TomB

Cheers mate, I will.

At last, the car is back on the road. It flew through the MOT with no advisories, even after being sat for so long. My mechanic mate has even painted the calipers and Waxoyl'd the underside after getting rid of and surface corrosion. Handy to have a Subaru enthusiast friend as a mechanic. Only cost £500 for all the work. Drives beautifully, quick as I remember, but now I don't want to sell!

Finally, I will pick up the car today! Haven't driven it in well over 2 years, so really looking forward to it.

Well, it's gone. This morning we pushed it out onto the road as I'd left the handbrake off, and loaded onto the truck. That's going to be cambelt, water pump, tensioner, coil packs, plugs, full service, brakes all round, and whatever else is found wanting.

Quick update for anyone interested. I've now accumulated all the parts needed to get back on the road. So as I've got a week off, I thought I'd get it cleaned out of all the crap my female has stuffed into it, and get the inside sorted. I put in a new JVC Bluetooth radio, and after for attempts i got the centre back together. Moving backwards, I was deep in looking for the rear wheel hanger latch which I seem to have mistakenly throw away. Looking into the inner spare wheel well, I found it to be full to the brim with water. Not happy, but i suppose that's what happens when a car is left outside with leaking rear lights. The lights themselves were resembling a nice aquarium. After using my lads fish tank syphon to get the water out of the well, I have re-sealed the lights and used clear hot glue to seal any possible joint i could find. I'm hoping to get some tape to cover the gap between the body and the clusters to stop any water running that way. One thing I did find was that the evil person who put the securing nuts where they are should be put to death. Luckily I've found a supplier who can get a new latch from Japan, so all is not lost.

Hi all, a while ago I bought a lovely Gravel Express, and really enjoyed it. I had some great help and advice from a few members on here, thanks very much. Trouble is, it cost far too much to run going back and fore to Bristol from Tenby, so I bought a far more sensible diesel. The GE was left on the drive and wasn't used much. The battery went flat, then the tyres and so on. I've now decided to get it fixed. I won't start it until I've had the belts changed, as I've no idea when they were done. It's showing 127000km,so it's probably overdue. I'm also redoing the brakes. I shall have the rear arch fixed with a proper repair panel and fully sprayed, and the rest of the body mopped. The wheels also need doing. Basically, it'll be restored to as it should be. So, advice is once again needed. I intend to change the spark plugs, and it makes sense to change the leads. I'm aware that I have the original individual coil per cylinder and have been offered these for £65. Are these what I need? I know about the conversion, but I won't be able to do it.

I've decided to get a new maf, but thought that it may be wise to change the plugs and ht leads at the same time. I'll get NGK PFR7B plugs, but I'm not sure on the lead for it. I believe it's a V1 base, and most of the leads I've found are for later models. Any advice? Can't afford stupid things like Magnecors, as much as I'd like to, and would be happy with 'just above standard' units, or if standard are decent, they'll do. Here's a pic of the engine, just in case I'm wrong.

Cheers Savage, luckily I've got a mate close by I can change the maf over with at some point. I may as well just get one, as I imagine it'll need to be changed at some point. I think it's mostly original stuff on there, so it couldn't hurt to refresh the plugs and leads. I thought it might be a coil playing up, but it's pointing more to the maf, so I'll start there.

Right, maf unplugged and it starts straight away. Idles a little roughest but is steady. I plug the maf back in, and it's lumpy and hesitant to rev. When I rev it, it splutters then builds. It was also quite smoky with the maf in. When I unplugged the maf when it was running, it died immediately. Sounds like the maf is knackered?

Well, today I tried to start the Impreza after a few weeks away at work. Not a chance. It turned and turned, I could smell fuel, and could hear the cylinders pumping, but no go. I've read the fault codes as best I can and have found the following :- 23 Mass Air Flow sensor circuit 24 Open/Short in ISC valve circuit 31 Throttle position sensor 32 A/F sensor #2 system I take it that I need a new maf sensor, but the rest I don't know about. Would this be why my boost just wasn't happening and why I was getting pops and bangs? HELP!!!!!

Not that I know of, but it's been running perfectly for a couple of years with them on.

1996 V1 Gravel Express with 3 port solenoid, decat, STi intercooler, and an ARC box intake.

Hi guys, I seem to have developed my first issue. When I'm driving along and give it a bit of throttle, we get to around 3K rpm and it just seems to give up. It feels like someone has just put a bung in the turbo. It spools, as I can hear it, and it vents, as I can hear the recirc valve through the ARC box. It's been farting a little recently on gearchange and this seems to have got worse too. It will rev past 3K on a light throttle, but doesn't like it much. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

The wrx had a plastic pipe with a folded section. The STi replaced the plastic with alloy, and it's the smooth pipe which gives the better airflow. I may have found another, so cross your fingers for me!

Always by PayPal, and with fees covered. But it's probably easier to have it welded than try to send back. Matt, I've pm'd Andy, so would you mine tipping him off about a waiting mess, as they don't always show up?

No mate, in trying to upgrade the standard WRX slanty cooler for an STi slanty cooler. They're much more effective, mainly due to the larger end tanks and the alloy pipe. I want to keep it as standard as possible, and don't want to chop bits around for a newer tmic, and don't want a fmic. Fussy I know!!!

I'm not sure. It was sold on Facebook so there's not much comeback. It cost me 3 times more than the cooler! I'm going to get the old cooler out tomorrow and see if the new one fits in place. If it does and the pipes line up underneath, I may look into having the pipe welded to the cooler. I can't see me removing it any time soon, so can't really see a downside. I can always bend a silicone pipe from the turbo to the hardpipe.

I have come to the conclusion that this car hates me. Nothing is ever easy on it. After weeks of searching I found the intercooler, then after another few weeks, the hardpipe. Guess what, they dont fit! The holes for the bolts don't match. Not even close. So, either I've got the wrong cooler, or wrong pipe. Aaaggghhhhh!!!

Thanks guys, I've managed to find the hardpipe now. Hopefully it'll be coming today. I'm hoping the connections are the same, otherwise it'll be a hunt for silicone bits next. If it fits first time, would I need a remap on it, or is it not worth it until I do injectors and fuel pump? I wouldn't have thought it necessary, but I'd rather be safe. Thanks again!

Well, after reading these articles, the STi came out reasonably well. I'm not after huge power - 300hp would be sufficient in a lightish car, and I'd like to keep the car as original as possible. I'll be fine polishing the inside and outside of the pipe, and fitting as large a silicone connector as possible. The cooler itself may have to be sent for refurbishment, and I believe the company can upgrade the internals to a more modern design. http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=TopMount-Trial-Part-One&A=1618 http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=TopMount-Trial-Part-Two&A=1619

The V2 doesn't have a y pipe. It's a single entry unit with a long hard pipe section. I haven't got any part of the connectors I could fit a silicone part to, unfortunately.

I'm having trouble finding an ally y pipe. The cooler didn't come with any fittings unfortunately, but i don't know if the pipe to cooler pieces will fit the STi.