When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So, on the drive to work the brake stopper really made a difference. I'd say the impact was greater than having braided hoses fitted, although the effect is similar.
However, no perceptible impact of the header tank spacer...
There is still an annoying knocking coming from the front passengers side when I hit a bump at low speed, but it's too cold and wet to crawl around under the car too much.
So instead of fixing that I've spent the time on stuff I can do. First the cabin filter which was really filthy.
Before:
I've also bought some de-tango'd headlights from the for sale section on here (thanks to Arch, they were a bargain). They were in great condition, but I thought I'd give them a buff before fitting them on Monday.
So I bought this:
Meguiars headlight restoration kit.
It's great. Easy to use, effective and it even smells good.
Just fitted the de-tango'd headlights I bought from Arch, from the for sale section on here.
Fitting them was pretty easy, just over an hour start to finish, largely thanks to some excellent instructions from Arch. Plus jobs like this are always easier with no children around helping.
I did plan to take the intercooler off, give it a clean and fit a group n pitch stop mount, however I've sliced my thumb open on the clip holding the AC hoses so that will have to be another day...
To be honest, progress has been limited as my boys have been ill. However I've been recommended some of this:
Apparently once you've buffed up the headlights with a wool pad there is a risk of them turning yellow. This stuff should help prevent that happening. It smells a lot like nail varnish remover (acetone). For the price I hope there is something else in there!
It went on easily:
And buffed up nicely. Here's hoping it prevents them getting discoloured.
Can see my face in them.
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 02 April 2016 at 01:24 PM.
I got stuck on the A14 yesterday and 90 minutes of crawling along at walking speed made it apparent there is some slack in the throttle cable.
So it was a 5 minute job (including finding keys and getting tools from shed) to take that out and sharpen the response up.
Hopefully now the kids are better I can make some more meaningful progress this week.
I've been doing a bit of tweaking of the settings on my meister r's and I thought I'd report back.
I'd describe my driving style as spirited, I've normally go my boys in the back and to be honest I know I'm not the best driver (I've got a couple of ex-pro drivers as friends and know there is a huge gap between my skills and theirs), so I expect there are people out there who may like their cars set harder than me.
So, in clicks from softest:
1-3. Very soft, I felt that this was under damped.
4-7. Soft to magic carpet (or as close as you're going to get with coilovers on a subaru). I found these settings idea for really poor back roads with a couple of ill children in the back. In these settings the coilovers soak up the worst of the road imperfections and the car is quieter and feels much more refined. No wallow, my wagon didn't feel like a galleon, but not as poised as with the higher settings.
8-11. Firm. I have found this to be good for longer motorway and dual carriageway trips and an occasional b road trip over ok roads. If I had to pick one setting to leave it on for ever it would be 10. I think 8 clicks from softest is close to OEM levels of damping and stiffness.
12-15. Firmer. Still usable but a lot more noise and feedback. Not suitable for bad roads. Can get tiresome on long journeys with rough surfaces. 14 onwards will provoke much more moaning from family. But if you're alone and the roads are good this level is fantastic. An utter blast.
16-17. As firm as I've set them. Needs really good roads or a good tolerance of NVH. Definitely not a setting if you are carrying family.
I hope this is useful.
Normally I have the same settings all round as I think impreza wagons have reasonably close to 50/50 weight distribution, but if I'm carrying luggage and the whole family I'll add set the rear to be one click firmer than the front.
When I do them I normally wet and dry sand them, I go through two to three stages of wet & dry depending on how bad they are > Machine Compound the lights > Machine Polish the lights > Meguiars Plastic X and then to finish off I would give them a coat of wax.
I normally give the lights a coat of wax every few washes or so just to make sure they stay nice and shiny.
Ps, the car is really looking well. Big difference from when you first purchased it!
Ps, the car is really looking well. Big difference from when you first purchased it!
Matt.
Thank you! It's been a lot of fun, I'm now just worried that the to do list is getting shorter and I'll end up looking at forged engines and big turbos...
That's a good tip about the headlights. I've ordered some finish kare high temp paste wax so I'll make sure I give them some extra attention every now and then.
I've finally got round to cleaning the intercooler. At a rough estimate I'd say 25% of the fins were blocked with dead bugs, stones, general road debris and bits of leylandii.
Taking it off was a doddle. Two bolts, the jubilee clips and the engine breather tubes.
I left the re-circ valve on the car and re-fitted with a new gasket when I'd finished.
Once off I used a hose to try to wash through all the debris blocking it. I also sloshed a cup full of petrol in to get rid of any oil residue inside.
Once finished with the hose I liberally sprayed it with carb cleaner, and used a toothpick to straighten any bent fins and pick out any remaining rubbish.
Much cleaner.
Thankfully there was very little oil inside.
While that was drying I fitted the new group N engine mount.
Visually the are almost identical, apart from some sti branding on the new one. However the rubber on the group n version is much stiffer.
5 minutes with a breaker bar and it's in.
Cup of tea time while the intercooler finished drying. Once I'd re-started it only took 10 minutes to get everything back together. I was concerned getting the turbo to intercooler hose back in place would be tricky but it went back in like a charm.
An hour well spent.
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 09 April 2016 at 07:53 PM.
Just a note on the group n mount. It works really well. Driving around town there is a lot less "give" in the drive train and the engine feels much more directly connected to the wheels. Coupled with taking the slack out of the throttle cable the while car now feels much more responsive at low speed.
There is a slight increase in engine noise passed to the cabin, but it's not an unpleasant sound.
Overall I think that was a good little mod.
I've had the wheels on and off a few times recently and noticed the original nuts were tarnishing. So I bought some black anodised steel bimecc locking nuts from that there ebay.
I was hoping to fit a catch can this weekend but I've had a few issues with positioning brackets and connectors for the plumbing, so hopefully next weekend if all the parts get delivered and my measurements are ok.
So instead I've taken more inspiration from modrich and bought some of this:
And I have to say it works a treat. Really easy to apply and buffs up a treat.
We've just had a shower so here's some shamesless beading.
I've bought all the bits for the catch can install but still can't get the flaming thing installed. Any tips? I've put a cry for help on the general technical section.
As that defeated me and I had the tools out I thought I'd give the area under the wipers a clean.
Easy to remove.
10 years of filth.
10 minutes with a soft brush and vaccum later..
An easy little job. Still annoyed that I can't fit the catch can though...
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 28 May 2016 at 07:42 PM.
Just met Tim Farmer, who gave my car a close going over and service. He's tracked down the likely cause of the low speed clonk (worn front arb bushes), spotted that the rocker covers were weeping and the radiator is bowed. Also the tyres need replacing.
Other than that the wagon got a decent bill of health.
So I've order a new radiator from ebay, bushes and gasket set from icp.
Having spoken to Tim I'm also re-thinking plans for the future mods. I'm not going to go for more power, but instead look for some handling improvements.
I'd really recommend Tim. He is hugely wise and knowledgeable and a good bloke to talk to about subarus.
First job done.
New Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 3's.
First impressions are really good, nice amount of feel, good grip and less noise. I'm yet to push them or try them in the wet but so far I'm happy.
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 22 July 2016 at 07:26 PM.
So all the parts required have been delivered.
New radiator from cool parts uk (ebay). Looks a decent quality item and well packed.
New gasket set and front arb bushed from icp.
And finally some up rated rear drop links which were a bargain in the for sale section.
However, annoyingly the holes are slightly to small for a standard m10 part threaded bolt. The holes are roughly 9.3 mm and the bolts 9.8. So I'll order some 3/8" part threaded bolts which should be closer. If not I'll have to find a friendly machine shop to machine 0.5mm off the bolts.
Bugger.
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 24 July 2016 at 10:00 AM.
So, the wagon passed it's MOT with flying colours and changing the front arb bushes has completely sorted out the low speed clonk.
I've now had this wagon for a year, and to summarise progress so far:
New parts.
18" prodrive PFF7'S replaced with 17" gold sti wheels (currently with goodyear asymmetric 3's).
Knackered suspension replaced with meister r coilovers and "fast road" geo done.
All drop links replaced.
Front and rear arb bushes replaced with superpro poly.
Refurbished brakes on the front. New discs and pads all round. Braided steel brake lines and clutch line.
Brake stopper.
Group n pitch stop mount.
K&N panel filter.
Header tank spacer kit.
Replaced radiator.
Rocker cover gaskets replaced.
New kenwood double din digital radio.
Fitted de-tango'd headlights.
Zunsport grills.
Hella horns.
Slam panel.
Plus a few oil changes (including gearbox and diff), a pile of replacement stainless nuts and bolts, lots of wax and even more shell V+ nitro.
So next year l'll fit the rear alloy drop links, after that I'm going to look into a roll center correction kit and some poly bushes for the steering rack.
When that's done I'll do a bit of sorting out on the interior.
Then I'll be looking round for inspiration....
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 02 August 2016 at 11:34 PM.
Love the progress and the wagon!
I also own a Black 05 wagon which I love, (also love the leather interior as it's an SL)
Have now purchased an sti IC, blue injectors, RCM fuel pump, VF43 turbo, pink box exedy clutch and all the gaskets required to fit for Duncan to map on the 26th!
Needs some minor parking dents removing grr! It's also been remapped at the moment with up pipe, and sports cat so running 270 at the moment and good torque but I have got the itch for more power doh!
Love the progress and the wagon!
I also own a Black 05 wagon which I love, (also love the leather interior as it's an SL)
Have now purchased an sti IC, blue injectors, RCM fuel pump, VF43 turbo, pink box exedy clutch and all the gaskets required to fit for Duncan to map on the 26th!
Needs some minor parking dents removing grr! It's also been remapped at the moment with up pipe, and sports cat so running 270 at the moment and good torque but I have got the itch for more power doh!
I'd love an SL for the heated leather and sunroof. The lack of big comfy heated seats is a major drawback compared to my ST220 (according to my wife).
As much as I keep saying to myself "no more power: think of the life of the engine" it is really tempting to go for just a little re-map...
Hi Stuart. This has made for some great reading. Some nice tips in there, especially like the look of the brake piece (forget the name) for the master cylinder!
Noticed your comment on my thread regards the ARB bushes/drop links. Was there any noticeable play in the ARB before swapping the drop links?
Mine are looking worn (9 years old!) but seem fairly happy and I can't see or feel any movement.
Hi Stuart. This has made for some great reading. Some nice tips in there, especially like the look of the brake piece (forget the name) for the master cylinder!
Noticed your comment on my thread regards the ARB bushes/drop links. Was there any noticeable play in the ARB before swapping the drop links?
Mine are looking worn (9 years old!) but seem fairly happy and I can't see or feel any movement.
As for the drop links...
When I got the wagon there was a lot of knocking and clunking from when cornering. I hoped changing the drop links would help (as it's a pretty cheap fix I could do myself), but if it did is was barely noticable. Changing the suspension got rid of most of the clunks and knocks, then recently Tim Farmer spotted that the passenger's side front arb bush was worn, replacing that got rid of more noise. Now it's almost clunk free. I may have to accept that a 10 year old car with solid top mount front suspension may make a bit of noise now and then.
Fitted the drop links today.
First point. Since I've had coilovers my old ramps are now too steep to fit under the car so I've had to buy some maypole mp4607 caravan ramps.
They work really well, raising the wheels by 100mm which is enough to get under, even if it's a bit cramped. They even fit under the front.
Second point. The Flo-Flex drop links are a few mm wider than oem, so the brackets they slot into will need to be gently pried open.
After that it was simple. Undo old bolts, clean up, grease everything that might move and re-assemble. I'm still annoyed that I've had to use 3/8" bolts for this as now I need to remember to get out a second socket set if I need to do anything with them. Also, being honest, the bolts are too long, but they don't catch on anything.
And they're in. The bushes are much harder than oem so there should be some difference.
Last edited by Cambs_Stuart; 05 September 2016 at 08:13 AM.
19 March 2016, 06:03 PM
Procrastination.
