Monday, October 17, 2005 - 11:14 pm, by: Andrew Hampton(Andrew)
Hi guys, it has been along time since i have posted something on this site, main reason i was living in England for 6 months. i STILL visited the site every now and then. Anyway i back living in Australia for good now for good. Anyway i have just found out that one of my good mates has just bought a WRX 2000 MODEL with 50000km on the clock, it is at the moment stock. I have been told that these cars have a very weak driveline. He is thinking of putting a big exhaust on it, i am worried that modify the exhaust that it may cause problems with the driveline (diff). if something is to break in the driveline i don't think he would be able to afford the repairs. Could i please have some input as to other peoples experiences they have had with WRX drivelines. Yes i know it is only a exhaust. I would have tried to talk him into buying a soarer but he had bought the WRX before i got back.
Monday, October 17, 2005 - 11:21 pm, by: Stephen Hille(9zero)
Dude there must be a zillion WRX's with massive 80" exhausts on them, just go down to the city one Friday night and have a look at all the ohh my god fully sick uleh cars
Monday, October 17, 2005 - 11:22 pm, by: Benny Gammelmark(Oldfield)
One of my friends have a WRX with a modified exhaust. He's had it for about a year and a half with no problems as far as I know. It's a 2003/2004 though.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 11:59 am, by: Steve Nolan(Hiddenvision)
Welcome back Andrew.
God, 6 months, what crime gave that much time.
Hope you had a good time and the lifestyle didn't get you down.
I have a mate or two that have the rex. One drives like an absolute nutter and has never blown his drive train.(Just tyres).
Another mate also Rallys them. If you realy want to know what you can do then I could ask him. But I think on the whole if you drive the car to the Limits it should be OK.
Just not Over them...
Oh infact a third one, No problems with his one either and he too is a rapid driver.
They all had Aircon troubles at one time !!! And suffer from Flat batterys if you don't drive them.
Young people at a big company and the WRX was the new toy of the time, so very comman.!!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 12:28 pm, by: Lincoln Carter(Dex)
Some info from drive.com.au
The big problem for most would-be WRX owners now is that a high-performance car is often a riskier second-hand purchase than something a bit more strait-laced.
In standard trim, the weakest link in a WRX is the driveline. The engines need their servicing, and skipping oil changes is probably the worst thing a previous owner could have done. Without fresh, clean oil the WRX engine will form sludge and wear out far more quickly than it should.
The gearbox isn't perfect and the synchromesh on second and third gears can often fail prematurely, leading to crunched shifts.
The real weak point is the clutch, which often acts like a fuse when the driveline is stressed out (as many owners will attest). Too many hard launches will see the clutch give up the ghost, and replacement is the only viable option once the unit has been overheated too often.
Brakes also get a big workout on a WRX, and the rotors and pads can wear quickly, so that should be taken into account when guesstimating running costs.
Thursday, October 20, 2005 - 12:47 pm, by: Andrew Hampton(Andrew)
thanks for your help guys, well i have helped best i can he is going ahead with the big exhaust, if something goes in the driveline he is a big boy he will have to deal with it.
Thursday, October 20, 2005 - 01:05 pm, by: Benjamin Burgess(Jampac)
Don't know if you guys remember the subaru ad were it has AWD and has what it can mean in some situations. They missed one situation which is AWD-A Weak Drivetrain with some fully sik dude at the drags looking at his WRX on the back of a tilt tray .
They did improve the gearbox strength in the later models, namely the first of the bug eyes.