pleiadesfella

23 hours ago, alex0856 said:

How's your clutch pedal engagement? Do you have to push it to the floor? Do you feel "popping" in the pedal? Check your clutch fluid and lines. I was unintentionally frying my clutch by driving around with a disintegrating clutch line.

I want to say my engagement feels a little inconsistent (especially when shifting into 2nd gear where more often than not I end up bucking the car and sometimes when trying to take off in 1st) but I think it's been like this for a long time even before the smell. I don't think I have to fully push it to the floor as I was shifting a bit lazily today and didn't get any grinds.

no popping in the pedal from what I can tell, but it's always done something strange that I've never seen in another car - unless I very slowly let off the clutch in neutral, it will drop my idle revs a bit as if it were engaging into gear, then the idle will quickly correct. I tried the same thing in my uncle's stock vw golf, and it didn't drop any revs in neutral at all. I'm not sure if this is because of my kevlar/organic hybrid stage 2 clutch or if it's another issue related to the clutch.

just went for a shopping run with my dad today in the spec b, and he also mentioned the burning smell. it was especially bad after I had to get on the highway for a bit. we even smelled it in the car a little, but it was really strong outside the car after parking this time.

I'll mention the clutch fluid and lines to the shop as they seem fine to my untrained eye. hopefully they can find out what's going on. only 9 days left until my appointment  

3 hours ago, tehspud said:

Yeah, I kinda figured it would go faster than it has. Maybe my facebook listing has too many words and pictures for the users of that platform. 

oh I know that feeling all too well sadly. it annoys me to no end that I post detailed pictures and write every single detail, flaw, maintenance item and modification done to the car on my ads and it scares people off because "it's too much to read", but then some 18 year old posting their clapped WRX with two phone gallery screenshots can sell their car in two days by just writing "Works Good No Trades" 

even more annoying is when you write all that detail, only for someone to ask if its available and what the car has had done to it...

On 6/5/2024 at 1:23 PM, tehspud said:

Still driving the wagon about once a week while I wait for a buyer to come along. I don't like seeing it just sit there in front of the house. 

I'm doing the same as I wait for repairs on my spec b . I checked out your for sale post and it seems like a really nicely sorted wagon at a good price, I hope it goes to a good home soon!

as for my spec b, the issue chasing continues. while I'm waiting for the new turbo inlet and radiator install, I've noticed that every time after a very short weekly drive, there's some sort of burnt clutch smell outside of the car every time I get home. I'm not driving the car hard at all due to the intake leak, and while I am a bit rusty with manual after my vacation, I'm not stalling the car and I always go from a stop and shift smoothly.

I really hope its not a clutch issue (as it's a quite new stage 2 clutch), and the smell is also a bit confusing because normally when I end up burning the clutch, I can smell it inside the car while driving. but now I can only smell it after I park and get out the car . I wonder if my one of my rear calipers started sticking from sitting so long, since something similar was happening when my front left caliper was sticking - but I kinda doubt it since the smell seems to be coming from under the car and not from the rear wheels, not to mention I don't notice any odd heat from the rear wheels nor do I drive long enough to start burning the pads off even if they were sticking. but who knows. I'll mention it to the shop when its going in for the new turbo inlet + rad on the 19th.

its a custom protune done by a shop out in montreal. I've read people say you don't need tunes for inlets, but then cobb has a warning on their site saying their inlet needs a tune while perrin says a tune is not needed for their inlet. since my inlet is a perrin, I think I'll be fine going back to OEM without a retune but I also doubt the cobb inlet is really that different to the point where it requires a tune lol

the guy who bought my old 07 lgt told me yesterday that apparently the turbo blew   

apparently the car threw a cel, is now blowing white smoke, wouldn't hold idle and won't move. I told him that it didn't sound like a blown turbo and to check for intake leaks (knowing what just happened to my spec b), and now he also thinks it might be the headgaskets. but it can't be the turbo nor the headgaskets because that engine was fully rebuilt 20,000km ago with a brand new turbo and brand new headgaskets. I now wonder if this would have happened to me if I kept that car (or even swapped that motor into my spec b) or if its just user error somehow - though he said he wasn't driving it hard. I really wonder what the actual issue is.

ah well. I sold that thing for $2000, way less than what that motor itself is worth. guess he can't complain too much, but I'm still shocked that it would fail like that as it always served me well and I trusted that motor greatly for 5 years.

my spec b is getting a new OEM turbo inlet and radiator on the 19th, I'll be back up and running soon  

after looking into all my options, I've decided to order an OEM inlet straight from the dealer. I read some stories about how aftermarket inlets almost always need to be trimmed in some way to fit onto the turbo, and I really didn't want to deal with anything like that. not to mention its $150 cheaper for me to get an OEM one from the dealer compared to the aftermarket options online, and I should be saving on labor costs as the OEM inlet is smaller and much easier to install. I just hope it doesn't affect the tune since the car was stage 2 tuned with the perrin inlet.

thanks for the input guys, the car should be back on the road next month  

yeah, I do understand an import of similar age to my spec b could also come with its own set of issues. its especially discouraging trying to translate auction sheets by myself, only to find some cars I'm interested in have power steering issues (which is a main reason why I just sold off my first car) or have suspected gasket leaks. I just don't feel good about the fact that my spec b has sat for so long, and will continue to keep mostly sitting until the inlet and rad are fixed.

doesn't help that a new rust spot has developed on my spec b's rear wheel arches, despite storing it the last 2 winters alongside the many winters the last owner stored it. maybe I should just forget about trying to keep it pristine and drive it year round, that way I wouldn't have to worry about it sitting as much...

its not like the JDM import would last winters here without starting to rust anyway . I think you (and @KZJonny) might just be right about the long-term costs of the import. I think I'll shelf the idea for now, and import one later down the line as a 2nd car once I have much more money saved up, just to see how it goes.

you guys are right, it's not as bad of an expense as I thought. the koyorad OEM replacement option for manual trans cars on rockauto comes out to around $120 CAD, which is much cheaper than the new inlet I need. I think I remembered the higher spec rad prices and panicked. gonna be ordering that koyorad soon.

@BoozeRS05 is that the EDM facelift console swap with the round shifter surround? I'd love to see it when it's done. I prefer the facelift JDM/EDM interior so much over the old style interior we got stuck with on USDM, which is another reason why I want to import a JDM  

now that's interesting. I was looking at the basic pics and the BOV connection location looked the same to me, but there really is a difference. I wonder if this put some odd stress on it? I doubt it, but there has to be a reason why a relatively new perrin inlet failed like that.

my next inlet will 100% be one specific to the LGT. thanks for the insight  

18 hours ago, pleiadesfella said:

I plug my AP in from time to time to check, and the last test I did I drove the car around the block to see af correction and af learning 1. my correction was always negative, usually at -25% and learning was constantly hovering at around -8%. I know these values aren't normal, which leads me to believe there's an intake problem somewhere. not sure of what it is yet, its either a vacuum leak or a bad o2 sensor like the subaru tuner in my region thinks.

update: the issue has been found. my perrin turbo inlet has a big leak at the BOV connection. I wrote about it in more detail in the original thread I made about the steering lock caused by a stall from failing to hold idle:

alongside this, the mechanic also found a crack in my exhaust's y-pipe (which explains the oddly raspy sound that I thought was caused by the catless DP) and a possible radiator leak from the welds. the exhaust leak I don't care about at the moment and can wait but it SUCKS that I might need a new rad alongside the cost of the new turbo inlet. I just hope the coolant he saw around the rad was something else and not a rad leak, but at the same time he's probably right...

I'm really surprised the exhaust leak was found only now, as the car has always sounded like this since I got it and has been through like 3 different mechanics before today, with none of them mentioning it. I guess my new shop is much more professional and thorough, which I'm very happy about.

big update: I think the issue is finally found. this turned from a steering issue into a low idle issue, which turned out to be a leak in the intake system somewhere or a bad o2 sensor.

turns out, my perrin turbo inlet is leaking very badly at the rear, where it couples with the BOV. my mechanic showed me a video of the smoke test, and there's a considerable gap leaking smoke around the metal BOV connection on the inlet. I don't have the video, but I'll post a picture of the inlet itself and mark where it's leaking. it looks like the silicone around it somehow cracked or broke off.

and yes, I'm aware this is a picture of the perrin inlet for the STI... which is what the last owner put on. I don't know if the difference in application between a legacy and an STI would cause such a failure over time as the BOV connection location looks to be the same on both the legacy and STI inlets, only the boost solenoid and evap connection spots seem to be different.

the mechanic also installed a new air filter, cleaned the maf and installed some new clamps, and now the car runs much better at idle and the AP also reports a much smaller leak on af learning and correction at idle. however, it still leaks badly on throttle with correction going to -25% again. at least the car doesn't constantly stall and fail to hold idle like it used to, which I'm now sure is what happened when my steering locked up as I was slowly downshifting.

while I am upset that the inlet is bad, as I think it was installed brand new 3 years ago and I now have to buy a new one, I'm glad the problem is finally found and didn't have to pay for a new o2 sensor as the shop said it was fine and didn't end up installing a new one. just sucks I have to wait until the 19th of june for the install, so the car sits yet again  

I want to go for the cobb inlet next as I don't think killer b makes an aluminum inlet that fits our cars, but if anyone has any suggestions, do let me know. 

4 hours ago, xt2005bonbon said:

Are you logging? How are your long term fuel trims?

I plug my AP in from time to time to check, and the last test I did I drove the car around the block to see af correction and af learning 1. my correction was always negative, usually at -25% and learning was constantly hovering at around -8%. I know these values aren't normal, which leads me to believe there's an intake problem somewhere. not sure of what it is yet, its either a vacuum leak or a bad o2 sensor like the subaru tuner in my region thinks.

also, I once got a p0000 general misfire code alongside p0303 cylinder 3 and p0304 cylinder 4 misfire codes after cold starting the car. I cleared the codes with the AP and they haven't come back since, but it was really odd. ever since then the car has also struggled to hold a cold start idle now, where it will be around 900-1000 rpm instead of starting at 1200, then it overcorrects itself up to 2000rpm until it starts warming up. whatever's going on with it has me stumped.

19 hours ago, SoobyDoobyDoo said:

@pleiadesfella how low was idle? Mine seems to be low too…

it started off by dropping to 500 sometimes, then to 300, then stalling and restarting itself constantly at idle because it just can't hold it anymore.

as for my spec b, I think something's really wrong with it because when driving it to the shop today, I kept it in 2nd as I took a right turn onto a main road, and suddenly the car wouldn't accelerate after the turn. the engine was still running, trying to weirdly hold idle while I was actually on the throttle, stuck in the middle of the road. only after I downshifted into first and gave it some more gas, it started to rev up and get going. the car also stalled 3 times by itself when I was trying to back out of my parking spot, and also stalled immediately when I parked at the shop while my foot was fully depressing the clutch. the motor itself runs strong with no knock from what I can tell, but all these inconsistent issues around the motor are quite annoying. starting to get tired of all these problems.

17 hours ago, KZJonny said:

JDM import is going to cost more in the long run than just fixing the Spec B, I would guess….

Rust free body aside anyway….

Pain in the ass getting hard to find JDM only parts here in Canada…

yeah importing does cost quite a bit, and I'd get a bit screwed on the insurance because I'd have to get facility as providers on the east coast can't wrap their heads around a JDM VIN. but it's really tempting, as the cars are rust free and incredibly low mileage compared to local options in the country. I also want to import one as their ej20x motors are dirt cheap for me to buy in case I blow it up, and they also come with JDM goodies. would be great to have a car that comes with the JDM spec b front end and double din radio by itself . I'd really love a TBSTI model, but if I can't get that, I'd likely go for a spec b or wr limited in that case - granted I end up selling my current spec b. I'll just have to see what's in store for me as time goes on.

On 5/15/2024 at 7:09 PM, KZJonny said:

Sorry to hear man. If you were closer than NB I would be there to come get it, but too much going on right now between project cars and bikes + summer travels.

Post it up in the classifieds.

GLWS.

welp, she's gone. sold it this morning for not that much money to a local guy who wanted to fix it up for his son. wasn't worth it for me to put back on the road due to the expensive power steering repairs and all around brake rotors/pads it needed for inspection. that was my first ever car and I hope it has a good life afterwards.

now my focus is on my spec b, which I'm conflicted between selling and then importing a JDM legacy or keeping and pouring more money into. don't get me wrong, I love my spec b, but I mentioned before that I feel bad since it sat so long under my ownership due to extended winter storage + small but annoying issues popping up that prevent me from driving it. at this point I'm thinking of a relatively fresh start by selling it off and importing a low mileage, automatic JDM TBSTI as the ultimate all-round fun daily.

my spec b is going into the low idle related repair on friday. a new o2 sensor will be put in, but now I also suspect there's a leak in the intake system from a vacuum line, or the pcv valve is sticking. if the new sensor, new air filter and intake system check on friday doesn't solve the issue, the car's just going to keep sitting until the pcv valve can be replaced as I don't wanna risk driving it and blowing it up. here's to hoping it gets sorted.

would anyone here be interested in picking up my old 07 lgt that has a built motor? it has no powersteering due to broken lines and needs brakes due to rusty rotors, so it's not worth putting back on the road considering it's a rusty canadian maritime car, though the motor still runs perfectly. I imagine some people here could make good use out of its motor and parts, as its getting no interest so far locally. one guy wanted to buy the motor off me for $1500 CAD, but ghosted me when I countered him for $1800, so here I am.

if anyone is willing to take it by trailer and keep it as a parts car, please let me know! depending on the cross-border interest, I might make a classifieds post for it here. I need it gone ASAP.

8 minutes ago, WRX USA said:

That’s a 3rd generation Outback sedan, which is based on the 4th generation Legacy.

yeah that's what I meant, an outback sedan based on the 4th gen legacy. I just worded it bad, sorry

whoa, I never knew there were 4th gen outback sedans. nice clean cars man!

7 hours ago, SubOperator said:

NAFTA only applies to cars (and other goods) manufactured in USA, Canada or Mexico. Everything else gets to go though custom rules and fees as ROW goods.

What that means is that you can buy my LGT and just have it cleared through customs without paying any custom fees as the car was made in IN, USA. I can buy your LGT wagon and have it go through similar process here but again there will be no custom fees.

But if I decide to import EDM or JDM made car from Canada, Mexico or anywhere else the car will be subject to all US custom rules and regulations. Meaning that most likely that car will never see US shores.

this is an interesting comment as I've been contemplating selling off both my lgts due to my situation right now, but I don't think I'm going to find a buyer for either in my area. at least not for a fair price anyway. does this mean if I were to sell my spec.b (which is already USDM and has an EPA label under the hood) to an american member here, they wouldn't pay any customs at all? if so, I'd consider making posts for both of my cars in the classifieds section.

I don't intend to leave the lgt game, but I can't afford to keep pouring money into my spec b at the moment. I've been getting all of its little issues fixed, but I've barely driven the car since I got it two years ago. I only put ~2000 miles on it at most, and it's been sitting for the past two winters. I feel it's a shame it doesn't get driven often as it's a great car and I love it, but I would let go of it if there is good interest here.

hey all,

I'm trying to sell my springs again. I currently can't justify the cost of installing them since my life situation and financial situation changed.

they are RS-R F012D springs I got shipped in from japan last year and they are BRAND NEW in box. these springs are designed for JDM spec.b sedans, so they'd work best on JDM bilsteins. should also be compatible with USDM spec.b bilsteins as they're the same as JDM GT bilsteins. I cannot guarantee compatibility with any other struts.

they are a very aggressive drop (1.4-1.6in drop in front, 0.8-1in drop in rear) which is why I hesitated putting them on at first due to the roads in my area and my chunky tires on wide 18s. I imagine they'd be perfect on a car running 17s or 18s with low profile tires or stretched sidewall. the spring rates are 4.38kg/mm for the front and 4.84kg/mm for the rear.

RS-R has this picture on their website as a preview for these springs, the drop in height may vary depending on your application:

pictures of the springs and box:

the price is $130 USD or $180 CAD. shipping paid by buyer. the box size is 41x30x20cm and weighs 9.5kg. I've run a shipping quote through fedex and shipping from where I am to new york only costs $60 CAD ($47 USD) for residential shipping with fedex international ground, it's not much. UPS is even cheaper I think. I can run a quote to anywhere in canada or the US, just let me know where and which shipping provider.

feel free to ask any questions! thanks!

yeah I keep forgetting to pick up some maf cleaner every time I'm at canadian tire, gotta keep it in mind! but yeah, while it may be a dirty maf I'm betting it's what the subaru shop said about the air/fuel sensor.

took it out for a drive and a wash today, was running and idling fine until right after the wash when it started idling as low as 300 rpm and shaking the whole car again. I think it's exclusively a warm idle issue as the car pulls fine with no loss of power when actually driving and it cold starts just fine too. the car was at full operating temp when starting it up after the wash, though I couldn't plug my AP in to check anything as I had to pull out of the wash bay. starting it up again after drying the car off, it idled a bit low but wasn't shaking, so the issue is really inconsistent. hopefully the new sensor and a bit of maf cleaning fixes it.

update: today I took the car to the shop for the new brakes and to get it looked over to find any issues. they reported that the car had no codes (my P0172 seems to be intermittent and random) and checked all the grounds and electrical connections and said everything was in good shape. they took it for a test drive and the tech said the car was in great shape, he didn't encounter any issues and said the car was running perfectly fine. they suspect the sudden lock may be related to a stall, but like I explained here, the car was already moving when it happened - it was not after a stop and go.

what he said combined with my intermittent P0172 (which causes unstable and very low idle revs) makes me think what happened was the car had a weird mid-drive stall due to the extremely low revs while my foot was on the clutch going into the roundabout. I didn't notice this at all, but I wasn't paying attention to the revs. the engine was running still, but I think it may have pop started after I downshifted and let off the clutch, though I also didn't feel anything like that happen. I think there's no other explanation as to why this happened since the car was idling really low right after the lock incident and constantly feeling like it was going to stall even in neutral.

I called a trusted subaru tuner in my region and told them about the P0172, and they think the air/fuel ratio sensor is the culprit as they've been seeing that code often with the afr sensor being the issue. as for the steering lock they had no clue, but I'm gonna go with the stall theory as its all I have right now.

the car still has inconsistent warm idles (when I got back from the shop today, it was going as low as 500 rpm when trying to park), but no codes right now. I'm gonna replace the afr sensor and see if that fixes it.

I hope this helps anyone having similar issues. I'd hate for this to happen to anyone else on the road.

got any more pics of the equal length header?

and would you be willing to ship it to eastern canada?

39 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

You're good dude. The advise to not go 'full send' all the time MAY not be bad, but the difference between an ELH and OE is mainly a little bit of turbo spool (faster) without everything else in place to make the most of it.

Keep an eye on boost and AFR, to make sure nothing is out of spec and get those parts swapped.

 

I also don't really think a good e-tune is particularly a risk. (Cryotune or Tuning Alliance) It just puts more responsibility on you, as the driver/owner to make sure everything is in good shape before doing a few WOT pulls. (Not on public roads, of course....)

You don't have a babysitter looking at logs the whole time. But, you get what you pay for....

that's great to hear   I'm already gonna be keeping an eye on afr and other fuel related values (such as trim) since I currently have a running rich code as you know from my other thread. I'm hoping that gets fixed either before or at the same time I put a different manifold on the car though, just for my peace of mind.

and that also ties into my concerns with e-tuning, the car will be looked at thoroughly to make sure everything is good, but with all the issues that popped up recently I should probably hold off on an e-tune for now until I'm confident in the car again.

42 minutes ago, rhino6303 said:

Your boost (and timing) is really the issue with swapping exhaust manifolds as you'll hit higher boost with lower load values. Do you have the ability to run a lower boost map? If you can, run it and you should be ok; this is assuming you stay out of high load/boost driving. If you can't change your map, you should be fine ONLY if you can keep out of boost and moderate/high loads. This would mean staying under 3.5k and slow acceleration pretty much all of the time until you can get a retune.

this is exactly the technical detail I was looking for, thank you. I don't know if the tuner in montreal used SI drive for a lower boost map on intelligent mode, but I'll likely keep the car in that mode anyway just to be safe. I already usually shift at 3.5k during regular driving, so I don't think there would be any issue regardless. I just have to pay attention in 1st when taking off as I always tend to underestimate how short 1st gear is, but even then I usually shift before 3.5k.

thanks for all the good advice and info guys, I'm gonna check some classifieds threads to see if I can get a decent used ELH at a good price as I'm not in a position to drop 1k cad on a new tomei ELH at the moment.

I hate to barge in here with a bunch of questions, but I'm tired of being a nuisance with making threads for every question and issue I have. and I've been having alot of both recently  

so today I found out my old 07 lgt has a big ol rust hole in the exhaust manifold. that's a car I need to get rid of as soon as possible but can't do so without fixing all the problems first, and the manifold is a big issue. I was already thinking of getting an aftermarket ELH for my spec b eventually, and now I'm thinking I should get an ELH now and put the good OEM manifold off my spec b onto my lgt to save on that cost while getting what I actually want.

however... its going to be a good while until I can get my spec b retuned for anything as my preferred tuner is a 3hr drive away from me and the car still needs some other problems fixed (such as an electrical issue that caused a steering lock while driving). the car is currently tuned with a stage 2 protune done by a good shop out in montreal, and the car has a catless dp which it is tuned for. would I be able to get away with installing an ELH without getting it retuned right off the bat? I've seen so many conflicting views on other forums about this - some say its fine as long as you don't drive hard, and some imply your engine will immediately disintegrate as soon as you start and move the car with an ELH its not tuned for...

I need my old lgt fixed asap and I think this is a great opportunity to upgrade my spec b and reuse my good OEM manifold off of it, but I just need to be sure I can safely drive my spec b with an ELH in the meantime until I can get it tuned. should I just start looking for an e-tuner? that's not a risk I really want to take considering the mileage of my motor (145k mi) in case it decides to chew out a rod bearing during a hard tuning run, but I might if its for the best.

I just wish I could stop chasing issues and start driving my spec b properly... especially while the weather is nice for once!

On 4/19/2024 at 10:54 PM, KZJonny said:

At a guess, it sounds like wiring. Or bad grounds/poor power to the power steering pump (for one) and maybe somewhere else causing poor running conditions.

Without a meaningful CEL. That’s at least where I would start?

I doubt it was power steering related because it felt more like an ignition steering lock, the wheel only turned a couple of degrees at most instead of just being stiff and hard to steer. but wiring/grounds seems like a good thing to check, I'll have that looked into.

5 hours ago, SoobyDoobyDoo said:

Check your alternator. Same thing happened to the wife last year in her 2006 Tribeca. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree and it quit on her. Thankfully, it was an easy fix. Also keep in mind if your sensors don’t get a specific electrical signal they’ll light up cause they think somethings wrong. I’d start there. 

yeah after some further thinking, I had a similar idea that it could be battery or alternator related as it was almost like the car thought it was turned off for a second, locking the steering and throwing all the lights (similar to how it is when the car is off but the key is in the on position). the random e-brake warning also makes me think that it was likely an electrical issue.

as for the sensors, there's likely something wrong there too since I got that P0172 code after the incident. I have an appointment on may 2 for a general checkover + front brake replacement, but I'm going to have the shop specifically check the alternator, wiring, sensors and fueling now too.

thanks for the help once again guys. I definitely don't want the steering lock to happen again as that was the most dangerous thing to happen to me behind the wheel. I don't even wanna know how it would've ended if my steering went out like that on the curved onramp I took right before it happened.