Congrats on the job, Morgan.

 

Unfortunately it is not. Im still trying to make my way down there though. The best time to look for a job is when you have one though.

Yea, Im going to keep a very close eye on it. Clearly I dont have a healthy motor, as evidenced by the low compression in one of the cylinders and obviously making less power then the 99% stock automatic car that was there.

Thanks Tim!

 

Ok, picked up the car Saturday morning. According to the paperwork, it wasn't losing pressure when cold, but after 15 minutes it lost 4psi when hot. I spoke to Paul to see what he though, he's believes its a bad block. Basically the sleeve isn't even with the deck of the block (BTW, I have no idea what cylinder was losing pressure, the paperwork didn't say) which is more apparent when the car is hot. Its only a matter of time before it goes boom.

So, now it's time to start harassing my contacts to push back on Toyota to get a new engine ordered.

 

Damn. Has anyone else on the forums had the same issues? I doubt many people have the mileage on the motor that you do.

 

Congrats on the job Morgi

I knew you would get it !!! :woot

so you coming to the National Meet?

 

I would have called the dealership and made them wait for my ride to bring me to them...to fkn bad, that's what they get for not giving you a loaner.

What a turn off, Morgan. FK.
I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

I haven't seen anything on the forums about it. Paul said its not a widespread issue, but does happen. He's seen on a brand new Honda block too.

Thanks Anil! But I won't be able to make it this year. I can't justify taking the time off so soon after starting a new job (starts next Monday btw).

Yea, Im not pleased but Im trying my hardest to not be a dick and burn bridges. If these are the guys that I am going to rely on replacing the engine, I don't want to piss them off. Its all about fighting the right people, and in this instance, that would be the regional/corporate office.

 

Are you entertaining the idea of parting and selling once you get new motor? Or are you emotionally committed and believe in the brand at this point?

 

Do I think of less of Toyota at the moment, yes. But I love the car. Lets just leave it at that for now. We'll see how this plays out. The good thing is that the BlueBook value is worth way more then my loan, and if I were to sell the car at that value, then my parts, I might actually stand to break even on everything. I do not want to go that route, however.

On another note, I mentioned the symptoms to another person, they confirmed a bad block would do this. I've reached out to an active member on the forum that is friends with a Toyota engineer in Japan to see what he would say about this. I've left a message with the SA at the dealership as well, he's been pretty good about calling me back in the past so I should hear back by EOD. I've got to go to NY tomorrow morning, and I really have zero confidence in the car. The last thing I want is for it to end up on a tow truck or at a dealership in NY.

 

^^^ rent a car bud...

and why is your CL with Paul?

 

Sorry to hear that the problem might be major, Morgan. Now, I realize that Toyota is on the hook for this, but it was my understanding that this boxer engine was just a derivative of one Subaru's been using for some amount of time. Have you checked the Subaru forums to see if there's been any indications of past history of something like this? This wasn't a brand new engine design, right?

 

He said he had the stroker motor removed and is putting in a stock motor to sell it.

 

I have seen several scooby boxers with this issue and 2 Js. Basically it is a weak casting allowing the cylinder to move when hot. As I understand it it happens when there is a inconsistancy in the casting alloy pour into the mold, every time I have seen this issue there was a definate difference in the color (darker) of the aluminum in the weak spot. I feel that it is slag that was not properly removed from the top of the crucible before pouring.

 

I refuse to pay out of pocket for anything relating to this issue. If my car ends up getting towed, Toyota will be liable (as I will be calling their roadside assistance, not roadside that I have through a 3rd party).

And the CL is getting a stock motor.

The FA20 is a completely new motor. It shares nothing with the old EJ series.

From what I can find online, Im the only one with this issue. Yay me.

Thanks.

I spoke with the SA at Toyota, and I asked specifically if corporate was the one that suggested the head gasket. He said no, the technician at the dealer thought that would be the fix. He said that once it runs low on coolant again (which it will), to bring it back in and they will get further instruction from corporate. I told him that I don't want them to replace the head gasket if that means Ill be back in there in 5k miles with the same problem, I want it fixed the first time (new motor).

I checked the coolant levels again this evening. The car has been parked since 2am Sunday morning. The overflow tank is filled above the max line, and the radiator is down about 1.5-2". That tells me the coolant is boiling over or the system is being over pressurized (by the combustion gases). Guess my trip to NY is going to be delayed a bit

 

if they give you new motor... can you have old one back ? and maybe build it

 

^^^ exactly my thought !!! dew it !!!

 

Not if the issue is a bad block.

 

Road and Track's latest issue did an update on their Long Term BRZ and basically said that putting better tires on the car turns an excellent track car into an extraordinary one.

And that's with the stock engine.

 

At the dealer again, can't multi quote. I wish there was a good AZine app.

Jake - That build is crazy, and apparently its on eBay for $60k. I don't think its got $30k worth of work in it, but that's just me. 500wtq sounds delicious though.

Anil - I would, but...money.

Stefan - That too.

CM - Whenever someone asks what the first mod should be, I always say tires. I'll delve further into that later when I get onto my desktop though.

 

So I take it the issue is still there if you are back at the dealer? Did you safely make your trip or did you decide against it?

 

Yea, I'm back at the dealer for the same issue. The car feels even more down on power now, its frustrating.

I finally got clarification too, it wasn't a single cylinder that was down 4psi when hot, all four of them dropped. Odd, right? Either the tech didn't do the test properly, or there definitely is an issue with my more (which is still likely since its down on power and burning coolant.

They've got today to figure it out. If there's no resolution I will be contacting the regional office and going from there.

 

Sorry to hear about this, Morgan. Good luck today.

 

that is messed up !!! I hope you get it figured Morgan....

 

 

Your car is asking for a new engine...but it wants four more cylinders.

 

But in all seriousness they better give you a new motor. Nothing short of that is really acceptable at this point.

 

Sorry to hear, Morgan. Wish I could offer some advice.

It must be infuriating owning two cars but not being able to really drive either at the moment. When is the CL due back?

 

I wasn't implying, just asking. I love the car too, and hope you do find a speedy and satisfactory solution.

 

Its crossed my mind.....afterall its the "easiest" way to fix whatever the hell this issue is.

Yea, this is my viewpoint on this as well. I would like to get the compression tested when hot by another dealer/shop. Something about all cylinders losing the exact same amount of pressure over the exact same amount of time doesn't sound right. Shitty thing is, tomorrow I have to go to NY and I won't be back until Sunday. My new job starts Monday, and assuming I start taking service calls right away, I don't know when I'll have the free time to bring it back. I need to figure out what the hell my schedule is going to be like for work.

Yea, its just my luck that this would happen not 3 days after dropping the CL off. No idea when it's due back. My old tranny needs to be rebuilt, and I realized today that I need to find a stock airbox. Anyone have a stock 2G airbox??

Its cool, I didn't mean for my response to seem testy. I just wanted to give Toyota a chance to fix this before I start bitching. I'd lose all bargaining chips if I were to do that.

Also, I did some digging on FT86Club and saw a few other threads regarding disappearing coolant. Those cars have half the mileage as mine, but they brought them into the dealer and the dealer topped off the coolant. They say they haven't had an issue since. At this point, I dont know if its related to my issue.


In other, somewhat bitter/sweet news - I've had the car for 1 year as of today (the 16th). Its got 25,1xx miles on it, and by Monday should have 26k. Yesterday I washed it up and then cleaned/reorganized the garage a bit.



That big ass box is garbage, I just keep forgetting to put it out with the trash.



The mileage has gotten better of late, which is definitely a welcome treat. The dash readout is still a bit overzealous with the average MPG - as its currently sitting at 28.6mpg lifetime.

While at the dealer I also had them replace the driver side front corner window since the factory installed it incorrectly, causing the seal to tear (known issue on the earlier 2013 models). I also had it inspected, and as expected it passed without an issue.

Part of the reason it passed is because Im back on the stock wheels.



The 18s are fine, but the rear tires are at the wear bars and I don't have any TPMS sensors in them. I was planning on using the tires I have left over from the CL (never used) but I realized that theyre 245/40s not 245/35s

Dat hella sunk



I got about 24k miles out of the Star Specs, and I would absolutely purchase them again, if they had the size I wanted. I want to try the Z2s, but theyre expensive in the size I want, so Im thinking about going with either the Bridgestone S04 Pole Positions or the RE760s. Im leaning towards the S04s. The downside is that they are a heavy tire (26 or 27lbs per corner depending on size). Thoughts? Suggestions?

Also, now that I reorganized the garage and moved the bike over to the bench, I plan on delving into the wiring on that and getting it road worthy over the next 2 months. I've got a lot of plans for that, but for now I just want it back on the road. Ill completely disassemble it next winter, get the engine built, and take care of paint/powdercoating.



Old school simplicity

 

Damn...its been a year already.

 

They grow up so soon.

 

Guess they have been out for awhile. Passed by a local dealer the other day with 6 out front.

Fuck time is flying.

 

Yea, the dealer I got mine from has two - one silver and one black. Not sure of transmission.

 

She still looks brand new with those 25k miles in one year.

 

Still looks great, Morgan! Sucks about the engine issue persisting. Hopefully it gets straightened out and you can get back to business

 

I wish I checked your thread earlier, sorry to hear about the engine problems, thats really unfortunate. Hopefully a new engine at no expense to you

and congrats on the job

 

Congrats on one year. Sorry to read of your engine troubles. You are doing a great job holding yourself together dealing with a mildly unresponsive dealership. Congrats on the job!

 

well well well look who it is @ 4:40

 

Great update, Morgan. WOW...I'm SO jealous of your friggin garage! Even a 2 car garage down in South Florida is only 20 feet deep...not 40 or whatever that is.

Car looks awesome on stocks or the volks...I'm infatuated with that color. I'm sure you'll get it all fixed...plus, 27mpg...that's nothing to scoff at.

 

That video is EPIC !!!

@ the SC whine
@ the Hyundai @ 4.05...he shit his pants LOL
@ the lanky guy @ 4.25
@ the chic @ 6:09 checking Eric's car out