Looking into STI's

[Vr-4-Life]

Hi All,

I'm looking to join the Subaru crew and pick up a used STI. I'm into the 05 and 06 years the most and thats what I'm looking to pick up. I'm going to join up on IWSTI and Naosic, but I know there are a lot of Subaru owners on here.

I'm looking to buy one stock if I can because I dont want an abused car. I wanted to know if there are any common problems that I need to look out for such as oil pressure, bad rear end, etc etc.

The only thing I'm not happy about is too many people have a STI so its kind of hard to be original

Does anyone have advice on what to look out for?

[xarchiex]

best advice i can give you from buying mine and learning a huge lesson. take it to a specific subaru shop because it may seem stock but theres some things that can be changed and you not notice. check the turbo inlet also make sure all hoses are hooked up and what not thats a common thing for when people return their car to stock to trade in.

[Vr-4-Life]

Are there any common problems to look out for? Anything to worry about?

I know the 3000GT vr4's have oil pressure issues and crap like that... What about STI's?

[Fujito]

You can still be original. JDM parts aren't that expensive for it compared to the 08+ STi.

[Foolinaround]

check nasoic,i think there is a faq?

[xarchiex]

as fooling around said check naisoc theres tons and tons of info on there just not the nicest people in the world.one very common isssue is the ringlands, they tend to blow but if one has you would know.just try to get compression test if possible.check for shaft play because vf turbos get that quite easily also.

[///chrism3]

look for common wear you would see on a car thats been abused make sure u also drive the car and monitor everything as you do so. if you get one with a vf39 only real issue is the they are prone to cracking. 07 have ringland issues more common and just make sure the car wasnt previously modded and then parted out before the trade in. a good way to also inspect is if its on the stock map

[CarbonIS]

buy mine

[xEJ20x]

Originally Posted by CarbonIS

buy mine

This.

[ndubz]

U can have someone check boost pressure, if its much over 14.5psi, then theyve chipped it. as far as cars that have been returned to stock, take it to a subaru mechanic, I cant stress that enough. My friend did that when we were looking at Audi 2.7ts, we passed up 3 that seemed fine, but wound up having turbos on the verge of failure, he then went with the V8 A6 and hasnt looked back lol. just make sure the owner has been taking care of it. Dont buy it if he has a VTA BOV on it, its well known that our cars dont run right with VTA, and that the stock BPV is good to like 400whp. If he has a VTA BOV on it, then he is a toolbag who has probably not taken proper care of his car and has beat it to **** (cuz it sounds cool of course )

[///chrism3]

soo ppl running vta bov dont take care of there cars huh? LOL

[nissamax]

you should do this when looking at any used car

check the trunk lift up the carpet where the spare is and see if there is any water or rust. ive went to go look at so many subaru's that there was rust there. im not sure if its a subaru problem or ppl just not taking care of there cars.

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by ndubz

U can have someone check boost pressure, if its much over 14.5psi, then theyve chipped it. as far as cars that have been returned to stock, take it to a subaru mechanic, I cant stress that enough. My friend did that when we were looking at Audi 2.7ts, we passed up 3 that seemed fine, but wound up having turbos on the verge of failure, he then went with the V8 A6 and hasnt looked back lol. just make sure the owner has been taking care of it. Dont buy it if he has a VTA BOV on it, its well known that our cars dont run right with VTA, and that the stock BPV is good to like 400whp. If he has a VTA BOV on it, then he is a toolbag who has probably not taken proper care of his car and has beat it to **** (cuz it sounds cool of course )

You should try to be useful.

[xEJ20x]

Originally Posted by ndubz

U can have someone check boost pressure, if its much over 14.5psi, then theyve chipped it. as far as cars that have been returned to stock, take it to a subaru mechanic, I cant stress that enough. My friend did that when we were looking at Audi 2.7ts, we passed up 3 that seemed fine, but wound up having turbos on the verge of failure, he then went with the V8 A6 and hasnt looked back lol. just make sure the owner has been taking care of it. Dont buy it if he has a VTA BOV on it, its well known that our cars dont run right with VTA, and that the stock BPV is good to like 400whp. If he has a VTA BOV on it, then he is a toolbag who has probably not taken proper care of his car and has beat it to **** (cuz it sounds cool of course )

Do us all a favor and stop talking.

Originally Posted by CleanNeon98

You should try to be useful.

Take your own advice.

Originally Posted by nissamax

you should do this when looking at any used car
check the trunk lift up the carpet where the spare is and see if there is any water or rust. ive went to go look at so many subaru's that there was rust there. im not sure if its a subaru problem or ppl just not taking care of there cars.

It's either a sign of a bad trunk seal, a previous accident, or even recovered flood damage.


But heres the "Buying a Used Subaru/Car" thread from NASIOC.
Alot of it is basic used car buying knowledge and some is subaru specific.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1222331

[CarbonIS]

amen to everything george has said.

[Vr-4-Life]

Originally Posted by xEJ20x

Do us all a favor and stop talking.




Take your own advice.




It's either a sign of a bad trunk seal, a previous accident, or even recovered flood damage.


But heres the "Buying a Used Subaru/Car" thread from NASIOC.
Alot of it is basic used car buying knowledge and some is subaru specific.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1222331

Thats pretty much exactly what I was looking for... I still havent joined because I havent had the time to look around and navigate the site.

Originally Posted by CarbonIS

buy mine

Unless your asking 20-25k for it then no lol I'm looking to pay 80% cash and just have a small payment to build up credit... Cant afford yours lol

Originally Posted by Fujito

You can still be original. JDM parts aren't that expensive for it compared to the 08+ STi.

Yeah, I want to buy one STOCK if I can... I'll probably throw some wheels on with tires and throw snow tires on the stockers. roof racks for my bike is a must, and beyond that I'm thinking navi unit.

I'll probably do a fp green and supporting mods and hopefully I can get it to 350-400 hp and reliable...




That brings me to another question... Hows the power to reliability on these cars?

[Fujito]

Get a 4g63, make big power, and don't worry about it

[xEJ20x]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

That brings me to another question... Hows the power to reliability on these cars?

Cars are reliable in stock trim and upgraded factory style turbo ones can be reliable too.

But there are minor defects.
Factory VF39 turbos are prone to small cracks around the wastegate flap or need to be ported because of overboosting with a turboback.

TGVs (butterfly valve bodies that sit between the intake manifold and the block) have a tendancy to become frozen eventually.....its an entirely useless part on the USDM car, IMO.
People usually get deletes to rid themselves of the problem.

And I recall either the piston rings or lands cooking themselves with upgraded turbos.
However, I do think owner negligence comes into play on this one.

[ndubz]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

Thats pretty much exactly what I was looking for... I still havent joined because I havent had the time to look around and navigate the site.




Unless your asking 20-25k for it then no lol I'm looking to pay 80% cash and just have a small payment to build up credit... Cant afford yours lol




Yeah, I want to buy one STOCK if I can... I'll probably throw some wheels on with tires and throw snow tires on the stockers. roof racks for my bike is a must, and beyond that I'm thinking navi unit.

I'll probably do a fp green and supporting mods and hopefully I can get it to 350-400 hp and reliable...




That brings me to another question... Hows the power to reliability on these cars?

Basically if u do an FP green or something similar, plan to build the motor in the next 30-40k miles. if ur not beating on the car all the time, it should last u that long before u need to build it. If ur going over 400 pretty much everyone strongly recommends u build it if u need it reliable. U can get away with it for a while, but it does shorten the time to failure of the stock internals considerably.

Im probly going 20g with mine. then i'll build the motor if i decide I want to keep it for the long haul.

[Got Insulin?]

Originally Posted by Fujito

Get a 4g63, make big power, and don't worry about it

Yahtzee.

Originally Posted by ndubz

Basically if u do an FP green or something similar....

Im probly going 20g with mine. then i'll build the motor if i decide I want to keep it for the long haul.

The Green is a 20G.