Mitchy

I have even managed to get the roof bars on with a home made deflector.

Next to go in: Legacy Outback KYBs all round, Forester rear sway bar brackets and new strut bump stops. Should be in for new-year.. And then I’ll be buying a set of Yokohama G015’s.

OK thanks , I’ll be pulling out the suspension soon as I now have the new struts sitting on the bench....

Do you have a pic?

Oh Balls tx

I reckon the heat shields are there for something more than decoration, so I won’t be cutting them off just yet. Those nails took some patient hammering to get them in and they have deformed the shields with the force used. The heads butt up against the neighbouring shield’s flange so I don’t even think they could come out over time. Anyhow, I’m always under there so they will be inspected or swapped for less lethal methods! I took the shields off the Forester when I did the clutch, they are now covered in baked mud, which loves to trap humidity. Any way, knowing that the rattle is not fatal, at least its a reason for us wrenchers to get under there now and then.

Haha thanks, I look into the more permanent options. At least for now I know where the rattle is.

As I was beneath the car for the water pump and timing belt service, I thought it was also to put an end to the stereo heat shield rattle which drives us all mad. I ran the engine at optimum rattle speed (~2750rpm for me). To verify where the rattle was I pressed on the various heat shields with a hammer handle until I felt and saw the rattle effect through the hammer. These shields had about 3mm play in them. The hammer handle literally bounced off the vibrating shields. With the same hammer I jammed a 3/16” x 3” nails into the gaps of the offending shields. Happy now.

Here’s an ‘awesome’ EJ22 photo:

No, I’m not running a K&N, though whilst its damp season there is no dust in the air, so maybe I’ll test that K&N air filter out....

Beasty, beautiful. If only we could treat our poor Forester the same.

::drool:: My early nineties wet dream. Its just so... right.

Burp ‘em the ghetto way.. A chopped water bottle with some teflon plumber’s tape works a treat got to get those bubbles out

Love to see those new bits in- here’s to another 100,000 kms: I got worried cranking it over, - the starter sounded strained and it was reluctant to fire, but then she took and purrs like a kitten!

Easy job with all the tools and parts to hand, took the radiator out for a flush and easier access to the motor. Refurbed oil pump, new water pump, seals..

I replaced the still good-looking Dayco belt (with only 30,000 mi but 8 years old) with the genuine OE Unitta part. New SKF idlers including the tensioner idler replace the 22 y. o. Koyo originals, by now dry-spinning and an ever-so-slight waggle to them, Aisin water pump, genuine thermostat (quite expensive, but looking at the original one which still seems ok still I can be happy that it will last ‘forever’), new genuine cam/crank oil seals (crank was seeping), oil pump inspection/service, new oil/coolant etc...

I have just finished the belt, idler, water pump service. What are the odds of taking off the belt covers and finding the belt and crank perfectly located for a belt service. This car was ready for its new belt! The cams pullies were off by 1/2...

150,000 kms!! -still a baby compared to some.

-without a doubt, but I hate tossing decent oem stuff away. The new strut I have are indeed KYB. Obviously it cannot be pressed out upwards ( as in my photo), -I can’t remember how the mounts look from underneath, can’t one just press the bearing out (ie: downwards in the photo)? Maybe someone a picture of a strut mount from below..... Mine are mounted on the car now. thanks

Love it I would snap one of these up if they existed in these parts (which they do not). that is a good-looking retro ‘bug-eye‘!!

When I fitted my strut spacers, I noticed that the bearings (Koyo 6302) on the front struts were ‘open’ (ie no shield on one side and fairly dry. I re-greased them, and reinstalled the strut assembly, pending a further strip down when I finally replace struts/spacers with Legacy outback struts The top-hats themselves look & feel fine, and barely any rust at all. Having checked prices of new top hats of decent quality, I opted for buying just the bearings, at considerably less cost. Now I am wondering if they are a simple press-out press-in job to replace. Anyone know? thanks

After a little searching, it would appear that I bought generic Korean-made parts. The manufacturer has no website, so who knows what I bought. No mention of Aisin except on the box. The cheats are everywhere!! Gads!

I recently purchased two cheap AISIN lower ball joints from the leading european internet parts supplier, AUTODOC. Aisin boxed, not Aisin marked, and worryingly only have a self-locking nut, no castellated nut and no pin. Not even a hole in the shank to use the old nut and pin. Not going on my car! ☹️

It would appear to be the norm that OEM aftermarket parts at least are manufactured globally, it makes sense. Without a doubt it still makes sense for a car manufacturer to use domestic manufacture parts if this option is available. After all, the parts industry exists because of car manufacture, and not vice-versa. as dealership parts generally appear to be of (in our case) Japanese origin, this perhaps help them maintain dealership prices and guarantees.