What to look for 96 Sti WRX

[true?no]

Have a mate looking at getting http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/Impreza/auction-271007107.htm i havnt had any experince with these before, Is there anything these are prone to or anything we need to pay special attention to when we go have a look at it? apart from the obvious?

Cheers

[fuel]

prone to piston slap, you'll usually hear it on first start up when cold. check all CV joints (both inner and outer front and rear) as they can wear out prematurely, more specifically the inner joints at the front which can cause a rumbling type sound when cornering leading you to believe it's a wheel bearing when it isn't.

that looks like a tidy example, at least it wouldn't have been messed with by a boy racer. A good price too.

[true?no]

Yeh thats what caught his eye, ok sweet cheers for that mate.

[Jdawg]

cam seal leaks, noisy lifters, piston slap and big ends.
If it's been looked after it will have none of these, if it's been abused it will have all of these.
Check Club Sub forums

[Dell'Orto]

Graunchy 2nd too, though being a family car it may not have had as much of a hiding as the "fully gated bei" ones you see around.

[tsoob]

needs wheels~

[true?no]

Author Message
tsoob Posted:

needs wheels~

Got that, had an engine aswell. Two good things.......

[tsoob]

needs wheels~

needs better wheels

[KinLoud]

Start saving for a replacement motor LOL

[rollaholic]

headgasket (quiet steve), waterpumps if they arent changed with the cambelt often seem to have bearing failure around 150. lots of oil leaks, seals and rocker cover gaskets which will 99.9% be leaking if they havent been changed

check if the clutch has been done, not the cheapest job out

[B1NZ]

As Roloholic has stated, make sure the waterpump was done with the cambelt, as these are prone to failure and the cambelt directly runs on the waterpump so you can only imagine what happens if one dies.

As others have said, Rocker cover gaskets, the seep oil onto the manifolds and smoke, I have replaced the ones on my STI twice now, relatively easy job apparently, I was fortunate enough to have mine done under warranty so even easier.

Also check for any signs of water leaks or overheating especially around the radiator, test drive and make sure you get the car up to normal operating temp (should read 1/2 on the temp gauge) and drive up a few hills or give it a bit of stick and make sure it doesn't heat up.

They can be a reliable car as long as you look after them, they wont take in most cases the everyday abuse you can throw at a 4age etc...
Oh one last recommendation: DON'T MODIFY IT! - they go well enough stock, if you do want to modify it, get it done properly by someone that knows what they are doing.

[frost]

avoid any Subaru that's past its use by date, 80,001k

[Emperor]

Subaru's can be just as reliable as the next car, to a point. Much like a rotary.

If you do modify it, as B1NZ said, get it done properly.
I had my Forester from 90,000km to 136,000 with no engine issues. No camcover leaks, or any other leaks either.
Engine went strong, and I ran it on 14.6psi the whole time I had it.

Only things I had to replace were clutch and muffler(to loud for WOF).

I'm over people saying subaru's are unreliable.. They are.. If done up by some backward-cap wearing, hood always up, jeans around ankles hip gangsta wanabe. So pull your pants up, take ya hoody off in the middle of summer and look after your car.
Same goes for any car. I've had my RX7(13B) for almost 3 years, constant track time, giving it the rev limit, etc and it's never missed a beat.

Service. Pay for good work. Look after it.

Rant over.

[frost]

all well and true but 90% of the Subaru's on our shores are hack jobs,
well under maintained by the japanese then sold to NZ for another going over. other Japanese cars can miss a service every now and then and still be strong,

the ej20 series should of stayed closed deck blocks like the RS got,
water pump should of been driven off other belt,
lower compression for NZ fuels would of saved half of them,
cam seals should be one peace not two with half moon bungs,
flex plates on auto's should of been made from something thicker then tinfoil,

they did revisions on the designs every two or three models but never really made things better,

[B_giB]

Subaru's are fine. My dad did over 230,000 out of his last one, only a head gasket and trans went, apart from that only the occasional sensor here and there.

Treat em right and a subaru will send the rewards your way.

[DXROLLA]

My subaru i had was fine the best car i have ever owned would love another one day, only thing i did to it was cambelt oil pump seals cam seals and water pump, make sure you do a oil change EVERY 5000km, and stay clear of pod filters on them, also if youre going to put an aftermarket full exhaust on it make sure you get it put on the dyno just to check everything is fine as this can increase your boost by quite a lot as i was told by the guys at NZEFI

[Mr Revhead]

I think people still think of subaru reliability in terms of the old leagacys.
They have improved a lot since then!

[cogent]

Subaru's are fine. My dad did over 230,000 out of his last one, only a head gasket and trans went, apart from that only the occasional sensor here and there.

This does not strike me as very stellar tbh, considering a 4age or d-series honda from the 80s will do about an extra 100,000kms before any major issues might start to arise.

[DXROLLA]

Hah dont get me started on 4ages ive had more problems with the missus silver top than i ever had on my subbie, i believe it is all good luck on any motor unless you bought it brand new and have had it religiously serviced any vehicle can have problems, apart from maybe the old k series those just keep going no matter what you throw at them

[cat007]

Subaru's are fine. My dad did over 230,000 out of his last one, only a head gasket and trans went

is that all? Well that's sweet then - we all know those two items aren't crucial for a car to run....