GRM Subaru Wagon Motor Went boom

I saw it on FB. So now what is GRM going to do. What to do about the 818 project AND do they fix the wagon.

A classic case of starting with a plan for a car and then getting side tracked there by exponentially increasing your car "problems" I am the worst when it comes to that. I don't know how many cars I have purchased a car with the intent of parting it or using parts of it for another project and then I end up fixing / modding the parts car and I then need another parts car to fix the two projects I now have. LOL

Time to buy a donor WRX to fix the donor WRX. #GRMProblems

Bill at Flyin' Miata bought a BMW 2002 in decent shape. It was going to be a rolling restoration.

It's now a bare bead-blasted shell. He bought a BMW 2002 in decent shape to use as a driver while he restores the first one. He's been treating it as a rolling restoration...

Sounds like a series of articles on rebuilding and improving the WRX motor into an STi killer.

pinchvalve wrote: Sounds like a series of articles on rebuilding and improving the WRX motor into an STi killer.

And it'll go boom again.....

Reminds me yet again how happy I have been since selling my Legacy GT.

Those engines just do not hold up once you strap a turbo to them. The N/A ones seem to run forever.

It didn't go boom... Bang bang bang bang maybe... But no boom...

I read somewhere that the car ran Mobil 1 all its life. Early 2.0 Turbo motors do not like Mobil 1 and love to spin bearings on that stuff.

I ran it briefly in my old 2002 wagon and it was the only time in the 60,000+ hard miles that I had when it drank oil. When I noticed that, I switched to something else and never looked back. Pseudosport's 2002 WRX spun its bearings on Mobil 1 as well. We were running identical tunes, mostly identical speed parts, and had similar mileage at the time.

Looking on the dedicated oil blogs showed that people were saying that Mobil synthetics were thinner than most, and it didn't provide enough protection for the weak Subaru rod bearings. I ran Shell Rotella 5W40 Synthetic diesel oil in that car after that, and I never had an issue. While I think that it's more the rod bearings being garbage than the oil itself, I've seen enough motors pop while running Mobil 1 that I would not recommend it to another Subaru owner.

FYI, I've been running Mobil 1 0w20 in my '12 Mazda 3 since new. It has been fine and hasn't burned a drop between its every-7500-mile oil changes.

I hope they fix the car, because it brings back fond memories of messing with my 2002 WRX wagon.

Mobile 1 changed their formula a while back (when they were bought up), now they are a hydro-cracked oil. Not a full synthetic. They still charge full synthetic prices of course, but a full synthetic they are not.

Instead of changing the label of their product and charge less, they helped change the definition of a full sythentic to allow their stuff to be labeled as a synthetic.

This is similar to so-called, "organic" food products that actually GMO products, etc. but I digress.

Bottom line: Mobil 1 isn't as good as it once was, do your research and choose oil that meets your needs.

turboswede wrote: Mobil 1 changed their formula a while back (when they were bought up), now they are a hydro-cracked oil. Not a full synthetic. They still charge full synthetic prices of course, but a full synthetic they are not. Instead of changing the label of their product and charge less, they helped change the definition of a full sythentic to allow their stuff to be labeled as a synthetic.

That was actually Castrol that got the definition of "synthetic" changed so they could use fake synthetics.

What do Subarus like? Inquiring minds want to know.

Duke wrote: What do Subarus like? Inquiring minds want to know.

Contrary to posts above, I think they like BOOST!

Bryce

Just confirmed: This car has never had Mobil 1 in it.

So the Camry went boom and the WRX went boom and the 911 lost a head stud that led to a rebuild. Holy cats, I'm not sure I want to hang out with them anymore.

mazdeuce wrote: So the Camry went boom and the WRX went boom and the 911 lost a head stud that led to a rebuild. Holy cats, I'm not sure I want to hang out with them anymore.

Don't forget the two bike engines the LeGrand made go boom and at least one for the SAAB rally car...

Duke wrote:

turboswede wrote: Mobil 1 changed their formula a while back (when they were bought up), now they are a hydro-cracked oil. Not a full synthetic. They still charge full synthetic prices of course, but a full synthetic they are not. Instead of changing the label of their product and charge less, they helped change the definition of a full sythentic to allow their stuff to be labeled as a synthetic.

That was actually Castrol that got the definition of "synthetic" changed so they could use fake synthetics. What do Subarus like? Inquiring minds want to know.

Not many "full synthetic" oils really are, that just means they started from a "better" base. Only amsoil and Lucas type manufacturers are really offering full synthetic.

PeterAK wrote: Time to buy a donor WRX to fix the donor WRX. #SubaruProblems

FTFY

Is it me, or do I read about spun rod bearings on the Subaru turbo cars more than any other in recent memory?

In reply to Duke:

Shell rotella t6 5w40 is probably the most popular oil right now.

Rod bearings are a symptom of the shortcomings of the oil system. These are fun and sporty all around cars, but they are not race cars with race engines. And that is coming from a Subaru guy...

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: Is it me, or do I read about spun rod bearings on the Subaru turbo cars more than any other in recent memory?

Well, they don't spin, just fail and rattle until they fly out the top of the motor. Take a look at my 2.5RS build thread for further details.

I think OEM Subaru short blocks are under $2k right from the dealer. I hope they just fix it.

Normal subaru operation you say?

When did the Camry blow up???

I've run mostly mobil 1 in my 02 WRX. At 110k no problems. I think the myth of subaru unreliability is a little overblown. Har Har. And yes, all the pixels work.

I for one would really like to see a budget hybrid 2.5l build. Nothing fancy, just the basics- it may actually be the cheapest way to rebuild the engine. Factory 2.5 block, some head machining, gaskets, and an open ecu tune.

Oh great. Makes me feel wonderful that I just spent all this money on a '12 WRX. I'm just gonna sell it buy an old volvo 240 and put a turbo lsx in it.

I was curious what GRM was into this build for before the motor went. It seemed like they started with a low price point, but I was looking at all the articles and thinking that they probably had a decent amount of money into the car. And then the motor blew.

I'm sorry to see all the engine issues they've had over the past few months. Hopefully they'll fix it and make it better than ever...

In reply to DirtyBird222:

Yes, you made a terrible choice and now you need to sell it to me at a ridiculous discount....