What did you do to your subaru today?

It was all this past weekend: Killer B oil pan, pick up and baffle; TigWorks 70A engine mounts; oil change and tranny fluid (fresh, stinky Extra S); Samco TMIC hoses (TB - TMIC, BPV hose and turbo - Y-pipe) and last was finishing the install of my oil temp gauge since I'd never run the sensor or wire for it. All were a huge PITA to install (except the gauge wiring), but I think the engine mounts have earned a special amount of dislike as this was all done without pulling the engine.

 

Nf did an e85 install and tune yesterday.

Cars at twin city detailing for a complete detail and clear bra now.

Excited to take it for a good spin!

 

Received weathertechs digital floor liners for the wrx as a bday present. happy early bday to me!

 

wash and purchase of winter rims and tires and a little daily carry project

 

Put my new trailer hitch on the Wagon, just a lil trimming was all it needed so whoo and hoo! Now just waiting for the wiring kit to come in!

 

Flushed my clutch fluids, clutch was sticking to the floor so I thought it was about time

Then I discovered that I was missing a transmission mount bolt...

 

Filled up the car today with e85 at the holiday by 252/694.

A guy came over and offered me a cd. I thought it was a little weird. Drove off and looked at the CD.

It was Lil Wyte that gave me his new CD, i listened to him back in the high school days (high days too )

 

It was last week but changed out the trans fluid, front and rear diff. fluid in the Forester as well as cleaned the air filter, MAF and replaced the plugs before my family vacation to Mt. Rushmore. Was quite pleased as the car is running noticeably smoother and while averaging about 78mph out there and back as well as spirited driving on some of the beautiful roads around Rapid City, I averaged 23.5 MPG the entire trip.

 

Just bought my 16th....

 

Yep...just about

 

What did you use? Need to do this eventually, though mine aren't nearly as bad as yours, they are close to.

 

Here's my headlight before/after:

 

^That's amazin'

I got my trailer wiring this morning and slapped it in. Pre-wire FTW!
Time to start towing stuff!

 

amazeballz!

 

Had a couple days off so... tore it down.
Installed/wired JDM side markers. Installed wiring harness from headlights to cabin for leveling switch (looking for pins to complete install in cabin though). Installed JNA front lip (suppose to fit wagon, but it appears they're full of ****... took a bit of work). Removed my STi Strut/Spring Kit to try out some BC coil overs. Installed COBB short shifter I've had sitting around for awhile, with COBB knob.
Now just waiting on some longer studs and 5mm spacers so I can put my RPF1s on, feel bad for driving around on my winter setup.


...crap cell phone pic

 

I agree. looks great so far. you got any more pics?

 

Need to work on taking some good photos and making a thread for it...

 

This is my smoking song, it aint very long but guaranteed to get the job done.

 

Did my first timing belt job today (much easier than I was expecting, thank god), as well as changed engine, tranny & rear diff oils as well. Holy crap does it start out and shift smoother now, and that's with maybe 5 miles on the new stuff.

 

Coincidentally just did pretty much the same maintenance today in preparation for an almost exact same trip coming up at the end of August. Out of curiosity, what all did you guys check out while out there and do you have any suggestions/secret tips on where to stay? I'm sure we'll be able to throw something together ourselves, but am always down for help/advice. Thanks.

Mind sharing what you had to do? I've been thinking about getting one of those. Thanks.

 

I tried to upload a picture but it wouldn't load. I painted my side skirts. And applied some rally decals. Trying it again.

 

Lots of heat gun action to make it more pliable.
Seen some threads where people start mounting in the middle then work their way to the corners, cutting off any extra that over shoots the end of the bumper.
I opted to clamp everything into place best I could at the corners, mount them first then use heat gun and screws to pull it back into where it should be and work my way to center (didn't have to cut off anything). I'd assume the sedan lips fit okay, the wagon lips are deceiving thought because almost every picture JNA post of their "wagon lip" is mounted on a wagon with sedan fenders/bumper installed.
I can send/post some pics of it installed and issue areas if you want.

 

How did you paint the sideskirts? I need to do mine and my lip at some point.

 

I took them off the car
Then rubbed them with a maroon sanding pad. I didn't want to take the texture off. Or if that's not an issue you can use sand paper. 220 grit.
Then wiped then down with mineral spirits many times till the rag were clean.
Then shot them twice with rust-oleum primer the can has a yellow banner says bonds to plastic.
I then applied 3 coats of rust-oleum paint+ primer. The color used is metallic aluminum. The color looks pretty good. I had no adhesion problems so far.

Side note Ben I would have used the same process on the hood scoop you can't find.

 

Unplugged my high beams as drl and turned fogs into drl instead. The "C" lights can now be more distinguished.

 

did the SRT-4 coil pack DIY

... itz madd fastorz yoo ...

 

DON'T DO IT!! Get that "cocktail" out of your transmission. It's WAY too thin, that's why the shifting feels so smooth.....but it doesn't lubricate the bearings properly. Drain it out, throw it away, and put some Extra-S in it. Your car, and your wallet (having not had to brunt the cost of premature transmission failure), will thank you.

 

Busy week!

First, 60k mile maintenance in the '07 STi...


And also installed a hitch on the OBS, and wired it up for a trailer...


And then drove to Milwaukee to pick up this beauty yesterday...'06 Crossfire SnoPro


I was proud of the 'ole wagon, but she wasn't liking the hills out east much on the way back! ...but we made it unscathed

BRING ON THE SNOW!!!

 

Road trip up to Two Harbors today.

 

I appreciate the advice, especially when it comes to saving money and being a Subaru noob. I must ask, tho, why does "everyone" seem to think it's god's gift to the 5spd and why would a company like GS willingly support it? I'm sure I probably come across as a tool via the word choice here, but I absolutely don't intend it to be that way. Just curious for knowledge sake. And really don't have a problem changing the fluids again to make it right. Thanks.

 

Drove it for the first time in over a week and a half, and man it felt good. Need to get a good clean and put in that dang O2 sensor... Projects for this week...

 

So does "everbody else" run the Subaru Extra-S or is there another, more readily available mainstream product I can get locally? I googled scotty's cocktail issues, or something similar, and noticed a lot of people using Valvoline Synpower.

 

From what I've read on the internets and members/mechanic advise, i decided to run extra s. Shifts great, and based on how many folks on this forum use it, it couldnt hurt. I never really liked the idea of mixing a bunch of different fluids together and putting it in my tranny or diff anyway. I always felt that they could react differently at different temps and not lubricate properly . That's just my line of thought though.

 

Just rolled 120,000 on the Subie today. Put 17k on her since i bought it last June. Still very happy about my purchase

Edit: June 2013

 

It gained popularity for the same reasons you're experiencing, it shifts amazingly when it's fresh. GS sells it because people buy it, and that's what keeps companies like them alive. Just because someone will sell it to you, doesn't mean you should buy it.

I've run it in 2 cars. My Loyale for probably 20k-30k miles, and yes, it shifted amazingly for while. But towards the end, it started making humming and whining noises while driving. Changed it to straight 80w90, and it went back to being as quiet as can be, immediately. I happened to drain it into a milk carton....after only a few minutes, it separated into 2 very different-colored layers. That transmission is apart in my basement right now getting regeared, and the bearings do not look good....so more work and money.

The other car, was a '94 Legacy.....I put the cocktail in it because it was having shifting problems. I changed it out after maybe 10k miles (when I discovered the issue with my Loyale). Several years later.....a transmission bearing seized, which was the straw that killed that car. Do I think the transmission was going to fail anyway? Absolutely! Do I blame the cocktail for making it happen much sooner? Absolutely!


I THINK I remember seeing a post by Uncle Scotty on NASIOC or RS25 saying that he refuses to use it as well. But that would probably have been 6-8 years ago.....so good luck finding it. I have seen several technical posts over the years detailing why the cocktail (specifically the Lightweight Shockproof) does not lubricate effectively.



As for what to run. In old transmissions, 3.5 qts of Valvoline conventional 80w-90 with .5 qt of Rislone Engine treatment (you heard that right, learned that trick from Colorado Component Rebuilders), really cleans things out and improves shifting, without thinning out the gear oil. In most of my own cars (I'm not a horsepower guy....no turbos, and not usually hard on my transmissions), just Castrol or Valvoline 80w90. But it anything with power, or that will get used hard (when I was ice racing and autocrossing), Extra-S.

You guys in the cities are extremely lucky to have a dealer (Morries Minnetonka) that will sell Extra-S by the quart for a reasonable price!