i think there's a few scooby owners here as well as some knowledgeable gear heads so here goes....
long story short, i had a misfire in cylinder #4 with a P0304 CEL in my 03 WRX (bone stock) with 81k on the clock
made the mistake of taking it to the dealer hoping for a quick fix via plug or ignition pack but it turns out the exhaust valves were "too tight" and the cylinder heads needed to be removed for machine work
they quoted me over $4k with about $3500 in larbor taking the motor out.
they also did the following tests:
compression 175
leak down < 10%
plugs ok
injector resistance 15 ohms
there's no way im giving the dealer $4k for this and i realize this maybe a good time to take it to a shop for some upgrades. i dont have the knowledge or time to work on this myself
what exactly does the dealer mean by the exhaust valves are too tight and machining the head
i guess what im trying to ask is whats a sensible mild build i can have a reputable shop do? im not looking for a 400hp DD.... im looking for a reasonable build on top of a stock bottom end if they're gonna take the motor on out. im looking at a $1k budget. the shop quoted me about $2k if i need to pull the motor to do this. what kind of power can i expect from cams and valves?
Posted this on NASIOC as well but i know there's more traffic here..
Thanks in advance peeps!

 

exhaust valves too tight means exactly that ... somehow they got over torqued. not good

valve could have got bent, spring could have been broken. but to repair it the head has to be removed

 

so to be on the safe side, would i need to replace the entire valve train?
what does machine work on the heads do?

 

no not replace entire valve train ... just the parts that are broke / bent

if you have the money and want to upgrade the valve train then now would be the time as it's out but it's far from necessary

by machine work they are talking the work on the head, can't say unless you know what exactly is broke what it all entails

 

Is it a sti?

 

how much of a gain can one expect from upgrading a valve train? im not gonna look into a race setup or anything..
its a stock WRX ej20

 

ouch how long have you had the car?

 

4k, shit buy an EJ207 longblock and invite me down for a weekend.

 

i don't know if i'd trust lee ... he has a bad history of actually completing modifications on subarus


:hugglez:

 

got it last may

do you take credit cards

i guess what im trying to figure out is what the best bang for the buck.
most likely im gonna look into a STi setup. i believe most parts are compatible.