Martian

Thanks for the encouragement guys! Its a bit daunting, tbh, but ill get there! I cant afford to keep running to the mechanic especially with the prices ive seen people say they have been charged because subarus are really faffy. Ive got loads i need to do aswell, the gear linkage, clutch, oil leak, change all the oils, spark plugs (they were on the list, the rocker kit comes with little spark plug things ), exhaust and hopefully nothing else essential!! This little wagon has really grown on me, i love my classics and i dont think ill get rid of this one now, i did doubt when i first got it and noticed the faults, but its really grown on me

Thanks for the heads up mate, I will have to get under and have a proper look on my next day off. Yeah oem gaskets all the way on bits for engines, especially on cars as faffy as subarus! Bit of a nightmare layout wise lol The seats i have are in really good nick considering how old they are, they are just not that comfy when you have been sat in it for a little while. My work involves using my back a lot and it would be nice to have a bit more support and comfort on the drive home aswell. Thats the only reason i would change them. Im not into race seats in a road car or being so low that people can barely see my head through the window

Hi guys, As the title says, this is more of a fix thread than a build thread. Ive had the car a short while now, a little under a month. Its absolutely awesome, i love it, but im now finding all its faults. So far ive found out it has a 2" or possibly a 2.25" exhaust system, i have been advised that this is not good for the turbo or in general and am hoping to sort this out asap. It had an absolutely minging airfilter that quite badly affected the engines performance, ive replaced it with a cosworth flat panel. and it has a good old oil leak. ive posted a pic of the oil leak, its also left a patch on the drive at work as its parked there for sometimes 12hrs or more at a time. Ive had to top it up twice in about 3 weeks. Ive ordered a rocker gasket set, and am hoping to rent a ramp and a friend and i will hopefully do our two cars in one day. Thats the plan anyway! It could also be the crank oil seal ive been told. but i am rubbish at mechanics and never owned or worked on a subaru before. A picture of the new stereo i fitted. I also replaced the speakers, not really happy with the sound but it will do for now. And a long term plan is to try and get some more comfy seats and see if theres anything i can do to improve my seating position, as i dont think the car was designed for tall people. My feet are just resting on the pedals and my knees are about touching the steering wheel. If the new seats where higher then i think i would have an issue with my knees and steering wheel. Well this is the start of my thread, it will mainly be somewhere to throw some pics, write some thoughts and plan ahead, if anyone wants to comment it would be more than appreciated

Cheers bud, ill pm ya now

Hi savage, Just wondering if your sports cat is still for sale and is it just the cat or is it attached to any pipe? If so would you be able to post a picture? Ive sourced a cat back system, and need to find a cat and the pipe going to the turbo. Cheers

Hi, I think i may have had some developments in this area over the last few days. First i replaced the air filter with a cosworth high flow flat panel filter, when i pulled the old one out it was only slightly dirty on top, but underneath it was black, the dirt came off like oil, my hands where filthy, inside the air box underneath the filter was filthy black aswell, so i cleaned it all, checked the pipes where clean and clear and the maff, fitted the new filter and wow what a difference. There is a noticeable difference in smoothness, the turbo is slightly more responsive, everything is a bit sharper, but i can now do 60mph at 2750rpm approximately instead of 3000rpm on boost. My second hand Hayward and Scott turned up the other day, i went to fit it today, pulled the old back box off and found out that new back box doesnt fit, despite being told it came off a 1997 classic but was being used on a bugeye fine, it cant have come off a classic, the rear hanger (after the silencer) is in the wrong place. Also i noticed that i wouldnt be able to fit it even if it was correct, as the pipe system i have is either 2" or maybe 2.25"??? This is wrong as far as i can find out, I am under the impression that non turbos have exhausts that small but turbos have 2.5" or an upgrade to 3". So, the problem could be not enough air, and reduced exhaust gas flow, at high rpm the car cant get rid of it fast enough? So, i am now on the look out for a turbo back system with a sports cat

Morning, Thanks for the reply guys. Ill try and check the wastegate and solenoid out before it goes in for a check up. I am able to replicate the issue anytime i want if the straights are clear, because it happens at higher speeds and revs. Its not that i dont know when boost kicks in unfortunately, that would be an easy fix. We are talking over taking speeds or dual carriage way speeds in 5th.

Hi, I have been treating my wrx with a bit of respect and learning how she behaves over the last few weeks, i have very rarely stamped my foot to the floor for a couple of reasons, i havent needed to, and the roads around my area have very few overtaking spaces and i dont want to risk anything in a car im still learning. This is not to say i havent experimented when its safe to do so though. Today i noticed a strange thing when i overtook someone, went up to 5th put my foot back into the floor until i was safe then eased off. As i passed the halfway mark back to 0 throttle all of a sudden i gained a load of boost and it surged forward a bit until i came off some more throttle. My car seems to love living in the first half of the throttle. I only have seat of the pants figures to give you but it seems when you put your foot to the floor all you use is the 2.0 engine and less effective boost, i cant say how much because this is all still so new to me, but the difference is certainly noticeable and worthy of the word 'surge'. Ive done as much browsing and searching as my overtired brain can cope with tonight, but all i can find is some one who seemed to have an over fueling problem and boost cut kicking in. Mine doesnt die or jerk or judder like his did though, i think im increasing in speed quite rapidly until i reduce throttle and use the first half of the distance your foot can travel. Does this mean anything to anyone? Has it been remapped to this? Is it a failing part, the actuator? Is it over fueling? Im booking it in for a once over by my mechanic in the next few weeks when he has a free moment. but in the mean time if anyone has any info on the weird boosting i would be grateful. Good news to finish on, ive just bought a Hayward and Scott back box for that classic scooby burble ive envied for years ;D

Harly wax is amazing stuff, its what i use. A good jet wash, shampoo and let it dry, then wax.

Hi Savage, Yes ive checked the gearbox oil level, It might need a top up, but not desperately i think. im a bit vague because despite wiping the stick twice i couldnt get a definite level reading, it was somewhere between low and full, ill check again when its been parked on the level for a while and not been driven for an hour or two. A full service of all the fluids has been planned for my own piece of mind and i want to start a history, Theres not much paper work, basically an old boy has owned it since import in 94, its been parked in a garage and driven to the shops and back every now and then, hes a mechanic and done all the work himself. He changed the belts, tyres and battery before selling it. The engine oil looks fresh tho. It has some clutch judder, a lot less since ive owned it and driven it every day, but i dare say that will need replacing soon.

I have a slight issue with gear changes, at an every day just popping to the shops speed, foot all the way to the floor on the clutch, from first to second there is a slight crunch/grind, occasionally its there changing to other gears but its mainly second i notice it. The gear stick has a lot of play in it, and i have to change gear very methodically in all gears. If i change from 4th to 5th it grinds on reverse as i move across and then go up into 5th, i have developed a way of avoiding this most of the time tho. I darent even consider suddenly changing from 5th to 3rd to overtake because of the bouncing off all the gears and accidentally dropping it into a different gear, I tried to drop from 5th to 4th and put it in second without realising once. There seems to be no resistance or feel of control when moving the gear stick. Driving carefully and like a sunday driver its fine, but anything else is out the window. Does this sound like gear linkage as i suspect (from reading other posts), or something else, or gear linkage and something else?

Cheers Jay, ill start a thread in the impreza or build section once ive got the adjustment period over and done with. Yeah the 6 speed gear box mod would be too expensive to do unless you manage to get hold of a box and diff extremely cheap! I would be hard pressed to fit it myself with very limited knowledge, minimal tools and soon no second car so would have to pay a mechanic to do it for me. Do UK 5 speed boxes go much cheaper? I imagine there are more of them around?? I will prob check ebay at some point for a rough guideline.

Thank you! I think its awesome, i love the look of older cars, ive no idea why? My child hood maybe, early golfs and escorts razzing around past my house on the rallies Once ive driven it for a while and got the feel of it and sorted the brake binding out and something with the clutch (researching at the moment), there are a couple of things i would possibly like to do. It has a pea shooter exhaust and i dont hear any burble, thinking a prodrive back box, cosworth flat panel airfilter in the standard air box. New head unit and speakers. Sort some messy touch up paint marks in the wrong colour silver, there is also some rough paint on the spoilers. Clear indicators, and change the rear lights to sti, also done something to the front lights, the beam is very spreadout. Possibly add front, rear and side skirts The biggest thing though is the short ratio gear box. I either pootle around at 50mph at 2500rpm or i do 60mph on boost at 3000rpm with it eager to increase I know its expensive to add the 6 speed £1500 someone said, so i was thinking going up a size to 16inch or 17inch alloy wheels, get something light but hopefully be able to do 60mph at under 3000 rpm.

Despite being 35, 3yrs no claims, low crime area, the comparison sites where quoting me upward of £750 for my import classic wagon, adrian flux said the figure wasnt worth mentioning when i phoned, keith michaels and another subaru specialist said they wouldnt insure me until i had a year under my belt, greenlight wouldnt give me a policy despite me being with them on my other car, classic car insurers said my using it as a daily driver means their out and it still wouldnt be too cheap as its still a wrx. I eventually tried direct line and got a cheaper quote than when i looked on the comparison sites for a uk turbo! They charged me 540 fully comp! All smiles here!

Thanks for the welcome guys, i havent taken any proper pics yet. It needs a good wash and wax. But here is a quick photo.

Afternoon peeps, picked up my first scooby the other day. Im absolutely blown away A low mileage, L reg JDM WRX Wagon in silver, as far as i can tell its completely bog standard. Its got one or two things that may need doing in the next few months mechanically, the body work is good, a bit rough in places, but overall im really happy. Thought i would join a forum for information and rather than just cruising through would stop and say hi.