1 Lucky Texan

I've had good luck buying from jamie (subiegal) at www.subarugenuineparts.com so far. They offer '6 packs' of oil filters with washers for the drain plug as well as other OEM parts and maintenance stuff. I THINK there are replacement mirrors in the aftermarket - probably cheaper than OEM - dunno. There are other good vendors on-line too. try a search or maybe someone else will respond. If you buy after market filters, Try to find Purolater filters. decent value. Most people sya Fram is inferior but I think the 'Toughgard'/whatever midline quality might be OK - just Fram's cheapest is - well cheap. I don't think K&N is quite as bad as some folks make out - I'm just not convinced it really gives you much advantage over a quality paper filter - plus, if you're not very careful about re-oiling it, damage can occur to a MAF equipped car. This is just based on reading. I have no experience with K&N on a soob. I did once use an oiled filter(amsoil) on a Datsun. It was OK I guess. If you have done any repair work or made adjustments to the car since you got it, be sure to try resetting the ECU by disconnecting the neg. batt. terminal, stepping on the brake pedal, wait 20-30 minutes, and reconnecting the battery. It's possible the surging will be fixed. If not, maybe an O2 sensor is getting lazy or something? Carl

oh yeah, the oil ? Oil is one of those issues that might start an argument, but I think you'd be safe starting with just about any 5w-30 oil. If you experience leakage or unusual noises/usage, or plan some 'severe' usage for your vehicle. get back to us and someone will have more specific suggestions. Also, there's interesting reading at www.bobistheoilguy.com Carl

Dude, get that battery outta there, sprinkle some baking soda around everywhere you even imagine acis could have gotten, rinse it out, repeat, rinse very well. If you have an automatic transmission, there are 2-3 good reasons to do a full flush (not just a drain and change). Might fix the shift problem. Inspect brake pad wear, there is a 'squealer/tattletale' indicator on the pad backplate designed to , well, indicate by sound when the pads are worn. If the manual and the sticker on the door don't mention the air pressure, I'd start with 30psi or high 20s in the front, and 3 psi less in the rear tires unless fully loaded with gear - then increase a couple psi. www.cars101.com might have a link to your specs on tires and other stuff. If you don't have the service history on the vehicle, you could just need a brake fluid flush/refill. Some folks do complain about soob ABS but ,in general, it works. Occasionally I read about a buzzing noise from the ABS but I THINK its a bad relay. Service the brakes and see if it's improved. That mileage seems a little low for your car, it may have seen more surface street, stop/go type use than highway miles. Might benefit from a good suspension/brake inspection and a Seafoam or other 'top cylinder' treatment to blow out some carbon. Probably a new PCV valve wouldn't hurt. - generally, if you don't know the service history, inpsect and service everything now. make sure the tires are all the same size brand style treadwear too. hopefully others will chime in that have direct experience with your model. carl

I've learned a lot since I've been hanging with these guys and other internet resources. One eye-opener was reading about 'warped' brakes at stoptech. http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml more interesting reading is also at; www.bobistheoilguy.com There are also a lot of people with good experience at detailing/waxing, power mods, 'transplants'(soob engines in non-soob vehicles) etc. Just ask around or try the forums at www.nasioc.com . Carl

First, I wanna say that I am not so good at most of the advice I'm gonna give you - I am trying to do better! Be meticulous with tire pressure. Not only is it important to keep fuel mileage up (larger diameter ANd less rolling resistance) but , for soob owners, there's the added benefit of reducuing the chance of center differential damage. Drive as if there were eggs on top of the brake and accelerator pedals that must not be broken. Try to combine trips, reduce trips, eliminate multiple errands. carpooling will DRASTICALLY reduce your fuel costs - seems like no one does that much though. Be mindful of fuel costs relative to your activities. No point in driving 25 miles to save $0.40 on a pound of hamburger. Or driving at all when the internet price equals the store price! When shopping or for certain other errands - use the phone first. make sure the facility won't be closed or out-of-stock or something before you drive there. Keep the windows rolled up. Modern cars will get better mileage windows up and A/C on than with A/C off and windows down - this is more true at highwat speeds though. Save money in other areas to spend on gas. After tap water, tea is the cheapest thing you can drink. oil may be $70 a barrel - but vending machine Cokes are $450 a barrel! I don't even think I could do the math on a Starbucks latte! don't worry - we'll see $55 a barrel oil before we see $105 a barrel. In terms of inflation adjusted dollars, gas is the same now as in 1981 and we survived. (but gasoline TAXES are higher than in '81... grrr!) Carl

Often, you can find STI owners (maybe WRX too) that want to do full trunk swaps - make sure you get the springs and lock swapped too. AND you might even find someone getting a carbon fiber hood that wants to sell the stock one! try listing your Want To Trade (WTT) or WTBs here and over at http://www.nasioc.com . (personally, I feel you'd be better off getting lighter rims (less rotating mass and less unsprung weight) and a lighter flywheel if you have a MT. Then maybe some stiffer - SLIGHTLY lower springs. Carl

I'd make certain the CENTER diff gets a thourough inspection as well. Carl

Try a search on this subject. Generally, 2-3-4 finer stages of wet sanding with a good wax or maybe a clearcoat spray. There are plastic polish kits too IIRC for this. (CAFE standards means getting the weight down - plastic wins over glass for weight. Some European market cars had (still have?) glass while we were getting plastic) Carl

Enjoy a 'cold tube' and cruise the exhaust reviews at http://www.subarureview.com/engine.php?PHPSESSID=59da332400b5149a2d74e1ab1c566fec Cusco, Borla, Gruppe-S and others offer headers, but I think a full header back - with possibly having the stock turbo 'ported' would be a better use of funds. Some folks have experienced 'cracks at the Y' (no - not THAT crack at the Y!) and heat problems with aftermarket headers. I dunno. I've read you will want OVER 3 inch dia. over 300hp - I dunno what dia. you have stock. So you may as well start with header back first. Then see where the best place to spend the next funds would be. You might also do some searching/reading/posting in the appropriate forums at www.nasioc.com - those guys are a huge database for performance mods. Carl

Please translate from Kiwi to Yank. (I'm guessing headers) Carl

That means you could use the '06 'racing'-style buckets! cool Carl

It ONLY happens when the car is moving forward? If you ever hear it when starting the engine, idling or reving the engine while staionary - could be a V belt. Carl

If my test fails, and it still takes several spins to start, then coolant temp sensor is still on the table because the engine would still be cold. DO EET! ;^) Carl

yep - any little 'waviness' look on the rotor will wear into the pads after the first few stops so having them machined flat again, for most of us, is probably a waste of time.money and rotor material. Carl

I JUST thought of a POSSIBLE test for either low compression from oil leaving the rings after sitting a long time OR my low fuel pressure theory. If you started the car under the failure conditions you mention (long cranking) then immediately turned it off, waited - say an hour or so, would it start with the same failure or start immediately? If immediately, I'd be tempted to have the fuel system checked out, and maybe a compression test. I dunno, my thinking here may not be complete - hah! Carl

I have heard higher pitched clicking sound come from behind me but reflect off the winshield such that they can sound like they're from the front. (no, I'm not on drugs!) Check things like wiggling headrests in the rear, or similar. Carl

I agree with cookie. Unless there was an extreme issue with torque when the rotors were installed, any 'warp' feeling is more likely to actually be surface changes in the rotor alloy itself. better to get new rotors usually. check www.stoptech.com the tehcnical white paper on the Myth of warped Rotors (IIRC) Carl

I interpreted it as 'catch' as in cylinders firing. I'd be suspicious of fuel pressure loss in the rails. service history would be good to know Carl

+1 for the paper trail. In many states 3 is the magic number for a 'lemon law' to kick in. If you have the same complaint 3 times within a certain period of time, you get a replacement car. Since the changed the 'motor' I'd expect any generic 'motor' complaint to count against your '3'. (Setright! - got any pics of the new ride on the track or ?) Carl

Well, I read a thread about this not long ago, maybe here(search?), and it seems years ago some trannys ahd pumps operating off the output shaft or something and they might push start around 40mph. But the newer trannys have pumps run off the engine and they won't engage being pushed. probably just heat parts up with no lube running across 'em and stress it unnecessarily. ymmv Carl

Pretty sure that's a no go due to no tranny fluid being pumped. Carl

This is a great resource and I THINK you could do some searches here (pay attention to crank pulley torque values) and maybe a coupla other places on the web, look at some photos and start buying parts from an on-line dealer (http://www.subarugenuineparts.com is one) maybe even locate someone in you area willing to come 'observe' in exchange for a six pack of Modelo Especiale or something! I say. wait and diy - whatever that's worth. Carl

possible parts sources OEM; try Jamie at http://www.subarugenuineparts.com some aftermarket/performance parts might be available from; http://www.boxer4racing.com I have no connection with them other than being a satisfied customer. Kartboy carries some aftermarket 'upgraded' bushings - mostly for WRX STI but some of those may work on a legacy, dunno there are a lot of other places of course.

Most likely as you say - normal wear items. The only odd thing I've ever read about is the occasional broken anti-sway bar. Carl

It is possible they are trying to 'upsell you' but it seems the other items they mentionare legit(some of the terms seem odd though). Generally, if you are paying someone else for the labor of diving under the timong covers, it IS best to overhaul/replace everything under there. I'd have a converstaion with them, explain that you're not able to afford everything they suggest and ask them which items are gonna be the best to spend money on immediately. If the seem uninterested in helping you make that decision - definitely take the car elsewhere. While oil leaks are unwanted, they are tolerable. But its a real bummer to pay for a timing belt and have the water pump or idler bearing seize up 8,000 miles later cause you 'cheaped out'. Carl