GR RDKLSTi ? 518whp/492wtq (MD) 2008 STi

[Deek]

@Gino, Not sure where your reply went in this thread, but I got the email notification containing your post...

Pulling a longblock takes an experianced tech roughly 45 minutes and doesnt require dismantling half the suspension....

......and who does cold compression checks?

Yeah, neither of us had pulled a Subaru engine before... he can do K swaps on Hondas all day, 3 fully swapped and running in a day is his max right now I think. He wanted to pull everything together to help become more familiar with how everything is put together.

We don't have fuel or intake systems on the car yet, we did a compression test with a jumper box connected to the starter before putting it in the car since its a bit of a pain in the ass to get to once inside. We'll still do a hot test after the clutch is a little broken in, and before tuning (limped break in map from tuner is on the way)... but we wanted more piece of mind before going even this far. Additionally, Edwin gave me cold compression test results as a benchmark when he sold the engine to me, so I wanted to make sure we did the same on our end.

Just curious, what are the downsides of doing the compression test cold vs warm? Seems that getting positive results when cold would prove useful, cause once things warm up they expand and I can't imagine any cylinder holding less compression or creating a leak once warmed up vs cold. Then again, I'm not very well versed yet, so I'm looking for input.

 

[Deek]

I was being an asshole then retracted my statement. Oh well it's out there!

LOL, good to know. :lol:

Can you elaborate a little on cold vs warm compression test differences? I did a quick search (while at work /shame) and there wasn't anything too technically substantial that jumped out and bit me.

 

[Deek]

Cold compression really don't matter. Once the pistons are warm they expand and fill the cylanders. There have been motors that made shit for compression while cold and were perfect once warm. That's why I do warm compression checks.

And why subaru only recommends warm checks on their motors

Good deal... that being said, good cold compression test results could really only mean things are mechanically sound. If someone got crappy results on a cold test, they should definitely do a warm test before digging deeper. :tup:

 

[Vermont]

Cold numbers can be way the fuck off. Always go for the warm numbers. Have you done a leak down test on the engine yet? might want to as well if you have the time. Also I know you trust edwin and all that but have you checked the seals on the turbo yet? The last thing you want is to find out that they were harmed in shipping when you go too start the car up.... I just as I saw you had some items harmed in shipping.

 

[Vermont]

...but I'm an asshole and should never be taken at face value... What do I know anyway, I do to work at a shop it know my ass from a hole in the wall.

How drunk are you..... That last part made no fucking sense... As far as I know I was reinforcing what you had said.

 

[Deek]

Eh, 6 of one half a dozen of another. I don't trust shit unless it's done right. Warm numbers are warm numbers. Just cause its good cold don't mean shit warm, make sense?

Yep, makes sense.

Cold numbers can be way the fuck off. Always go for the warm numbers. Have you done a leak down test on the engine yet? might want to as well if you have the time. Also I know you trust edwin and all that but have you checked the seals on the turbo yet? The last thing you want is to find out that they were harmed in shipping when you go too start the car up.... I just as I saw you had some items harmed in shipping.

We did a leakdown test, results were posted a few pages back. As far as trusting Edwin, I have no reason not to (more on this below).

From the sounds of it the motor showed up in flames.... But no call for an insurance claim.... Hmmmmm interesting...

Flames? That's a bit of an exaggeration, Gino. The crank bolt was "loosened up before shipping to allow the crank pulley to move and hopefully not get damaged while in transit"... then the straps holding the engine assembly to the palette were tied down directly over the crank pulley as can be seen in the picture below.

I can only presume that because of all of the bouncing and shifting during transit combined with the loosened crank bolt, the pulley and woodruff key got damaged. Either that or they were damaged before shipping, who knows... doesn't matter (also, more on this below).

Pulley key-way.

Woodruff key.

...but I'm an asshole and should never be taken at face value... What do I know anyway, I dont work at a shop I don't know my ass from a hole in the wall.

You seem hurt, not entirely sure why... nobody questioned your knowledge or experience, or called you an asshole for that matter. Being very inexperienced and very interested in the subject matter, I posted questions to get answers/educated, not ridiculed. This is why I'm posting the build progress here (and only here), because this is supposed to be a place where that type of stuff doesn't take place.

How drunk are you..... That last part made no fucking sense... As far as I know I was reinforcing what you had said.

Let me try to explain... It seems there is some personal offense being taken here. I've called Ed a couple times to follow up on the sale process, leakdown results, etc. Again, please keep in mind that I'm not as well versed with this stuff, so some of my questions or concerns might have seemed pretty dumb to a more experienced individual. However, during one of my brief conversations with Ed I mentioned the pulley/key damage, I said something regarding the strapping process being a little lackluster, seemingly causing the damage. Apparently Ed did the strapping though, I told him I mean no offense at all, I thought the people who shipped it did the deed. Either way, I wouldn't have done the same, but that's neither here nor there at this point. Anyways it wasn't a big deal, I said that I'd just use my stock pulley and key... the issue with this is that we had to cook (torch) the damaged key and crank to get it out of Ed's engine since it was stuck in there pretty good. Since the front main seal is in very close proximity to our barbecue pit , we replaced that as well. I was able to source parts (key, crank gear, front main seal) from the local Subaru dealer overnight, again no big deal.

I didn't ask for any sort of compensation for this since I didn't really care about the lightweight crank pulley and I had my stock one that we could use. I just chalked it up to one of those unforeseen expenses that comes with the process. Ed did volunteer to reimburse me, stating to just give him a total of what the replacement parts cost (key, crank gear, front main seal) and he'll sort it out. At this point however, I don't really find that necessary. Maybe if it were one problem after another to get this thing going, I'd seek something... but it's just not necessary for one little thing and I'm not going to nickel and dime over roughly 1/100th of the sale total ($60).

Regarding trusting Ed... as I said earlier, I have no reason not to. At the same time, I've never interacted with him before we started talking about the sales transaction for the engine. So, am I going to test the crap out of a used engine/turbo setup that I've invested $6000 into? You're damn right.... I don't care if my brother offloaded this stuff to me for a ridiculous price, for safety's sake (and less headache in the long run) I'm going to do what I can to be damn sure we take necessary steps to avoid disaster down the road. All of this is stuff Ed and I have discussed all along the process, and we both completely understand eachother. To my knowledge there were no hard feelings about any of this as it is all part of doing business, covering all of the bases (see; CYA or due diligence).

TLDR; no outstanding issues, things are going well thus far.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Re: riDEEKulous STi - #HELLAMEATY | SSR / FP Black / AquaMist / Tomei / etc

Reks what is the issue? I'm lost. Please explain.

 

[Vermont]

Deek Deek Dekk, my second post was towards Rek not you, I was on my phone so it is kinda hard to quote. Also I was not trying to imply anything at all about ANYTHING. I was just offering advice so you don't start up the engine and find out the turbo is spraying oil every where (no one likes lube on the out side of the hole ). Even if I bought a used turbo from my sainted mother I would still break it down and check the seals and bearings for wear, a $50 check up could save a $5000 engine. Also my reference was that shit happens, especially when it is shipped. I had no idea about anything about the shipping,I had just read in a previous post that you had some issues, but we all know that no matter how well something is packed the people who transport it (UPS, fedex, who ever the fuck express, ect.) have a habit of, lets say, not being very gentle with items. Classic case would if you have ever purchased PC parts and had them shipped. a quarter of the time by the time you get the PC part it is fubar from the transit. I was just trying to offer some tips so you can know for certain that everything is good.


@JJ- Yes everything is fine here, Things are being misconstrued, what you are watching is a misunderstanding enfolding before as three different people across three different time zones try and get what they are thinking across.

 

[Deek]

Re: riDEEKulous STi - #HELLAMEATY | SSR / FP Black / AquaMist / Tomei / etc

Vermont, none of that was directed towards you, I only quoted you to try to answer your question about where Gino was going with his posts. :thumbsup:

 

[Vermont]

No problem dude.

 

[Deek]

Fuel system and FMIC installed.

Updated list of things to finish;
-Fab AOS
-Fab bumper/FMIC support
-Fab BPV adapter
-Fab intake
-Wire & install gauges
-Relocate battery to trunk
-Install Aquamist kit
-Install AEM IAT


Break in clutch for a day or so on a gimp map provided by tuner based on mods. Just before tuning, warm compression test, boost leak test. Finally, tune with 50/50 alc/water.

 

[Deek]

I was a bit curious about why the FMIC core had mounting holes welded to it since it didn't come with a support beam, so I called TurboXS and they informed me that the kit was supposed to come with one. They asked that I contact the vendor I purchased the kit from so they could arrange getting one out to me.

I called Oakos to inquire about this and they spoke with TurboXS. TurboXS is shipping me a support beam overnight and Oakos is picking up half of the shipping tab. I'm sure they would have probably covered the full amount of regular shipping for me since the piece was apparently supposed to come with the kit, but I requested overnight shipping so we can wrap the build up. Great support from both companies.

Oh, also... while on the phone with TurboXS, I let them know that there doesn't seem to be an 08+ WRX/STi manual available on their site. When you click the download link on the WS08-FMIC, it gives you the 02-07 instructions. They said they have one they're going to upload shortly.

 

[Vermont]

Good call on the mounting points. Also nice support from your vendor.

 

[Deek]

Pics taken while fabbing the breather box.

Complete, just needs the valve installed once its in the engine bay.

We didn't purchase the BPV adapter kit from TurboXS, no problem though. A little aluminum, some welding and Navid's skills sorted all of that out.

Navid fabbed 3" intake.

Charge pipe with taps for IAT and two Aquamist injectors.

Relocated battery and Howerton twin tank in the hatch. We still need to make a small platform to get it all to sit level, but its wired and ready.

Engine bay complete, just need to give everything a once-over, recheck fluids and prime.

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

This is an amazing build.... I'm particularly interested in seeing how that breather box works out.

 

[Deek]

Lookin good deek!

This is an amazing build.... I'm particularly interested in seeing how that breather box works out.

Thanks guys!

The breather box setup that Navid fabbed for me is nearly the same setup that he runs on his 8 second K20 powered Civic EG, which by the way he built from the ground up. It's not identical of course, he designed it to fit snugly into the battery location of my engine bay, where his sits behind his strut tower. Everything from his intercooler, to his traction bar setup, to his manifold/exhaust, to his cage... everything. He's even the driver, a true one-man show. I should mention he has a couple friends that help him out, who are also really cool to work with. I'm actually really happy that I met them all, we're getting a long great, and making new friends is always awesome. Anyways, his breather box doesn't have filtered vents, instead it has breather hoses dumping straight into his downpipe (if you can call it that, it shoots out of his hood :lol.

We started up the STi tonight, and you could feel the breather box venting air both through the filters as well as the valve tap that didn't have a valve in it yet.

 

[Deek]

First startup, WOO!

Please go like it on YouTube and comment there as well! Thanks guys.

Available in HD.

YT description: This is the first startup from the rebirth. More information and a link with mods list will be provided soon. Daily driven high horsepower build, custom fabrication from Navid @ K-Powered in Palm Springs California.
This was a obviously cold start on a fully built short block that had been sitting for a few months, so you're going to hear a little piston slap. The rattling/raspy noise you hear is the power steering pump digesting air.

K-Powered home page: www.k-powered.us
K-Powered facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/navid.pajoufar

 

[Deek]

We're on the home stretch, almost there!


Navid fabbing up an aluminum platform for the hatch area that I can mount the Howerton Twin Tank (Aquamist HSF-4) and battery box to.

New turbo for Navid's race car (K-Powered). Ridiculous.

 

[IGOTASTi]

DANG! Sweet stuff in the trunk. Hey where do you live? :lol:

Keep up the great work. :tup:

 

[Deek]

Finally took it home last night on a base tune so I can drive it around for a week to make sure there are no leaks, etc.