips going weak ,have lead to it not sealing properly 🙄 So new modine hoses ,clips and crossover pipe ,along with a new (possibly ally) radiator needed . Before run in can resume 😊

His it just a t piece that's snapped or a vacuum line "take off" ? If it a take off on a sensor with wires going to it ,its probably the fuel line purge solenoid. If it's just a t piece in some vacuum lines ,replace the t piece with one of the same bore . If you need to get it moving put some tape round the hole on the t piece if possible to stop it leaking and block any open take offs or use a bolt to plug any open vac lines . It will probably run well enough to get you too a mechanic, once you've fitted the intake pipe . It's a pig of a job with the inlet manifold still on , so I take the inlet off and replace the gaskets but it can be done.

A tgv delete can add a few hp at higher levels of tune but even then only about 10 hp . It's more a case of mapping out the unreliability of them at your level , so thought I'd mention it. They can always be removed and have the map tweeked at a later date ,if they play up at some point . Along with the secondary air pump ,if yours has one ,as they're also prone to failure and most have them mapped out but both of them ain't a necessity, just fairly common.

You could totally remove the snapped belt , taking caution not to let the passengers side cam pulleys spin towards each other (if the belt still has tension on them) This should leave the cams at base circle, lobes not pushing down on the valves and valves should be shut . Then slowly turn the crank pulley a full rotation , if it stops /locks you've definitely bent some valves . If not a garage might be able to do a compression test to see if it's ok but I don't know if they'd have to fit a new belt to do so . If it is fubared, a second hand engine would be the cheapest way to get it back on the road , best of luck bud

The error is down to the pic file size being too large (to high a resolution) . So you need to downgrade the quality or size of the pic . I never upload from a p.c but assume a "gallery " or "photo viewer " would have a option to re size a pic If your trying to upload from a smart phone ,there's a few apps that can resize pics but on my Samsung I simply screenshot the pic and it downsizes enough to allow it to upload 👍

Youd need to google both the code on your gearbox ty5### number off the white sticker near the starter motor and the one off the 6 speed to see if the ratios match . Tbh with standard uk pistons and rods youd be lucky to get 350hp before something broke or the heads lifted. You say other people run 400's on a standard engine , maybe a ej207 but I've never seen it on a standard ej20 g ,ej20 k or ej205 . Tbh 330hp in a 1300 kg car is no slouch and a much cheaper and safer target hp .

Side feeds are on v1 to v6 (all classics only) Yours will have light blue 440cc top feeds , which will probably max at 330hp ish . Most common upgrade is sti pink injectors, which max at 360hp ish . A uprated pump is always a good idea as the standard 15yr old one might not keep up with the extra demand in fuel after remapping. A change in pump won't require a remap ,as the standard fuel pressure regulator will keep the fuel at the original pressure. Fuel pressure regulator isn't really needed tbh , as "pinks" would be capable of running enough power at standard pressure, to be on the limit of your engine and 5 speed box . Other common mods before mapping are a sti or aftermarket up pipe ,to get rid of the pre cat in the newage wrx up pipe . Also tgv deletes, as these restrict flow into the engine and often get stuck , then flag a ECU code .

Could be boost control system fault , causing it to go into limp mode but have a search for classic self ecu code check in the tech section on here . To see if you have any stored ecu codes , maybe check the vacuum lines in the engine bay ,especially to and from the boost solenoid/turbo .

Hopefully its something minor ,just vibrating at a certain rpm 🤞

Clutch ,rear crank seal ,spigot bearing, driveshaft seals and prop seals are all worth changing when the box is off . Saves a lot in labour if they go at a later date

Gearbox ty number is on a white sticker ,on the bellhousing near the starter motor . You need to google that number to find your existing ratio and buy a box with the same ratio . Nope I've busted a good sh ty52 uk turbo box @330hp and then 2x jdm ty52's at 347hp within a fortnight 🙄 So I've been running the uk 6 speed for about 7 yrs at mid 300's . Youd need the same as the hawk plus a 6 speed prop , existing 5 clutch assembly and front shafts work with a 6 speed box fine

Check your wastegate arm by giving it a wiggle , as they sometimes rattle . Exhaust heat shields and clutch plate rattle would be the next things ,I'd have looked at . Try dipping the clutch when stationary to see if it makes the same noise

Be cheaper to buy a second hand box £300 ish , haven't a clue what price a garage would charge to fit one tbh

You need to google your existing gearbox ty number and buy another box with the same final drive ratio , so it matches your existing rear diff . Think I've read that they handle 380hp due to bigger casings and slightly stronger gearsets to cope with the extra torque fron the 2.5 ltr . But I've never personally owned one ,so I'm can't guarantee that's gospel plus any second hand 5 speed box can be a gamble at higher hp . I got 310 miles from my v1sti running 359 hp on a family trip to cornwall , with 4 up and a bootfull of cases. Always seem close to boost with the shorter 1st to 5th ,so I prefer the drivabilty too .

Unfortunately I've never seen under the bonnet of a diesel subaru but that doesn't seem right to have that amount of movement to me . Is that just a auxiliary belt tensioner ? If so you could try to remove the belt completely, just to see if the noise goes away and pin point where the noise is definitely coming from . Unfortunately I don't know anything about that type of tensioner but it does appear to be spring loaded ? Maybe @Mr B can help ?

I'm not up to spec on hatch na but they possibly run a push operation clutch and a standard replacement would probably be fine . I tend to drop the box when doing clutches on gc8's, just a case of removing exhaust ,both front driveshafts and undoing the prop at the different end . That way you only need to get the car up high enough on 4 axle stands to remove the box from under the car and no need for a engine hoist ,coolant refill ect . As for is it easy , that depends upon how rusted up everything is ,tools you have to hand and mechanical experience tbh .