MY 2002 WRX - Rod knock

[quito2lava]

i put 20w 50 in my wrx

[f34rthe4banger]

sell it subarus are money pits...i know

[MindzEye03rd]

@f34rthe4banger I LOVE MY CAR

[kosmosleha]

that sounds so painful

[ObeseChess]

M1 5w30 is a bad choice in these motors because it shears down to a Piss-weight at those temperatures.

[Ch1town92]

well just found out i have a rod knock getting replaced with a new short block i am going to baby it a check oil on a weekly basis and hope i never have to go through this ever again

[RonniesGarage]

Just to prevent any misconceptions Mobil 1 is a GREAT oil, BUT any synthetic 5w 30 is too thin for a WRX over 100K miles and especially too thin for a STAGE 2 WRX. for any WRX over 100k miles any synthetic 10w30 is a GREAT choice. 5w40 is also a GOOD alternative but still not any thicker than 5w30 when cold. I noticed this car has an intake which is highly debated for WRX's most intakes WILL lean out the AFR as well as not running a turbo heatshield. its a self inflicted failure.EM IS KEY!

[rmacman1]

i think its just rooted buy a new motor

[seapeddler]

Got rod knock? Stop wearing boxer shorts.

[2damaxmr2]

This is what happens when you don't check your oil level on regular basis.

[MindzEye03rd]

@2damaxmr2 Umm no... not in this case. the oil was checked right before taking the car out, and it was topped of to full. this was due to M1 5w30 being to thin.

[hobosapien081]

@MindzEye03rd yep, oil was too thin, happened to my '04 WRX too, did you change it to 5w40? it runs a lot smoother

[Runkleforskin]

@MindzEye03rd this is what happens when you fucktards don't read the godamned owners manual to see what type of oil to run in them at what temperatures... your own fucking fault.

[theomnation]

@MindzEye03rd

You are running the same viscosity oil when at temp now as you were before... Only you are causing more wear at startup then you were before. 5w30 & 10w30 are the same viscosity at temp as eachother.

[frosty9595]

These forigen cars seam to run for ever if you take care of them but gosh it seams like one little oops or a little too much fun and the stock bearings give up. Aftermarket bearings seam to take the abuse MUCH better but dang.... I have a pontiac gp 3800 with a stock bottem end running with a pullied supercharger and its brought to redline on a hourly basis every day and it never even acts like it doesnt love being at full throttle.

[MindzEye03rd]

@frosty9595 This was due to oil weight being to thin. Mobil1 5w30 is thinner then other oils at that same weight. Since putting an STi short block in i've switch to 10w.

[shirolee]

OUCH

[SpecificationR]

subaru EJ motors are the new 13B Rotary.

so many need rebuilds. before u call me a subaru hater, i actually own a swapped GC

[MindzEye03rd]

@SpecificationR lol. well most people try to build a subaru like a honda. first mod before any major mod should always be engine managment. if that doesn't come first, your car will fail.

[MindzEye03rd]

@MindzEye03rd Right on the nose with that one. I meet a lot of younger subaru owners that mod their cars power train and never knew anything about EM. Which should always be the first step when changing engine variables.

[jayguy173]

both of those are 30 weight oils and the 10w doesnt flow as well before the engine warms up

[guyd37]

Garbage Subaru

[mathyu0179]

Its wasnt the weight, that oil sucks.

[iwanaGoFast2010]

it might be the generator cable , had a 51 chevy do that to me.. you young whippersnappers dont know about that

[meattube4u33]

jap quality???, ricd turd fail!!!

[Romulan112]

My 97 Impreza with a 2.2 sounds just like that at cold start up. (77,000 miles) It goes away after about 5 mins of running it and more time in the winter. I took it to a dealer and said it was rod bearings. called it normal for Subaru.  I bought a new car, but this time FORD. :)

[mathyu0179]

@Romulan112 Problem solved! lol

[MZDA]

Ouch.

[evosmybitch]

that's not a rodnock. that just meant it was broken in enough to boost it to 40 PSI+.

hahaha, glad you're up n' running again though

[MrMrdavehawkeye]

5w-30 in a subaru,theres your problem way your engine went 10w-60 castrol edge or 10w-50 millers,

[wr53xy]

@MrMrdavehawkeye agreed, stick to semi synthetic if not it'll just oil just as fast as petrol

[assphincter]

POS Subs.

[MindzEye03rd]

@assphincter , i think not. Of course with the 02 year there will be issues as it was the first USDM turbo charged Impreza. But with any car, you have to pay to play. lol. When i spun the rod, i was heading to an appointment my wife was late for an hour away, so i was gunning it the whole way... for a while i was going at it with a corvette too... (He looked surprised when I kept pace with him). So i'm sure that didn't help.

[youreanidiot23]

I just spun a bearing on my 03 wrx. In fact, it's sitting on a trailer in my yard awaiting its bottom end rebuild tomorrow; this sound makes my nuts hurt.

[MindzEye03rd]

yeah. mine sounded like someone was shooting off a machine gun. lol

[youreanidiot23]

Not that anyone cares, but after nearly two months and $2500 dollars later, I am back in business. Final diagnosis: ran the oil out of that bitch and spun a rod bearing; complete engine rebuild from cams to crank. What a fucking nightmare...I'm glad it's over.

[MindzEye03rd]

@youreanidiot23 Congrats on getting her back. lol. total rebuild... nice. I got put back 3gs for a STi short block swap, machine heads, stage 2 pipes, complete engine gasket overhaul, sti water pump and a blueprint oilpump... oh and accessport with a protune.

But now that my transmission is down... gotta spend more to get her back. lol

Do anything crazy when you rebuilt?? cylinder sleves or bigger pistons?? that would be fun.

[erdoganog]

@youreanidiot23

hey bro how low were you? if im correct factory fill is like 4.2-4.3 so what is the limit to be low on ?

[IceCold314]

wouldnt have that problem with a deawoo!! jk do you abuse it alot

[XenoRacing]

03+ STi are their only good models, all the others have glass tranny and open deck engine issue. =/

[MindzEye03rd]

where are you from. USDM came out with the STi in 04.

But there are some STi's out there that are having issues with their transmission's, i think i've read somewhere it was more of an 04-05 issue.

[XenoRacing]

well the year 2003 is when the '04 were technically released is what i meant but the WRX 5speed are the ones with glass tranny and they are pretty much 02-07 i think. anyway, yeah cant take much abuse. needs rebuild like by dogbox or w/e cheaper to just upgrade to sti but daily driver isnt a real issue.

[importhater56401]

@MindzEye03rd My bro has an '04 STI and has only had clutch issues, and that's only because his is modded. He's putting 310 AWHP and 315 TQ with a tune, exhaust, and a fron tmount intercooler. He's slapping in a new turbo this year.

[MindzEye03rd]

he's probably one of the lucky ones.good luck on your bro's new turbo, wish i could put one in.

New turbo = New beast

[tristantao]

nice!!!

[gravedigger2b]

Heyyyy!!!! that sounds like the same knock i have in my suby lol. yup rod knock!!! 2k for the 2.0 head and 2k for all the other parts and install. but they are using the parts from my old engine. so about 4k all together

[gravedigger2b]

I ment to say BLOCK not head

[cykadelik]

FIRST rule with owning a scooby... "ALWAYS at ALL TIMES have enough cash in the bank to buy a new engine" :D

[hebs007wrx]

Not really, the engine is pretty reliable. However, if you go above stg 2 in a wrx, always have enough cash in the bank and a check written for a new gearset or sti tranny swap.

[MindzEye03rd]

^+1. My issues was due to using M1 5w30 synth, which is thinner then other 5w30 synth.

Transmission is the weakest point on the WRX. Although my friend has a stage 3 '07 on the stock tranny with no issues. keeping in mind that earlier years have weaker transmissions and the 02 has the worst.

[Srirachaa]

Yes I agree with you on the tranny, especially for an 02. I just went stage 2 with mine and I'm a little nervous when everyone keeps telling me it's made out of glass. I still think about 99% comes down to driver, I don't launch, and I don't slam it into gear. As long is the gear is engaged and you smoothy accelerate, it's all good in my opinion. As far as the engine goes, all boxer engines are over built and borderline industructible with a fair amount of mods.

[llHarvester]

heh.... my 2nd wrx tranny broke down when the gear was already engaged....... turbo peaked and boom!!! now I have the whole powertrain from STi.... another issue is that I use that wrx for trackdays.... but well... the tranny that broke lasted for hmmm..... aboud 500 km :S

[MindzEye03rd]

lol. My transmission just went out on me. IT SUCKS!!! Wasn't even driving her hard the past 5 months. Yes i do know how to drive it, i dont dump or anything. just try to drive as smooth as i can.

And since i just spent 8grand on a new roof, see if i can find an 04 wrx trans to do a direct bolt on swap. wish i had 8 grand to blow on an sti 6mt.

[Srirachaa]

What was the final straw that broke the camel's back? (how'd it break?) How many miles did ya have on her? mods? I have have 94000 miles right now on my 02 rex with a cobb stage 2 and a pro ACT clutch kit (which is supposed to rip apart my tranny) and I have had no problems.(knock on wood) 8 grand for and STI tranny! shit, save up a few more and just buy a used STI. Either way, I'm sorry to hear that.

[MindzEye03rd]

@Srirachaa lol. i was at 96000 when it went. Almost the same setup, stage 2 catless, pro tune, act clutch. Except I dropped in the STi short block so I have crazy torque.

I'm sure it was just the additional HP and torque that did it.

I would get an STi... But love the 02 look. I've wanted the 02 since they came out.

Not 8gs for a tranny. 8gs i spent on re-doing my roof. STi tranny, no dccd, rear diff, driveshaft, axels, depending on year hub assemb. thats about 4-5gs right there.

[ethosflux]

@hebs007wrx big time... I'm making 24psi on my wrx.. and yeah now rocking a built motor and a jdm 6speed for that very reason :)

[MindzEye03rd]

@hebs007wrx LOL. tranny swap would be the next thing after stage 2. I blew my tranny because of the torque I was getting with the new EJ257 shortblock put in... now i get to shop for one, but low on cash as i have a child on the way.

I'm looking for a direct transmission swap from a 05wrx or gear sets. not looking to go over 400hp in the future. hopefully by then i'll have enough in the bank for a rebuilt 07 STi transmission.

[youpaynow78]

time for new motor doh!

[doubletap85]

So based on the description it sounds like he wants to replace the "long block"

[Londil]

Short block= the block where pistons, rods and crank sit. If you wanna own someone online try not to be a tool first and do your research.

[doubletap85]

um, k. he said he wants to replace the heads too. And that would make it the long block more or less. Thanks though.

[EnzoFirrari2k6]

True, it does sound kind of...redundant? (or extra) to say "Short Block plus Heads" when  "Short Block plus Heads" basically = "Long Block"

[MindzEye03rd]

it is redundant, but i was hoping to do a long block, but had only planned for a shortblock due to money. i tried to source parts for the heads, but couldn't find them cheap.

If i went with new heads i wanted to go with AVCS heads, that would also mean putting in an STi ecu or going with Hydra.

[EnzoFirrari2k6]

I see so you were planning on making a long block out of separate parts. I see what you mean broskee.

[lakerhater4]

typical junk

[polrex02]

Please /yourself toolbag.

[m69ortiz]

thats nothing bad thats just the blow off valve haha

[MindzEye03rd]

You dumb fuk. read the comments before saying shit. No one said anything about revving you ignorant dumb ass. read the comments and learn something before commenting about it. You fail!!

[chiklil1]

Dang man that sucks. That shit happened to my subi. Shit wasn't cheap. Did you fix your engine? If not, i got a brand new ej25 sitting in my garage waiting to be used...hit me up if your interested

[MindzEye03rd]

Got it done already. EJ257, and i went stage 2 at the same time since the engine was out and pipe access was easier

[troxr4kids]

Ok so i got a 1992 jeep cherokee

has a I6 but i want a v6 what would i have to do to change engines?

Besides get new motor mounts?

[MindzEye03rd]

Not sure about that. I'd suggest going to a jeep cherokee forum and ask cherokee owners that have modded their cars, as i do not know anything about those cars.

[TremendousKnock23]

should have bought a chevy.

[c0rpse1]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

why dude now your going to start the whole american car shit fuck american cars really.

im american an love america but c'mon stop living in the 70's

[MindzEye03rd]

lol. have you ever drivin an AWD turbo'd car??? talk to me when you have.

[evenexchange]

Subaru outbacks have constant rod knock, lmao so gay.

[MindzEye03rd]

Is it rod knock? or is it valve train noise? probably valve train noise, subarus are known for loud valve train noise.

[troxr4kids]

My jeep cherokee makes that noise

its so anoying

Im looking to get my engine rebuilt.

Much cheaper than getting new rods or a new block for sure.

[MindzEye03rd]

True its cheaper, but I'm looking for more power and a bigger turbo in the long run. so a bigger short block was my build.

[EbayConvict]

how many k's has it done?

[MindzEye03rd]

it had about 90,xxx miles on the motor before it went.

[bosnianboi1989]

it sounds like a tractor.

[MindzEye03rd]

in real life it sounded like an AK-47. lol

[1skiinIan]

HA HA HA!

[paulbreor]

yea that rocker is loose or broken or bent.idk

or there might be terrorist in that motor

[subireza]

is this common with the 02's????

[MindzEye03rd]

No its not, it seems that the issue is usually people running M1 synthetic 5w30, as the oil seems to evaporate quickly in these cars. My tuner said he recommends using 10w30 to everyone using Mobile 1 Synthetic.

[subireza]

alright thanks, its just that i might buy one perty soon, i found a good deal on one. im just kinda researchin on em. is there really any serious common problems with em????

[nkghost]

When purchasing any performance-based TURBO car, there's a bunch of things you need to go over first.

1.) Has the car been abused?

2.) Make sure you have the car checked out at a reputable Shop that KNOWS Subaru

3.) Make sure the compression ratio's are good and that there isn't too much of a leak.

4.) I would highly suggest looking for one that is barely modded (Or preferably not modded at all)

As MindzEye03rd said, I would always use Mobile 1 10w30 Synthetic oil.

[MindzEye03rd]

Agree with everything nkghost said and want to add:

5)Make sure the transmission is still good depending on the year.

02 transmissions are the weakest in the USDM WRX models. 03 transmissions were upgraded, but still cant hold that much of a load. Some people have been known to push 280hp-300hp on their 03 transmissions, but who knows how long that lasts... lol.

04+ transmissions are generally good, but like ukghost said... find an un-abused un-modded Subie and you'll be good.

[tristantao]

how do you know if the car is un-abused? and un-modded? i mean, he can take all the mod off when selling it... i want to know, cus im planning to get a new car and Sti or wrx is one of my top choice

[theshadowonme]

Nice, did you go with a longblock or shortblock?

[MindzEye03rd]

didn't have enough to get a longblock.

But i have more torque then a stock STi with the hybrid setup. Now i just need a bigger turbo and a 6mt transmission and i'll be golden.

[theshadowonme]

TAP TAP TAP TAP.

RIP 2.0L :(

[MindzEye03rd]

RIP 2.0L

Hello 2.5L =D

much more torque now.

[MirAndre]

how much did it cost u to fix it?

[MindzEye03rd]

All together, upgraded to STi Block, all new turbo back exhaust, uppipe, EMS, Clutch, protune.

around 5k

[MirAndre]

i see thats not bad at all...did u do the work or u took it to a shop?

[MindzEye03rd]

took it to a shop. Unless you can tune the car yourself and know how to tune a hybrid setup. I strongly suggest getting done at the shop or doing it yourself then towing it to a shop to tune.

[MirAndre]

i see...alright thanks man

[bigjonnyjon]

bottom end gone

[Talonracer96]

Whoever said Subarus are hard to work on just sucks at workin on cars. They are about the easiest cars out there to fix. Every car shares the same layout and pretty much everything is easy to get to. Try workin on VW's and Audi's for a living. Trust me. You don't want to.

[Poppaclutch51]

If you can I would do a compression check on all cylinders but since that's an opposed 4 that's gonna be a bitch to get to the spark plugs.

[nkghost]

The plugs are actually quite simple to get to. (I own the same car as the one in the video)

[Poppaclutch51]

anyone who owns a subaru would never say "quite simple".

[nkghost]

I didn't have any issue swapping my plugs for a 1-stage colder NGK plug.

Just need to have the right tools and patience =)

[ZX3R]

no not at all. it is an absolute pain in the ass to get to the spark plugs.

[hites05]

is it coil on plug? cause thats how it is on my dads ej255 in his 05 leggy, but the plugs on my ej22e are easy to get to in my 97 preza.

[MishNmike]

sounds good..

[GlasspipeDreameR]

what cams are you using? stock 2.0l or sti ones

[MindzEye03rd]

I used the stock 2.0L. Just had them machined. I didn't have enough in my budget to do head work. I'm just gonna combat the upper rpm's with a bigger turbo for mid-upper range. But i love the aggressiveness of my low end with the high compression rate.

[Birdmanlc]

what's the thickness of the oil your running on?

[MindzEye03rd]

Now i'm running 10w30 in the STi short block. On the old block i put in M1 5w30 Synth.

[metalbikesbmx]

I'm no mechanic, but i believe you shouldn't have the car running while that is knocking.

[MindzEye03rd]

Yeah you shouldn't. But i wanted to change out the shortblock anyways, plus i wanted to take a video clip of it for people trying to figure out if they have knock and what it sounds like.

[s1eve1]

ouch, i should post a vid of my celica, same thing happened. sounded so bad and less than 20 miles later it just gave out

[MindzEye03rd]

Wow, i feel lucky then. I got it while i was in sac and drove the car 45 min back home, but i was doing like 40mph on the freeway. lol

[mitzracer]

so how did you get this bad of a rod knock?

[MindzEye03rd]

I switched to M1 5w30, the oil weight is known to evaporate quicker in subarus and i was smashing to sacramento maxing out the rpm a couple of times, in the end it was oil starvation. I didn't want to pay for towing back to my house which was 45 min away, so i decided to drive back home slow. lol i wanted to replace the short block anyways.

[jayguy173]

get a new engine

[MindzEye03rd]

Done, EJ257 (STi short block). Crazy torque. Just need a bigger turbo for the bigger block, but thats last on the list.

[xbr80bx]

ouch.

[MindzEye03rd]

i know, it hurt bad. lol

[KakashiSensei925]

Man, that hurts just listening to it. Kudos for posting a clip in case any of us hear the same ominous noise, tho. Glad to hear you've moved up quite a bit in the engine dept. =P

[MindzEye03rd]

thanks. I wanted to go to the STi block when i got her, just didn't know I would be doing it so soon. My original plan was suspension, tranny, STi short block swap, then boosting system. lol now its STi Swap, suspension (really needs it, struts are going out), tranny upgrade, the boost.

[princeofpoo]

if this shit bothers you..don't even bother with the ls1..a lil less quieter..but a sure thing on all engines lol

[JSHCUZ]

THRASHED LOL

[hardcoretam]

Lets hope the Subaru Diesel engine (when released) never does this. How many miles had the engine done at this point?

[MindzEye03rd]

The ej20 was at about 95,xxx. I'm at 45xx with the new EJ257 SB. Just switched it to M1 10w30 synthetic at 3500.

[ej20whore]

If that was a cold air i saw.? that can do i great part in leaning it out. But anyways that sucks

[MindzEye03rd]

Yeah, I bought there car with it in on there. Yes it does lean out the engine, but i have a pro tune to correct it.

[ej20whore]

Thats good. How much did it cost to go with the 2.5 shortblock?. Closed deck?.

[MindzEye03rd]

The block was $2000. Everything cost abou $5000. Install, AP, stage 2 pipes, pro tune and all the little things needed to install the block.

[Soob4ME]

That doesn't sound like rod knock to me... I've had a soob that had rod knock but it was WAY deeper than that. Sounds more like a dead hydraulic lifter to me... but a dead hydraulic lifter would cause it to run like crap.

[MindzEye03rd]

Well the shop tore the block open and found a spun rod bearing, so it is rod knock.

[bigjonnyjon]

people screw the shit out of these cars. common problem that the bottom end starts to knock on the boxer engines

[MindzEye03rd]

In my situation it was the oil weight. It seems that M1 5w30 synth is a lightweight oil in imprezas and tends to evaporate a lot quicker in Cali. So my knock was due to oil starvation and my solution is using a thicker weight oil.

[bigjonnyjon]

you can buy oil thickner treatment, thebottom end goes on the impreza wrx engines so be warned

[MindzEye03rd]

Oil thickner treatment??? I'm going with 10w30 oil. As my tuner highly recommended. My bottom end is safe I just have to make sure oil reaches operating temp with a thicker weight.

[turbodreams101]

We have to use 10W30 no matter what up here on Mount Hood. Woo!

[bluemy03]

big end bearing ... full rebuild ... go a 2.2L stroker ... i just did mine last week ;)

[MindzEye03rd]

I just went with a STi short block. I wanted the bigger displacement with the 2.5 block to gain a bunch of torque.

[EvilRabbiMAn]

how many miles dose it have? i have an 05 wrx

[MindzEye03rd]

77XXX+. 0miles once i get the STi block and heads on there. Any mods?

[EvilRabbiMAn]

i wish, im eating ramen noodles every night just to afford the car lol.

[Mrb00st]

that's admirable :)

[codpiece21]

Just take the r off of it, then your in a blaze. Sounds much better lol

[EvilRabbiMAn]

bummer

[MindzEye03rd]

Whats a bummer is, now I'm sharing a ride with my GF. A Blazer, compared to a WRX... BORING.

[codpiece21]

Not good

[MindzEye03rd]

Yeah. Just hope my heads are still good.