New member needs urgent advice ... Pleeeease :-)

[mikehuff]

Hi Guys,

A bit of a liberty I know, I just found these forums & am looking for some techie advice already :P

I have a 1993 wrx wagon that I use for work every day (50 - 100 miles a day). I bought it because I love the power & it beats any old workvan for looks too

BUT

I recently had a bad leak on a cam cover gasket & ignored it, the result being I have developed a big end knock (yes I am a fool). It's def a big end problem & I beleive it's impossible to replace shells without removing & stripping the engine ops:

I do however have the chance of a legacy turbo estate fairly local, the car is a heap but seems to have a decent engine Just really need to know if it's an easy swap ?? I guess it might be a little less power (think it's the single turbo version), but my only other option is to buy an old van :cry:

Would really appreciate any help - thanks :?

[Pavlo]

The cam leak will not cause a big end failure, unless of course you have lost a load of oil as a result of it, but that's unlikely.

The bearing shells cannot be replaced without stripping the engine (no matter what anyone tells you their mate did etc). A Legacy engine will be different to the WRX engine, and I would certainly stick with the WRX heads etc. It would be an easy swap if you did do it like that, and if your car is a relative mule (rather than a weekend pride and joy) the Legacy lump may be the best value option for you.

Paul

[highlander68k]

If the Legacy is less than £750, I would be tempted to buy it and use the engine and have a go at selling the rest of it on ebay

I'm currently using a 2.0 Legacy engine in my WRX. They are a relatively easy swap, although there may be one or two brackets that don't fit - e.g. drivers side Intercooler bracket. I wouldn't bother swapping head etc, as that will add at least another day and more cost to what you're doing.

The power will be mostly determined by the ECU/turbo you are running on it. I've no idea if the heads are any different on the Legacy engines, but even if they were it would be a very insignificant power loss - lose a couple of pounds in weight and you'd gain the power back

If you need any more advice on the swap, please ask.

The Legacy lump will have a closed deck block (like your WRX engine). I'm not sure what the current market is for these, but they are often sought after by the big power brigade.

[mikehuff]

The cam leak will not cause a big end failure, unless of course you have lost a load of oil as a result of it, but that's unlikely.

It does when the oil drops low enough ops: Completely self inflicted I admit my stupidity !

if your car is a relative mule (rather than a weekend pride and joy) the Legacy lump may be the best value option for you.

Precisely what it is - a fun work tool & that's it. I shall refrain from mentioning my weekend P&J on here, for fear of being banished to a dark room in impreza-land

HIGHLANDER:
Many thanks , sounds as if the legacy engine is a good move. i was guessing maybe they were slightly lower power, but for my purposes it really doesn't matter as I just use the imprezza as a daily runaround rather than a van.

I will speak to my friend & see if I can get the legacy at a reasonable price & let you know how i get on

Thanks again

[buzz]

Welcome to the site mike, hope you get it sorted, keep us posted :wink:

Buzz

[mikehuff]

Cheers Buzz,

Seems like you got some good guys here, i'm glad I found you all

[buzz]

Hi mike

Glad you like the site, scooby magazine says we are "Probably the uk's friendliest forum"

There are some guys on here that are well up on the technical side of things, someone will get back withan answer to most things pretty quickly :wink:

Buzz