Not another RS...Build

Well after months of putting this off… here’s my build thread for my 2001 Subaru Impreza  but before I get to that, I’ll give you a little background why I chose the older body style.







This started around 2005, I’d been stationed in Misawa about a year and some of my friends were into cars while I wasn’t really interested at the time. That was until they started to go on cruises on the mountain pass. I still remember riding in my friends blue Skyline GT like it was yesterday. (Friends cars below, no pics of the 94 due to HD failure)



That when I decide to sell my hoopie and get a sports car. Originally I was looking for a FR layout like an S13, S14, 180, or possible an 86. Once I got to the dealership though, there was a 94 WRX for $2300 and I couldn’t pass it up. I had a blast with that little car going to the Touge with my friends, then I pcs’ed back to the states in summer of 2006. At this point I still wanted a “drift car” so I searched and searched…about month in I found a few 240s in the Louisiana area but they needed a lot of work and weren’t even turbo-charged like their counterparts. I had also saw a 2001 Impreza for sale in El Paso but like the 240’s it wasn’t turbo-charged either. But after consideration I decided that the Impreza was a better DD than the 240’s so I bought the Impreza in El Paso and shipped it to Sheveport, LA.





I spent a year working on it doing mods to it. Then I got an assignment to Korea and a follow-on to Yokota. So I put my modding on hold until I got back but changed my mind while in Japan. There I decided to buy a 98 WRX while I was in there and strip it once I PCSed back. After researching though El Paso is strict on emissions so I ultimately chose to go with a USDM swap over a JDM swap. But I still enjoyed the WRX while I had it.





Since then I’ve been slowly adding pieces here and there.

The build thread was bound to happen. Only a matter of time.

You're back in El Paso in December, right?

Yeah, sometime around mid December. Once I get back I got a lot of work getting her ready for the track. Also I have other parts already installed but never took any pics before I left for Nebraska. I'll take/add those pics in December...

So after talking with the tuner abel recommended, my engine is either damaged or at least has internal issues that need to be addressed. Unfortunately I've got no idea where to start. I really don't want to take apart my engine not knowing what to look for that could be causing the problem.

What made him think there is an engine issue?

That was your first problem, lol. Listening to anything Abel had to say. I'm glad he is no longer with subaru

Chaz2.5 wrote:What made him think there is an engine issue?

I told him I was getting knock and showed him this screenshot of my ecu's learning view. He replied with "That is MASSIVE knock and misfire. The engine probably has mechanical problems"

STi2eNvy wrote:That was your first problem, lol. Listening to anything Abel had to say. I'm glad he is no longer with subaru

Why would you say that? From what I've been told he's pretty knowledgeable. Although I told him something was wrong with the engine and he just shrugged it off saying I just need a tune...

Not everyone here in El Paso/Las Cruces area is/was a fan of Abel.

Pending on the knock and when it happens/ how much is being picked up, it can be linked to just needing a tune. Case in point, when my 08 was tuned by Sean @ RalliTEK I was picking up some knock. Sent him the logs and the tune just needed to be tweaked. Got the updated map and the knock was gone.

How much knock was on your logs? Was it under load? idle? cruising?

below is the most recent learning view I pulled from the car unfortunately this is from 2012. As you can tell the IAM is at 0 and its still cutting back 11.95 degree of timing.

Abel isn't very knowledgable when it comes to subarus or mechanical issues in general. He learns by listening to what others say and then shares that same info to other people. He told me the reason the tune I got from Clark Turner melted my pistons is because I powder coated my intake manifold....

camron_25rs wrote:below is the most recent learning view I pulled from the car unfortunately this is from 2012. As you can tell the IAM is at 0 and its still cutting back 11.95 degree of timing.

That's rather erratic the amount and way it's pulling timing. You're not by chance able to pull timing and fuel maps are you?

WANTED wrote: That's rather erratic the amount and way it's pulling timing.  You're not by chance able to pull timing and fuel maps are you?

Here's a screenshot of the map when that learning view was taken. I have since changed it by retarding the timing by 10.00 and running a little more rich on the problem rpm/loads. Although this didn't fix the problem.  

STi2eNvy wrote:Abel isn't very knowledgable when it comes to subarus or mechanical issues in general. He learns by listening to what others say and then shares that same info to other people. He told me the reason the tune I got from Clark Turner melted my pistons is because I powder coated my intake manifold....

Did he explain why a powder coat would cause the pistons to melt? If, for whatever reason, you painted the interior of the manifold if the paint dislodged and exploded with the air/fuel mix and if it had corrosive materials similar to N2O it might be possible...but that's a stretch.

Have you been running this map long before you started having issues?

At a cursory glance, I'm not sure I particularly like the map, but that is me. Otherwise, the way your ecu is pulling timing it's sure acting like it's seeing a fair amount of knock. Any idea of how many counts it's seeing or if it's consistent? It could very well be actual knock or it could be a failing knock sensor.

WANTED wrote:Have you been running this map long before you started having issues?

At a cursory glance, I'm not sure I particularly like the map, but that is me.  Otherwise, the way your ecu is pulling timing it's sure acting like it's seeing a fair amount of knock.  Any idea of how many counts it's seeing or if it's consistent?  It could very well be actual knock or it could be a failing knock sensor.

No, this was a the map provided by Forced Air Technologies (FAT) when they swapped the engine. I wasn't aware of the problems with the tune due to me being stationed in Yokota AB. Also when I got back to visit, the car was at their shop again for the 6-speed tranny swap. I didn't find out about the problem until the car got to Germany where I was stationed after. Even then I didn't know what was wrong with the car as I was still rather new to the engine swap process and problems. All I knew when I first got to drive it was that it didn't have alot more power than the original 2.5 RS engine. After troubleshooting I found that the ecu would cut the boost down to 8 psi from the usual 14 and that resetting the ecu got it back to 14 psi.

Honestly i think that FAT's tuner didn't know what he was doing. but as I've said I did change it but mostly to try and stop the knock. Although nothing I've done really as stopped the knock. Also I don't think it's the knock sensor as I already replaced it and I still get IAM drop due to knock. btw IAM drops below 4 it's triggers limp mode (i.e failsafe open loop fueling, boost drop) realistically when I get back to El Paso I'm going to start from square one and do logging after an ecu reset and monitor it's conditions. Also I will be check the final timing after all the addition/subtraction are done. Older logs show timing as low as 4 or 5 ATDC so I tend to lean to it being a mechanical problem.

Just an update for now, I got to El Paso and the Impreza's falling part but now that I'm back (and before classes start) I plan to get some of the smaller issues fixed on it before I try tackling the engine. Will post pics as soon as I can get started.

Let any of us know if you need any help with anything. I'll be gone for the next two weeks to visit family but once I am back I'm up for helping out.

So just an update after checking the gaskets on the head (piece is sticking out) I believe the .78 mm gaskets are causing the increased compression which is causing the knock I'm receiving. After I validate the size of the gasket with a digital caliper, I will need to find out how much damage (if any) was sustained to the engine. Anyone know of a good engine shop or has knowledge about what to look for?