Ben

Yes sound very helpful funky. Turns out my friend has bought a bore scope so I will be able to investigate next week =). Yes I dont want to split the block till I know exactly what is wrong with the engine. Im trying to get at least 3000 set aside before starting work and i figure that should cover most things needed. Everyone says use a V7 STI Shortblock? Are these quite strong. I have had a look online and also on trademe however they seem to be hard to come by?

When running nothing changes when pulling lead. I also pulled the injector while running and made no difference to revs or engine idle.

Yeah i\'m fortunate to work in the automotive industry and can get genuine and aftermarket parts at a reasonable price as well. At this stage I will leave the car and buffer up some money to plan for the rebuild before splitting the motor open. Will post a update as to what I find. Thanks again.

yes definitely warm when I did that hah. Unsure what i will find really. The car was like that when i bought it and supposedly the person i purchased the car off said its been doing it for \'a while\' so god knows how much driving has been done on it - I know I have done 1500kms so far. I will take your advise and put the car into storage until I have time and some money set aside to take the engine apart and see what I have. I will be doing all the work myself I would just rather not pull the engine to pieces only to have it sit there for a month while I gather funds together! I am already planning on worst case scenario and have been looking on STAPARTS at cost of rebuild components. Thanks again for your input Ross

I shall try and take a video tomorrow which will probably be more helpful.

im not tooo technically minded with these things. Hard to hear as I have a exhaust system but when just revving it from the engine bay I can hear slight piston slap when you start holding the revs over 4k.

I should also note to you that we tried just putting a spark plug in the No.4 cylinder and cranking it over but could not hear any compression what so ever. Only sound was my poor starter motor trying to make something happen!

Sorry yes throttle open fully during compression tests. Same revolutions of 5 each cylinder. No reading at all on 2 seperate attempts

Thanks ROSSSUB for that. I will pay attention to the rev needle more closely next time i drive it and report back. Yes ZERO compression on Cylinder 4. I tried removing and testing on another cylinder again and then back to No.4 with no luck. I dont believe the tester is at fault as worked fine on all other cylinders plus its a Snap-On one not some $30 job from repco. As far as im aware the needle does not fluctuate at idle when hot or cold. The car idles nicely at around 500rpm / touching the gas pedal to bring the revs up to 1000rpm its rough as hell and shakes the car / 1500rpm onwards it runs fine , does not shake, boosts very well and smooth. As far as vacuum lines I sprayed brake cleaner on every seal I could see and nothing brought the revs up. Needs does not drop or rise suddenly except for when engaging the air con but nothing out of the ordinary Like I said I have done 1200-1500km without the oil turning black yet nor and coolant being used. Another test I did was open the coolant overflow reservoir and cranked it over - no bubbling. No smoke out of exhaust hot or cold when boosting or cruising what so ever.

Hi all, Well I ended up buying a 1998 Version 5 STI 180kms Well looked after car however all things must come to a end. Was running a bit strange so I did a compression test and found cylinders 1,2,3 to be exactly this; Except number 4. Which would not even read on the gauge... at all! The car was idling rough and I pulled the Idle Control Valve and found this; Gave it a clean but made no difference to idle problems. The car is not using any oil or coolant. It run\'s fine when driving other than coming out of first gear until 2000rpm. Boosts very well. Spark plugs all looked like this; Any thoughts? Only conclusion I can come up with is a burnt exhaust valve? Was going to do a leakdown test but seems pointless as looks like I will have to take the motor out either way? Comments welcome!

Hey all. Appears only sometimes . It\'s a 50/50 chance of idling rough when you start it however if you bump the revs to 1000rpm it shakes the car , past this up to 2000rpm and onwards it is completely fine. Boost is fine Drives great. I\'ve noticed sometimes when the car is hot it takes a few more seconds to start up and you almost have to give it a bit of gas to get it running . Going to investigate more tomorrow . I was thinking something simple like a air leak? I\'ve also read a few posts on google about pcv valve getting blocked so have bought one of those although it looks like its in a bugger of a place to get at .

Hi all , As some of you are aware I was on the hunt for a gc8 wrx . . . I finally found one! Very tidy , hasn\'t been mucked with too much , pics to come . I\'m having one slight problem with the car - it drives perfectly well. However, when idling It sometimes has a miss , it\'s quite rough and shakes the whole car. Other times I will start it and there are no symptoms. The car doesn\'t idle hunt in any way. The previous owner has said it has always done it . He supposedly changed the coils and spark plugs which has not changed the problem . Any ideas ? I have tried searching google but no definitive answer Thanks Ben Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dragging this out of the ground but I too was thinking about getting one ! I see that you can get a basic one for around $80 on trade me but surely in a case like this you get what you pay for?

If your not serious about buying it can you get him to contact me 027 4542 682. I am coming up to Christchurch tomorrow with the intentions of buying one but would love to see this as well. Thanks, Ben

Id love something in that condition. Ive owned several Subaru\'s all non STI\'s. Was just curious as to whether i would find this a lot quicker than my previous rides. I swore I would never buy anything but a STI one once i sold my V7.

yup exactly my predicament =)

Hi all, Is this a members; http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=673825983 ? The auction says these compare to a STI? Is this true? Or is it essentially a standard WRX?

Thanks for seeing the door shade being a different colour ! I did notice this but wasn\'t too sure if it was just angle/being parked on grass. What other flaws did you notice - I could see a small dent on the drivers fender but other than this and Possibily the door I thought it was fairly straight . I also noted the tyres I plan on driving up to see the car on 4th so will see what that brings. What is the value ? Given its about to need rego, warrant and cambelt

Yeah thats what im thinking. My last Subaru I owned was a V7 WRX, not the STI model. I have not been in a STI for roughly 3 years but I\'m hoping for a bit more poke compared to the V7 anyhow.

HI all, Thanks for the flurry of information. The more help I can get the better with this one! Ride height is a easy fix not too fussed about that, more concerned the engine is a legitimate STI engine. I called LTSA and they confirmed the car was NOT a insurance right off and the rego had just lapsed at some stage.

Great photo. Hmmm could be off to the for sale section for some stock gc8 springs =]

thanks sobanoodle. Yes looks like the front is about right but the rear is sitting higher?

That is exactly what i was looking for - brilliant! Thanks.

Thanks , yes bog standard - just the way a project car should begin =)

Yeah thats what I thought, then in the disclaimer print it started talking about possibly being a insurance right off so thought id triple check!