Mikku

Time for a bit of an update, though nothing exciting to report. This year has seen a set of new (Pirelli P7) tyres, new wipers all round, a cleaning of the MAF sensor (which cured an annoying stutter under hard acceleration), a new O2 sensor (which cured a P0031 code / engine check light), a new aircon belt and tensioner, a new air filter, new brake and clutch fluid and new gearbox and diff oil, as well as the normal engine oil and filter changes. The car's now done 171,000km (106,000 miles), 60,000km (37,000 miles) of which I've put on it in almost 3 years. I gave up one of my university jobs this year, which means saving 200km of driving every week, so hopefully that's extending the life of a few things, or at least delaying the replacement of this, that and the other. On the modding front, I've yet to fit the STi Group N pitch stop mount, which I want to do in conjunction with a thorough cleaning of the intercooler, so that's still on the jobs-to-do list. I'm also on a constant look-out for some decent, used STi front seats but they're getting harder to find, especially at a reasonable price. So that's about it for this post. Have still got the car and still love it!!

Forgot to update this, so better late than never, I managed to track down the problem to a dirty MAF sensor. Before I could try any of the ideas mentioned above, an engine check light came on. In trying to get rid of that, I bought some MAF sensor cleaner and gave the sensor a good spray and although the check light stayed on, the engine stutter stopped, and the engine started pulling smoothly again. Below are a couple of pics of the sensor before spraying it. The engine check light turned out to be a P0031 code, which was an O2 sensor, so that got replaced by my local dealer. 👍

Sorry, I should have said, I'm in Japan. I've been reading about the numerous things it could be. I had new spark plugs and coil packs fitted last year, about 30,000km ago, so they should be okay. The car's due a fuel filter change, so I may see if that does the trick along with making sure that all of the ground wires are properly earthed.

Under hard acceleration I’m experiencing some, what I would describe as stuttering of power around and about the 3,000RPM mark. It’s like the engine won’t accelerate beyond that point, so I usually back off and either try again (which sometimes works) or change up instead. It doesn’t happen every time and is most noticeable in 3rd gear, though sometimes happens in 2nd and 4th. I’m no mechanic, so don’t know where to start but if I had to guess, I would say it’s electrical or fuelling-related. I’ve had the car for nearly two years now and this has only started to happen during the last few months. No engine codes are showing, so I’m after some advice on what this problem could be or at least where I should start looking first, before I pay for someone else to look at it. Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions. 👍

A neighbour of mine recently sold on his ‘06 Hawkeye STi, shown next to mine in the first pic below. Although he could have sold them separately, he very kindly donated his spare parts to me. Sad to see his Scooby go, but happy to receive some STi freebies!

Welcome to the site! Can't help you with your question but as a fellow wagon owner, just wanted to say hello! 👍

The leather on my stock Momo steering wheel having started to peel off, I'd been thinking about recovering it or replacing it with something else. Recently a chance to pick up a DAMD wheel came my way. For those who don't know this Japanese brand, their wheels are crazily expensive but cool-looking, with an ergonomic design and an optional flat bottom. A nice wheel for sure but I had discounted them, not only from a cost point of view but also because wheels for the earlier generation models have been discontinued. However, when a later model one popped up for sale in my local used parts store, I jumped on it. I had to buy another wheel to get the correct-sized airbag/horn cover for it then transfer the airbag device over from the Momo but otherwise it fits. All a bit nerve-wracking, messing around with airbags but the result was worth it. I've attached a few pics below, starting with the Momo and finishing with the DAMD. 😎

Well, it took me over 4 months to get round to doing it, but this past week I finally fitted all of the above. More specifically, the WRX now has a new OEM shifter linkage u-joint but with uprated TIC linkage bushings and a new spring pin, Kartboy front and rear shifter bushings, Kartboy transmission crossmember bushings and a Whiteline transmission mount insert. The result is now a super sweet-changing gear shift. There is slightly more NVH, I'm guessing due to the KB and Whiteline transmission bushings, but I can live with that. I still have some rear diff and outrigger bushes to go on, along with an STi pitch stopper, so those are my next jobs to do before I order anything else, i.e., bigger sway bars!! In the meantime, I'm simply enjoying driving the car without a sloppy gear shift!

I need to crack on and swap mine over, particularly as there's a snow warning this week! ☃️

Would love to see some pics of the RB5! Welcome to the site btw. 👍

& this arrived today, so I now have no excuse not to try and fit everything!!! Well, apart from the weather and work! 😉

Today's episode of "What's in the Box" is brought to you via our friends at KartBoy, TIC, Whiteline and FedEx! 😁

Nice! Very similar-looking to mine. 👍

Fitted some Kartboy rear sway bar endlinks at the weekend. The standard OEM ones were actually in quite good nick, so I'm assuming that they've been changed at some point. Will have a go at changing the front ones this weekend then report back with some driving impressions.

The trouble with the brighter bulbs is that they highlight the cloudiness and haziness of the headlight lenses. I'd love to replace the headlights with something like the ones below but will probably have a go at refurbishing the lenses first. 👍