Cheap WRX STI hatch - what could possibly go wrong?!

[rossub]

Cambs_Stuart said:

Ouch! I didn't realise these rusted. Is it just at the end? So around the inner and the strut tower all ok?

Everything that’s spent years out in Scottish winters will rust…. and I live here.

[drgoatboy]

Although the car currently resembles Swiss cheese I decided I couldn't live with the asymmetrical rear lights.
Before



After



Very easy swap, pull off the interior trim, then just 3 bolts (and a new gasket)


Next step is to try and tone down the clearness of the lights which looks very dated, but that can wait.

[ajprice]

Is that a red LED in there now or a silver bulb?

[Court_S]

The clear lights were a thing back then…I’m not a fan either. Hated them on my 325ti.

Any joy in finding someone to tackle the rust?

[Dylano]

The nearside light looks like it's got moisture ingress with green algae growing inside?

[RB Will]

This was my favourite way of doing the rear lights on these

[Alex_225]

I think after the initial shock of the Impreza becoming a hatch back, over the years these have aged well. Looks like some sterling work de-barrying it!!

I saw you were using one of those deodoriser cans to freshen the interior up. If that doesn't work, give one of these a go from Amazon. It's a one time use set of pots, you mix together with water, leave inside the car for 8 hours and circulate the vents mid way through. It's essentially chlorine gas so don't give it a sniff! haha



Used one in my CL.



Keep us updated on the progress OP.

[drgoatboy]

ajprice said:

Is that a red LED in there now or a silver bulb?

Neither yet, probably go led. It's just the fog light so not too excited about it as I'm unlikely to drive in the fog anytime soon!

Court_S said:

The clear lights were a thing back then…I’m not a fan either. Hated them on my 325ti.

Any joy in finding someone to tackle the rust?

It's booked in with a restorer down near reading. Would have preferred somewhere closer to home but really struggled to find someone with a good reputation. These guys come recommend and have been super helpful.

[drgoatboy]

Dylano said:

The nearside light looks like it's got moisture ingress with green algae growing inside?

It does, I ordered a new seal and will clean it out once it gets here. Hopefully an easy fix.

Alex_225 said:

I think after the initial shock of the Impreza becoming a hatch back, over the years these have aged well. Looks like some sterling work de-barrying it!!

I saw you were using one of those deodoriser cans to freshen the interior up. If that doesn't work, give one of these a go from Amazon. It's a one time use set of pots, you mix together with water, leave inside the car for 8 hours and circulate the vents mid way through. It's essentially chlorine gas so don't give it a sniff! haha




Keep us updated on the progress OP.

Thanks I have used one of these before so may do again, the can has worked surprisingly well to be honest although I find once the weather warms up the odor can reappear. It wasn't too horrendous to be honest, mostly just a bit stale smelling

[drgoatboy]

RB Will said:

This was my favourite way of doing the rear lights on these

[

Think that's the look I am going to go for. But maybe not with the precut overlays.

[Alex_225]

[quote=drgoatboy}
Thanks I have used one of these before so may do again, the can has worked surprisingly well to be honest although I find once the weather warms up the odor can reappear. It wasn't too horrendous to be honest, mostly just a bit stale smelling

[/quote]

If it's nothing too heinous then it's likely you've done the trick. The warm car interior will be a giveaway but I'm sure that along with a good clean inside will freshen it right up.

[drgoatboy]

Minor update.... Cleared out the other rear light. It was really yucky with a lot of damp and mold. I tried separating the lense but failed. So I gave it a good scrub, dried it out and ran a bead of clear silicone, round the outside edge. It's not perfect but with the new gasket it should hopefully stop it getting wet again. You can only really see the silicone if you look really closely.



(Not sure why the right light has a weird orange tinge to it. Doesn't in real life)

Elsewhere I noticed the steering had got a bit lumpy and you could feel the steering wheel bouncing at full lock. Bobbins.
I decided to take a chance and just change the fluid which I have had good results doing before...

Love his little pump...



The fluid was pretty nasty.



And the reservoir was black inside with stuck on grime.



So I took it out and gave it a good clean.



Much better!

I refilled and bled the system (a few turns side to side with the cap off). It was seemingly better for a short while but soon became lumpy again.

On closer inspection you could see the pulley stalling out on the pump when turning the steering wheel. Belt tension was fine and belt was pretty new. Rack seemed fine and wasn't leaking so I took a punt on a new aftermarket pump. At £140 it was worth a try as the rack is a lot more expensive and harder to get off. (Plus I didn't want the pump seizing and taking the alternator with it)

It's really easy to get to on a Subaru. Plastic cover over the belts and it's right at the top front of the engine.



The alternator adjusts to tighten the shared belt. It's a neat setup actually one of the better ones I have worked on. Once the belt is off, 3 bolts take off the pump...



Swap the brackets over and refit.



Took less than a couple of hours even with my 9 year old daughter "assisting"

Lumpiness all gone!
The other good news is I always felt the steering was really light, and had loads of slop in it particularly around dead centre. The new pump has really helped, it's weighted up and is much more direct. (It ain't no lotus though!)

In other news rust is booked in for repair 3rd week in May, engine is stilling running in (I haven't been anywhere and I didn't want to go too far with the lumpy steering).

Also it's developed a bit of an oil leak. Really hoping it's just the rocker covers gasket...

[drgoatboy]

Another round of mod improvements. (Mod mods?)

A rather loud BOV (HKS SQV?) had been put on the car to replace the standard recirculation valve. (See big silver thing on front of the intercooler)



which sounds like this... (Excuse terrible video)

https://youtu.be/JjUgCohOovc

Now as much as it initially made me giggle like the 90s schoolboy I am inside it soon got old. It was noisy from anything over 3k revs so basically all the time. Kinda a bit much for me!

I didn't really want to go back to standard so purchased a GFB recirc only valve. I used GFB kit on my mini and it seemed good quality and reasonable in pricing, I reckoned if I could sell the HKS and get most of my money back....
I didn't realize I needed the elbow off a standard valve, so I had to go buy one. Bobbins! More money.

Now I don't know what's going on with 2nd hand parts at the moment but prices for these valves, which basically most people take off and throw away, are all over the place, from £30 to £170. I had an offer from one breaker and when I politely declined his offer as it was more than I wanted to spend, he got pretty abusive and advised me I needed to buy a Vauxhall to get cheap parts. (Charming) Apparently Subaru parts are made of unobtainium.

Anyways a kind soul on the Subaru groups on Facebook sold me his unwanted one for £25



I removed the elbow and gave it a few coats of VHT paint and bolted it on.



Old valve off.



Mating faces were cleaned up and new one on



Hooray! My car doesn't sneeze anymore. Idle also seems more stable now too which is a bonus
(My inner child misses the pppsstttt a bit though)

Apologies another dull update really. Rust being sorted next week....

[Cambs_Stuart]

Always good to see bits of progress. I've had issues with the power steering on my last two Subarus, usually the O ring in the pipe on top of the pump or the hoses.
Hope the welding isn't too expensive...

[Tango13]

drgoatboy said:

Minor update.... Cleared out the other rear light. It was really yucky with a lot of damp and mold. I tried separating the lense but failed. So I gave it a good scrub, dried it out and ran a bead of clear silicone, round the outside edge. It's not perfect but with the new gasket it should hopefully stop it getting wet again. You can only really see the silicone if you look really closely.



(Not sure why the right light has a weird orange tinge to it. Doesn't in real life)

Elsewhere I noticed the steering had got a bit lumpy and you could feel the steering wheel bouncing at full lock. Bobbins.
I decided to take a chance and just change the fluid which I have had good results doing before...

Love his little pump...



The fluid was pretty nasty.



And the reservoir was black inside with stuck on grime.



So I took it out and gave it a good clean.



Much better!

I refilled and bled the system (a few turns side to side with the cap off). It was seemingly better for a short while but soon became lumpy again.

On closer inspection you could see the pulley stalling out on the pump when turning the steering wheel. Belt tension was fine and belt was pretty new. Rack seemed fine and wasn't leaking so I took a punt on a new aftermarket pump. At £140 it was worth a try as the rack is a lot more expensive and harder to get off. (Plus I didn't want the pump seizing and taking the alternator with it)

It's really easy to get to on a Subaru. Plastic cover over the belts and it's right at the top front of the engine.



The alternator adjusts to tighten the shared belt. It's a neat setup actually one of the better ones I have worked on. Once the belt is off, 3 bolts take off the pump...



Swap the brackets over and refit.



Took less than a couple of hours even with my 9 year old daughter "assisting"

Lumpiness all gone!
The other good news is I always felt the steering was really light, and had loads of slop in it particularly around dead centre. The new pump has really helped, it's weighted up and is much more direct. (It ain't no lotus though!)

In other news rust is booked in for repair 3rd week in May, engine is stilling running in (I haven't been anywhere and I didn't want to go too far with the lumpy steering).

Also it's developed a bit of an oil leak. Really hoping it's just the rocker covers gasket...

Can you remember where you got the syringe/pump from? One of those would've been very useful when I was changing the gear box and diff oil on my 370 a few weeks back.

[drgoatboy]

Tango13 said:

Can you remember where you got the syringe/pump from? One of those would've been very useful when I was changing the gear box and diff oil on my 370 a few weeks back.

Think I just got it off a market stall!
But they do a very similar looking one on Amazon

Hyfive Syphon Pump Oil Fuel Petrol Diesel Hand Sifon Water Siphon Transfer Kit Inflator https://amzn.eu/d/8ZfyFGm

[Tango13]

drgoatboy said:

Tango13 said:

Can you remember where you got the syringe/pump from? One of those would've been very useful when I was changing the gear box and diff oil on my 370 a few weeks back.

Think I just got it off a market stall!
But they do a very similar looking one on Amazon

Hyfive Syphon Pump Oil Fuel Petrol Diesel Hand Sifon Water Siphon Transfer Kit Inflator https://amzn.eu/d/8ZfyFGm

That's great, many thanks. I'll get one on order tonight.

Good to hear you've got a forged engine too, don't click the link if you're of a nervous disposition...

https://youtu.be/NynVITCe2zg

[TEKNOPUG]

Tango13 said:

That's great, many thanks. I'll get one on order tonight.

Good to hear you've got a forged engine too, don't click the link if you're of a nervous disposition...

https://youtu.be/NynVITCe2zg

Fortunately the OP's engine is completely different to the one in the video.

[Court_S]

Some good progress is being made rescuing the car!

I can see why the BOV got old / boring quickly.

Breakers prices can be very strange. There were a few odds and sods that I’ve bought brand new from BMW for less than breakers were charging on eBay.

[thomasrs50]

When they first came out, I really couldn't get used to these (and every other subaru from this generation), but I've grown to really like them.

Good to see someone giving this car the much needed care.