club.liberty.asn.au

I imagine you have got uprated LCA bushes and bushes associated with the bigger sway bars. Those things will make it seem a lot harsher!

Ian, the swaybars came with new Whiteline bushes but to be honest it felt like that before I fitted them. Only way to test would be to replace the D bushes with factory rubber ones.

The LCA bushes were replaced when I bought the car 25K ago with OEM units.

Well I installed my rear engine mount (pitch stopper) with the STI Group-N item yesterday. Very simply install as you would expect, took less than 30 minutes including removing the intercooler.

The Group-N mounts look exactly the same as your OEM vanilla mounts, the same moulds are used, just a different grade of rubber.

I have noticed that there is less slop (backward<-->forward movement) in drivetain most noticeable when the car takes up the slack of after your have been decelerating and then you hit the accelerator suddenly. I was hoping that this would make this even firmer but I am sure that will come with the front/bottom engine mounts once I get a chance to fit them. I have also noticed that the gear changes do feel firmer.

In summary I would recommend this upgrade as one step towards stiffening up your vehicle. I would not set my expectations too high on what to expect from just this upgrade alone, I think the true benefit will come from replacing all of the main bushes with the same grade as I intend to do.

Paint Correction. Decided to remove this update until I have written it up offline .

Some serious detailing work there mate. Top job.

Still haven't posted the detailing update but will do that when finished.

Radiator Replacement
You might have seen in another thread that my radiator recently karked it which was surprising given the car had a full service history using genuine Subaru coolant. It comes down to plastic end tank radiators just being inferior for longevity, despite the Subaru one probably using a better quality plastic than the cheap replacement options. Mine started leaking from the top tank around the seal. The car actually wasn't overheating yet but was loosing coolant. The highest the temp went was below the half way mark but noticeably higher than where it should be. I didn't notice it on the gauge, I noticed the tell tale signs of burning coolant smell and white splotches of dried coolant around the fan shrouds and timing covers (where it had been blown by the fans as it leaked out).

After speaking with Miles from AM Auto, he advises this is actually more common than I thought. He has seen them go as early as 90,000Ks which is just pathetic Subaru. Mine showed no visible signs of cracks on the end tank but then I learned it is actually the seal mating surface on the plastic end tank (which you can't see) that pits and eventually coolant starts leaking past the seal. To think that Subaru used to charge $800+ for these is just a joke, now they are closer to $600. I tested the thermostat in a pot of boiling water to see that it is still working.

So given my 125K service is imminent I thought what better time than to replace my cooling system so I should get another 100K troublefree. So I went out and purchased:

1) New Mishimoto Radiator (less than $500 delivered) - excellent quality unit, can't wait to fit it. Also comes with new radiator cap.
2) New genuine radiator top and bottom hoses (not cheap but worth preventing a split hose and losing $100 worth of coolant and a big mess). I was surprised original hoses are still soft but you never know when they are going to go.
3) New genuine water pump, gasket and thermostat (just as insurance, I don't want the pump to fail 20K after doing timing belt. Apparently these SHOULD only need to be replaced on your second timing belt service.
4) 6ltr of genuine coolant (green) which will be mixed with ~1ltr of demineralised water.

Total $$ spent around $900. Subaru parts are not cheap and the pump was on special. To be honest I wouldn't risk aftermarket parts on this vehicle unless there is an obvious quality improvement such as the radiator.

Some pictures of what I should hopefully install today (check out the core thickness difference - and that is the standard replacement :O) :







I am expecting to have to trim the hoses based on Tony's (PSR) advice. He said this is the only think I should need to do to compensate for the increased thickness so the hoses sit in the same position and don't foul with accessory belts.

Will provide an update later once this job is done in terms of the fitment.

Looks good Tim, Mishimoto make some quality gear!

Update:

Things have been really busy lately, work, home and car.

Radiator
So the radiator went in last weekend along with new coolant (genuine Subaru green) and new radiator hoses (genuine). An expensive exercise but hey sooner or later your radiator is going to let go and when it does it is a good excuse to fit something better, replace hoses and coolant. I was talking to Miles (the M in AM Auto) and he says he sees quite a few as early as 70K. Most common issue is the plastic header tank starts pitting between the tank and seal so you can't see the issue until it starts leaking. I must say I am really impressed with the Mishimoto radiator and the price is fantastic given the quality and cooling capacity. For anyone considering fitting one though, there are a couple of things to be aware of.

• The radiator is much thicker than factory so things are a little more squeezy. This isn't an issue, just something to be aware of as it requires a little more care and effort installing it versus factory. Once in all good. I did that job myself and not hard at all. I had my 125K service today and it didn't cause any issues to my mechanic who had to drain for water pump remove fans etc so WIN.
• Due to above you need to trim radiator hoses, mainly the top one. About 10mm (no more) from both ends. Also the ~15mm hose from header tank to radiator. The bottom hose needs about 5-10mm off either end.
• I had to take the plastic cover off the air pump but should be able to put it on back now. It was just so I could get the fan back in.
• I installed the AC fan (passenger side) without the overflow tank attached and then fitted that second.
• Good news is that everything else slots into place and existing gear bolt holes etc all line up fine
• It took about 9ltrs of coolant including overflow tank. I used 7ltrs of genuine and 2lt dimineralised water.

Radiator pictures below.

125K Major Service Plus
I finally got this done today by Miles at Am Auto yey but not for my wallet.
When you get this service done you basically have two options. A) Do the bare minimum which will be the cheapest option of B) Do it properly so you shouldn't need the timing belt off or have any problems there before your 250K service. There is actually an Option C which I went for and involved other preventative maintenance of things that are likely to cause issues prior to or on your 250K service. I decided to go all genuine as you are just not getting the same quality with the cheaper kits or parts and I wanted maximum longevity. I even went for a genuine fuel filter ($126 ouch) but I feel better for having it there. Also went for a Dw65 for the pump replacement.

Option A:

• Replace timing belt
• Replace front oil seal
• Replace fuel filter

Labour should be 4hrs


Option B:

• Replace timing belt
• Replace front oil seal
• Replace all pulleys (4 in total)
• Replace belt tensioner
• Replace Waterpump and Thermostat.
• Replace fuel filter

Labour should be 4-4.5hrs


Option C:

• Replace everything from Option B plus the following:
• Tappet cover oil seals and spark plug seals
• Power steering suction hose
• Fuel pump - likely to have fail between 250-350k.

Labour should be ~6hrs



A great way to trim hoses neatly. Fit a clamp tight enough so it won't spin but not so tight it crushes the hose. Grab a sharp new blade and some soap and water for lube and cut along the clamp as a guide.








That's all for now.

Nice one, your are giving me ideas for something that is going on in the next few months

Shaheenis wrote:I decided to go all genuine as you are just not getting the same quality with the cheaper kits or parts and I wanted maximum longevity. I even went for a genuine fuel filter ($126 ouch) but I feel better for having it there. Also went for a Dw65 for the pump replacement.

Time to start using partsouq.com - both genuine fuel filters for under $65 (yep, combined) plus $15-30 shipping.

And as for major service parts you listed - you'd save an arm and a leg.

Alexie I heard they were cheap but I didn't really have time to risk goods coming from overseas. All the parts except for the filter I got a good deal on (for Oz prices) as I shopped around but still way too expensive in my opinion. I actually didn't intend to fit a genuine filter but the mechanic assumed I wanted genuine as all other parts I supplied were genuine and I didn't want to cause a fuss once it was installed.

What do you mean by filters? To my knowledge there is one filter, it looks like the pump carrier (doesn't look like a filter at all) as per Kobe's filter thread. The strainer came with the pump but the filter was extra.

Shaheenis wrote:Alexie I heard they were cheap but I didn't really have time to risk goods coming from overseas. All the parts except for the filter I got a good deal on (for Oz prices) as I shopped around but still way too expensive in my opinion. I actually didn't intend to fit a genuine filter but the mechanic assumed I wanted genuine as all other parts I supplied were genuine and I didn't want to cause a fuss once it was installed.

What do you mean by filters? To my knowledge there is one filter, it looks like the pump carrier (doesn't look like a filter at all) as per Kobe's filter thread. The strainer came with the pump but the filter was extra.

I'm guessing you were thinking of buying Kobe MS' fuel filter? Wouldn't mind asking Jackson about the R&D gone into his, but IMO would be just as good as OEM, they're really not that flash quality wise.

And yep I mean the sock filter (strainer) that comes with the pump. For the fussy people - OEM one looks to cover the pump better than the DW one (and in my case I really needed one, as my DW340 came with one too big for cradle).

Partsouq are great. I think I saved 30-50% off local pricing on my engine refresh, even compared with Kris from RS, who has the cheapest local timing belt kits I've come across in Aus. Especially with certain things, even Kris sells - eg. the 11mm sit oil pump for something like $250 (still cheap for local), partsouq have for $98. If you have time to wait for a week or two tops, absolutely the best OEM retailer.

I tried calling Kris - no answer. Tried emailing Kris - no response so I went elsewhere. I will look at Partsouq next time I need parts which hopefully won't be any time soon. Very happy with the car right now and don't want to touch anything, just finish the paint correction that I started to get the duco to best possible condition. The last thing I did was fit a turbo beanie under my heat shield just to minimize energy loss and heat soak. Would like to wrap the dump pipe too but not worth the effort unless it needs to come off for some other reason and then I will do it.





All back together and that way to stay for a long time. Tappet covers done yey yey!

Probably too late now, but I should have told you to put your factory heat shield over the beanie.. it fits over nicely and adds a touch more heat shielding.

Pretty happy with my custom shield Adam . I have the factory one in storage, would have needed to cut it to fit over dump pipe and decided not to.