This was so heart wrenching as an enthusiast to watch, but at least it let go on the dyno rather than out in the middle of nowhere leaving you stranded. Looking forward to seeing how it comes back better than ever though!
@@nalong55 no they are not previous owners has no brains and hands grow from their shoulders to keep car services that a result Subaru's motors in 25% of car manufacturers best reliability list (at least those who not doing electric car crap already) by your logic every Subaru that drive past me - is blow up every minute
They enjoy or at least arent opposed to being on camera. Lots of people are camera shy and don’t want to be filmed, especially while doing their job. These guys thay G&G pick are the opposite, they seem to like being filmed and even go out of their way to explain things further to the camera. Helps the videos tremendously
American Subaru moment* japan and europe never got these EJ257 motors with 1000 issues they got the EJ207 2.0L twinscroll 8250rpm redline. None of that ringland nonsense you always see in the US.
@@bumamotorsport4573 I think it has nothing to do on where it was built. In murica, they modified the heck out of these things and brand them unreliable in the event that it can't hold 40 psi of boost. LMAO. We owned a 2016 sti and sold it last year. Put roughly 110k miles on it. Left it stock and it ran like clockwork. I even expected it to burn oil reaching 90k but it didn't. With regular maintenance, and almost no engine modifications, these subarus can be very reliable.
I enjoy the mechanic’s personality. He’s a huge nerd, making over 9000 references, and has energy doing his job. I’m hoping to see him in the future videos.
There's no love for the original "over 8000" line from the original Japanese manga. When it was dubbed in English, for some strange reason it was changed to 9000
This whole Subaru journey of his played out so many times already. He wants a RUclips funded Fully built STI.. it’s all he ever wanted to be but of course with the help of people who actually knows subaru and with the money he doesn’t need to work hard for 😂.
The broken ring leading to rod bearing failure does not add up. The broken ring will not contribute to much higher bore friction. It will have no tension and float in the ring land, causing a loss of compression, but not a rod bearing failure. There would not be significant additional friction in the bore, and if for some reason there was, the rod itself would fail at high angular load before the bearing. The bore would show extreme wear. The piston domes should also show a high degree of pitting and erosion if it was running that lean and with detonation that aggressive. The bottom line is that rod bearing failure at that low of a power level is due to an oil starvation event. Something went sideways with the oiling system upgrades. Also, coloration of the valvetrain area should not be read into. The PCV routing causes different vapours on each side which leads to different deposits. You will see this in most V engines and even inline engines with separate valve covers (e.g. 2JZ).
I was looking for this comment! As a mechanic I also don't buy the "running lean" theory. I admit I'm not a Subaru tuner but the story was not adding up. Is it possible something went wrong with the new oil pickup? It's sad that we don't know the true cause of this failure. Even if it was running lean as they claim, there's no evidence as to why. And I don't believe that a 305-hp engine would run out the OEM fuel system putting 257 wheel horsepower down on the dyno.
Thats a big reason I bought mine new. Proper break in, proper maintenance, and generally not abusing the motor. Who knows what the other four owners did. Launching the car, improper maintenance, banging rev limiter during cold starts, doing donuts when it’s a quart low on oil, who knows. Hopefully Ben saved enough money buying used to cover the rebuild.
I feel for you man. Just lost a headgasket on mine. 2016 on stock power with all reliability mods. Mechanic tells me I did everything right but it's the luck of the draw. I love my car but I'll never buy another Subaru.
Wow, 24 seconds after 6am when I first wake up on a Saturday morning and this is the first video I always watch. You guys have literally become my Saturday morning cartoons. The quality of these videos is unexplainable cause the mood with the ambiance just flows so well. Hopefully you guys will pass by my hometown of Monrovia again to wash your cars! Maybe another drive up into Angeles Crest perhaps?
@@cambronjohnson7175 Just curious, was the block the largest purchase item? I'm running an IAG 2.5 closed-deck with stage 2 BC cams and an Blouch 20G-XTR in stock location (no flex fuel setup because E85 isn't readily available where I live). My setup with labor was about 1/2 your cost.
@@cambronjohnson7175 would you say the ej20 out of the Japanese sti are more reliable (daily driving it stock that is)? Looking to purchase one if the price is right.
@@chron151 I am running a IAG Magnum block, Blouch 2.5XTR, custom fuel system firewall forward with walbro 450 and set up for E85, ETS front mount, ETS ELH, ID1300s, 1/2 head studs with firelock head gaskets. I should have noted that that cost was for the total build which included other things like coils, big brake kit, tune, carbon driveshaft, adjustable rear lower control arms, gauges, and other miscellaneous items
See, I didn't realise he was the 5th owner! Even bigger question would be, the type of owners before him? As another EJ owner, couldn't help feel so saddened by this video
@@GearsandGasoline I actually had a feeling it could've been for that reason hence why you got it. Alas, still love your content. Can't wait for the next episode! Got me all sad in this episode!
@@GearsandGasoline on the plus side, this series wouldn't exist if it didn't break. I remember buying my first suv from a dealer which was absolutely fucked up ( learned after bought). But 7 years down the line I became pretty good around automobiles & that SUV is prestine now. Cheers.
Same thing happened to my sti, 2 of the cylinders lost compression after owning it for less than a year, but it already had 53K miles when I bought it, luckily it was covered under warranty 😬😬
the VA chassis are infamous for running lean on a stage 2 cobb tune. Always best to upgrade the fuel injection system with that much flow. I kept mine stage 1+ for this reason. Excited to see a rebuild and please understand that this was not your fault that this happened!
The ring land is NOT the area behind the ring, it’s the area between them. Head studs don’t “apply tensile strength”, they apply clamping force.. Great parts choice though.
Ive had my sti since 2018 and it`s been reliable. 80,000 miles from all the driving from school and back. Only thing I needed to replace was tires and ive had 6 oil changes at subaru dealership. Even stock for stock I have redlined the engine every other day and raced against modified wrx and older sti.
As a former STI hatch owner, I have such a love hate relationship with these cars man. The hydraulic steering feedback, the feeling of the 6 speed with proper bushings, the practicality, and of course the rumble. But my God are these things unreliable heaps of poo. And they cost way too much just to make 400WHP reliably.
Subarus are such a mixed bag. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them, both heavily modded and stock. My 2013 wrx had over 100,000kms on the OEM engine, tuned from 800kms, prettt much FBO and never had an issue other than oil changes, but as I said, every car is different. 5 owners is a bit of an unknown, can happen to any car, just sucks that it keeps happening to him lol. People have just as many issues with any other brand, just it’s not as projected. Looking forward to seeing this build.
never buy a 5 owner STI. I was leary about buying a 1 owner STI but all he upgraded was the exhaust and the brakes and he had all the maintenance records, oil change every 3k etc.
I probably would have had a third party mechanic diagnose the engine failure. The shop is blaming the tune and a lean condition. I'm assuming this is the same tune Ben has been using throughout his ownership of the car. Let's see the data log on the first pull. If there was a lean condition, it should have shown up in the log. The shop replaced the oil pickup tube and oil pan. Did they check proper clearances between the aftermarket pickup screen and the aftermarket extended oil pan? I'm leaning towards oil starvation here. I'd like to see how shiny the failed rod bearing looked :) Notice we didn't get to see any crank or rod bearing footage. It may be the opposite, bearing failed first, which intern cracked the piston ring.
Unfortunately that’s the name of the game. Every car has its ups and downs, some have engine issues, transmission issues, electrical, etc… Just gotta pick the car that makes you happy and overcome the hurdles that come with it and enjoy the car! Good luck Ben!
Price of motor you can buy your self a new car. . And why did you have to put dyno ?? Your car 🚗 had Power for a daily Drive r. That’s my opinion. One. Friend. To another. Thank you ☺️
The mechanic has experience launching rods to the moon. That’s why he’s the mechanic, had the most practice testing and blowing shit up. Just take it from me. Get your subie going. Then immediately start building your next block, and have it ready on stand by. Then another. And eventually have 2 complete motors that are basically identical and it makes life so much easier.
Honestly, once you guys got it a part it makes a lot of sense why it let go. Engine had been apart before, probably from extended oil intervals. 5th owner at 60k miles, unfortunately how things go sometimes with these cars. Glad to see the comeback!
I had 2 Subaru STi, both blown engines especially my track one. Both tuned by the best local tuner and these things still blow up. Bought a Type R and best decision I have made.
I have spent 20k between two separate failures on my EJ in the last 2.5 years. This doesn’t include 18k for the car plus bunch of parts I’ve bought. And the car has always been taken care of well by me. So it’s okay Ben. When people tell me they want one, I tell them the truth… have deep pockets and be ready
I had the exact same experience, Noe. The second rebuild was strictly so we could sell it. It drives me nuts when people think it's just abuse from the prior owner, when perfectly babied stock EJs blow up just the same. The best thing we ever did was sell our Subie.
@@MegaNardman I’ve thought of selling mine but I will repeat the cosmetic modding process all over again on whatever platform I choose next. I went the route Ben did, except not as extreme to keep it low power and reliable with IAG stage 2 block that can handle power. Curious, what platform did you move to after selling your subie?
@@boyflexnv first (around 6 years ago) we got an 07 infiniti g35 6mt coupe, which was thoroughly drama free. This last year we moved on to a '13 Boxster S. There was also an NB Miata that got thrashed on and hooped out for 160k miles as well. The subie had more problems in the first year (before popping two engines) than all three of these cars, combined.
I was the second owner of a 2006 WRX wagon; previous owner had every receipt/slip for maintenance of the vehicle through it's life, it was their third vehicle (behind a BMW & A Porsche), they were also an adult & kept it completely stock. I maintained it myself until I sold it November 2019 with ~135k miles on it (IIRC), still on the stock internals, head gaskets, original trans & rear LSD... A bunch of other crap gave up the ghost along the way, and I started modifying it at 60k once the warranty was up, but it never kerploded on me, I felt like I was on borrowed time from 100k on however. When I say "a bunch of other crap gave up the ghost along the way" I mean a bunch.... every bushing, endlinks, struts, cooling system (water pump didn't fail, but I replaced it when I did the timing belt to be safe), clutch @ 100k, calipers started needing to be rebuilt/replaced from 80k, by 100k it had a full set of refurbished ones, fuel pump, two injectors, secondary air pump died at 80k, original downpipe/cats were done by 85k, there is way more, I kept a spreadsheet, but it was in a state of nearly constant repair/upkeep. when I sold it I was on the fence about keeping it and doing an STi drivetrain swap as the 5spd trans was getting noisy, center diff wasn't performing properly (more FWD than AWD) & the rear diff wasn't locking up that well anymore, but I sold it (with full disclosure to the new owner) and bought an IS350 RWD instead. The past 2.5 years have been heaven; I've done two oil changes, a set of wheels and tires (rear tires were worn... for some reason...) I went to a square stance (18x9 flow formed wheels w/255 at all four corners), and I just did a front brake job a couple weeks ago (rear still have plenty of life left). The Lexus is also a Toyota at heart, so it's infinitely easier to work on; all of the front brake & suspension components are aluminum so everything comes apart easier (no dissimilar metal interactions). I wish it were a manual and a wagon though.
Ben, seriously make sure your NGK plugs were not counterfeit and the cause of your engine failure. Seen a few EJ's go down recently due to the counterfeit spark plug problem.
This is the 3rd lightly modded Subaru I’ve seen have issues IMMIDiATELY after doing the “reliability” mods. I’d look into that. There’s some research out there saying the cylinder 4 cooling mod is actually does opposite of what people think it does.
So frustrating that the previous owners beat on it and didn't keep up on maintenance 😖 glad it has found a home that's taking care of it in you guys! 🙌 Do your maintenance people Subies will love you if you love them!!! 💙 we have 2 sg foresters 1 is going strong at 185k on the original block with maintenance records leading up to us and us continuing to do full maintenance while the other needed a new engine when we bought it at 100k because it had been beat maintenance wasn't done right 🤷♂️
Hi G & G, I just like to say that the level of quality in your videos is amazing! Like how is it that this channel does not have a million subscribers already, that crazy! Not only the camera quality footage is fantastic but also the maintenance part of it too. Like you guys will go through everything little thing in the cars to fix, replace, or to touch up that a lot of other car enthusiasts wouldn't do, even just simple maintenance things. You guys seem to tackle every little problem/upgrades on your cars without doing short cuts and that says a lot about you guys! Real "get the job done right" type of guys and that alone say something special about the both of you. It is really inspiring! Someday I would love to make high quality car content like you guys and start putting in lap times in my own car as well. I am glad a channel like this one exist because it had easily became one of my favorite channels to watch and be on the lookout for the next new video. I hope the build goes well! Thanks you guys for what y'all do!
So they're guessing it went lean and caused knock which caused loss of compression...both which are things that would and should be seen either live or immediately after in the log by a even halfway decent tuner. After that I wouldn't trust anything they do.
I wrote a comment just like this. These guys are irresponsible running the car so hard without watching the gauges/computer and once down own power it should have been a huge red flag.
@@qmqz_ so then the responsibility is shared between dyno operator and COBB? I'm pretty sure if COBB is remotely tuning the car someone is taking Logs and there should still be a Dyno O2 probe being used?
@@RBGgermanKX250F it was tuned prior to G&G ownership, and anything other than that information is speculation as they have not stated what manner it was tuned in; dyno, street, remote, etc. You also do not need a dyno for COBB.
You can still Run E85 Straight. you just cant Run Flex tunes so he has to only fuel with E85 and then to switch back needs to do it carefully. it just makes it more annoying to switch or make sure your getting close to 85% also / whatever it was tuned on
100% the way to go. I run an IAG Stage 3 Xtreme block with an FP Green on Pump 93 makes a healthy 527whp. Not sure what that Garett turbo will produce but promise you will love the setup! Can’t wait for it to finish!
How would the engine run lean due to insufficient fueling without throwing errors from the lambda sensors? I would assume that any halfway decent tuner in the past would have added power while monitoring the air/fuel ratio.
The car was running fine until it hit the dyno. Was the tuner listening for knock? Was there an air fuel sensor in the tail pipe? You would think the tuner would have picked up on it being lean? Or hearing knock via the headphones…
The short block alone is $6k. Probably $15k retail in parts total. $20k total with shop labor probably, for a normal person. But this is a fairly big YT channel with sponsors and featuring various companies in the video. They never have to pay full price because of the exchange in value of video exposure.
As the owner of a stock 2016 WRX STI (that I purchased new) which is my daily driver with 77,000km on it, I watch this eposide with one eye open. I hope my stock motor does suffer the same fate as Ben’s. That being said, I’m total envious at the same time! Half of me thinks I should pull my hopefully still good, stock motor and put it to the side and order one of these IAG beauties, as they put the OEM motor to shame. Looking forward to the next episode.
Turning lemons into a delicious lemonade! Well played, Smart Ben, well played. Pretty sure you faked that engine failure so you could do this build haha. (you know some asshat is going to comment that, so I may as well get it out of the way here).
My STIs engine suffered a similar fate. Lost compression on #2 and there was bearing material from a rod. I was fortunate in that I had just installed a catch can, and it caught all of the contaminated oil, so the turbo and everything else survived (verified on disassembly). Mine was due to the previous owner putting a new shortblock in the car, and never trying to figure out what killed the original engine (very weak fuel pump that I discovered shortly after purchase).
not really same car but i can get 500 RWHP with just full bolt ons and tune in a newer 5.0 Mustang GT, and the power potential is only beginning This whole thing just reminds me of ecoboost mustang owners putting a buncha money in trying to increase the power when they couldve just bought a 5.0 from the get go and be way more reliable.
IV learned from my Cummins that the round fire rings are the best type to use. Due to they don’t chatter during high boost and spin like the square ones do
Say what you want about the EJ257 but I bought my2011 GV8 w/1 owner, used, bone stock w/ 28k miles 7 years ago. Currently I'm running the stock motor and turbo w/ every other bolt on and reliability mods to make 350whp on E85. Currently at 117k miles with no issues but I need a retune since recently it started deciding not to make full boost. Thanks to cobb, I cannot get it retuned due to my TGV and air pump deletes. I've been planning to go rotated turbo w/ an IAG 750 long block and FMIC because my goal is a reliable 500whp as it is my daily. That is coming up at the end of this month. That being said, I daily drove my current setup for two years, pretty much strickly on pump E85 so ethanol content was usually 64%-72% and had no issues. Among the other performance mods, the ones I went for to increase reliability were Tomei ELH (ceramic coated), GTD cyl4 cooling mod, IAG AOS, Perrin turbo inlet and Koyorad radiator. I also am running motul excess 5w-40 oil. I have buddies that bought subies after riding in mine ( two of them got 2015 FA20 WRXs) and their motors have already gone. They were both used but that's what it comes down to. How it was taken care of, was it beat up contantly? Subie motors can last a long time if you take care of them. Buying one used always sucks because you have to assume the person owning it before you beat the hell out of it and probably didn't take care of it as they should have.
When you say 'I did all the reliability mods', they were all for when you're stressing a well tuned EJ20 to take care of temperatures and blowby. Reliability mod for an off the shelf Cobb tune on a stock EJ25 is to flush the keys down the toilet.
Hey man, i just bought the 350Z that you had on this channel a few years back, just thought you might want an update. Car still under 90k miles and basically sitting exactly how you sold it!
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
I love how the mechanic is just having a good time tearing down the engine and diagnosing it while Ben just looks sad
He's a Subaru specialist, if he didn't laugh he'd cry 😂
Everyone knows it's your problem if your car blows up on the dyno
😂
@@FaZe_gay are you actually gay
The salt in the wounds
7:15 Ben looking at his motor as he's holding his head gasket is the funniest thing I've seen
I saw this comment right after that scene. Went back.😂
It's not funny :(
Ben's holding himself, literally.
And so the rabbit hole of owning any turbocharged subaru continues. I look forward to this one
This was so heart wrenching as an enthusiast to watch, but at least it let go on the dyno rather than out in the middle of nowhere leaving you stranded. Looking forward to seeing how it comes back better than ever though!
It’s expected though, Subarus are notorious for failing, as flat 4 engines by design are prone to failure
@@nalong55 How are they? The only thing I can think of is the fact that one of the cylinders gets oil and coolant last.
@@KartsAgainstHumanity ruclips.net/video/bJSYDBjkJNQ/видео.html
@@nalong55 no they are not
previous owners has no brains and hands grow from their shoulders to keep car services
that a result
Subaru's motors in 25% of car manufacturers best reliability list (at least those who not doing electric car crap already)
by your logic every Subaru that drive past me - is blow up every minute
You can just feel bens pain, staring into his disassembled engine.
staged pain.. he knew going into it that he was going to be building a 500hp monster.
Buying a 5th owner Subaru he should expect the engine is on borrowed time.
@@greenrolaids As a former EJ victim, I've felt that pain...that was not staged.
Yeah man. Well My team and I put together a motor and my speed6 barely idles. Gotta go plan C. 😭😂
with a headgasket in his hand! That's subaru art right there
One thing I like about G&G you guys sure pick camera friendly people.
what does camera friendly mean?
They enjoy or at least arent opposed to being on camera. Lots of people are camera shy and don’t want to be filmed, especially while doing their job. These guys thay G&G pick are the opposite, they seem to like being filmed and even go out of their way to explain things further to the camera. Helps the videos tremendously
@@dcerioclt9942 thx
@Dennis Y ??? what
@Dennis Y what are you talking about
This is a certified Subaru moment
He bought a lemon 🍋
American Subaru moment* japan and europe never got these EJ257 motors with 1000 issues they got the EJ207 2.0L twinscroll 8250rpm redline. None of that ringland nonsense you always see in the US.
@@bumamotorsport4573 I think it has nothing to do on where it was built. In murica, they modified the heck out of these things and brand them unreliable in the event that it can't hold 40 psi of boost. LMAO. We owned a 2016 sti and sold it last year. Put roughly 110k miles on it. Left it stock and it ran like clockwork. I even expected it to burn oil reaching 90k but it didn't. With regular maintenance, and almost no engine modifications, these subarus can be very reliable.
@@tanthaman whats a lemon?
@@drevro an unreliable car
I enjoy the mechanic’s personality. He’s a huge nerd, making over 9000 references, and has energy doing his job. I’m hoping to see him in the future videos.
There's no love for the original "over 8000" line from the original Japanese manga. When it was dubbed in English, for some strange reason it was changed to 9000
I love this mechanic man you can really tell he loves his job that’s how you know everything going to come out Great 👍
Except who puts sealant all over rocker cover gaskets? It’s more likely to leak now
5th owner at 62k miles. That’s a red flag, Ben. There’s a reason the car changed hands so many times before.
lol seriously.
it's likely the previous owners didn't maintain the car also
I'm not a hard-core geared, but yeah hearing 5th owner is Major redflag...
He bought a lemon 🍋
This whole Subaru journey of his played out so many times already. He wants a RUclips funded Fully built STI.. it’s all he ever wanted to be but of course with the help of people who actually knows subaru and with the money he doesn’t need to work hard for 😂.
The broken ring leading to rod bearing failure does not add up. The broken ring will not contribute to much higher bore friction. It will have no tension and float in the ring land, causing a loss of compression, but not a rod bearing failure. There would not be significant additional friction in the bore, and if for some reason there was, the rod itself would fail at high angular load before the bearing. The bore would show extreme wear. The piston domes should also show a high degree of pitting and erosion if it was running that lean and with detonation that aggressive.
The bottom line is that rod bearing failure at that low of a power level is due to an oil starvation event. Something went sideways with the oiling system upgrades.
Also, coloration of the valvetrain area should not be read into. The PCV routing causes different vapours on each side which leads to different deposits. You will see this in most V engines and even inline engines with separate valve covers (e.g. 2JZ).
I was looking for this comment! As a mechanic I also don't buy the "running lean" theory. I admit I'm not a Subaru tuner but the story was not adding up. Is it possible something went wrong with the new oil pickup? It's sad that we don't know the true cause of this failure. Even if it was running lean as they claim, there's no evidence as to why. And I don't believe that a 305-hp engine would run out the OEM fuel system putting 257 wheel horsepower down on the dyno.
@@RyanRiopel Do you think the first dyno pull had anything to do with it?
Thats a big reason I bought mine new. Proper break in, proper maintenance, and generally not abusing the motor. Who knows what the other four owners did. Launching the car, improper maintenance, banging rev limiter during cold starts, doing donuts when it’s a quart low on oil, who knows. Hopefully Ben saved enough money buying used to cover the rebuild.
he still has money from his GoFundMe. he’ll be fine
Doesn’t matter. Buddy bought a brand new WRX and spun a rod bearing at 1000 miles. Never even gave it full throttle until 1000 miles lol
Ringland failure at 69K on my stock STI. Absolute garbage motor.
I feel for you man. Just lost a headgasket on mine. 2016 on stock power with all reliability mods. Mechanic tells me I did everything right but it's the luck of the draw. I love my car but I'll never buy another Subaru.
Wow, 24 seconds after 6am when I first wake up on a Saturday morning and this is the first video I always watch. You guys have literally become my Saturday morning cartoons. The quality of these videos is unexplainable cause the mood with the ambiance just flows so well. Hopefully you guys will pass by my hometown of Monrovia again to wash your cars! Maybe another drive up into Angeles Crest perhaps?
He bought a lemon 🍋
I have a similar setup on my STI. 522whp for about 5k miles and she hasn’t skipped a beat. Hopefully it stays good for the long term. Best of luck!
What's your total dollar amount so far?
@@Hawk7886 excluding cost of the car it’s about $30k including labor
@@cambronjohnson7175 Just curious, was the block the largest purchase item? I'm running an IAG 2.5 closed-deck with stage 2 BC cams and an Blouch 20G-XTR in stock location (no flex fuel setup because E85 isn't readily available where I live). My setup with labor was about 1/2 your cost.
@@cambronjohnson7175 would you say the ej20 out of the Japanese sti are more reliable (daily driving it stock that is)? Looking to purchase one if the price is right.
@@chron151 I am running a IAG Magnum block, Blouch 2.5XTR, custom fuel system firewall forward with walbro 450 and set up for E85, ETS front mount, ETS ELH, ID1300s, 1/2 head studs with firelock head gaskets. I should have noted that that cost was for the total build which included other things like coils, big brake kit, tune, carbon driveshaft, adjustable rear lower control arms, gauges, and other miscellaneous items
See, I didn't realise he was the 5th owner! Even bigger question would be, the type of owners before him?
As another EJ owner, couldn't help feel so saddened by this video
Can't you see on the carfax how many previous owners the car had? I dont see why anyone would buy an Sti with 5 previous owners lmao
@@brogu6071 unsure as I'm not from the USA but yes agree, if they knew, not the wisest
It was a good deal, i knew what I was getting into. But didnt want to spend over 30k on a subaru. Ironic now, I know..
@@GearsandGasoline I actually had a feeling it could've been for that reason hence why you got it. Alas, still love your content. Can't wait for the next episode! Got me all sad in this episode!
@@GearsandGasoline on the plus side, this series wouldn't exist if it didn't break. I remember buying my first suv from a dealer which was absolutely fucked up ( learned after bought). But 7 years down the line I became pretty good around automobiles & that SUV is prestine now. Cheers.
The mechanic makes the video so interesting
the magnum block and stage 2 heads… that’s WAYYYY more than needed for a 500whp setup. Ben went crazy with the reliability game
Going over doesn't always mean more reliable when you consider the tolerances things are built to for different power levels
And yet it won't matter because the EJ has some critical design flaws.
@@williamrori1274 YUUUUP. I really hope (for his sake) Ben goes with a dry sump.
@@williamrori1274 do you think Iag takes care of a lot of those shortcomings by Subaru?
He meant reliable at 500+ hp 😂
I am the 3rd owner of my very well taken care of my outback xt and same thing happened to me. rn in the process of the rebuild
The fact that a lot of people never give up on these cars is commendable! Also, they're just really stubborn lmao
Can not wait for the episode 2
Same thing happened to my sti, 2 of the cylinders lost compression after owning it for less than a year, but it already had 53K miles when I bought it, luckily it was covered under warranty 😬😬
I did my ringlands at 30k kms
2 years old , 2018 Sti ☹️
the VA chassis are infamous for running lean on a stage 2 cobb tune. Always best to upgrade the fuel injection system with that much flow. I kept mine stage 1+ for this reason. Excited to see a rebuild and please understand that this was not your fault that this happened!
Ben looks like he's in a hospital waiting room waiting for the doctor to give him some bad news about a loved one.
The ring land is NOT the area behind the ring, it’s the area between them. Head studs don’t “apply tensile strength”, they apply clamping force.. Great parts choice though.
I've been there, as most Subaru owners have. It feels awful.
But I'm so excited for a built IAG block series. This is gonna be awesome!
Ive had my sti since 2018 and it`s been reliable. 80,000 miles from all the driving from school and back. Only thing I needed to replace was tires and ive had 6 oil changes at subaru dealership. Even stock for stock I have redlined the engine every other day and raced against modified wrx and older sti.
As a former STI hatch owner, I have such a love hate relationship with these cars man. The hydraulic steering feedback, the feeling of the 6 speed with proper bushings, the practicality, and of course the rumble. But my God are these things unreliable heaps of poo. And they cost way too much just to make 400WHP reliably.
Here here, i am an owner of a 03 STI, its been 8 years and I have easily spent over 20k and yet to crack 400WHP lmao.
My 2005 STI has 92,000 miles on the original engine.
@@AndyQuinton That shouldn't be noteworthy my dude.
@@hendrahendra you stylish person you
He bought a lemon 🍋
Subarus are such a mixed bag.
I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them, both heavily modded and stock. My 2013 wrx had over 100,000kms on the OEM engine, tuned from 800kms, prettt much FBO and never had an issue other than oil changes, but as I said, every car is different.
5 owners is a bit of an unknown, can happen to any car, just sucks that it keeps happening to him lol.
People have just as many issues with any other brand, just it’s not as projected. Looking forward to seeing this build.
never buy a 5 owner STI. I was leary about buying a 1 owner STI but all he upgraded was the exhaust and the brakes and he had all the maintenance records, oil change every 3k etc.
I probably would have had a third party mechanic diagnose the engine failure. The shop is blaming the tune and a lean condition. I'm assuming this is the same tune Ben has been using throughout his ownership of the car. Let's see the data log on the first pull. If there was a lean condition, it should have shown up in the log. The shop replaced the oil pickup tube and oil pan. Did they check proper clearances between the aftermarket pickup screen and the aftermarket extended oil pan? I'm leaning towards oil starvation here. I'd like to see how shiny the failed rod bearing looked :) Notice we didn't get to see any crank or rod bearing footage. It may be the opposite, bearing failed first, which intern cracked the piston ring.
WOW great insight!
Unfortunately that’s the name of the game. Every car has its ups and downs, some have engine issues, transmission issues, electrical, etc… Just gotta pick the car that makes you happy and overcome the hurdles that come with it and enjoy the car! Good luck Ben!
Price of motor you can buy your self a new car. . And why did you have to put dyno ?? Your car 🚗 had Power for a daily Drive r. That’s my opinion. One. Friend. To another. Thank you ☺️
The mechanic has experience launching rods to the moon. That’s why he’s the mechanic, had the most practice testing and blowing shit up. Just take it from me. Get your subie going. Then immediately start building your next block, and have it ready on stand by. Then another. And eventually have 2 complete motors that are basically identical and it makes life so much easier.
rod knock: it's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru
intent to disagree
It really funny. Since the day he bought it hardly see him drive it and learn the characteristics of the car. Non-stop modding and changing parts.
Love this attitude
Tried making engine reliable
Blows up
F*** IT LETS GO RACING BOIII
Honestly, once you guys got it a part it makes a lot of sense why it let go. Engine had been apart before, probably from extended oil intervals. 5th owner at 60k miles, unfortunately how things go sometimes with these cars. Glad to see the comeback!
Ive had 4 subarus, each and every time i said to myself i wouldnt buy another one .............
I now have an evo and never regret it
You like unreliable and DSM junk RIP future investments
I had 2 Subaru STi, both blown engines especially my track one. Both tuned by the best local tuner and these things still blow up. Bought a Type R and best decision I have made.
@@jonathanxtapia good choice! Last STI I blew was in 2007 haven't looked back since
Im not a subi/evo guy and I never understood the trash talk until I owned a WRX haha
Same boat (except I moved on to Porsche). My WRX was the only car I've feared driving, solely because of its heinous reliability.
As an Rx-7 owner it's nice to know rotaries aren't the only thing that die at 60k miles
I have spent 20k between two separate failures on my EJ in the last 2.5 years. This doesn’t include 18k for the car plus bunch of parts I’ve bought. And the car has always been taken care of well by me. So it’s okay Ben.
When people tell me they want one, I tell them the truth… have deep pockets and be ready
I had the exact same experience, Noe. The second rebuild was strictly so we could sell it.
It drives me nuts when people think it's just abuse from the prior owner, when perfectly babied stock EJs blow up just the same. The best thing we ever did was sell our Subie.
@@MegaNardman I’ve thought of selling mine but I will repeat the cosmetic modding process all over again on whatever platform I choose next.
I went the route Ben did, except not as extreme to keep it low power and reliable with IAG stage 2 block that can handle power.
Curious, what platform did you move to after selling your subie?
@@boyflexnv first (around 6 years ago) we got an 07 infiniti g35 6mt coupe, which was thoroughly drama free. This last year we moved on to a '13 Boxster S. There was also an NB Miata that got thrashed on and hooped out for 160k miles as well.
The subie had more problems in the first year (before popping two engines) than all three of these cars, combined.
I was the second owner of a 2006 WRX wagon; previous owner had every receipt/slip for maintenance of the vehicle through it's life, it was their third vehicle (behind a BMW & A Porsche), they were also an adult & kept it completely stock. I maintained it myself until I sold it November 2019 with ~135k miles on it (IIRC), still on the stock internals, head gaskets, original trans & rear LSD... A bunch of other crap gave up the ghost along the way, and I started modifying it at 60k once the warranty was up, but it never kerploded on me, I felt like I was on borrowed time from 100k on however. When I say "a bunch of other crap gave up the ghost along the way" I mean a bunch.... every bushing, endlinks, struts, cooling system (water pump didn't fail, but I replaced it when I did the timing belt to be safe), clutch @ 100k, calipers started needing to be rebuilt/replaced from 80k, by 100k it had a full set of refurbished ones, fuel pump, two injectors, secondary air pump died at 80k, original downpipe/cats were done by 85k, there is way more, I kept a spreadsheet, but it was in a state of nearly constant repair/upkeep. when I sold it I was on the fence about keeping it and doing an STi drivetrain swap as the 5spd trans was getting noisy, center diff wasn't performing properly (more FWD than AWD) & the rear diff wasn't locking up that well anymore, but I sold it (with full disclosure to the new owner) and bought an IS350 RWD instead. The past 2.5 years have been heaven; I've done two oil changes, a set of wheels and tires (rear tires were worn... for some reason...) I went to a square stance (18x9 flow formed wheels w/255 at all four corners), and I just did a front brake job a couple weeks ago (rear still have plenty of life left). The Lexus is also a Toyota at heart, so it's infinitely easier to work on; all of the front brake & suspension components are aluminum so everything comes apart easier (no dissimilar metal interactions). I wish it were a manual and a wagon though.
Bravo 👏 when something fails you should always build it better!
Thank you for freaking out and going all in!!!
Guys shouldnt there by a new video by now? Is everything ok?
Ben, seriously make sure your NGK plugs were not counterfeit and the cause of your engine failure. Seen a few EJ's go down recently due to the counterfeit spark plug problem.
This is the 3rd lightly modded Subaru I’ve seen have issues IMMIDiATELY after doing the “reliability” mods. I’d look into that. There’s some research out there saying the cylinder 4 cooling mod is actually does opposite of what people think it does.
Yeah I personally havent seen any solidified evidence that the cyl 4 cool mod truly improves longevity the motors
Every turbo Subaru I’ve seen that has to get its small block replaced due detention has had a air oil separator. It may be just a coincidence.
Watching how engines and anything car related be built and torn down is always a fun learning experience.
After 10 years I let my passion for these cars go. The heart break was not worth the rumble.
Being a mechanic is one of the most amazing skills I've ever seen.
Rod knock. It what makes a Subaru a Subaru. I love my WRX but it’s a time bomb.
I go back to Ben’s (and my) Spec B days. Every time I think about getting back into a turbo Subaru, I watch something like this. Good luck, Ben!
"you keep saying the word reliability, I don't think it means what you think it means"
reliability to drain bank account
If I say it enough, maybe it will happen?
So frustrating that the previous owners beat on it and didn't keep up on maintenance 😖 glad it has found a home that's taking care of it in you guys! 🙌
Do your maintenance people Subies will love you if you love them!!! 💙 we have 2 sg foresters 1 is going strong at 185k on the original block with maintenance records leading up to us and us continuing to do full maintenance while the other needed a new engine when we bought it at 100k because it had been beat maintenance wasn't done right 🤷♂️
Everything is reliable until it isn't 😄
Best wishes with Motor V2
Hi G & G, I just like to say that the level of quality in your videos is amazing! Like how is it that this channel does not have a million subscribers already, that crazy! Not only the camera quality footage is fantastic but also the maintenance part of it too. Like you guys will go through everything little thing in the cars to fix, replace, or to touch up that a lot of other car enthusiasts wouldn't do, even just simple maintenance things. You guys seem to tackle every little problem/upgrades on your cars without doing short cuts and that says a lot about you guys! Real "get the job done right" type of guys and that alone say something special about the both of you. It is really inspiring! Someday I would love to make high quality car content like you guys and start putting in lap times in my own car as well. I am glad a channel like this one exist because it had easily became one of my favorite channels to watch and be on the lookout for the next new video. I hope the build goes well! Thanks you guys for what y'all do!
So they're guessing it went lean and caused knock which caused loss of compression...both which are things that would and should be seen either live or immediately after in the log by a even halfway decent tuner. After that I wouldn't trust anything they do.
That's a very good point
I wrote a comment just like this. These guys are irresponsible running the car so hard without watching the gauges/computer and once down own power it should have been a huge red flag.
It was COBB tuned.
@@qmqz_ so then the responsibility is shared between dyno operator and COBB? I'm pretty sure if COBB is remotely tuning the car someone is taking Logs and there should still be a Dyno O2 probe being used?
@@RBGgermanKX250F it was tuned prior to G&G ownership, and anything other than that information is speculation as they have not stated what manner it was tuned in; dyno, street, remote, etc. You also do not need a dyno for COBB.
I'm happy to see you not give up on subi. Still waiting for a update on the ZX2
Listening to the new build list and hearing E85…
…When did the filming start for this? 😅 God I really hope this got finished before the Cobb nerf…
If u go on their Instagram. Theve already left like weeks ago on another road trip in the Sti lol
You can still Run E85 Straight. you just cant Run Flex tunes so he has to only fuel with E85 and then to switch back needs to do it carefully. it just makes it more annoying to switch or make sure your getting close to 85% also / whatever it was tuned on
100% the way to go. I run an IAG Stage 3 Xtreme block with an FP Green on Pump 93 makes a healthy 527whp. Not sure what that Garett turbo will produce but promise you will love the setup! Can’t wait for it to finish!
Time to 4g63 swap it!
GOOD THING BEN HAS A CORGI BECAUSE I FEEL HIS PAIN AND CORGI'S CAN LITERALLY MAKE YOU SMILE NO MATTER WHAT 😁
OH BOY another twenty part build series on a Subaru! I wonder if the engine is blown or if it needs head gaskets!? I can't wait to watch this!
-nobody
What a nugget, waste of money.
then why are you here
Once the rebuild and all the drama is done, there’s almost nothing like a big turbo STI coming on boost.
U won’t regret it.
How would the engine run lean due to insufficient fueling without throwing errors from the lambda sensors? I would assume that any halfway decent tuner in the past would have added power while monitoring the air/fuel ratio.
It only needs to run lean one time while at the top of a pull before things go pop
Yeah this seems strange. Tuning the car to be reliable and somehow ending up in a situation where it isn’t getting enough fuel…
Think it was on a cobb can tune, so just dyno run and not actually tuning?
@@DavidT97 Ah well, maybe it was a faulty injector or something.
@@schmuhf probably not, they don't have phenomenal fueling stock. It's a good idea to upgrade the pump and injectors before doing anything else.
Hell yea. This is nice for someone like me who wants to eventually have a 500whp sti
Total cost for the build? Including shop fees
All those parts are at least $15k retail
Love seeing the tech dent the block with the pry bar
*500hp and daily driver subaru don’t go together in the same sentence*
The car was running fine until it hit the dyno. Was the tuner listening for knock? Was there an air fuel sensor in the tail pipe?
You would think the tuner would have picked up on it being lean? Or hearing knock via the headphones…
I would love to know the total cost of all the items in this video. Great work.
The short block alone is $6k. Probably $15k retail in parts total. $20k total with shop labor probably, for a normal person. But this is a fairly big YT channel with sponsors and featuring various companies in the video. They never have to pay full price because of the exchange in value of video exposure.
As the owner of a stock 2016 WRX STI (that I purchased new) which is my daily driver with 77,000km on it, I watch this eposide with one eye open. I hope my stock motor does suffer the same fate as Ben’s. That being said, I’m total envious at the same time! Half of me thinks I should pull my hopefully still good, stock motor and put it to the side and order one of these IAG beauties, as they put the OEM motor to shame. Looking forward to the next episode.
What is the one question you don't want to ask your engine? "Who's there?"
What an amazing build, this guy knows his stuff!
Turning lemons into a delicious lemonade! Well played, Smart Ben, well played. Pretty sure you faked that engine failure so you could do this build haha. (you know some asshat is going to comment that, so I may as well get it out of the way here).
Love the video!!!! Glad you upload this first before the trip.
Ben: The stock motor blew up :(
Me: *feels bad*
Also Ben: I am building a forged engine good for 500hp :)
Me: *facepalm*
My STIs engine suffered a similar fate. Lost compression on #2 and there was bearing material from a rod. I was fortunate in that I had just installed a catch can, and it caught all of the contaminated oil, so the turbo and everything else survived (verified on disassembly). Mine was due to the previous owner putting a new shortblock in the car, and never trying to figure out what killed the original engine (very weak fuel pump that I discovered shortly after purchase).
This one big reasons I avoided Subarus it’s unfortunate because it they look and sound pretty cool
Love when you film at Andrewtech . There are my boys !! Great place!! Great people..
“500hp” and “daily driver” go together like ketchup on fruit.
😂😂😂
He bought a lemon 🍋
@@tanthaman omg stop already
Peanut butter and mayo sandwich
Hoping this new motor will last, looking forward to seeing your trip from Florida to Alaska soon
It blew up? I bet it wasn't the tune!
Do you think he will use the same tuner?
6:13 THATS AMAZING! a subaru with not blown headgaskets!
How I spent $40,000 to get 500whp
That's every subaru I have friends with 60k in new wrx 15+ still make 400 whp on third engines ect
Whats the price for this while engine setup?
@@BitcoinTo100K you can make 500whp on a stock K series lol
Why do people do this to themselves 😂
not really same car but i can get 500 RWHP with just full bolt ons and tune in a newer 5.0 Mustang GT, and the power potential is only beginning
This whole thing just reminds me of ecoboost mustang owners putting a buncha money in trying to increase the power when they couldve just bought a 5.0 from the get go and be way more reliable.
Dude you should make 1Hr episode.
love to watch all you video in longer duration
Best editing work on RUclips, period!
The mechanic personality is good 👍
This new build should be very exciting!
IV learned from my Cummins that the round fire rings are the best type to use. Due to they don’t chatter during high boost and spin like the square ones do
I forget this channel exists from Sunday-Friday.. only to wake up every Saturday to see a new video on my feed. 😄
Best video in a while. All the feels
This is the reason that I reserve my right to fix. Make sure you guys defend your right to fix guys.
I don't watch this channel much due to time constraints, but the guys make really fucking nice car content. Such camera angles, many quality.
The guys at andrewtech know their shit. Never left there dissatisfied. Riyaad and Mason are great
Say what you want about the EJ257 but I bought my2011 GV8 w/1 owner, used, bone stock w/ 28k miles 7 years ago. Currently I'm running the stock motor and turbo w/ every other bolt on and reliability mods to make 350whp on E85. Currently at 117k miles with no issues but I need a retune since recently it started deciding not to make full boost. Thanks to cobb, I cannot get it retuned due to my TGV and air pump deletes. I've been planning to go rotated turbo w/ an IAG 750 long block and FMIC because my goal is a reliable 500whp as it is my daily. That is coming up at the end of this month. That being said, I daily drove my current setup for two years, pretty much strickly on pump E85 so ethanol content was usually 64%-72% and had no issues. Among the other performance mods, the ones I went for to increase reliability were Tomei ELH (ceramic coated), GTD cyl4 cooling mod, IAG AOS, Perrin turbo inlet and Koyorad radiator. I also am running motul excess 5w-40 oil. I have buddies that bought subies after riding in mine ( two of them got 2015 FA20 WRXs) and their motors have already gone. They were both used but that's what it comes down to. How it was taken care of, was it beat up contantly? Subie motors can last a long time if you take care of them. Buying one used always sucks because you have to assume the person owning it before you beat the hell out of it and probably didn't take care of it as they should have.
informative! Thanks for telling us details, how's and why's rather than just building it
Get this mechanic his own show!!
When you say 'I did all the reliability mods', they were all for when you're stressing a well tuned EJ20 to take care of temperatures and blowby.
Reliability mod for an off the shelf Cobb tune on a stock EJ25 is to flush the keys down the toilet.
Hey man, i just bought the 350Z that you had on this channel a few years back, just thought you might want an update. Car still under 90k miles and basically sitting exactly how you sold it!
I miss driving my 2011 STI this gives me motivation to finish working on her 😭
Sorry to see the rebuilt oem blow, but very excited for this build