how to rebuild?, with no garage and no tools? BAC5.2

[92whitelegacy]

I'd like to rebuild or have my engine rebuilt. How should i go about doin this? I have no job so i have all the time in the world just NO place to do it. I dont know anybody around were i live, i dont even like living here im only here cause im broke and am living with my grandparents As well as no tools to do it with.

Can i pay some place to pull and do a simple rebuild? seals rings headgaskets ectect? BAC5.2 can i drive down to your shop and buy u alot of beer to help me or somthing? I have almost 270,000mi on her and i just got her in july i want her to last another at LEAST 30-50k long enough for me to get a good career goin and back to colorado. yea also i have about 750$ to do this with so i know its gunna take a miracle.

Im 18, my g/f is in colorado waiting for me to comeback, help me make my poor car last

PLZ any sugestions will be GREATLY appreciated even stupid answers will be takin into account

lemme also add, she runs good now but just has ALOT of miles and id like to replace the internal things that will give me probs before i start doing ANY mods, i just dont want her to break; for awhile at least. After my recent scare of running stupidly high boost un-intercooled. Theres my story.

[206er]

well first of all you need to figure out what the engine actually needs. a compression test and oil pressure check would be a good start, as well as an examination of the timing belt. how much oil does it burn and leak? its gotta be some, its a legacy If you are that broke, maybe you should focus on making the car run right and not doing any mods, and not driving it hard. there are a few SS's running around with a TON of miles on them, so if everything checks out you may be good to go.
you will probably find someone local to do the engine R+R for $750. definitely not a real mechanic/shop, maybe a local enthusiast or backyard mechanic. and I cant speak for BAC5.2 but I doubt the owner of his shop would be psyched on doing the job for beer.

[92whitelegacy]

I'ts SO hard not to run her hard. She happily spools and pulls her lil heart out. (it was crazy when i had some hoses unplugged). LOL, yea the beer was just to get his attention It leaks from the valve cover. Doesnt burn any from what i can tell I'm going to replace the valve cover gaskets ina couple days along with a fresh oil change, and prolly new plug wiresplugs are less then 5000mi old.

Where can i get magnecore's for the SS? How much will they run me? Also how do i do an oil pressure check? Anything else i should replace with my lil bit of money as for a good tuneup?

[rallysam]

I say don't fix what ain't broke. SS engines generally don't need routine rebuilds... even guys with lots of mods have never opened the engine. Save the $750 for surprise repairs.

If you really need to nurse it for a while without anything breaking, then I recommend a different plan:
1) don't open then engine
2) take it easy on the mods
3) drive it fast but don't rag it

And what are you talking about "it was crazy when you had some hoses unplugged"? Boost control hoses? Whatever that is doesn't sound like the way to get to Colorado in one piece!

[92whitelegacy]

Yea, i plugged them back up. i THINK im gunna buy my friends MY02 wrx intercooler, and turboxs BOV. He already has all of the stuff to just bolt the sucker right on my car. All that stuff for 300$ shipped. Then im gunna buy a cheapo MBC off ebay and run stock turbo at like 12-13 lbs. Then get exhaust alil down the road, then save up cash for goin back to colorado.

[vrg3]

If making your car last really is your first priority, I say install the WRX intercooler and leave boost alone.

[92whitelegacy]

We'll longevivty is 2'nd i want some speed

[evolutionmovement]

I thought you wanted to get to CO? Which is it? Run a compression test, be relatively easy on it, and run a few cans of sea foam through it.

[vrg3]

Yeah, dude, you need to reconcile your top two priorities being contrary to one another.

[sammydafish]

I say get a job, steady income will make it much easier to decide how to spend all those greenbacks

[BAC5.2]

Like it was said, my boss wouldn't take kindly to doing work for beer. Espically with the backup the shop has (3 weeks on transmissions, and 2 on general labor).

However, if all that's leaking is the valve covers, replacing those seals does not require removal of engine, and can be done with basic mechanics hand tools.

Like VRG3 said, keep boost stock and add an intercooler. If you think $300 for a stock intercooler and a BOV is a good deal, you aren't going to make that $750 last.

Do the valve cover gasket, drive it to CO, get a job, then work on the car.

Having a modded car, with no money to maintain it, is no fun at all.

[Project_Legacy]

Having a modded car, with no money to maintain it, is no fun at all.

This is so true! Words of Wisdom!! Listen to em!

[92whitelegacy]

Thanks guys. So $300 shipped for the WRX tmic, and turboxs type h rfl or somthing. With all the custom stuff to make it fit already isnt a good deal?

[BAC5.2]

That's WAY to much. Espically since all the custom stuff to install it includes a radiator hose, a short length of 2" ID pipe, and a hacksaw blade. Not to mention that the stock DV may be retained. The IC alone shouldn't cost you more than $50.

[92whitelegacy]

Hmm....well in the last 5 mins i've decided. That im 1) Im not gunna buy nething except exhaust for my car before i go back to CO. 2) Gunna pay back my friend all the money i owe him(550$) 3) Not gunna buy that ic and BOV for anymore the 250$ shipped.(hes my friend and im a nice guy. I know hes ina tougher money situation than im in.

[BAC5.2]

WOAH, you owe someone money? Pay them back first!

Then drive back to CO, with the stock exhaust, and no $250 IC/BOV and use the spare money in case of emergency.

Seriously, man. Prioritize!!! $250 shipped is STILL to much. Find a local gone FMIC and buy their intercooler for cheap.

You may be a nice guy, but you can't be a dumbass. Priority man, priority. Use the extra cash to buy your girl some flowers or a small token of your appreciation.

[92whitelegacy]

I may have mislead you to believe i was able to go back to colorado with this money. NOPE lol, i cant go back to colorado till i get my GED out here. Then a job and save up a minimum of $4,000 to pay for an apartment, food, and everything till i find a job out there. im not gunna run out of money in colorado again. i say 4k$ cause im gunna be extra careful. dont wanna screw up again.

[BAC5.2]

Start saving now. Seriously. I blew my savings on carparts this summer. Now, I'm scraping by until this summer. I won't be making that mistake again, I'll tell you what.

I'd leave the car stock.

[92whitelegacy]

Yea im gunna start saving as soon as i have some income, ill prolly save about 100$ from this. Im buying a sunroof glass and turbo engine plastic cover thingy from blackbart. My sunroof is cracked, and i have a hacked up n/a engine cover.

[Project_Legacy]

yea man if u really need to save money u shouldnt be doing anything with ur car besides things like routine maintenance. 4g's is a lot to get to unless u make a bunch of money or dont need to pay any bills off.

[dzx]

You should be able to find a wrx intercooler for about 50 bucks or so somewhere. Like phil said, the valve cover gaskets are pretty simple to replace, just drain the oil and get a 10mm wrench as a socket is hard to get on them due to the lack of space. I think it's three bolts on either side.

[Splinter]

Start saving now. Seriously. I blew my savings on carparts this summer. Now, I'm scraping by until this summer. I won't be making that mistake again, I'll tell you what.

I'd leave the car stock.

^ same situation

I spent more than a few hundred bucks on intercooler, boost gauge, stereo, etc now I can barely afford to pay for the valve cover gaskets I just blew.

Your car is 15 years old. Parts will go. You need money to pay for them or you WILL be stranded

In the 5 months Ive had this car (which was in awesome shape) Ive HAD to do the following repairs:

Brake pads
Radiator
Water pump
Valve cover gaskets
PCV tubing
Timing belt
Spark plugs
Ignition wires

Probably a grand in boring upkeep stuff. Truth be told, some of the stuff I replace, I replaced with non-OEM parts, but even if I did, it would still be expensive.

[vrg3]

You don't even have to drain the oil -- most of it's in the oil pan shortly after the engine's shut off.

It is indeed three bolts on either side. Change the grommets around the bolts too.

[Splinter]

Yea im gunna start saving as soon as i have some income, ill prolly save about 100$ from this. Im buying a sunroof glass and turbo engine plastic cover thingy from blackbart. My sunroof is cracked, and i have a hacked up n/a engine cover.

Why do you need an engine cover?

[BAC5.2]

I wouldn't have even spent the money to get the Turbo Engine cover. The car works and functions perfectly fine without the cover, so you just wasted money by getting one.

You really should check out some books on "how to save" at the Library. I bet you'd benefit from it.