Looking into a 2005 9-2x Aero with 49k miles

[zoiks]

The guy indicates that the motor was replaced due to a spun rod bearing.
The following is what he says.

"Car had a spun bearing, I replaced the motor with a used shortblock with 30K miles. I had the motor inspected by outfront motorsports and reassembled by forman performance. I had the heads redone by outfront motorsports, they did a valve job, resurfaced and cleaned them. I replaced every single gasket and installed ARP headstuds as well. Installed a act lightened flywheel and a new exedy clutch."

Looking into this more, apparently this is a big problem with Subaru WRX's and Saab 9-2x Aero's.
He's asking close to 11k for the car. Do you think that's a good price? Is it advisable to buy a car that already has an engine replaced? I'm thinking the dude probably drove it hard to have the bearings bust up so quickly.

 

[NutBucket]

Uh, common problem? Not really common but for 11k its a good buy if the rest of the car is sound. Even if the motor dies relatively quickly it will be relatively cheap to replace.

 

[zoiks]

Pretty common problem. The issue actually has been reported even when the engine is babied. Oil starvation is the cause as explained.

 

[Arkaign]

Hmm, if you can get good paperwork on it, and perhaps have it thoroughly checked over by another Scooby specialist, it sounds like a really nice deal. Driving those cars with the lightweight flywheels is interesting, to say the least. Combined with a grippy clutch you might stall it a couple times before getting used to it.

 

[NutBucket]

AFAIK the "big" issue was with broken oil pickup tubes. Could be thinking of the wrong motor though.

I can't wait to put a light flywheel on my fiancee's 2.0. Will definitely make it more fun.

 

[ayabe]

The '06 and up 2.5 motors don't have this problem due to a larger/better oil pan. You can buy one and slap it on there for extra security if you pull the trigger.

 

[Demo24]

AFAIK the "big" issue was with broken oil pickup tubes. Could be thinking of the wrong motor though.

I can't wait to put a light flywheel on my fiancee's 2.0. Will definitely make it more fun.

That was the 2007 model year when they had manufacturing issues. The previous, and current models, didn't have that problem and the issue was simply running it without the proper amount of oil in the car. Some of the engines burn more oil, I've found this largely depends on the type of oil. My car didn't burn much normal 5w-30, burned a good bit of pennzoil synthetic 5w-30, and now uses very little 5w-40.


Also, you all need to be careful with the lighter flywheels on these cars as they are very sensitive. Often you will need some type of engine management as otherwise it will throw codes and could do more. I don't remember what weight it was recommended not to go below, so some research would be good.