Yeah! I love those wheels and after a 5month wait due to shipping delays from Japan I finally got my hands on them.
Specs are
SSR GTX-01 Dark silver, 17x8 +45 offset, 5x100 PCD. Tyres are the same 235/45R17 which i had on my old rims.
Intake Manifold gaskets and water pipe O rings:During routine inspection and learning that i do on weekends I've found out that the coolant water pipe sitting below the intake manifold was leaking. Kept an eye on the leak and coolant levels. There was no major loss of coolant but tiny bubbles started appearing even after bleeding the coolant with the funnel method. I got concerned and started looking for a fix which is to take the entire manifold out to gain access to the water pipe. Since I have to take the manifold out I decided that it's a good idea to tackle some of the other issues which might cause problems later down the line.
Theses are the things i've fixed
1. Intake manifold gaskets
2. Intake collector gaskets
3. Coolant temp sensor
4. Water pipe O rings
5. PCV hose ( Plastic PCV on my one)
6. Throttle body cleaning
7. Checking spark plugs and plug seals
8. Coolant hoses to throttle body
9. Power steering hose O ring
10. UEC after putting everything back together
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Ordered all the pars from partsouq and got my tools from my work over the weekend. Started off by disconnecting the battery and removing the snorkel and air box.
Drained the coolant and to make it easy and not to get confused, I started disconnecting all the plugs and earth connections which plug into the intake manifold wiring harness. I always click pictures before stripping stuff so that i have something to refer to if i'm stuck somewhere. Once everything is disconnected I unbolted the bracket holding the wiring harness main plug. Disconnected EGR pipe, all the coolant hoses going to the radiator, throttle body and heater core. After disconnecting all connectors and double checking i started unbolting the bolts which hold the intake manifold in place. It was fairly easy and having electric tools made it even quicker. Remember electric impact gun should be used only to undo bolts and not to tighten as you can easily strip the thread on them. Even being in the mechanic profession i learnt it the hard way. You'll be surprised how easy it is to strip threads on bolts by using electric tools to tighten even after starting the thread by hand. Takes time but using hand tools is the best way and a failsafe method.
Once the manifold bolts are loose you need to lift it out of place and undo the O2 sensor plug bracket. You will have access to that bolt easily after the intake manifold is loose. once the bracket is off, just work your way through and lift up the manifold making sure everything is disconnected. My mate gave me a hand in this step as the manifold is a bit heavy and its hard to see behind. Once the manifold is out I covered the inlets with a clean rag and vacuumed all the dirt and debris. While both the inlets are covered i sprayed some Orange agent degreaser and brake clean to clean the top of the block. After that step I vacuumed once again and unbolted the water pipe.
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Once the water pipe was out i could see the coolant leak. I'm pretty sure these were never replaced considering the condition. O ring's were flat and oozing coolant from the sides. Good thing was that there was no contamination or staining anywhere. I took the old O rings out, Cleaned the surface to install new O rings. I gave a good clean with a detailing brush and vacuumed everything around the openings.
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Now it's time to tackle the intake manifold gaskets. Removed the old gaskets and started cleaning the gasket residue. Took me about 30min a side to get the surface clean and flat. Soaking the gasket with brake clean and using a combination long flat head screwdriver, scraper, sand paper and worksop blade made it a bit easy. After cleaning and preparing the surface for new O rings and Intake gaskets i started working on the Intake manifold and throttle body. Started by undoing the bolts for injector cover and the bolts which hold the intake collector. Everything was caked in carbon and was filthy. No cleaner will do a decent job without contact cleaning. I soaked them with CRC throttle body cleaner and gently scraped out all the carbon deposits. after that I used a clean lint free rag and wiped them clean. Have to be gentle as the runners inside the manifold are fragile and can be damaged easily. Repeated the same on the other side and got rid of all the carbon deposits. While assembling back i used new gaskets and checked the injector seats and Injectors. They seem to be in good condition even after 13years of driving. Did the same cleaning with the main throttle body and i assembled everything back together to the intake manifold. Pay attention to the fragile Throttle body gasket.
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I installed new water pipe O rings, new coolant temperature sensor and new throttle body coolant hoses. Once the water pipe was fixed next step was to install new intake manifold gaskets. While installing the manifold back be careful as its easy to mismatch the hole and damage the new gaskets. My mate helped me install the manifold back correctly and all the bolts lined up correctly. A bright torch will come in handy here. I started threading the bolts by hand and once i installed all the bolts i tightened them in a criss cross pattern. All the bolts were tightened with hand tools, I didn't follow torque specs but i went by feel and snug them up nicely. Once all the bolts were installed i started connecting all the connectors to the sensors and earth cables. To my nightmare one of the connectors to the intake runners (not sure if its the right term) was broken and the cables popped out. Connected them the right way by looking at previous pictures and i was glad that i got all my tools with me over the weekend.
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Connected everything back, filled coolant and scanned for codes. P2007 code appeared on the scanner. cleared the code, checked all the connectors and scanned again. This time no codes on the scanner
. Started the engine and let it idle for sometime while i do some checks. I bled the coolant and i went for a drive. I was surprised with the amount of difference cleaning the manifold and throttle bodies made in the driving experience. There was absolutely no hesitation in idling and while taking off in first gear. Even while normal driving in the city i noticed that the engine pulls cleanly in all gears. Drivability is much better and i could really feel the difference of having a clean intake manifold. Fuel economy increased considerably but i have to test it to have exact figures. I noticed that the Engine gets up to operating temperature much quicker than before. I used Subaru uec for the manifold and did an oil and filter change after that. Started using Penrite Hpr5 5w-40 now with genuine subaru oil filter. I was using castrol 5w-30 before.
by jdmsubielover » Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:37 pm 
