cal_look_zero

Before: After: I plan on putting another 3/8" spacer in the rear to level it out a bit better, but for the interim, I'm happy. Handles like a go kart and still has enough ride height to be able to hit speed bumps and driveways at more than .1mph at an angle.

Jeez, do those PnPs have the decency to buy you dinner after the rape? I get transmissions and engines in the $100 realm. Usually $10-$15 for an individual suspension part.

Er, I'll have pictures up tomorrow. Along with doing a whole swap on the suspension, I'm replacing my tie rods and boots, pulled the engine to replace the clutch/adjust valves, and getting the front bearings R&Red. And my spacers won't be here til tomorrow.

I had to take some snippets of knowledge from RS25, Nasioc, and Legacy BBS to figure out what I was doing, hopefully this little guide will help educate. After some studying on spring rates and ride heights, I determined that I wanted to run STi springs on my OBS. It will only lower the height by a supposed 1.25-1.5", and offer a stiffer feel in the corners while maintaining driving comfort. Anyone who's ridden in a "lowered' car knows that you begin to sacrifice your lower back. I may only be 24, but I have no desires to replicate the ride of the 69 bug I built... What you need in order to be able to do the swap: Front and rear GC/GF chassis struts Front and rear GD chassis springs Rear pre facelift BC/BF top hats. Saggy butt spacers. The pre facelift top hats are the most important details to stress. They're the only top hats that have the proper diameter to hold the top of the tapered GD spring, as well as the proper stud spacing to fit a GC/GF chassis. You can use the GD top hats, however this would result in having to notch the holes in the body as the stud spacing is different. I won't go into the nuts and bolts of swapping springs as it's the same as with any other spring swaps. Just make sure to replace all rubber pads and definitely do not forget to torque the top nut once everything is mounted back up. One thing to note, is that I mentioned the saggy butt spacers. I can't say for sure whether they will be needed for your particular application, however I purchased 3/8" spacers for the rear to offset the extra weight of the wagon. http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/shop/subaru-impreza-gc8-hdpe-front-spacers-copy/

OEM struts and the 334109/110 KYB struts are the same; 1997 OBS. I didn't write down the measurements, but from the bottom to the spring seat, spring seat to the top of the stanction, and overall heights were the same. I think the OBS springs are either taller or stiffer than L/Brighton. I was able to just put my weight into the tophats to seat the top nut with the STi springs in place.

Update: Went to the parts store and discovered why my bearings didn't have any play. The Impreza (and others I'm sure) utilizes a double inner, single outer race bearing. Which means if one of the bearings fails, you won't see a significant change in hub free play due to the other bearing still maintaining the outer race position. I've developed quite an annoying squeal out of the driver bearing as well as a less frequent, but louder klunking of the front end. Figuring the bearing and the failing inner tie rod are the culprit(s) of the noises. Doing a massive amount of work this weekend (Engine and entire front suspension out/off the car), and will report back exactly what it was.

Well, I'll be doing mine next Friday with the KYBs listed for all Imprezas for the model year. I'll take a bunch of measurements to see how much different there is with stock rears and AM.

I haven't found anywhere that differentiates OBS to standard Impreza model struts. The ground clearance difference between the L and OBS was a little over 1/2 an inch which is about the difference between a 190/60 (L stock) and a 205/60 (OBS stock) Maybe the OEM is different, but we'd been comparing less than 1/4" which is going to be negligible. Not to mention you can get 205/65s under an OBS with worn springs/worn AM struts (Ask me how I know) I would like to say, that if someone can find a GF OBS specific rear strut, to edumacate me before I order the 334109/110s on Friday. I would rather be wrong than put a wrong part on my car.

The struts are the same through the L, Brighton, and OBS models. Additional ground clearance was all in the tires. KYB Excel G (GR-2) parts numbers as follows. Rears are 334109 and 334110 Fronts (NON ABS) are 334111 and 334112 Fronts (ABS) are 334255 and 334256

http://www.coxmazda.com/autocheckphp.php?VIN=JP3BE4434BU427876

Drained out the tranny and found the usual fuzz on the drain plug. Fluid was dark and used up it seems. Noticed a couple of flecks of metal on the bottom of the drainpan when I emptied it into a bottle; less than 1mm. Refilled with 3.7qt of 80w90 gear oil. No major difference, but it shifts a smidge smoother now (It already shifted like a knife through butter, now it's like a hot knife) Decided against the axle for today since I took it in and the reman axle felt like it had more play than the one I took out. Had to get to work, but tomorrow I plan to swap axles L to R and see if the noise moves to the passenger side. I'm pretty well convinced it's not anything related to the differential or transmission.

Unfortunately was just a demo day, but it's an Aprilia RSV4R Factory. 186hp of pure evil:headbang:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=846524&highlight=stickers Some more common ones seen in there: Hellafunctional Rally Pigs Eat/Sleep/Rally AWDSOME Rage faces Pedobear OMGAWD (Pretty much anything pertaining to AWD) Just some ideas for stock (assuming they aren't trademarked) to keep on hand for the Subi crowd.

Is the pump firing up or not? Standard protocol trouble shooting squirters has been to pull the line from the pump, and shoot compressed air in through the squirters. Usually would blow a little ball of goop out if they were blocked up.

Not that it necessarily matters Nipper, but my transmission is new; supposedly. The girl I bought it from said the original owner replaced it before she bought it, so 25k miles at most. Not to say the diff didn't get messed up from her driving with the donut on or something, but it is a reasonably fresh unit.

Looks like it will end up being the axle. Started to make noises while making left turns today. Pop a reman in tomorrow and see what I come up with. I couldn't get the noise in 2nd gear accelerating while slipping the clutch, if that matters.

It's definitely a metallic heavy clicking from the left side front end.

No idea exactly how old it is, but it definitely shudders like a 50k mile clutch. The engine doesn't lug when it's happening, it's probably holding at 2500rpm or so for me to replicate the noise. I'll try the 2nd gear test tomorrow and report back

It's almost definitely a rotational noise; speeds up as I accelerate. It's not a knocking like any bad mounts or messed up hangers for the exhaust. The noise only happens for a second when accelerating and slipping the clutch. Other than that it's quiet. I drove around behind a grocery store late at night to try and hear the noise echoing off the building, and it won't do it while turning or gently accelerating. 227k miles. I plan on replacing both tie rod ends on both sides, and the rack bellows while I'm at it. No vibration at speeds up to 80.

I have a fairly unidentifiable noise coming out of the front end of my OBS. It's very similar to the usual axle noise one gets from a bad CV while turning, however it ONLY occurs when I'm accelerating and slipping the clutch. For instance, when going from a stop on an incline. It makes the noise until the front end settles back in, and that's it. No noise going around corners fast, or slow. The axle is the obvious suspect, and as such I pulled it out. It feels very solid, and the boots look new. Not to say that it's not a bad axle out of the box, but I elected not to replace it at that time for the sake of further diag. While I was under the car, I noticed my inner tie rod end on the driver side was kind of floppy. Unlikely, but the fact that I only hear/feel the issue when the front end is unsettled during accel would allow that tie rod end to move easier. The hub splines and wheel bearings are in great shape, so I don't think they're contributing to the noise. The other possibility, according to a local subi shop, is that the spider gears could be having issues. To me this seems very unlikely based on the feel and the noise (Sounds very outboard, not deep like something inside the trans/diff) So on Friday, I plan to throw an axle at it and see what I come up with. Just fishing for anything else to look at or rule out since it's not presenting like a bad axle usually tends to.

I wonder if it's a factor outside of the cooling system? If it's running really lean, that would cause very high EGTs and possibly overheat? Anyone?

For future reference, most automotive paint shops have the actual pinstripe removal tools that are air powered and use a big ol gum eraser to take off sticker. The one I buy from lets you have the tool for 24 hours for every wheel that you buy.

You could more than likely sell it for a grand or so. My Legacy ended up with new headgaskets, a clutch, tires, a radiator, and a bunch of other repairs. They can and will nickel and dime you to death.

OEM thermostat, or parts store? These engines really do not agree with anything other than OEM.

I have never had bad luck with a basic Murray or other "house" brand from somewhere like Autozone or O'Reilly's. A lot of their stuff is rebadged name brand anyhow. I only see a performance radiator being a need if you race or live somewhere like phoenix AZ.