I need some guidance. After 1,300 miles on a basic rebuild of my EJ255 (2006 WRX) I have spun a rod bearing and compromised rings on cylinder 3. Rod 3 has contacted the block between cylinders 2 & 4, and I assume the crank is shot. This is just my preliminary findings and when I start adding up the cost of fixing things I can't help but feel the need to ask for help. I realize that asking all of you to weigh in on my next course of action is probably similar to asking you to decide where my family should vacation this year: I'm sure there would be tons of great ideas, but which one is right for me? I don't have knowledgeable Subaru friends or a shop that I trust, so I'm coming to you. The sheer variety of combinations is dizzying.
Some guiding principles:
1. Big power is not my priority, reliability is.
Having said that, of course I want as much power as I can afford without making the engine fragile.
2. Unfortunately, budget is a big concern.
I am not a wealthy man and my wife thought we were finished spending money on this toy for now. I also don't want to cut corners, I suspect that may be why I'm in this predicament now. I reused many components in the rebuild that I would have replaced if money hadn't been such a concern. Now that I know how painful this is (and how quickly it happened) I wouldn't have pinched my pennies so tight.
3. I'd like to reuse every component I safely can.
Items I assume must be replaced or machined: block, crank, rods, pistons?, rings, bearings, oil pump, oil cooler.
Items I hope I can reuse: water pump, thermostat, timing assembly, heads, turbo +lines.
I have data logs from around the time I recognized the knock, photos of the sludge and bits of bearing in my oil pan, audio of the engine running with knock, compression test numbers, and pictures from inside cylinder 3. I'm happy to post these if it's helpful but I think at this point I want to stop wallowing and just focus on a forward direction. Thanks so much for your input!!
Ben