Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
 Supportive as ever, cheers Bro 
I'll get this bolt sorted, if whistle fixes at same time...result, otherwise I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Early start this morning - braved the snow and took my car to Richard Henry Motorsport in Bradford (about 40mins away).
I'd briefed them on the phone earlier in the week, and they said if the manifold does need to come off - it's not a job they could do today, but they would happily look and rule out the basic stuff (again!).
I was greeted by three blokes (Simon, Andy, ??) in a freezing cold industrial estate unit and despite the conditions they seemed like the happiest people on the planet  Worlds apart from the miserable cunts at Scoobyclinic.
They got stuck in within 2mins of my arrival and found some oil vapor residue around the manifold where my snapped bolt is - so they're pretty confident to finger this as the source of the whistle.
They want to take the manifold off to extract the bolt, so I offered to take the train home and leave the car with them for the week to let them fit it in and sort it.
Simon drove me to the train station, and after 2 hours of freezing my tits off... I'm home safe 
I'm confident that RH can sort it now, regardless of anything else they're nice guys and actually sounded interested in my car and interested in getting it sorted - unlike Scoobyclinic who gave me the impression I was just getting in the way of their racecar building...
Best bit of all, I get to drive to work next week in my missus' 1.2 Corsa D. Will save me a fortune in petrol money, enough to buy a new turbo buy friday 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
That car will be on its way to Albania already imo
Only kidding. Wish I could find a garage that seems to care near me.
|
jay26
Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 08
Location: North Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
|
Sounds good nice to know their are people out there interested to help
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Indeed, it means a lot to me regardless of reputation or credentials.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
My bmw specialst was the same. Lovely bloke who explained all the issues to me, rather than just writing them down and sending me away.
Also asked me about the mods and how his mate has a z4m and z3m
|
BarnshaW
Member
Registered: 25th Oct 06
User status: Offline
|
updates?
|
Ben J
Member
Registered: 31st Jan 05
Location: Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
Kyle heard nothing so went back to collect the car and found an empty unit. Only thing left was a broken manifold bolt.
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Nothing yet.
I told them they could have the car until Saturday as that's the earliest I could go pick it back up, so they're probably not rushing.
He did say he would phone me midweek though with an update, and if I haven't heard anything by end of play Wednesday I should call them... so may shout them tonight.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Righto, just got off the phone with Simon @ Richard Henry.
They took the car out for some proper test drives before doing any work once most of the snow cleared, and they were able to replicate the whistle reliably.
They then took the manifold off, drilled the bolt and retapped the hole before refitting everything.
Took the car back out for more testing, and....
No more whistle
I will remain apprehensive until I drive the car for myself, but it sounds like the bolt was the culprit.
I'd asked them to give the car a general once over while they had it, and they've advised on the knocking shocks (which I'm aware of) and said they could do a refurb - but wouldn't bother as I plan to go to coilovers soon.
They also spotted a crack in the top of my radiator. It's not leaking when stationary as it's right at the top - but when everything warms up a bit, it starts venting. Being honest I had noticed stains along the top of the rad, but assumed it was just fallout from when ScoobyClinic changed my top hose.... in hindsight I should have cleaned it all off and monitored to see if the staining came back... oh well.
Simon is going to do what he can to source a (probably second hand) rad between now and tomorrow night when I hoped to collect the car. If he can't source one, I'll bring the car home anyway and get one sorted myself.
Happy days, hopefully 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
BarnshaW
Member
Registered: 25th Oct 06
User status: Offline
|
good news mate, sounds like you finally got someone to identify this issue, hopefully that will be the end of it!
|
Ash5
Member
Registered: 26th May 08
Location: hull
User status: Offline
|
fair play to you for sticking with it and getting it sorted properly. i would have just fitted a stright through exhaust so i couldn't hear it.
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ash5
fair play to you for sticking with it and getting it sorted properly. i would have just fitted a stright through exhaust so i couldn't hear it.
Heh, had plenty of people tell me to turn the radio up etc - but once I know something is wrong, I either stop at nothing to sort it... or sell the car
Can't wait to get it back!
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
They've managed to get hold of a (new) radiator, so that'll be going on today and I'll collect tonight at about 16:30.
Been quoted £345 for the full job lot, which I don't think is too bad... ScoobyClinic reckoned 4-5hours labour to get the manifold off alone.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
BarnshaW
Member
Registered: 25th Oct 06
User status: Offline
|
thats a good price mate, fingers crossed its all OK when you get it back.
|
IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
£345 to sort the whistle and supply and fit a rad?
great price
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
£345 to sort the whistle and supply and fit a rad?
great price
Yep I thought so
I can see RH getting a fair amount of my trade.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
my brother had a rebuild by scoobyclinic and they used sub standard parts
so i'd stay clear of them
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
my brother had a rebuild by scoobyclinic and they used sub standard parts
so i'd stay clear of them
tbh, regardless of their quality of work - their collective attitude and lethargic approach to getting stuff done is enough to put me off.
I've spent two 8+ hour days there, each time for nothing more than a couple hours' work - really can't be doing that too often. God knows how long it would take them to do a big project such as a rebuild
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
BarnshaW
Member
Registered: 25th Oct 06
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
my brother had a rebuild by scoobyclinic and they used sub standard parts
so i'd stay clear of them
out of interest what substandard parts did they use?
|
IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
he had a 2.2 engine and the used parts from a 2.0
not sure what parts but he was told that was part of the reason it blew up
|
BarnshaW
Member
Registered: 25th Oct 06
User status: Offline
|
I really find that pretty hard to believe? what parts from a 2.0 did they fit to a 2.2?, find out and come back to us, cheers.
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
As promised, my snapped bolt is sorted... so spent some cash on something not maintenance related!
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Ready for a wall of text?
First off, after having a chat with the guys down in aero - I've got a new part due to arrive today or tomorrow which we've simulated as being a gain of around 2 tenths.
My plan for the year was to slap some coilovers on, get geometry alignment sorted and then start saving for performance parts for late 2013/early 2014.
I've had a bit of a change of plan though!
When I was at Richard Henry, they told me of a refurb solution for the standard STi shocks to stop then clunking. I did some research when I got home and found the following procedure:
1) Remove rear struts
2) Dismantle rear struts
3) Clean out the (small amount) of (hard) grease which Subaru put into the assembly
4) Drill/tap a hole in the strut between the two grease seals
5) Install a grease gun nipple in the drilled hole.
6) Rebuild the strut
7) Attach a greasegun and pack the cavity with grease
8) Refit to car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYiP4DG_OQU
Basically Subaru don't put enough grease in, and it doesn't contact the right places at the right time. Due to the slight camber on the strut, the up/down movement causes friction against the side of the assembly and sometimes it sticks when the damper is extended. Under slow speed maneuvers the stuck damper occasionally drops suddenly with a clunk, instead of gliding up and down.
Some people claim this to have an adverse effect on handling, but primarily it's just annoying for me.
By fitting a grease nipple, the grease can be added AFTER the shock has been reassembled which means it can be added under pressure, filling the cavity between the seals completely. A further advantage is that the grease can easily be topped up in the future if the clunk returns, but when done properly - apparently this isn't needed. Some reports on NASIOC of people who did this in 2006 and still don't have their clunk returning.
I did some research, and if I spent 6-800quid on coilovers as planned - I'd gain adjust-ability but in terms of ride quality and handling, there might not be much difference between a refurbed OEM setup and "cheaper" coilovers. Many people claim the big gains are to be made from a good alignment and additional suspension upgrades such as drop links and ARBs.
Further research introduced me to the existence of some springs made by Eibach to Prodrive specifications, and was a further optional extra when these cars were new. These springs get pretty impressive reviews - so I'm on the hunt for some on the second hand market, as they're no longer available from Prodrive.
I've also got involved with a CDF group buy who are currently developing some front and rear ARB's for my car, to go with their existing range of uprated droplinks. The ARB's should be ready for mid March.
So... for £30-£50 (greasegun, nipples, spring clamps) I can refurb my shocks on my driveway. If it goes well, I've fixed a clunk and potentially get a marginally better handling car. I'll aim to get this done for when the ARBs/droplinks arrive so I can fit it all at once then go for alignment somewhere. If I can find some prodrive springs between now and then, bonus.
Ultimately I'm looking at saving ~£500 which would have been otherwise spent on Coilovers. I'm not hoping for coilover performance, but for my type of driving - I'm still a long way short of finding the limitations of my car, so this will probably "do" for now. I'll look out for an opportunity to go for a ride in a similarly specced car on coilovers and see if the difference is night and day, but it seems daft not to give this a try. At worst case, I go for coilovers anyway - and sell on my refurbed shocks/prodrive springs which should fetch a fair premium based on how common this clunk is.
So, as for that £500... I may put this towards ported headers, up-pipe, catback exhaust (I want to keep my Prodrive sports cat for MOT convenience) and a map tweak.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
|
IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by BarnshaW
I really find that pretty hard to believe? what parts from a 2.0 did they fit to a 2.2?, find out and come back to us, cheers.
the guys who rebuilt it afterwards were the ones to state that fact.
what ever they did it only lasted 5k, where as the next rebuild lasted until way after he sold it upwards of 20k
|
