Please bear with me.. because I don't actually know THAT much about the mechanics of my car... just the basics...

Okay... so this is the deal. A little while ago I decided to replace the turbo in my '02 WRX Wagon. Got a great deal from Greddy on a new turbo... also on a new up-pipe, down-pipe and catback exhaust. So I replaced it all, isntalled the jdm Sti injectors, and a new fuel pump. I got it tuned and everything was running great... except I think that it was a little too much stress on my engine... which at th time already had about 95,000 miles on it... I ended up blowing out a cylinder.. and cracking the block.

The crack wasn't bad.. and was repairable. Meanwhile.. I replaced EVERYTHING with forged internals. New pistons, sleeves, rods, valves, retainers, lifters, high performance cams... everything... the complete works. After the tuning everything was running INCREDIBLE. Unforunately... by Greddy Boost controller (E-01) was a little unreliable above 12psi... and I needed a fuel pressure regulator to boost above 12 psi... but at 12... I was running at about 270hp at the wheels. I was loving life for a while...

But then... there was a critical error. I'm not sure exactly WHAT happened... but for a little whie... the car was running on pretty much ZERO oil. It happened within about 2 weeks of an oil change (so it didn't ALL burn up)... and there was no evidence of leaks... but during a drive.. the oil light started flashing at me... and I coud hear a loud 'clicking' noise coming from the engine.

I pulled over at the gas station immediately... and checked the oil. There was nothing on the dip stick... I bought two quarts of oil and poured it in... STILL nothing on the dip stick. I bought two MORE quarts of oil... and poured one in... then it said I was a quart low... so I poured in the fourth.. and was fially full.

I drove away.. and the clicking resumed... it started getting louder and louder so I exited the freeway. Shortly after, at the next stop light, the car just died.. and wouldn't start again.

I was afraid the engine has completely siezed. I had the car towed home... I tried to start the car up the next morning and it actually started. The clicking is still there... but the engine turns over okay.. and actually runs relatively smooth... so I don't think I lost a piston. There isn't any smoke, so I don't think I ruined my seals. I'm kind of hoping that all the damage is isolated at JUST my valves.

Anyone have any idea? I live in Anaheim... and would like to take my car in for repair... but am looking for some recommendations. My last round of MAJOR engine work was at GT Motorsports in Rancho Cucamonga. I think that they did an AMAZING job... and I was really impressed with their services... but everything cost me an arm and a leg. I don't have that kind of money to spend this time around... but still want quality work. Any recommendations in the OC area. I need it to be a place that has the facilities to DO an engine rebuild if I need it... The car is also LIKELY gonna need tuning so I need an All-Wheel Drive dyno. I can always take it back to GT Motorsports JUST for the tuning, if I need to.... I also know that Turbo XS in Huntington Beach has a dyno.... but I don't know how reasonable they would be from a cost of repair standpoint.

Ideas? Comments? Suggestions are appreciated....

Thanks

 

Yep, you spun at least one bearing, probably scored all your cylinder walls badly, and other mischief. You will need to rebuild or replace your shortblock at the least, and everything's going to have to be taken down and inspected before it can be put back together. Because of that, you might want to look into buying a complete EJ207 or EJ257 and have that swapped in. It's relatively painless as it will require no fabrication or special parts, and very little wiring. Probably will come out cheaper than tearing down and rebuilding your current motor, plus you'll have an engine you can sell to someone else who wants one to rebuild.