cvlooper

Thanks Olnick. I would have been surprised when I got a rectangular bushing for the shifter pivot where I thought it was to go! I found a write-up on a legacy forum that included pics and you are absolutely correct. I was wondering why the photo on Kartboy didn't show a smaller diameter circular bushing for the shifter pivot. Probably because they don't offer one! Funny because I took apart my center console today to see how easy/hard it would be to access the "front bushing". Thank goodness it was simple cause I'd be kinda pissed at myself otherwise. So I assume that if I were to get the Kartboy shifter I'm supposed to reuse the OEM shifter pivot bushing? Seems strange that he wouldn't offer a bushing for this as well. Maybe he doesn't think this makes much of a difference. Thanks for the help everyone. Looking like getting the STI sts at 20% off from my dealer is not the way to go. Never owned a Subie before (all older bimmers) and have never had to deal with a wishy washy feeling transmission. Though they are tough to work on at home, BMW does pretty much everything right on the production line. I am excited however about the prospect of modding my '09 WRX a couple years down the road. Should be fun!

Yeah guys...all I want is better feel with positive feedback. Really don't need a shorter throw or knob height (although both would be cool). All this bushing talk now has me a bit confused. If I get the front/rear bushings from Kartboy, the front is the bushing for the pivot of the shifter itself (5 inches below the shifter knob) and the rear is for the larger bushing underneath the car that stabilizes the rod/basket holding the ball at the end of the shifter. Is this correct? Geez...I knew the answer to this yesterday!

Yeah Greg, my discussion over on NASIOC and with tom at Kartboy are pointing towards giving the bushings a shot with my stock shifter. I don't know how much time it will save me (still have to pull apart the console/shifter/rear bushing assembly in order to replace both bushings) but a $60 fix sure beats anything else I've considered! If I still need a shorter throw, I can always get back in there...

Well, the 20% is for the part, not the labor (of course). I was going to install it myself, but I'm still not sure if I can get the part only or if I have to get them to install it as well. Holding off on that phone call till I know that I want it. What was said here about the length of the throw seems accurate. Apparently it doesn't really give a "short" shift OR a "shorter" shifter. From what I've heard, the knob on the STI sts sits almost as high as the stock WRX knob. Not cool... I'm not all that concerned about the length of the throw between shifts (the shorter the better I suppose). I just want to improve driver feedback during shifting. Pulling my shifter for second sometimes produces questionable engagement. Like it's got further to go or something. Very rubbery/uncertain/horrible feel. This is the main issue I need to address with new components. Also, the shift knob sits too high. Good for everyday driving with the armrest extended. Not so good for extending the sense of high performance into the cabin. Might as well be putting it in four wheel drive in a jeep or something. The thing is LONG! This is the minor issue I want to fix. Keep the advice coming everyone! Thanks...

My dealer is offering 20% off the STI short throw shifter (or any other part). I've been looking at putting one in since the day I got my car ('09 Impreza 5-door) and I had basically decided on the kartboy version. Now I see this 20% off thing and I'm wondering if the discount would make this a better buy. I think the kartboy may produce slightly shorter throws with a bit more feedback than the STI version, but I think most have gone with it or the cobb simply because of pricing. I'm wondering if anyone here may like/dislike the STI STS for whatever reason. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. loop

Well, thank goodness, so far, this is DEFINITELY NOT the noise I am referring to. There were a couple youtube links within one of these terrifying threads that clearly identified the noise that is causing so much fret in the WRX/STI community. Here they are in case you want to check them out: Subaru seems to be acknowledging these engine failures as a manufacturing defect within the engines, which is disconcerting, but they are replacing the engines under warranty. There is even one case where a guy received a new WRX. Most are still upset that they now have an engine number that doesn't match the body (which leads to severe depreciation), but I for one am looking to own my car for it's viable lifetime and really don't care that much about matching numbers. If my motor pops, then so be it. Subaru is doing the right thing as far as I've heard.

Some guys over on another forum suggested I check my manual... "ABS system self check: Just after the vehicle is started, you may feel on the brake pedal a vibration similar to when the ABS operates, and you may also hear the sound of the ABS working from the engine compartment. This is caused by an automatic functional test of the ABS system being carried out and does not indicate any abnormal condition." Although the noise doesn't sound like an ABS action to me, I've certainly been wrong before and it seems as though my ear has led me astray once again! Comforting for sure...

It's a manual. Also, I lied. I reversed all the way down my street to see if it would make the noise and it did. I guess I just hadn't backed up up far enough before. This area of Florida (Juno Beach/Jupiter) doesn't have a whole lot of Subarus running around. In fact, I've only seen one other Subaru here in 5 years of seasonal work! I worked on the north shore of Mass for 9 months and I probably saw 25 a day. I'll check out the link anyway, thanks! I don't think it sounds like a pump kicking in. To me it sounds drive train related and could very well be the synchronization of the AWD system or something akin to that.

Hey all. I've recently purchased an '09 WRX 5-door and I have one concern that I am reminded of everyday. When I start it up and begin to roll out (after about 20 ft) there is a mechanical clank that is audible and also slightly noticeable by feel. This happens every time I start the car and begin to move (only in a forward gear...can't get it to make the noise in reverse). It's never particularly loud. In fact if, one wasn't listening for it you probably wouldn't notice it. However, if the car sits overnight, the clank is more noticeable than if the car has only been sitting for a few minutes. I'm new to the AWD and turbo world, so this could very well be something to be expected, but none-the-less, it's bugging me. I asked a service manager down here in Florida about it and he kinda sloughed it off as nothing, saying that there are four separate drive shafts and that some noise is to be expected. He also said that there is a 1 in 100,000 chance that there is something wrong with the car. Neither one of these statements was very reassuring to me and I'm wondering if anyone here may have any similar experience as this with their vehicle. Both of my parents have non-turbo Subarus and I know a few other people with one and none of them have heard anything similar to this. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.