Setright

Bring it on

Well, acutally, if you consider that both front and rear diffs are "open", there is no risk to the gearbox. The diff between the wheels will compensate for the difference. Maybe the oil inside it might run a little warmer, but I doubt it'll do any damage. The danger with AWD is if you/someone decides that the front tyres look worn and replace BOTH of them, but leave old tyres on the rear.

Well, I made this rather low quality recording with a MiniDisc recorder and an old computer microphone. The mic was nestled inside my rear bumper http://media.putfile.com/Outside57 Of course, I am only thirty years old

Texan, isn't it about time that you make a recording of your car? Love to hear it - most likely getting an 06 Impreza myself soon

1.4 reduction, so yes, not exactly tree-pulling stuff, but enough to drag a boat out of water or pull a caravan up into the mountains.

Erm.....they were on the 1989 Legacy Turbos

Mandatory to do some time on a "slippery track" over here. Basically, a smooth surface that is kept wet by sprinklers. You have to try braking, swerving, pulling the handbrake and so on. Still, it does arrive too early in the learning process, most students don't really know how to drive at that stage and the benefit might be greater if they had some more on-road experience.

So, if we want to avoid a noisy mess, what pads should we fit?

The general rule here in Northern Europe is that any non-turbo wagon or Forester will have dual-range. So, if you really want it, you could source one from over here

Mintex pads and Brembo rotors? A big thumbs up from here

Sound like anyone you know Andy?? I would stick to spray painting with a high temp paint. Degrease the pipes first, apply a very thing coat and let that dry fully before applying the second and third coats. Concentrate on covering the welds, they are the weak link in terms of rust.

OR, the Subaru fluid was different?? Although break-in does affect it.

Mintex brake pads are by far the best aftermarket pad. In my opinion. They come in various formulations, but even the standard stuff stops the car with more conviction than the Subaru pads. OEM is "Jurid", which is actually Pagid... Most plan surface brake rotors will be fine. Try to stick with a respectable brand, like Mintex or Brembo. EBC make some very nice slotted rotors that will stand up to serious abuse, even on the track. However, EBC pads have offered me very limited success. Conclusion? The most cost effective way to improve your car's braking and not break the bank: Mintex standard pads and EBC discs.

It'll keep the area below it clean. You'll need the roof-height mounted spoiler to keep the rear window clean too. That's one of many reasons I prefer sedans

Check it out, Texan, they make one for your car too! http://subaru.vegasys.net/servlet/VSP?id=subtbh&page=proditem.vsp&$dialog.LANG=da&action=prodlist.read,550 It's obviously also a European thing. Costs around $550. Unpainted.

Get a washer, drain the fluid into a clean pan and pour it in again after sealing the bottom correctly. I'm a worrying kind of person.

According to CAR Magazine March 1993: 197bhp, 6.7sec 0-60mph, 143mph, 28.8mpg Somewhere in my vast collection of CAR, there's an article where Colin Goodwin gives it a very positive two page review. If you have the chance to buy one that has a sound chassis, do it! Of course, you must accept jealous comments from me if you do 280bhp is most likey Jap spec, running 100 octane. Is the car a grey import?

The nut is covered by a little rubber plug. Remove with fingers:burnout:

WOW! Nice info. Thanks for putting that on here. I hope people without this problem will read the post and decide to replace their tranny fluid filter before they have problems!

Well, first off: Congratulations! Nice car, isn't it? I have one too. My dealer and the local Impreza club all insist that Castrol RS 10W-60 is the best thing to use in Turbocharged Subarus. Since I have a pre-paid service contract on my Forester, that's the oil I'll be running. If that's hard to get a hold of, Mobil 1 5W-50 would be good too. It would be my choice, before the Castrol. If the 5W-50 stuff is hard to find, 5W-40 could do it too. If you can, then I would go for Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40. I am running this in my 85k mile Impreza and it has stopped the piston slap. In short: Shared 1st place Castrol RS/TWS 10W60 / Mobil 1 5W-50 Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 Mobil 1 5W-40 Any xW-30 oil would worry me, that turbo can get hot!

Leave the intake alone, it's quite a good design already. Fit a K&N panel filter if you like - I do. As Texan says, a discrete and not too-loud exhuast will open the sound up and impress your ears. Power gain is minimal, maybe 2-3bhp on a sunny day Give the engine a chance to free-up as you run it in, you'll notice it will start to feel a little more powerful. Start it on a diet of fully synthetic oil at the first change. Another minimal gain is available here. A good wheel and tyre combination will improve the grip without altering the sweet handling. And I like the last idea about good gas. Don't skimp on the octane rating.

In my most humble opinion 15W-xx is too thick for ambient temperatures below 10-15 degrees Centrigrade. (What's that in "your money", about 50 F ? )

It seems spring is finally starting to chime in, and this morning the temp was up to +5 degrees C - about 40 F. And guess what? There was ZERO piston slap. I kept slowing down, starting off in first gear again, revving through 1800-2500rpm where it used to be worst, there was nothing !!! Perhaps the Delvac has had time to wash away the remaining Shell Ultra, or perhaps the warm weather helped, but I never thought the slap could dissappear again. The only "but" here is that my engine is a 2.0 liter, so the results might not be quite as pronounced on the 2.5's y'all have over there

E-brake: Even if you don't have rear drums for the foot brake, the handbrake will be working on internal drums. Yep, the rotor hub has a drum built into it! You'll need to remove the disc and rotate the adjuster star-wheel a notch or two. There is an access hole, but given your other problems, opening the rear brakes and examining them would be a good idea,

Sure we have the Castrol High Mileage stuff over here. Mobil Delvac 1 is the same price level as gasoline specific Mobil 1. The thinner oils I tried - 0W-40, 5W-30 - did NOT help to silence piston slap. Thicker is better, but it's gotta be something that will cling to the piston surface even when warm, to avoid full run off during the nightly cool down. That way the piston will have a thin layer of high viscosity oil on it in the morning. Temperatures reaching about -5 C during the nights at present, average for winter. Thats about 22F..isn't it?