dwmccauley01 Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 Hello, I bought a used engine awhile back and I am just now starting to tear into it, haven't taken the heads off yet but I put a boroscope into the spark plug holes to take a look. 2/4 cylinders look good with the cross hatching still visible, however, the other 2 have what looks like caked oil or something. I wouldn't be surprised it the ringlands are bad because it's got around 140k on it. The engine has also not been run in almost a year. I just wanted to confirm what I'm seeing is oil or something and not bits of the shortblock.lmk of you guys notice anything else. Thank you Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 Bump, another thought I had is maybe it's just carbon build up on this pistons that fell off over time? I'll likely be opening it up within a month or two to see if it would be viable to reuse. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 That just looks like carbon build up to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 That second photo, looks like there may be a step in the top edge of the piston ringland 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 That just looks like carbon build up to me.Nice! Thank you for the confirmation Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 That second photo, looks like there may be a step in the top edge of the piston ringlandIs that what makes it leak? Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 If that is in fact a broken ringland, then yes. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 I'm not sure how you could discern that from a lip on the ring, and just oil sitting there in the gap; that picture isn't clear enough. Gotta keep in mind the turbo is on the 1/3 side so that head gets a lot more heat and is more susceptible to carbon build up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) Right, what I was hinting at earlier, was the need for a better picture. Here are mine at 154,000 miles. Edited November 19, 2021 by Max Capacity 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 Right, what I was hinting at earlier, was the need for a better picture. Here are mine at 154,000 miles. [ATTACH]294197[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]294198[/ATTACH]I was planning on getting it honed and just doing some drop in pistons if the block looks usable. I'm fairly certain the ringlands aren't ideal due to the age of the engine. Assuming there is no major scoring and the cylinders aren't severely out of round would it be safe to assume my plan would be viable? Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 I agree that the photos are definitely less than ideal, I'll get better ones soon when I have time to take the heads off Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 My Machine Shop owner buddy, told me, I was better off buying a new ej257 shortblock, instead of paying him to tear apart my ej255 and rebuild it. Others have learned the same thing. Most dealers can get an ej257 and engine gasket set for your year car for about $2300. My ej257 has over 144,000 trouble free miles on it. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 My Machine Shop owner buddy, told me, I was better off buying a new ej257 shortblock, instead of paying him to tear apart my ej255 and rebuild it. Others have learned the same thing. Most dealers can get an ej257 and engine gasket set for your year car for about $2300. My ej257 has over 144,000 trouble free miles on it.Yeah, I would for sure go the new shortblock route, however, I think it would be fun to go through the rebuilding process on my own. There's a ton of resources online and worse case I mess it up really bad I'll just move to another project. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 I got a shortblock rebuilt for basically a total of $1800. that was the machine work, which it needed to be bored out, and assembly (both of which were about 1200 total) with new rod and main bearings (acl race) and pistons and rings from subaru. (about 500-600). zero tangible benefit from replacing a 255 with a 257 unless you're doing the rest of it too. crank, rods, and pistons are the same in the 255 and 257. the 257 "benefits" are in the size of the heads combustion chamber, fuel injectors, larger turbo, and more aggressive tuning on the ecm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 I got a shortblock rebuilt for basically a total of $1800. that was the machine work, which it needed to be bored out, and assembly (both of which were about 1200 total) with new rod and main bearings (acl race) and pistons and rings from subaru. (about 500-600). zero tangible benefit from replacing a 255 with a 257 unless you're doing the rest of it too. crank, rods, and pistons are the same in the 255 and 257. the 257 "benefits" are in the size of the heads combustion chamber, fuel injectors, larger turbo, and more aggressive tuning on the ecm. We all go with the ej257 because back when we started doing that, the 257 was cheaper than the ej255. Supposedly the ej257 had the better crankshaft. That was the main benefit. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camvan122 Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 We all go with the ej257 because back when we started doing that, the 257 was cheaper than the ej255. Supposedly the ej257 had the better crankshaft. That was the main benefit. Are there any notable differences between the D25 heads, and the B25 heads in terms of capability that come with the 257/255 respectively? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 There is a difference, ask google what it is. https://www.google.com/search?q=diference+between+D25+and+B25+subaur+heads&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS906US906&oq=diference+between+D25+and+B25+subaur+heads&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i299l2.16410j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Small update, took a look at the heads. They are pretty dirty but couldve worse I guess. I didn't see any obvious scoring but I'll be moving it this week closer to my house so I can get into taking the heads off. Still got to get those cam bolts off. Another big reason why I'm going the route of rebuild this engine is because I got it basically for free Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmccauley01 Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 There is a difference, ask google what it is. https://www.google.com/search?q=diference+between+D25+and+B25+subaur+heads&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS906US906&oq=diference+between+D25+and+B25+subaur+heads&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i299l2.16410j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8From my understanding, the B25 heads were used in the 05-08 STI then they went to the W25 heads with dual ACVS. Meanwhile the D25 heads were used to compensate for air injection due to emissions. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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