The one about the engine…

Been dreading writing about this post for a couple weeks now to be honest. This was not in my 2024 bingo card on things I wanted to get done to the STI but here we are. Lets get started on the most expensive expense I’ve ever had to do to the STI…

Before we start, I need to bring you up to speed on the car. I’m the 7th owner and bought the car with ZERO maintenance records. For the entire ownership of this car, I’ve been fixing all the mistakes the previous owners have done while also maintaining a 15+ year old car and replacing all the wear and tear items. Earlier this year, I had the entire suspension/wheel package redone again. The main point I’m trying to get to is that I have spent way too much money on this car.

Now to chase the oil leaks… Shop told me my turbo was going out. Replaced with a brand new VF43 early on in the ownership. Check. Still oil leaking everywhere. Check. Valve covers are leaking oil, engine mounts are drenched in oil, and I see an insane amount of oil on my garage floor… This is what I’ve been dealing with for the entire ownership of this car and it has felt like the engine has been on life support and barely surviving throughout the years of me trying to keep it alive. Me playing ignorance is bliss is what has kept me from wanting to look deeper into the engine program until recently…

The reason for my oil leaks is a shop put silicone in a place that shouldn’t have any.. Someone put silicone all over the oil galley port to plug it instead of fixing it correctly. Over time the silicone has let go and more and more oil has been dripping recently.

Now onto the conundrum… Shop gave me two options. One is to order a new short block and go forged pistons and the other is to remove the silicone and fix replace the oil galley plug. Of course I wanted to opt for the much cheaper option but he told me that the last time he saw an issue at that oil galley and tried to fix it, the block cracked when he went to replace and torque it. It was a brand new block from Subaru that had that issue and he said I had a 50/50 shot on getting it fixed vs rebuilding with a new short block…

So what do you think I decided to do? Of course I decided to be an idiot and open up the most expensive project to date with ordering a new short block and going forged pistons. I knew this was going to be my forever car and this is it. I am in it for the long run and wanted to do a brand new engine. This time I would know what was done to the engine and having a zero mileage short block was the best possible option for the caliber of this car and how important the car is to me.

In the next coming weeks, I will be documenting the process of the new built short block. I’m beyond excited but also have that sinking feeling in my stomach on how much I’ve just spent on this engine alone… The blocks finally built and now I’m waiting for my time slot to get the engine swapped!!!!

– Kurtis