nicholi2789

Yes I know that sedan struts and Springs are slightly different I did the reading before doing it. Wagon Springs are slightly longer sedans (though H&R lists the same part number for both sedan and wagons) that's why I used the 3/8ths saggy butt spacers. The only reason I even did this swap is because my suspension was stock with 150k miles on it, and it was a straight across trade. Free besides my labor in doing it. I wanted to lower my car anyways. As for the camber up front. I also know that I lose about .5 of camber adjustment switching to sedan struts. So far everything seems very normal alignment wise. No noticeable pull either way, though I am watching for tire wear. As far as hitting the bump stop goes, I'm not sure if that's happening. It doesn't seem like the strut is bottoming out or anything. Under normal conditions it's not so bad. I mean I definetely feel it when I hit a manhole cover, but it's not intolerable. What really concerns me, is when I hit any sizable Bump or crack in the road it's a loud BANG and it seems like there is no dampening in the suspension up front whatsoever. I realize lowered cars rider harsher than normal but this just doesn't seem right. It also has a little bit of bounce when driving down a less than perfectly smooth road. What were you guys saying about trimming Bump stops? Do elaborate please. Also, could old worn top hats add to the roughness? I accidentally snapped a bolt on my front passenger strut mount (didn't realize the torque was only 17 pounds, thought it was like 30) so I have to replace the top hat anyways and thought I'd just do both fronts. Thanks

Thank you for all the advice. The springs are H&R 54457 Springs. I just dont feel like this ride is normal or else noone would ever Lower their car. I live in sort of a small remote area. I don't have many friends around here with lowered cars.

Hey guys, got a 2004 WRX Wagon a while back. Recently I had a guy offer to trade his stock 2004 wrx sedan suspension (stock struts with H&R lowering Springs) straight across. So i did the swap. I wanted to lower it a bit anyways. I used 3/8ths saggy butt spacers in the rear. Anyways, the ride is rediculously rough. I mean, I expected a slightly rougher ride since I'm lower but not like this. Everyone I hit a Crack it's really really loud and rough. I torqued everything to spec too. My question is, would getting a new set of struts help partially solve this? This is my first suspension swap ever and don't know much about suspension mods. But it seems to me putting lowering Springs on stock suspension is a perfect recipe for a really rough ride. I want to keep it lowered, I just can't handle this rough ride. I don't do much gravel or off road but I do alot of late night spirited road driving. I just wanted less body roll and more road hugging. Lol. Anyways, I was thinking about a set of new KYB excel g/gr2 struts (high reviews among Subie owners) and new tophats. Do you think that would improve the ride with these Springs? Worst case scenario I have to either buy Coilovers or go back to stock. I would prefer to stay lowered. I just know that there is no way all lowering spring setups ride this badly. It's super bouncy and if I hit a medium size Bump at high speed it's downright painful and loud. Any advice guys? Thanks.

Thanks a lot. Couldn't feel anything close besides the spring for the clutch fork or whatever it is. Your the man Fairtax!

Yeah i would consider another guy for future work because that is just plain untrue. I had torn boots on both sides of my power steering rack on my old 95 Legacy AND 95 impreza. It's pretty easy if you are decent with a wrench. I replaced both boots on my Legacy and even though it was the first time I had ever done it, it only took about 2 hours. Cost me less than 50$ for the boots and clamps off Rockauto. As the guys said above, take extra special care to put the tie rod back EXACTLY how it came out. I used a white marker and marked the threads. Do a quick Google search and you'll find lots of threads about people replacing them. There is no sense in replacing an entire rack when it's still good. I would thoroughly check inside for debris like they said about though.

Nice. Thank you. Really appreciate it. One last question. So all i could find was about 3 inch M10x1.50 bolts, and the threads are only on the last inch and a half or so. So i had to use washers to shim it up. However, the bolt still sticks out the other side (drivers side) about an inch, give or take. There is nothing that the extra bolt sticking out can hit right? I can't see back there well at all because of the intercooler and don't want to take it off to look.

Went next store to Napa and picked up a bolt that fit those specs. It slid right in. It was about an inch too long so I had to shim it with some washers but it worked. Good temp fix until I can get a new mount set. Thanks alot!

Awesome thanks for the great information as always Fairtax. Could I really just use any generic bolt provided it fits those specs? And should I use 8.8 or 10.9?

What the heck? How does a bolt like to get just go missing? Just vibrates loose? Well I wonder if I can just order the bolt and not have to replace the whole piece. I'll be sure to check the other mounts. Could this cause any collateral damage?

I have a buddy who has a 97 Impreza L. It has the single port 2.2. Unfortunately headers for that engine are about twice as much as dual ports. He did order a decent set off of eBay and they've worked out great for him. He's had them on for a few months now. I think they were about 230$. Search on Ebay. The guy he bought them from was a fabricator out of Everett Washington. Good quality. I would recommend wrapping them though to reduce that tinny sound you get with these types of headers. I bought a set of dual port uel headers for my 95 Legacy 2.2 off eBay and they were great. Swapped them over to my Impreza 1.8 before I sold it even. Good luck!

Hey guys, I've posted here quite a bit about my previous subarus (95 Legacy and 95 Impreza), but haven't much lately. Recently I upgraded big time and got a 2004 WRX sport wagon with the EJ20 turbo. It has 150k miles and has been great so far. Anyways, as with most used vehicles it's had a few quirks and minor problems. One of them that has me concerned, is this clunking I've noticed when I shut the car off. It also happens sometimes briefly during startup, I also noticed a rattling/knocking sound that happens during certain rpm ranges (from about 3750k rpms to about 4k). I've listened very closely and tried to determine where exactly it's coming from and have determined it's not the engine. I've revved the engine from under the hood and don't hear the rattle/knocking at all in the engine bay and it sounds like it's in the firewall somewhere (somehow). I figure it's got to be a loose or worn out part somewhere near the firewall for me to only hear it inside the car and when the engine is vibrating a certain way. Anyways, I was once again looking behind the intercooler trying to figure it out where it's coming from when I noticed the mount directly below the intercooler (transmission mount?) is kind of loose. Loose enough that I can shake it by hand. The bushings in it are obviously worn out. I've never replaced engine/transmission mounts before so I'm not sure how they are supposed to be normally. I would assume that it should have some play in it to absorb shock but it will shake probably a half inch up or down. That's definetely not normal right? Could this mount be what's causing the sound I'm hearing? I would guess that with the vibration of the engine this thing is definetely moving a bit and clanking around. Anyone got any insight? Also, how bad of a job is it to replace? I'm decently good with a wrench (Done multiple timing jobs on Subies, clutch etc) Is it gonna hurt anything if I can't get to it in the immediate future? Thanks in advance for all your help, everyone here is super knowledgeable, helpful, and welcoming. That's why I post here and not at NASIOC. EDIT: I attached a picture of the part I'm talking about. I think it's a transmission mount? Not sure what the actual name for it is.

Nah I figured out what it was. Somehow the rear window wash line broke somewhere between the firewall and the floorboard on the drivers side. Every time I sprayed my rear window wash it was just dumping fluid onto my floor. Lol. So i just unplugged the rear motor and clamped the line off until I can figure out what to do with it. Really odd problem..

Hey, I'm a new owner of a 2004 wrx sport wagon (not mew to Subies or thus forum) and I love it. Recently I noticed that my driver side floorboard is damp and is under the drivers seat. It hasn't rained in days. I did however wash my car a couple times. Any ideas what it could be? Dumped some water into the cowl on both sides and it seemed to drain fine. No leaky windows. What goes under the carpet there that could leak? Rear window wash line? Any ideas. Thanks!

That doesn't sound like any rod knock that i've ever heard. This has a different quality of sound to it. It almost sounds like what happens when a timing tensioner fails. But you said you just did that.. I'd be inclined to say its coming from the heads somewhere.

Yeah that's what I was gonna ask next is how is it running. Is it just an intermittent code that pops up with no discernible difference in engine performance? Like the other person said, i would start with cylinder 3 and check the wire and plug. The cylinders are numbered as follows: standing in front of the engine looking down at it the closest one on your left is #1 closest on the right is cylinder #2, back left is cylinder #3 and back right is cylinder #4.

Well what ended up being the problem on mine after all was the timing belt. I had just done a timing job a couple months before. Anyways, my timing belt jumped about 4 teeth somehow. It ran like absolute garbage and I kept getting only a cylinder 3 misfire code. I tried everything. New plugs, wires, coil, compression tested, tested injectors, everything. And it just turned out to be a jumped belt. Reset the timing and she ran like a champ again.

I will add my voice to the others on this thread. I have done 4 subaru timing belt jobs in the last 3 months, two of which were my cars and hadn't had them changed in over 100k miles. On both of my cars the belt seemed okay, but the pulleys were all in near failure condition. The most dead obvious sign without looking in the belt cover is if your timing cover has oil droplets on the bottom, that means your cam/crank seals are leaking and weren't done the first time around most likely. Doing the seals while your in there is only about 45 minutes extra work. I would also recommend the oil pump Re-sealing as well, 2 out of 4 of the oil pumps I checked had backing plate screws halfway out. I've ordered 2 of those Gates kits online and two kits from Mizumo auto on Ebay. They all were great and less than 130$. If your are mechanically inclined at all, do the job yourself. It's about 4-5 hours for a first timer and 2-3 for a seasoned vet. And that's replacing all pulleys and seals. The gates or Mizumo auto kits will come with the belt, all pulleys/tensioner, cam and crank seals, just do it all. It's not that much extra work and is worth it. Good luck!

People really need to research how multi grade oils actually work. The first number stands for the viscosity of the oil when it's dead cold, the second number refers to the oils viscosity at operating temperature. And contrary to popular folklore, the W in 0w/20 or 5W/30 stands for Weather and not weight. A really good place to learn about oils is bobistheoilguy.com

Well its not simple to me. I've never done an engine swap on a subaru before. Anyways, that's awesome. I didn't realize there were so many options for swaps on this. I can get a used EJ22 from the junk yard w/less than 100k miles for 400$. So all the motor mounts and everything are direct bolt on for 90-94 ej22? Y buddy Todd has a 97 Impreza couple with the single port 2.2 and that has some balls. I really want that. Lol. I don't understand how swapping a 95 ej22 will work. Aren't they obd2? This impreza is obd1 so won't all the main engine harnesses not connect up?

Hey guys, so I've posted on here a lot about my old 95 Subaru Legacy L which recently broke down. Couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and had to get it towed 38 miles. It ended up being jumped timing. I reset the timing belt and she ran great again. I sold it for 1200$ (it had 270,000 miles on it) and bought this 95 Impreza L 1.8 liter. It only has 130,000 miles and has a clean body/interior and runs pretty good. I was tired of being worried about my legacy breaking down all the time. Anyways, so I'm wondering what I can do to squeeze a little more power out of this 1.8 liter. I know it's a smaller motor and makes less torque. But it's what I got now. Anyways, it's got a bit of a rough idle, not too bad, just bobs around at 5-600 RPMs or so, not perfect smooth like my 2.2 liter Legacy. I've been told it can be the IACV? and to clean it? Tried googling that to no avail. I've already done the normal stuff, new NGK spark plugs, fuel filter, wires, injector cleaner, cleaned MAF and throttle body, What else? I also transferred my custom catback exhaust and wheels, and just ordered a UEL header for it. Anyone got any good ideas to gain just a few HP and throttle response? What about a 2.2 swap or some kind of frankenbuild? My 95 Legacy was OBD2, but this 95 Impreza is OBD1 so I'm assuming I can't swap that. Can I swap a 2.2 from a first gen Leggy? What are my options? Thanks in advance.

Yeah but wouldn't the cam position sensor read the off valve timing and adjust the ECU which would I turn cause off ignition timing?

Yes. I replaced the timing belt and all its components about 3 months ago. I have plans to remove the cover tomorrow and see what happened. Could a failed tensioner or something like that cause it?

Alright.. I stuck a timing light on it and it read about 30 degrees... Crap. So somehow the timing got advanced like 16 degrees. How could that happen? Could it skipping one tooth cause it to be that far off?

You think so? I was kinda worried about that too.. But wouldn't in have multiple cylinder misfires and not just #3?

Okay guys I'm having a cylinder 3 misfire problem on my 95 legacy 2.2 that has me stumped. Last night I was driving and my car immediately started running terribly. To where it barely ran and couldn't drive it. Sounded like a really bad misfire. Scanned the check engine light AND has one PO303 code- cylinder 3 misfire. So far I have: tried a different coil, new spark plugs, different wires. Compression tested every cylinder and got 150 p.s.i on every cylinder (is that within spec?) which seemed good. Now I don't know what to do next. I used a long screwdriver and put it against each injector and I could hear clicking inside each, so i think they are all working. What should I do next?? Someone help please. Lol. Right now I am without a car and a way to get to work so I need to figure this out posthaste. I am sure somebody here with their vast knowledge of subarus can offer advice. Thanks in advance.