New project, new member

I did an intro in the Newbie intro thread. Anyway, I recently picked up an 03 WRX in Sedona Red Pearl (aw yeah). It has a few issues, one being the clutch is slipping. Well, I'm pulling the engine to replace the clutch, that way I can give it a good look over, get to know it and maybe replace some bits and pieces as preventative maintenance. Krazylegz was kind enough to give me a few things to look at but I kind of wanted to start this report on where I'm at and if I run into any other issues. If anyone else has any pointers I'm all ears. Timing kit was recently done and I've got new plugs. Once I figure out how to get my pics on here I'll add some of those too.

One issue that it has though that I'm not too sure about is the clutch pedal sticks pretty bad. It'll depress (pretty soft) then either stick all the way down or half way up for a bit then spring back, or I'll pop it up with my toe. I was going to see if it still does this after replacing the clutch and bleeding the system but if anyone has any ideas before I get there I'd love to hear em. Wondering if it could be the slave cylinder and if I should just replace that while I'm in there or not bother unless it crops up after the clutch replacement. I'm not made of money so anything I don't have to spend on is a plus. I also noticed that I'm missing the little spring that goes from the clutch fork to a bracket on the front of the tranny. Not sure if that would affect the pedal return or not.
Started in on the engine removal last night, got most of the way there and everything seems to be in pretty good order. Pretty clean and no big leaks that I can see at this point, that's always a good indication.

 

Definitely sounds like a slave issue and/or needing to bleed the system.

That little spring just keeps the "plunger" (the thing that pushes the clutch fork) from the slave cylinder aligned with the pivot point on the clutch fork. There is an indent on the back of the fork that the little plunger should be sitting in. I've seen some people have issues with it because they have the plunger in the hole (where the spring is supposed to go) and not in the pivot/indent spot where it's intended to go - so maybe confirm that's correct before proceeding. The spring however, doesn't directly effect pedal return.

As for maintenance if you're pulling the motor - in addition to what Krazylegz said it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace valve cover gaskets (use FujiBond/HondaBond/insertnameBond/RTV all the way around the gasket) and also replace the rear main seal since you'll nearly have it down that far anyway if replacing the clutch...just need to pull the flywheel off to access it at that point. Good luck!

 

Pic of from original posting before I purchased it. I'll try and get mine to load once I have time.
Yeah I was thinking valve cover gaskets and new grommets. Would rather not spend the money but what can you do. Better now than later on down the road when I don't want to. I'd honestly like to just get some nice Six Star MLS head gaskets too and do those just cuz but you know, can't have everything. I got a new flywheel for it with the kit so that's coming off anyway.

 

Picked up valve cover gasket kit, spark plugs and rear main seal after work. Clutch kit shower up tonight too, right on now I can get something done... Nope. Opened up the clutch and some flakes fall off... Huh. Looked at the disk and saw a nice little fracture, aww man. Must have been damaged in shipping, so now I've got to contact the company and get another one. That was going to be my weekend project but I guess not anymore.

 

Damn. Some stellar luck going around this place lately. Remind me to not do any repairs anytime soon.

 

Finally got the bear out, it did not want to separate. New clutch disc came in today so I threw all that together, put in a new rear main seal and started on the valve cover gaskets. The spark plugs looked pretty decent yet so not sure if I'll bother with those. Not sure when I'll get to finish it up with the 4th coming around, we'll be camping all next weekend so we'll see. Hopefully I can get it back on the road before too long. Then I may need a break before I tackle the next project on this beaut. It's got a small leak somewhere on the gas tank that needs looking at and it also doesn't want to fill up, keeps shutting the gas filler off anytime I squeeze it. I'm thinking that has to do with the evap hose coming out of the tank or whatever.

 

Explain this to me please. Just rusty crusty and could use a new one? Oh yeah, it didn't have a heat shield over the top too, is that something that comes in very handy and I should look into?

 

Stock uppipe has a cat in it, which are kinda prone to failure, which basically guarantees turbo destruction. No bueno.

 

Ah, yes good to know. No Bueno indeed

 

Would I have to tune for this if I replace it with a non catted? One thing I still have to learn is all about tuning.

 

Another example of Subaru engineering genius.

 

Basically anything that alters the flow of air through the engine would benefit from a tune. Apparently the uppipe is one of the very few things that doesn't "require" a tune, so you can get away with just swapping it out.

https://www.clubwrx.net/forums/engi...-importance-uppipe-mod.html#/topics/134325276

If you did a downpipe swap at the same time then you'd most likely want the tune.

 

Thankfully that's already been done on this car. I was actually just reading that thread you sent earlier today, that'll definitely get done before I throw this engine back in. Unfortunately the nuts are rusted pretty good onto the studs and after heavy soaking they still didn't want to budge and are starting to strip out. Ew. Going to have to figure that one out now.
Only things left are the turbo inlet pipe (going to swap that out too), up pipe and a nice cleaning, then I can drop it back in and see how it really drives.

 

Okay so I've been thinking about this a little bit. The EGT sensor on the up pipe was not plugged into anything, I'll look again but I believe the receiver was plugged into something downstream maybe. My question is this; could this already have been modified (either gutted cat or OEM catless) and since the sensor was obsolete they just left it in and left the wire hanging? Again, I'll have to look again when I get the chance to see if it looks like it's been disassembled and gutted (I don't think so but I could've overlooked something).

 

If there's a resistor in the other side of that harness that's most likely what they did then. I did the resistor mod on mine and just left the sensor hole plugged with a large bolt.

 

Think it could be a catless or something then? I don't want to meet with those stupid nuts but I probably should take it off and check regardless. Did you put any kind of sealer on the bolt?

 

Probably antiseize only. I didn't wanna make it so I could never get it back out, just in case.

All of the exhaust related bolts on mine came right off, at least up by the motor. They usually look rusty but for some reason always came apart. The stuff under the car was a different story. And if you don't have PB Blaster in your arsenal now's the time.

 

Uppipe to turbo fasteners are the culprit. The nuts are pretty soft and rounded way to easily. I got two of them off, one with the wax method. I think I might try splitting the nuts or seeing if I can get the studs out. Haven't really spent any serious time on it since that happened. The up pipe to manifold bolts I can get okay, the heat shield is kinda in the way but at least they move. I also figure that if I destroy the studs they're a cheap replacement, either that or a new up pipe will come with them.

 

I'll have to post a full update later, for now I'm just wondering where I fill the coolant... Is it the reservoir above the turbo area or do I just fill it at the rad?

 

After you've drained the system / installed new stuff, you want to fill and burp from the highest point. The tank next to the intake on top of everything is the spot you want.

 

Car's running, here's what has happened...
Finally got the dang rusty crusty roundy nuts off, pulled the up pipe and... sweet, I can see daylight through the dang thing. Shoulda just borrowed a borescope from work and scoped it through the bung. Pulled the temp sensor and installed a bolt (thanks @Krazylegz1485) At least now I have fresh new exhaust nuts, I was able to get them all off without damaging the studs. Got that back in place and gave it a little degreasing and wash down then dropped it back in. Filled my fluids, bled the clutch and fired it up. So I filled the rad and the reservoir up next to the intake and proceeded to burp it, had a funnel set up on top for expansion and let it run until both upper and lower radiator hoses were hot (meaning that the thermostat opened up and filled the whole system). I think I've read before that it should be good after two cycles of the fans, but in this case the fans were running pretty constantly. It has a Mishimoto radiator and I don't know if it has aftermarket fans or anything or how any of that works. So I just went based on the hoses. Only problem, the lower radiator hose never got hot and I had it running for close to an hour. That has to be some serious cooling power. Coolant temp was at 185 max I think. Well I just called it quits since it was late and I didn't want to keep my neighbors up with the wonderful subie 4cyl rumble. Well, I took it out for a spin the next day to see how it runs (gotta get used to the new clutch). The pedal still has a little stick and a little squeak to it, but that could be the return spring or whatever, other than that it runs pretty dang nice. But... the speedo quit while I was out and threw the P0500 CEL on me. Come one, why can't you just work already. I'm thinking I probably jacked up some wires when I was fighting the engine out. I'll have to pull the speed sensor and see if I can get a voltage out of it. I kinda hope that's the broken bit so I can just throw a new one in instead of finding busted wires. Also, the ABS light came on, are these related or is that a separate issue. This stinking car was supposed to be a nice simple clutch fix but you know how all that goes. I can actually accelerate with it now though I've also got an appointment to get the headlights checked out, I figure if anything to just get rid of the whole LED system and go back to stock. OEM is best in some instances. Oh yeah and I forgot that the gas tank has a leak on the top until I filled it up... nice puddle in my driveway now, huh.

Would you have any idea what they would quote if I posted some pics of the rust I have on the rear fenders?

 

I think in this case you'd want it to be a broken wire on the outside instead. Haha.

Just saw @Terry Ammerman posting pictures on the Face space of him basically splitting the tranny in half just to get to the speed sensor...

 

Yeah, I read that somewhere too. I think that's if the inside bit broke free though... that would suck.

 

Yes I did. The trans has to be disassembled to replace a 20 dollar nylon gear that runs the speedometer output sensor. I replaced the sensor only to find the drive gear had a flat spot on it.

 

Ew. I have a sinking feeling that this will be the case. Have any pictures of what that drive gear looks like? Is there a way to tell with just the sensor out?

Edit* Scratch that, I think I dodged a bullet here. Pulled the connector and checked the wires, made sure nothing was lose or broken and found a way crooked o ring in the female end. Fixed that and plugged it back together. Works now.

 

Photo time

Daylight through the up pipe, yay.

Plugged the bung (I hope my daughter won't miss her outrageous orange crayon, it sure helped break free the nuts)


I wish I had more time to spend taking this apart and cleaning it.


Filling and burping the cooling system. I should probably invest in one of those fancy radiator fill funnels. Also, the crummy paint job on the front bumper will probably come off at some point.


I opted to skip the Y pipe and turbo inlet pipe for now. I had to get it back on the road and didn't want to spend the money at this point. That'll have to be a later project.

 

I'm not sure if it's a vinyl overlayed or some kind of rubberized paint (is that a thing?) The way it peels off seems like vinyl. But yes, I plan on removing that and maybe just repainting the whole bumper and grill section, it's a little scuffed up anyway. Still got a bunch of stickers to remove and stuff like that too. I'll try and get some better quality pictures sometime, just been taking them with my phone and they don't turn out that great.

Doing a little reassessing of everything. Here's the story (I'll try to keep it short, there is a point though). I've always enjoyed mechanical projects but never really got into them until recently. My brother (who currently lives in Pennsylvania and used to work for a Subaru salvage yard but is now working for himself, rebuilding and selling subies) convinced me to buy a 99 Legacy Outback with a blown HG and fix it. After some deliberation with my wife we decided to go ahead and give it a try (I'll have to post some pics of that process somewhere sometime). Took me about a month of working on it off and on until it was back up and running. A week later it sold, couldn't believe it. Well I got addicted and thought it would be fun to tackle something simpler that I could get for a reasonable price and make the way I wanted it and have it for a long time. So I found this nice red WRX (don't personally need a turbo but why not huh) for a decent price that just needs a smaller amount of maintenance. The idea is to clean up all the crazy stuff the PO did on it (help it to mature a little), lift it and have a fun daily driver, since someday soon we'll probably be outgrowing our 2011 OB and getting a minivan (my wife is pretty convincing). So I'd like to get rid of the black vinyl or whatever on the front, the wheels have a pretty good negative chamber that needs addressing before my tires fall apart on the inside, the exhaust is a little loud for my style but I kinda like it and it will probably stay. There's some rust on the rear fenders that can't just be sanded and filled and painted so I'm considering my options. Thinking about getting some wheels that stick out, cutting the rust and putting fender flares on. Whatever's cheaper at this point. It could use a little TLC in the body department (some small dents here and there), and there's bits on the underside that I'd like to try and clean the rust up on.

Here's what I've come to realize. This is addicting. I don't want to spend more time in the garage than I spend with my family so I have to watch myself and I think my eyes were a lot bigger than my brain when I was looking that this WRX. That being said I probably won't go crazy on mods and the like even though it's tempting. Time and money consuming. So I'll slowly get it to where I want it and try to keep it fun for myself.

I'll try and get some pics uploaded of what I like to call "kidded out"
Example No. 1 (I still have this if anyone wants it, you could even use your own Crown bag too)

 

Yeah, carbon fiber everywhere in there. It's not too bad but a lot of it is losing it's stick. I just dropped it off at a shop to see about getting the headlights working so I can actually drive it everywhere I want to instead of locally during the day. I wouldn't mind going on the cruise, I'll have to see what we have planned for that weekend and see if my wife's interested.

 

Who made this video, dang thing flipped through the cars too fast, might have to show up to see them all huh...

 

Example No. 2. Anyone want to make me an offer on this work of art?

 

Plasti-Dip is a good way to test things to see if you like different color schemes for wheels or accents. Think of it as a temporary tattoo. Think I got mine off with WD-40. Lots of people (myself included) use it for blacking out their badging. Don't know if they fixed it for '03, but I know '02's had notoriously weak 2nd gears on them...I know mine did.

 

Plasti dip is coming off bit by bit. I'll probably pull the bumper to be through, got a more matchy emblem on it as well.

Unfortunately LaXCruise isn't going to happen for us this year. Heading out on a road trip to visit my bro and his new family addition the weekend after. We're planning on next year though.

 

Looks awesome! Love that hood!!! If you want to throw a ton of money at it, get some Morrettes. They really make the front pop. There are some aftermarket ones that are look alikes if you don't want to cough up the dough for the originals.

 

So here's a story with that. If they aren't sold I think my brother found some out in PA. Someone parting out their 03 sedan I think. I was considering it but it's tough, I like the look but there's a lot to be said about the traditional bugeye look too. I'm digging the carbon fiber hood too but I wish the scoop was a little more low profile.

 

Looking good! JDM/EDM Bugeye headlights are the bestests...that was my favorite cosmetic mod when I had my Bug. Morrettes are hideous in my humble opinion, but to each their own

 

I've noticed my car hasn't been idling too well since dropping the engine back in. It fluctuates pretty low occasionally when just sitting there and today on the way in to work it died a couple times, once at a light then while depressing the clutch around a corner. Is there something special I need to do after reconnecting the battery so the ECU can relearn idle? I never actually thought about that but it would make sense. Also, I believe it was loaded with a custom map for the downpipe and exhaust, is that something that needs reloaded whenever the battery is disconnected then reconnected?
Still having issues with the headlights, I ended up taking it in to have the LED setup removed and I'll just go with stock bulbs and everything. Only problem with that is the plastic retainers for the OEM bulbs (the bit that holds the bulb and screws/locks into the headlamp assy) were probably thrown away and the only way the shop could get them was by buying the whole headlamp assembly and the dealership up here wanted $900. Cripes! So I'll be heading to the local scrap yard to see if I can scrounge something up.
Next up I want to tackle the gas tank. I got some pretty nasty fuel tank epoxy from work that I'm going to try first, if it's leaking from somewhere accessible, otherwise I'll have to replace the tank. Then hopefully I can find a good deal on some Forester suspension so I can get it lifted up before this winter. If anyone wants or knows someone who wants these shocks and springs I'll sell them. Not sure what brand but it's got lowering springs on some adjustable damping shocks.