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I have a problem... Bought a used STi Shortblock

73K views 433 replies 17 participants last post by  ericwudi0830 
#1 · (Edited)
The Ricer-mobile Gets Built!

So this had snowballed into an all out engine build. I'm going to maintain this thread as my build, albeit a slow process.

My goal for the car is pretty simple, make me grin uncontrollably every time I push the skinny petal.

I'll keep this first post updated as things change and try to add in an index at a later time.

For now I'll leave you with the overall build list and progress to date. I'm also going to include my costs since a lot of people underestimate the cost of big power on the Subaru platform.

If it has been purchased that's the actual price including tax/shipping/etc.

Purchased:
Block/Crank - $300.00
Machine Work - $272.46
Wiseco Pistons (100mm)/Manley Rods - $769.99
Main and Rod Bearings - ACL Race Std. Size - $138.83
OEM Gasket Kit/Case Bolts - $254.07
P&L High Flow Pump - $319.49
ARP Head Studs - $162.94
Gates Timing Belt/OEM Tensioner/Gates Water Pump/All Cogs/Pulleys - $289.97
Rota Torque 5x100 - 17x8 et48 - $300.00
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Sport Star Specs 235/40/17 - $673.94

These are all budgeted prices below

Next Up:
Dome Coating on Pistons - $125.00
Group N Engine Mounts (need four nuts for plates) - $135.00
Injectors - 1000cc ID's w/pigtails - $427.50
Deatschwerks 300lph Fuel Pump w/install kit - $170.00
Cast Turbo Inlet - Brand TBD - $250.00
KS Tech Big MAF CAI - 73mm - $230.00
Brian Crower Valve Springs/Ti Retainers - $204.25
Supertech Valve Guides and Seals - $114.98
Brian Crower Stage II Cams - $586.00
Killer B Optimal Oil Pan & Ultimate Pickup & Baffle - $689.48
FMIC Brand TBD- $800
Carbonetic Pro-Blade Clutch/Fly ABS23132-16 - $1,349.00
Blouch dom3xt-r (not sure new or used) - $1,200.00-$1,800
Heads - MA Stage III or EQ Stage II Head Job -$950.00

Valves - Not sure on brand or size. Looking at ferrera, supertech. Std or +1mm. Not sure yet.


INDEX:

Main Bearings: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index2.html#post254384
Oil Pump, Rods, Pistons, Rod Bearings: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index2.html#post254902
ARP Head Studs: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index3.html#post256378
Master Gasket Kit: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index3.html#post256884
Teaser of the New Wheels: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index4.html#post257136
New Tires: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index4.html#post257290
Block Back from Machine Shop: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f10...d-sti-shortblock-29055/index4.html#post257475
 
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#4 ·
Lol. This one practically fell in my lap. The guy only lives 2 hours away and it's dirt cheap. I can probably make some cash money on the rods and maybe three pistons. So if I can even get 75 back on those I paid 300 for an sti case and crank. Not bad IMO.

I'd like the arp studs (11mm I assume?) but I'm still gonna wait till I save enough cash to do the whole thing at once. I'll let you know though, if you still have them I'll let you know before I pick up a new set from a retailer. I'm all about saving money.

My main reason for buying the spare block was to be able to take my sweet time and build it slowly while still having my car as a dd. Hopefully when time comes to swap it in I either have a company truck (work for a contractor- depends on the job I'm on) or can take a weekend to swap it in real quick (yeah right). I'll probably put new injectors, pump, turbo inlet, tgv deletes, and phenolic spacers in the new block, maybe a crank pulley while I'm at it.

If I add in all the extra's I'm looking at about 3 grand of work on top of the cost of the block. I'll keep the stock turbo for a while until I decide what route to take next. Either take the chance with the stock trans and do a beefy turbo, or build the trans and then hit the turbo. Regardless it'll be a while until I save up enough to do everything, probably around ten grand when all is said and done.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like an awesome project, I'm very jealous. I had so much fun dong my build on the old WRX

I have an extra set of new in box ARP head studs if needed. you can PM me if needed. They'll work with any EJ engine is what I've been told.
 
#6 ·
Picked it up last night. Still has the factory crosshatching in it!Thumbs Up

I'll get some pictures of it tonight, but I'm gonna completely tear it down after work and give it a good look over. Sometime soon I'll get it to the machine shop for a full magnaflux and possible bore/journal rehone, it doesn't look like it will need anything more than that, if it even needs that.
 
#7 ·
Well mine's well turn this into my build page...

To update the previous post, the block has been taken to the machine shop back in October, crank came back all STD sizes, block came back and needs a bore to 100mm. Three of the four cylinders are mint, one was .02 out of round because of some scuffing related to a blown ring land.... Yep, wasn't a head issue like the guy said, two of the remaining three pistons in the block had blown ring lands.

Oh well, 100mm isn't too big of a deal.

I ordered my pistons/wristpins, and rods last week and they shipped last night.

I went with the Wiseco 100mm 8.9:1 pistons, which will turn out more like 9.17:1 in my build. Also got the Manley H-beam Rods w/arp rold bolts.

I was also able to find some ACL Race main bearings in STD size so I scooped those up. Unfortunately they wouldn't price match the site so I had to spend about $16 more on them than I needed to. Oh well.

Next on the list is dropping the block off at my machine shop back in Utah next time I'm in town to get it bored and honed to fit the pistons, and then have the pistons and rods weight balanced. Total machine shop labor is going to be in the $250-300 range.
 
#8 ·
That's retarded, why lie to you at that point, I hate people sometimes. What if you had thrown a piston in that hole and closed it up? What a jerk...

Anyway, put up pics of the project!
 
#9 · (Edited)
That's retarded, why lie to you at that point, I hate people sometimes. What if you had thrown a piston in that hole and closed it up? What a jerk...
Exactly, he even had in the ad back in July that "you can just put a new oem piston in it and it's good to go!" Doesn't matter in my case but if somebody had bought it to replace their short block and didn't inspect it they would have been SOL. I did get it from a dealership in Idaho too so that makes it even more scary. It would have been nice to keep the stock bore though. I'm not 100% thrilled about going to 100mm but it's not the worst thing in the world either.

Anyways, the block/crank are still in Utah and I've recently moved to Omaha so unfortunately I can't take any pictures of the goodies yet. My preferred machine shop is in Utah (guy does a ton of Subaru work) along with my wife, so I was able to keep it there until I can get the cylinders bored and honed. I'm also shipping everything there for now until my wife moves out to Omaha. I'll be back in town in a couple weeks so I'll try to get some pictures then.

I also ordered some ACL Race Std. Main Bearings today.... RallySportDirect had them in stock.... Now they're out of stock!Thumbs Up At least those will be shipped to Omaha since I don't need them at the machine shop.

I'm also going to send the pistons to SwainTech to get their TBC coating on the domes. For about $100 why not; keep the heat off the piston and going through the turbo.

I think that's about it for right now but to recap:

Pistons/rods ordered, going to try to get the block to my machine shop before the new year so I can pick it up on my next trip home in Mid-January. If that works out I'll be able to ship the pistons to SwainTech while I have them and get the domes coated.

ACL main's are on the way, still no luck finding any 52mm rod bearings though.

The next items to order would be the master engine gasket set and the cossie high pressure blueprinted oil pump. Those should be ordered by the end of January.

BTW Chase do you still have those ARP head studs??? I may be interested in them if you can beat the price my "hook up" can give me.

For fun, the updated build list as well as my revised goals for the car:

Goal: Hit and hold 400whp/tq for a few thousand RPM's. That'll probably put me in the 450whp range, and I'm going to shoot for a 7500-8000 rpm red line.

List:

Bearings - ACL Race
OEM Gasket Kit/Assembly Lube/Case Bolts
Wiseco Pistons/Manley Rods
Swain Tech TBC On Piston Domes
Cosworth High Pressure Oil Pump
Killer B Optimal Oil Pan & Ultimate Pickup & Baffle
Group N Engine Mounts
Carbonetics Single Clutch/Fly
Gates Timing Belt/OEM Tensioner/Gates Water Pump
Supertech Dual Coil Springs/Ti Retainers
Injectors - 1000cc ID's
Turbo Inlet- TBD
KS Tech Big MAF CAI - 73mm
ARP Head Studs
Brian Crower Stage II Cams - $680.00
Heads - Clean, PnP, 3-angle valve job
SwainTech TBC Coating on Combustion Chambers, Valve Faces
Turbo - Blouch 480xt 10cm^2 Hotside (I want to go slightly larger, but that's about all I have to choose from while keeping the TMIC layout of the 08+ WRX)
Deatschwerks 300 lph fuel pump
 
#10 ·
Are you getting new valves? It sounds/looks like you're get head work, new springs w/ retainers, and new cams. But are you getting new valves? Btw, are BCs cams AVCS capatiable? I'd think so....but sometimes I double check those details.

Second question: Which Blouch turbo are you using? The Dom 4.0 XTR? Because that's the only thing I'm finding close to your description. If yes, I'd say that the Dom 4.0 is definatly a turbo that you should run a FMIC for. Hell, the notes says you need TGV delete and EWG to run that turbo.
 
#11 ·
The valves I'm going to play by ear once I pull my heads off. I'm doing everything else: port and polish, tbc combustion chamber coating, dual coil springs, ti retainers, supertech guides and seals, bc cams (yes they're avcs, just have to remove the set screws). Valves I'd rather reuse but if they look not so hot I'll get some standard size valves. Everything else I'm replacing because of performance gains (springs, cams, pnp), or because it's just good practice (guides, seals). Valves on the other hand, if they're still in good shape, I don't see any performance reason to replace them with something that's essentially an exact copy.

As for the turbo it's this one right now, I left the 8 out in my earlier post:

Subaru Legacy GT 480XT Turbocharger

I'd rather go with something in the Dom3-xtr range but right now the 480 is as big as it gets for keeping the stock tmic layout. Granted it may be the biggest turbo while still making the TMIC effective. Time will tell, I can't find anybody that has used this turbo yet, but it's only 10 lb/min larger than the new 20g-xt and plenty of guys run those with a TMIC.

I also already have an EWG (TiAL MVS, Grimmspeed v-band ewg up pipe), and will be doing the TGV's myself so they're not on the list.
 
#13 ·
Well a rough estimate would be around 675-700 cfm. That said, if the tmic holds me back I'm just going to go FMIC. If I do decide that, I'd rather do it sooner rather than later so I can save a few bucks on my turbo and get a standard non-lgt layout setup. Or splurge and get a Dom3xtr.
 
#15 ·
I'm doing everything at once. Basically I'm going to pull the engine, swap the short block and rebuild the heads, put the turbo on, do all the supporting mods and then get it tuned, where I am right now it'll be Jorge at P&L. Either way I'm a few years out from being complete in my procurement.

Right now, if the 480 is my only turbo option, I'm going to stay TMIC and see what happens. If through more research that turbo doesn't seem to make the power I want (need to wait for people to start using it), I'll up my turbo to something like a 2.5xtr or 3.0xtr and try to find a decent used FMIC kit and sell my Perrin TMIC.

Either way, it'll only be tuned once on E85 as it won't be my daily anymore.
 
#17 ·
That's the beauty of a base map; I'll get a remote base map and load it up via tactrix just so it can drive to the tuner and for my short break in periods. Plus, most tuners will give you a base map so you can get to them to use their services !Thumbs Up I'll also have a new clutch to break in which is different than breaking in a new engine, but once it's fully engaged it doesn't matter much anyways, just don't clutch dump it.

I don't believe in the 1000 miles break in either... I give it a easy time for the the initial start up and first 20-50 miles, change the oil, get a little tougher on it until about 250, change oil again and then time to flog it.

Did it on my WRX when I got it and it burns zero oil.
 
#19 ·
Thats because pretty much all the engine builders are swallowing them up

BTW: The Dom turbo line doesn't work in number sequences either. The Dom 2.5 is pretty much as powerful as a Dom 1.0, it just spools faster.

Dom 0.5R          360bhp
Dom 1.5XT-R     480 (basically a Dom 2.5xtr for a 2.0 liter engine)
Dom 1.0XT        490
Dom 2.5XT-R     490
Dom 2.0XT        550
Dom 3.0XT-R     550
Dom 4.0XT-R     600
Dom 5.0XT-R     650

XT meaning it has a billet 11 sided compressor
R meaning its a ball bearing turbo and not journal bearing
All BHP are based on optimal performance on the turbo at crank
 
#20 · (Edited)
Yeah I've always noticed that the dom 2.0 and 1.0 are basically just the journal bearing version of the 2.5 and 3.0 xtr's.

The new ones they make for the LGT layout, the 380xt, 440xt, and 480xt are all named for their appropriate lb/min rating though.

I am leaning towards a front mount setup so I can run any turbo I want.... If I can find a cheap/used 2.5 or 3.0xtr the cash saved on the cheaper turbo combined with what I can probably get out of my perrin TMIC will probably pay for most of a decent FMIC kit, which I would try to find used as well.

I did find my rod bearings last night on ebay... It seems that's the only place you can find them, so I ordered them.

Also, just picked up the P&L High Flow Oil Pump... It's basically an 11mm oil pump, bored and honed to outflow the JDM 12mm pump, and also has a high pressure mod. Pretty much the same as the cossie high volume/high pressure oil pump ($550) for $300.
 
#21 ·
Sounds like a good deal.

Man, I wish that I did my heads, cams, and springs with shims/buckets. Kind of regretting it now. Because I'd have to pull everything apart again to do it. My tuner says that the one bolt...damn, i forget now. Its on the heads....like a cam nut or something. Its a bolt or nut that has a plastic sleeve around it or something. Its the biggest pain in the ass about removing the heads and they normally have to waste sockets trying to pound them onto it and it pretty much ruins the socket. Because there is no easy way to get it off. Maybe wagonracer knows what I'm talking about.
 
#25 ·
I guess it's nothing too exciting but I was able to snap a few pictures of the new pistons, rods, oil pump, and my finally sourced std. size rod bearings.

P&L High Flow/High Pressure Oil Pump:
Shot of the CNC'd oil passages/galleys/whatever ya call em:





Whole thing:



Wiseco 100mm 8.9:1 CR 2618 Pistons:









Manley H-Beam Con Rods:

Nicely noted big and small end weights to the tenth on box from the factory:





ACL Race Rod Bearings (52mm journal, STD size to be verified via plastigauge). Crank already came back good for all std bearings, but I'm going to double check my clearances.



That's about it for now. Block goes to the machine shop Saturday the 15th to get bored and honed for the pistons. After that, pistons go to Swain Tech to get their TBC coating on the domes, and I will order the master engine gasket kit and ARP Head Studs. Should be a an eventful two weeks.
 
#27 ·
Update, kind of.

Finally have a chance to drop the block off on Saturday with Dave at my machine shop, Pro Machine. He's closed on weekends so he's bending over backwards for me to drop it off Sat. AM after his grandson's soccer game. Many props to him for that.

I won't be able to pick it up until I'm in town next in late February, assuming he's in town to meet up and give it back on his day off.

I'll also be ordering my master gasket set and ARP head bolts this week or next, and then sending the pistons to Swain Tech once I get them back. Swain Tech will be putting their TBC coating on the piston domes. More heat in the cylinder and out the exhaust the better!

After the dome coating, I'm picking up my new wheels and tires in time for spring. The new wheels are taking a bit out of the engine build monies, but they'll save me some cash in the long run not having to switch tires on the same set of wheels twice a year.

Got a sweet deal on them, Rota Torque in Steel Gray/Gunmetal (not sure lol), 17x8 et48, wrapped in Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec's 235/40/17. They also come with a set of spline drive lug nuts all for a whopping $200.

Gotta love your Uncle's friend that used to have an 04 STI, sold it, but kept the wheels, and now wants to get rid of them for next to nothing. !Thumbs Up

After wheels and tires it's KillerB time :sneaky:
 
#28 ·
Block is now at the shop. I won't be back in town until the end of Feb. so it'll be a while until I can send the pistons out to SwainTech. I also told him to double check the deck, and to go ahead and deck it if necessary. His first impression is that it's fine but I'd rather be safe than sorry. All in all, my machine shop bill will be $255 for a bore and hone, crank polish, hot tank/degreasing. If he has to deck the block it'll be about $80 more. Not bad IMO.

Also ordered my ARP head studs (Ebay, $162 shipped) and master gasket kit (Fred Beans, $214 shipped). Pretty much I'll have a 100% ready to go short block in a month. Now I'm not worried about my engine popping, it's a nice insurance policy.
 
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