What has broken on your WRX/STi, and at what mileage?
04-28-2007, 09:34 AM
#1
the artist formerly known as mcdrama
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains, CA.
Posts: 6,428
Car Info: WRBP 2015 WRX Premium/CVT
What has broken on your WRX/STi, and at what mileage?
I have had my wrx wagon for 3 years now, with over 82K miles. I have my fair share of after market items installed. KYB AGX struts w/ STi pinks, cobb sway bars, bunch of whiteline/kart boy bushings, exhaust, Protune, etc...
I've been to over a dozen autocross events, some of them sharing my car with others. There are thousands of miles of joy driving in the mountains, and all over California, and parts of Oregon and Nevada.
I've never been careless with my car, but I've not exactly been nice to it. I tried to launch it once when I first got it, but never again after that. It was a slip of the clutch though, no clutch dumping.
Around 40K miles there was a shifter bushing of some sort that ripped and tranny oil was leaking. Didn't make any extra noise, just leaked all over the tranny. Santa Cruz dealership covered this under factory warranty. In about 3 hours I was back in my car.
Around 64K miles my AC stopped working due to a leak near the AC condenser . No problem, 100K warranty I purchased actually covered this. To me, that alone payed for it's self(almost). Part had to be ordered and I continued to drive the car until the part arrived. They gave me a free rental car until the work was finished. This is another part of Santa Cruz's customer for life program.
Now at 82K miles my front drivers side wheel bearing is beyond shot. I jacked the car up, and the wheel actually wobbles. So today I am replacing the hub assembly since a buddy happened to have a spare with a newish wheel bearing. Not terribly surprising since the majority of my driving to work has consisted of right turns, some of them a lot of fun at a brisk speed.
To add to that, I am a bigger guy (275lbs) so I am sure the extra weight caused additional wear.
within the last 10K miles I know that one of the CV joint boot clamps came loose on the front passenger. Boot packing sprayed a bit, so I know that axle is going to be toast soon. I picked up a re-manufactured axle for $69+$75 core at Winchester auto(they also carry Royal Purple and Red Line products too!).
For the last 2K miles my car had been smoking a bit when idling. I did a compression test, got 150PSI all around. Did the same test, same gauge at 60K miles and saw the same results. I know that a leak down would be the best way to determine if there is a motor problem, but I want to replace the turbo first since i've been running the stock turbo at 15-18psi for about 50K miles.
For a little while the car felt like it had lost power, and the AFRs were leaner(~11:1) then they were before(tuned at 10.1:1) but not terribly dangerous. I ran two tanks of red line fuel cleaner while driving from San Jose to Mendocino, then to weaverville, and back. After that, my AFRs were at about 10:1(richer then before) and the car felt amazing after that! Much smoother pulls, data logs don't show knock, and it's not pulling timing.
Goes to show that our CA gas is very dirty!
Other then everything stated above, my car has been incredibly reliable.
OK, done with that last tangent! What kind of problems have you guys seen, and after how many miles?
I know a couple of people(ipozestu, onemanarmy) have had some recent issues, but what about the rest of you? What about you track monkeys out there!
I've been to over a dozen autocross events, some of them sharing my car with others. There are thousands of miles of joy driving in the mountains, and all over California, and parts of Oregon and Nevada.
I've never been careless with my car, but I've not exactly been nice to it. I tried to launch it once when I first got it, but never again after that. It was a slip of the clutch though, no clutch dumping.
Around 40K miles there was a shifter bushing of some sort that ripped and tranny oil was leaking. Didn't make any extra noise, just leaked all over the tranny. Santa Cruz dealership covered this under factory warranty. In about 3 hours I was back in my car.
Around 64K miles my AC stopped working due to a leak near the AC condenser . No problem, 100K warranty I purchased actually covered this. To me, that alone payed for it's self(almost). Part had to be ordered and I continued to drive the car until the part arrived. They gave me a free rental car until the work was finished. This is another part of Santa Cruz's customer for life program.
Now at 82K miles my front drivers side wheel bearing is beyond shot. I jacked the car up, and the wheel actually wobbles. So today I am replacing the hub assembly since a buddy happened to have a spare with a newish wheel bearing. Not terribly surprising since the majority of my driving to work has consisted of right turns, some of them a lot of fun at a brisk speed.
To add to that, I am a bigger guy (275lbs) so I am sure the extra weight caused additional wear. within the last 10K miles I know that one of the CV joint boot clamps came loose on the front passenger. Boot packing sprayed a bit, so I know that axle is going to be toast soon. I picked up a re-manufactured axle for $69+$75 core at Winchester auto(they also carry Royal Purple and Red Line products too!).
For the last 2K miles my car had been smoking a bit when idling. I did a compression test, got 150PSI all around. Did the same test, same gauge at 60K miles and saw the same results. I know that a leak down would be the best way to determine if there is a motor problem, but I want to replace the turbo first since i've been running the stock turbo at 15-18psi for about 50K miles.
For a little while the car felt like it had lost power, and the AFRs were leaner(~11:1) then they were before(tuned at 10.1:1) but not terribly dangerous. I ran two tanks of red line fuel cleaner while driving from San Jose to Mendocino, then to weaverville, and back. After that, my AFRs were at about 10:1(richer then before) and the car felt amazing after that! Much smoother pulls, data logs don't show knock, and it's not pulling timing.
Goes to show that our CA gas is very dirty!
Other then everything stated above, my car has been incredibly reliable.
OK, done with that last tangent! What kind of problems have you guys seen, and after how many miles?
I know a couple of people(ipozestu, onemanarmy) have had some recent issues, but what about the rest of you? What about you track monkeys out there!
04-28-2007, 09:43 AM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Land 'O' the Ports, Orygun
Posts: 1,687
Car Info: Broken ass stock '02 WRX
I'm at almost 108000 miles and have had zero problems that weren't caused by me up until recently.
at about 85000 I had to change a wheel bearing and hub because I smacked a pothole that broke my wheel and windshield (yes, it cracked my windsheild in 5 places!)
Now at just under 108000 miles I am hearing a noise when coasting to a stop, I'm still investigating the problem, but this is the first issue that I didn't cause (and it may be a MAJOR issue, like the tranny may be self destructing).
at about 85000 I had to change a wheel bearing and hub because I smacked a pothole that broke my wheel and windshield (yes, it cracked my windsheild in 5 places!)
Now at just under 108000 miles I am hearing a noise when coasting to a stop, I'm still investigating the problem, but this is the first issue that I didn't cause (and it may be a MAJOR issue, like the tranny may be self destructing).
04-28-2007, 09:45 AM
#3
Registered User
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Slumboldt
Posts: 3,160
Car Info: I is not STiYLIN n e moar
Mine is pushing coolant out to the overflow. Finally thurs b4 I left for the track my main hose split (smoking underhood). I replaced that hose and had the stealership do a vaccum lock on the system. Well I shouldn't have touched it I think and I let out half the coolant (oops). I refilled and I think all the air is out but time will tell. I could have a blown headgasket here.
41k '05 STi beat on hard.
41k '05 STi beat on hard.
04-28-2007, 12:54 PM
#4
36,000 tranny. Fixed by SC Subaru no questions asked. Stuck syncro.
unofficial turbo..boooo. 60ish. They finally admitted it at 98,000 still trying to get it fixed.
PS pump at 92,000..going to be fixed by SC Subaru...I think.
Waterpump, pvc, valve cover gasket at like 72,000 all covered on warranty.
oh yeah...my deck went the 3rd day I had the car but that was kinda my fault. SC Subaru fixed no questions asked
mcdrama....call me up. Still got my number? Wanna talk about your smoking. Might have an idea. Also on the compression test...I need one. I'm worried about my motor having basically a malfunctioning turbo for a year and a half or more.
unofficial turbo..boooo. 60ish. They finally admitted it at 98,000 still trying to get it fixed.
PS pump at 92,000..going to be fixed by SC Subaru...I think.
Waterpump, pvc, valve cover gasket at like 72,000 all covered on warranty.
oh yeah...my deck went the 3rd day I had the car but that was kinda my fault. SC Subaru fixed no questions asked
mcdrama....call me up. Still got my number? Wanna talk about your smoking. Might have an idea. Also on the compression test...I need one. I'm worried about my motor having basically a malfunctioning turbo for a year and a half or more.
04-28-2007, 01:52 PM
#7
2002 wrx wagon. 63K miles.
Dead battery at ~ 55K miles. Thats the only thing that unexpectedly failed me and not due to abuse.
Ive replaced my clutch due to abuse and some suspension components due to abuse (control arm and rear cv boot, offroading). My car was pretty modified (suspension, exhaust, tmic, etc...) for about 2 years but now its back to stock. Its been very reliable, but I never got the best results modding it. Ive always kept the maintenance up to date and tried to keep in top condition minus the hard driving.
Dead battery at ~ 55K miles. Thats the only thing that unexpectedly failed me and not due to abuse.
Ive replaced my clutch due to abuse and some suspension components due to abuse (control arm and rear cv boot, offroading). My car was pretty modified (suspension, exhaust, tmic, etc...) for about 2 years but now its back to stock. Its been very reliable, but I never got the best results modding it. Ive always kept the maintenance up to date and tried to keep in top condition minus the hard driving.
04-28-2007, 03:50 PM
#12
VIP Member
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Tracy, CA
Posts: 267
Car Info: 2004 Impreza TS Wagon
'02 WRX Wagon 4EAT (Daily Driver)
Front Passenger's Wheel bearing @ 90-95K (covered under warranty)
Front Driver's Wheel bearing @ 105k (not covered
)
Engine @ 149K
Radiator #1 @ 153K
Radiator #2 @ 170K
...and the A/C has been cycling too frequently, for some time now.
Front Passenger's Wheel bearing @ 90-95K (covered under warranty)
Front Driver's Wheel bearing @ 105k (not covered
)Engine @ 149K
Radiator #1 @ 153K
Radiator #2 @ 170K
...and the A/C has been cycling too frequently, for some time now.
04-28-2007, 06:55 PM
#15
the artist formerly known as mcdrama
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains, CA.
Posts: 6,428
Car Info: WRBP 2015 WRX Premium/CVT
Sounds exactly like what is happening on my car right now. I was running catless, and at idle there was a bunch of smoke coming out. But driving on the freeway, expressway, and regular 25-35mph roads no smoke. I put my stock 3rd cat back on cause I don't want to get pulled over and have the hood popped, and at least now it looks more "normal" at idle.
Once I replace the turbo(hopefully tomorrow) I will swap the 3rd cat for the race pipe and see if I loose more oil out the tail pipe.
arty43::armee_smilies133:
Why can't we have a standard set of emoticons?
