I Just Bought A Clean Title 2015 Subaru STI For $3,650!

I bought a clean-title 2015 Subaru WRX STI at a Copart auction for 3,650 dollars! Join me as we start our Subaru journey by figuring out why we got this car so cheap! We explore the chassis, looking for frame damage and rust. Then, we do a compression test and pressurize the cooling system, looking for leaks. Then, we will provide quick service and try to get the engine running again! Will our boxer engine survive the first start?

Subscribe to follow along with my progress!

[Nickshukri]

Honestly even with a blown engine still a good deal for an sti

[compy]

Considering the sti 6 speed setup alone usually sells for $3500+ on the used market, I’d say you’re doing pretty dang good with that purchase.

[Scyllx]

Knock knock who's there ?
- Cylinder 2

[zeazy]

Detonation killed it. Welcome to Ej257/255 Ringland failure. Pinged enough to stress the bearing. Depending on how every thing else looks while its apart you can possibly get away with replacing just the bad piston since the mileage on the block is so low, done that a few times with success. Usually when these things start knocking its time for a new short block, oil pump, and oil cooler. Unless you want to repeat the process make sure its on a decent tune. EJ257's arent bad, people are.

[ohnaw]

Didnt even realize this was a smaller channel, subscribing and good luck I love subaru content lol

[Follett]

$3600!? Such a good deal! Beautiful chevelle too. I cannot believe how rusty that car’s body panels are! And I live on a place where cars rust incredibly quickly as well. It’s so strange that the floors and everything are so perfectly solid. Great project.

[timlad]

Subaru are known for a faulty pick up tube in the oil pan, they break off due to vibration and spin bearings, really a common fault for the boxter engine of that year. Taking turns at high speed also starve this engine of oil. When your rebuild this motor make sure to address these issues, you should be fine good luck

[alexj.]

What completely changed how I approach working on subarus is unbolting the two bottom motor mounts, and the one top dog-bone mount. This completely released the motor and transmission. Than I take a jack & lift the motor 2 inches up with a block of wood. This allows you to easily move the motor 4 inches either left or right, making a tedious job into an easy job. The time it takes is maybe 5 minutes to unbolt the mounts, less if you use power tools.

[rshea]

Lolol, I just screamed when I heard the rod knock. I'm not sure about that engine, but if you only have to replace the rod bearing, it's not horrible. Again, I have no idea about this engine, lol. Good luck, bro!

[OhioStateJK]

Love the videos and thank you for taking us along with your rebuild.

[beachesmountains]

SUBARUS ARE EXTREMELY RELIABLE IN MY EXPERIENCE. CANT POLISH A TURD THOUGH SO PREVIOUS OWNERS BAD HABITS AND LACK OF MAINTENANCE MUST BE RULED OUT. EITHER WAY BRO, YOU CAME OUT ON TOP OF THIS INVESTMENT EITHER WAY.

[eaturkishdude]

As soon as i saw the compression difference i knew bro was cooked lmao. Good luck with this one man! My guess is your supra will be the daily for a while instead of the subaru hahahaha

[loganmclennan]

If there isn’t a Cobb tuner or evidence it had one - get that intake out asap and get an oem!

[Paul.T]

Thank god you got this, va's are such amazing cars, I've always liked them and thought they where cool AND NOW I HAVE MINE, i love my fa20, live in Canada, undercoated it, and already plan to paint correct any blemishes as its my daily and im the second owner, the condition of this car shocks me, hope you have fun saving it

[stevemartegani]

Thats a steal, the valuable STI parts alone are worth twice that. The drivetrain especially.

Could fix that motor for around $3k, get new doors and a trunk plus fix the roof, then sell it for $20k lol

Ditch the aftermarket intake btw. If its not tuned for it, it can run lean. Plus its basically a hot air intake without the matching airbox.

[NilexRacing]

I’d go to a pro tuner after you get the engine running properly. Hopefully the previous owner had some kind of tune due to the added aftermarket intake. It could be the reason as to why the engine blew

[pbgpzln]

I have a 2013 sti hatch so it might be different but here's a couple things i did to help reliability.
It sounds like you'll need a new short block anyway but you can add these to help make it last longer

Killer B oil baffle and oil pickup (The stock oil pickup can fail and that will blow an engine fast)
GetADom Cylinder 4 cooling Mod (Cylinder 4 ringland failure is a known issue for the stock EJ257 short block)
ELH headers (The stock uelh headers cause extra heat for cylinders 2 and 4 but it also sounds cool)
IAG air/oil separator

A good tune
Also always check oil, if oil gets low and ran hard it can cause issues. Its just a Subaru thing

[benmccann]

First video I’ve seen of yours but definitely sticking around for the rebuild of this thing! Can’t wait to see the transformation!

[MikMcflyy]

That rust is super suspicious man. Wonder if that STI was in a bad flood at some point

[sssnake]

If you want to save some $ on the rebuild, I know of a few ways. Assuming metal went through the engine: 1) Get the Company23 cam gear socket/bit/tool to clean those instead of replace, 2) Delete the oil cooler/warmer since you can't clean it and it's not a necessary part, 3) Grind valves or buckets yourself instead of buying new ones to get valve lash in spec, 4) Clean AVCS solenoids instead of replacing them. Everyone online will say to replace those parts but they're easy to clean and generally don't get wrecked by metal debris in the oil.