DerFahrer

I guess we have a misunderstanding of terminology. I interpreted "unilug" as have one large central lug nut. The outer holes are probably 5 X 114.3/5 X 4.5.

As the others have said, because it's a BG and not a BK, it is indeed an Outback. From what I can tell, the VIN looks right as far as the year and everything goes. I don't know where you people are getting 'unilug' wheels from...

The reason for the small filter on the 4cyls is so it will clear the exhaust on the turbo cars. Originally Subaru sold the small filter exclusively for the turbo models, but in the interest of simplicity, they decided to just use the small filter for all 4cyls.

Okay, forgive me if you've already posted it and I just missed it, but what did you do to the exhaust? That car sounds gnarly! My EA71 doesn't sound NEAR that good.

Hehe... just been extremely busy with school. This is my last semester, and it seems like it's my hardest semester also. Believe me, wrenches will be turning furiously as soon as I hang my gown and tassel up. The engine looks really funny with the shortblock absolutely drenched in oil and two nice shiny heads sitting on either side of it

Well, I located the bent one and removed it. Head slides right on now, so that was definitely the one. Thank God it's one of the upper, shorter ones. The long ones that the rocker arms attach to are obsolete

You need new brake fluid. I can almost guarantee it. The old fluid has moisture in it, and on cold mornings the moisture condenses. This makes your fluid level sensor mad, and it illuminates the parking brake light to tell you the fluid is 'low.' Change your brake fluid and I'm positive it will go away.

I'm with s'ko in a way. I don't think upgrades hurt, and as someone else said (can't remember who), some parts that need replacing aren't available anymore. But it would be best to keep the original spirit. Me... personally... I would try to make the 1100 motor work. I understand it's a sleeved engine (it is right? I originall thought only the 1300s and 1400s were sleeved), and that there's more 'performance' avaliable from an EA71. But the idea of the original engine running in as tip-top condition as possible appeals to me. I probably would go Superlites as well, as pricey as they are. But I can also respect a very nicely done-up 'sports' FF1 that's mostly original but has a few fun goodies as well. Regardless, Kosta, I have to stick by the mantra that it's your car. You paid for it, it's in your name, you do as you wish. And at least you're not doing an STi swap OMG!!!1!

Actually starting with the XTs, but I digress. Anyway, that's a valid argument honestly. I can understand getting upset about the spare tire not being under the hood anymore, because that too was something uniquely Subaru. I can understand calling the EJs "less" of a Subaru because of that. But now... EVERYTHING is gone. All in one fell swoop. Let me remind you all... I've driven an 08 WRX. I'm not just speculating here; I've actually experienced it. And I understand that not everyone is going to be upset about this (in fact, very few people will), but it didn't feel like a Subaru to me. It didn't have any of those quirks that I like about Subarus.

If memory serves me correctly, the WRC car has 4 X 140 hubs

I actually touched the car again tonight! Put the disty back in, no problems. I already had the motor lined up at TDC #1 on compression when I pulled it out, so it went right back in where it was. The passenger side head went on with no problems. Then that damn driver's head got hung up on the studs again. In the meantime, I had scrubbed the studs off with WD40 and a wire brush, just to get all the oil and gunk off of them. They cleaned up really nice, and the holes in the heads are clean too obviously, since they cleaned them up at the machine shop. So, logic can only suggest that one of the studs is bent somewhere. I'm thinking about locating the bent one and replacing it, but would it be in my best interest to just restud that whole side? Or should I even consider restudding the whole motor?

Most of everything he talked about in the original post had to do with looks. He was comparing the headlight styles of the GD Imprezas (you can't split up the GD Impreza into 'generations' based on the front-end design, they're all facelifts of the second-generation Impreza), he was saying the EA82s looked like any other 80's car, and he saw an 08 Impreza on the highway and called it quirky just by looking at it.

If you're judging 'quirky' based entirely on looks, then you're missing a HUGE part of the picture. No, Subarus do not look all that quirky in reality. Whether you like the looks or not, a Pontiac Aztek is quirky-looking. EXTREMELY quirky-looking. But if you drive it and start looking under the hood and looking under the chassis, you'll notice that it's the same old boring GM platform underneath. It's not really quirky, it only pretends it is by looking like it. Subarus do indeed mostly look like everything else on the road. I, like others have said, notice Subarus because I'm not normal (obviously ) and because I like them. If I wasn't a Subaru guy, I wouldn't look at them twice. But once I DROVE a Subaru, I began to appreciate their quirkiness. Let's ditch the whole boxer and AWD argument. As Virrdog said, Porsche beat them to that, as did Alfa Romeo and Lancia. Sorry Subaru. But here's what I like that makes Subarus quirky: 1) The frameless windows. No, it's not something that Subaru has exclusively, but it's something Subaru had stuck to adamantly for decades. Yeah, the window rattles a little bit if you shut the door when the window is down. Some people may not like that. But I know the window isn't going to shatter to pieces or fall off its regulator. So I don't have a problem with it. At the same time, the window rattle and small increase in NVH is something that I've gotten used to in all the Subarus I've driven. That makes it a characteristic that I immediately recognize whenever I drive or ride in a Subaru. 2) The rough idle. Subaru engines shake a tiny bit at idle. Always have. They doesn't shake the whole car into violent spasms, they just occasionally jerk really lightly from side to side. At the very least, it lets me know the engine is running. Again, it doesn't put me off. In fact, it's something that I again recognize whenever I get in a Subaru. 3) The parking light switch. I'm actually one of the lucky few who never fell for it, and learned what the switch was for before I could have. No, I never use mine either. It really, truly is pointless for the most part, especially today when most cars turn their headlights off anyway. But it was a Subaru trademark! It was something us die-hard Subaru guys knew about. I can understand the frustration if you are a first-time Subaru person and you aren't a car person who must know about every nook and cranny on your car. But I honestly do feel that if you really have to have everything in your life be that normal and predictable, then you really don't belong in a Subaru anyway. 4) The Hill-Holder. Now that is an actual Subaru exclusive. Thank God it's back on the Foresters at least. No, it's not for everybody, and yes, there is the small chance of failure (my Hill-Holder valve on my XT sprung a leak and left me without brakes as I was leaving my neighborhood one day), but it's not only convenient (you can sit on a hill with your foot completely off the brake, which would either make you roll back in a different car, or make you either roll forward (or backward if the hill's steep enough) in an automatic), it's a Subaru trademark. I don't believe it's a crutch, I can do just fine in a car without a Hill-Holder, as can most every other Subaru driver. It's just one more thing that made a Subaru, a Subaru 5) The sound. And I don't just mean a turbo Subaru with a loud exhaust. Even stock EA82s make their own distinctive noise that no other car makes. There is a sound unique to Subaru, and NO OTHER car can come close to matching it. I could go on more, as there are other things that specifically make Subarus different amidst all the other cars out there. All that said... I've seen the 08 Impreza, and I've driven the 08 Impreza. That quirk IS NOT THERE. Yes, it's a faster, nicer, and better-performing car. If you stuck a gun to my head and told me to say the 08 Impreza is a statistically inferior car to previous Subarus, I'd have to take the bullet. It IS a statistical improvement over the outgoing Impreza. BUT IT JUST DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A SUBARU!

No, that's right. It's based on the European Mondeo platform from what I remember. But, as Ford always does, they screwed it up on the way from Europe to the US.

Yes... please explain. Also, explain how Subaru setting an ALL-TIME sales record last year is "going downhill." Oh, and the X-Type is a total junkpile by the way. I know a Subaru mechanic who transferred to a Jaguar dealership and he said they were the worst by far. Thank Ford for that one.

I beg your pardon? Subaru has stayed in business for almost the past 40 years being quirky. Why do they need to stop all of a sudden? Growth isn't always a good thing. Look up some of the latest articles on Toyota. LosDios, the Justy had window frames too , and so does the Tribeca. But I agree nonetheless. I actually WANT my window to rattle a little bit when I close the door when it's down. I can do it on my XT, I can do it on my friend's 05 STi. It's a SUBARU THING.

Actually, yeah I would. I don't like G35s, mainly because of who owns them. I don't think it's going to be a smart-key system. If it is, then we know Toyota has their hand in FHI's cookie jar more than 8.7%. The 8k redline is Japan only. They still use the EJ207 in Japan. We're still going to get the same EJ257. The plastic intake manifold has only been on the EJ255 so far, and most of the 255 stuff on the 08 WRX is from the Legacy GT anyway.

You're right to be concerned dj3. It's okay to wash your engine down, but I strongly advise covering up your electronics first. Coilpack, alternator, any and all sensors, starter, etc. I hosed my engine down once without covering it up, and the CEL I got afterwards pulled up 6 codes! They went away after it dried off, but I got lucky. I could have ruined something. Anyway, nice score. Car looks clean. Any rust?

The STi has officially (and prematurely apparently) been debuted in Japan. http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2008-subaru-impreza-sti-jdm/430799/ Seriously... a f'ing push-start button??? :roll: I'm gonna hafta leave a RiceCop ticket on every GH STi I see.

Love you too... Subaru was a fledgling car company when this car was built and hadn't developed their identity yet.

I use RTV anyway, and haven't had any issues.

The Aveo is a rebadged Daewoo. Nuff said.

I know a tech who is a huge Subaru guy who just recently transferred to a Jaguar dealership. He said the X-Type is by far the biggest POS. He said those are the ones that keep him in business. Oh, and Ford did NOT improve Jaguar. Jaguar is on just as thin of ice as it was before Ford bought them out.

It looks like a Casa Blanca style version of the Sambar. I didn't know they made such a vehicle.

AWD on all cars, not just Subaru, need the tires to be the same type and wear. How many miles were on your set of 4 when the one blew out? If you bought the tires somewhat recently (I'd say within 500 miles), then it is probably okay to buy one new one. And, honestly, it's better to buy just one than two. If you buy just one, then you'll only have the left and right tires spinning at slightly different speeds. That slack will be taken up by the open differentials (wait, is yours turbo? Do you have a rear LSD?). It won't be good on the open diffs either, but they can put up with it for longer than the center diff can by running two new and two old tires. You could even put the new tires on one side of the car and have the old ones on the other side (like new on the left and old on the right). That will be okay also as far as your AWD system is concerned. But yeah, if you had a lot of wear on those tires, then you are slowly doing damage by running two new tires. I'd honestly consider just getting 4 new cheapy tires. Here in the US, we have tire joints that sell 4 new tires for $100 USD.