David in Hampshire

Oil A good filter needs good oil and vikky verky. Anything else is wasting money. Gearbox first. According to Subaru, Castrol Transmax Dexron 3 should do the job but mine failed after a couple of thousand miles. Subaru don’t want to talk to me about my Impreza as it’s an import. Subarus own brand ATF is good but a tad expensive. And loyalty is a 2 way street in my book so fook ‘em. ATF should be bright red and shiny in a metallic, ‘pour it on your ice-cream’ kinda way. As soon as it starts to go brown and smell a little like burnt toast, it’s useless. So i’ve spoken to those fine people at Opie and they reckon that as my foot is buried in the shagpile most of the time (it is a 1.5, after all), something more robust should be used. On their recommendation, i’ve gone for Millermatic ATF SP3 WS. The story goes that there is a more demanding Japanese spec and this meets it. Cheap too! Looking at the data sheet it exceeds Subarus own ‘special’ rating and it’s synthetic. As the old oil is finished, i’m going to do an oil and filter change now and then again in about 500 miles. Why? Because on an auto box, you’ll only ever get 50% of the old oil out. That’s just the way they work. So one change gives me 50/50 and the second will give me 75/25 new to old, or thereabouts. I’ll never get it all out. Engine oil. For a lot of the time I use Chevron Supreme 10/40 and change it regularly. You can get it cheap in Costco, that’s why. This oil is weird in that it leads you to believe that it is synthetic but it’s probably conventional in either a synthetic base or just, I dunno. It’s oil. American packaging and as a product, it has been replaced by their DELO range. The specs change from year to year and market to market but I’m reasoning that new average is better than old and worn good. I change the oil a lot. My bruv had a Vauxhall Cavalier with over a quarter of a million miles on the clock. Oil and filter every 3k. There was only rust and cobwebs holding it together in the end. Halfrauds own brand is made by Comma. I wouldn’t start a fire with Comma oil. All oil comes out of the ground the same way and it’s the refining that makes the difference. There’s no point in quoting your extortionate bhp levels if you use rubbish oil. And I own many cars so one oil fits all. But Subaru engines are great as long as you look after them and it sorta demands a better oil. So for the Impreza it has to be fully synthetic, as low as 5w because it’s winter and as the engine gets hot, 40w at the other end. Opie recommends Gulf formula G 10/40w which ticks all the boxes. I’ve never rated or used Gulf for oil before. They say it should work but I don’t know if they’re selling me old stock that some loon overbought. Someone’s got the sack and the boss is asking “WTF are we going to do with this lot?” And then I call, saving the day. Cheaper than Halfrauds though... And you can’t get much info from Gulf here in England, you get more in New Zealand but then again, it could be a completely different product by the time you get there. The engine sump plug is 17mm, tightens to 44nm and I don’t know the washer size. Don’t know about the gearbox either. I’ll fill in the blanks as I go. Other oils are available. Wotcha!

Oil filters? There are 2. One for the engine and one for the gearbox - mine is an auto box. After much sodding about, I found this site - www.oilfilter-crossreference.com What cool site! Whoever sorted it deserves a medal. Either that or !Removed!. Anyway, you choose. And when you when you’ve said 'thank you' to the owner of said site, you'll find that you should be using either Bosch, Mobil 1, K&N or Fleetguard if you can find them. There's not a lot else out there. I’m looking for good performance at a good price. Eurocarparts supply Bosch filters if they're in stock but we're talking about £1 worth of difference and I can’t find the right part number. K&N, with postage, work out a bit more expensive. Most filters are just rebranded anyway - same factory, different badge. Even K&N buy them in (it's panto season so ‘oh yes they do!’) Their HP filter is just a Champ Labs rebadged with a 1” nut welded onto the case. You can lockwire them if you’re going to the track but really, you’re going to the shops, aren’t you? So forget the pretty paintwork of the HP and the Stainless Steel range is very pretty to look at but unless you’ve got money to burn, it’s way more than you need. The SS range is reuseable. You can dismantle, clean and rebuild it. If that’s what your life is about. I’d use the cheaper alternative – the PS range. Fram don’t have a good reputation in the world of filters but some rebadged are made by Champ Labs. Maybe they’re OK. As far as I can tell, Champ and ‘Champion’ are not the same thing. Champion are owned by Federal-Mogul. They own Ferodo too. Champion motorbike filters look pretty basic and you get them at halfrauds. Anyone know the part number? There is a side business of Champion Aerospace and when you see their filters, they look exactly the same as K&N HP. Which is made by Champ Labs. Starting to look like the choice is this one or that one, isn’t it? Fleetguard are rumoured to be astonishing. Never seen one but their part numbers are below. All engines have filters so maybe you can find them for marine, aviation or even motorbikes. Like sparkplugs, one spec fits many engines. An oil filter is a metal can, the element inside filters out the crap. The more crap it catches, the cleaner the oil where it matters. Some don’t have a bypass valve. The bypass valve stops the crap from going backwards into the engine or gearbox when the pressure drops. Better filters have a faster flow rate and catch more crap. Some leak inside the filter casing and some leak outside the filter casing. Not all filters are the same. Gorrit? The engine on most Scoobys is a Tokyo Roki 15208AA100 filter as standard. Apparently they don’t meet the Subaru standard and were replaced. But because they were fitted as OE, and they don’t fail, it’s not a big deal. And because they are as rare as rocking horse doo doo, your alternative fitments are either: Mobil1 M-108. This is made by Champ Labs, who sell their own filters but not in England. Reputed as being very good but hard to find. Bosch D3300. Bosch is good kit. K&N PS-1008. Nothing wrong with it. You could use the HP if you want to spend an extra fiver. Fleetguard LF3692 The gearbox filters are either: Mobil1 M-103 Again, made by Champ. Their part number is PH2876 and it would appear that one filter fits all Scooby’s. Use the Mobil one, if you can find it. Bosch 72167 K&N PS-1003 Of course the choice is up to you. There are loads of Scooby parts shops so it’s your money, you spend it as you like. Keep at it

Engine Oil It's always a discussion point. I have tracked down a bloke who works for Opie and as it's oil change time, I've gone for Gulf Formula G. It's a 5/40 fully synthetic and it's on offer. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60125-gulf-formula-g-5w-40-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx This is dirt cheap, although i've never rated Gulf for oil, it comes recommended. Previously, i've tried all sorts but as it's a 1.5, your toe is always buried in the shagpile so it looks like it will do the job,. Lets face it, most of the time you're doing a constant speed which is not so fast so race spec is overkill. We shall see how we go.

Hi folks Under the bonnet today to find grease over the back end on the passenger side - the gaiter has split. I'm told to get a genuine part but that it's a bugger to fit. Has anybody done it? Got any advice? 1.5 GG series, 2006 wagon. With an automatic box. Thanks DiH

As rocking horse doo doo, Gambit.

2006 with an auto box.

If you do, can we get a spec sheet sorted out for servicing? Mine is a grey import and finding out how much of what is a mare. Thanks David

I bought the other fob off fleabay, hoping it would work. Suaru dealers are v expensive. Another key is going to set me back about £250 D

Actually, I don't think it's alarmed. Press the open and the central locking opens. Guess what happens when you press 'close'? That's all that happens. The second fob might be on a different frequency, I dunno. I was a-hoping that i'd get a key cut and that would be my second set. If I get a new key where the 2 button is on the fob then I need to program the fob and gt another key cut. Any more?

I've got a fob that doesn't work with this car. It's a 2006 GG wagon that I imported from Japan and it only has one key. The key that works has a 2 button handle. The fob that doesn't is a 2 button fog with a key dangling from it. I've scoured the net and still can't find anything. Does anyone on here know how to fix this? How do I get the second fob working. Thanks all David

Just thought i'd add... I've got myself a 1.5 Impreza Wagon and I really like it. No, it's not the fastest car I've ever owned but it's relatively cheap to run, well put together, clean and it works. I have motorbikes for when I want to tear-!Removed! around but having said that, put your foot down in this and it shifts along. Where I live you can't go faster than the car in front of you. I don't have a problem with them at all. It's a Subaru with 100hp. What's the problem?

I'm not getting anywhere with this Impreza. It's a 1.5, built in 2006 and I need a speedo that clocks up and shows MPH because i've got to get through a VOSA inspection. Bloke on ebay was as much used as a !Removed! in a space suit. Any ideas? David

I wonder if the chip resets the speedo reading? turns kph to mph, if you know what I mean? Thanks for getting back - i've emailed Keith, the bloke who supplies the delimiter chip - and i'm waiting on him. thanks did

Hi Gang I've just imported an Impreza wagon. And I want to convert the speedo from KMH to MPH. Does anyone know how it's done? All the other forums talk about delimiting the engine, the ecu, the final drive on the gearbox and the clusters but noone really knows how. Any clues? Thanks DIH