moral hazard

Would seriously consider the Gialla front bumper. S-craft kit with chromies, is that style coming back as a retro look ?

I believe there is an extra bolt hole in the sump for the 5th gen block (which I don't believe is a big deal). Maybe others can confirm if anything else on the short block would be an issue.

You wouldn't expect to see an external leak, the issue is that the gasket is failing between the combustion chamber and the coolant jacket. NVAKeith is right, drive on the highway for a while (or like I said, up a hill to get some decent load on the engine) and check your overflow bottle. Let the engine cool off and you would likely find the pocket of gas when you remove the radiator cap. It's a really simple test. Early stages of head gasket issues.

Sometimes with a small leak you won't notice it without load on the engine. Drive up a hill, pull over and look for bubbles in the overflow bottle.

Also have a 2010 GT, Bluetooth worked for music until I changed phones (both old and new phone were android). So I believe this is a phone software or settings issue rather than nav system issue. Having said that, I'm still keen to see if people upgraded to a newer system easily and what benifits they found.

Sounds awesome that you're not seeing oil consumption, did the car come with service history / receipts etc?

Don't drive it any further, tow it to a mechanic (Subaru specialist ideally, but not a dealership). Driving with no coolant or low coolant is a terrible idea, easy to ruin the headgaskets and warp heads. Shaking is a sign of misfire, driving it while misfiring could ruin your catalytic converter.

I second this, after restoration get a decent clearcoat on there . Avoid having to do it for much longer that way.

Should be able to find a low mileage one at a wrecker I'd imagine, or from someone who upgraded theirs. Just another option if wanting to avoid the dealership.

The trouble with overheating is, even if the cause is something cheap and simple, the repair can become expensive. That happens if you keep driving when you know the car is overheating, potentially causing heads to become warped and gaskets to leak. And then you have to ask yourself, if the overheating was caused by a blocked cat initially, what caused a cat to become blocked. Did an injector fail open for example That kind of diag takes time, so if you're not the one doing the work then it ends up costing.

Could not get 100% confirmation that the staggered oil seal would fit however the seller said it's likely, so I'll be trying it out. Currently discussing the option of having the turbine wheel clipped with the other eBay seller.

It's still likely that the original shop is correct, headgasket leak. However I don't see why you'd replace the engine, just have a shop pull that engine and get the heads machined properly. Change all gaskets while the engine is out. If you just get another motor, you cant be sure that it won't start leaking.

So good news and bad news... The bad news is that while installing the billet comp wheel, I've managed to over torque the compressor nut and it snapped the tip off the turbine shaft. The good news is I'll be ordering a better replacement: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/202736071776 I have also reached out to an eBay seller to see if they have a suitable staggered turbine oil seal similar to this: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322160568229 As there is some indication of low mileage leaking turbos and this staggered seal would mitigate that. https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2755557 Also I have attached a pic of how the wastegate actuator is now mounted. I will continue other work on the car while I wait the many weeks for shipping of the items...

I've tried this method on the gen 4 I owned, did not work out. Still had a small headgasket leak and basically ended up pulling the engine right after. Learned from that mistake and when I did the job on my 5th gen, took my time pulling the engine and made sure to send the heads to a machine shop to be properly resurfaced. Also I've read that you really should avoid breathing aluminium dust. Let the machine shop deal with that.

When I had headgasket failure and overheating, it also lead to a misfire. After I rebuilt the engine and had it back together, the misfire remained. Turns out one of the injectors failed. I believe the failed injector and rich condition also lead to a melted cat. Hopefully you don't have that type of luck.

Curious what oil filter you are using after the relocation? I've got the derale kit, looks like Fram PH8A is suggested. Not sure if that's good in terms of relief valve pressure compared to the Subaru filter ? Bit of an update, I've fitted the intercooler and piping. Mamba Billet wheel arrived in the mail for the mgt2259s . Hoping this is the final time I need to pull the headers off the car before I can drive it. Still need to decide what to do about my exhaust system.

Id agree this would be the best way forward. In the past when I had a small headgasket leak, I would keep driving it and check coolant levels often. Eventually a small leak would become a big leak and I'd take care of the headgasket job at that point. Would end up driving for a year before it got too bad.

Interesting, looks like that tsb is relevant to other cars with the 5eat, for example: https://www.sb9t.com/threads/hard-downshift-when-slowing-down.1806/ I have the 3-2 downshift bang on my 5th gen 5eat. I was under the impression it was due to a failing turbine speed hall effect sensor. Might have to ask about that tsb and the TCU update when I go in for next.

Test fit the FMIC and piping. Going to need to order some more silicon couplers and likely move the battery to the boot.

I don't see anyone making one for the vf54 flange personally, because if the unicorn status. But yes, that would be an option, maybe if you have a mate with some welding skills. Then you could cut the flange off and weld on the T3/T4/v-band flange.

Injectors are relatively cheap and easy to install compared to a turbo. I'd say do it justice and upgrade the injectors, don't just work around it. Injectors don't do well when they are close to 100% duty .

Sounds like a blocked / melted cat to me. That would make things quiet and put you down on power. If you flash the stock tune and it's still quiet and slow, I'd suggest finding a test pipe of some sort.

Just checking, so you went with the latest version (48.99) or one of the older ones?

Sorry for the lack of updates, it was summer in Australia and I was enjoying riding my motorbike too much. With the lockdown happening I'm getting back into the garage to finish projects, starting with this one. Intercooler piping arrived but will take some time for me to fit/modify as it's not designed for this car (GDA/GDB wrx kit). If it makes fitting the pipes easier I may rotate the intake manifold. Doing that might mean I install billet fuel rails while I'm there kind of deal. Updates will come ... EDIT: Looks like KillerB now sell just the flange adapter from the FA20 header to T4 and T3 as a separate item: https://www.killerbmotorsport.net/subaru-fa20-to-t4-twin-scroll-turbo-adapter.html https://www.killerbmotorsport.net/subaru-fa20-to-t3-twin-scroll-turbo-adapter.html Pricey but great upgrade path after the MGT2259s reaches potential limits. External Wastegate Ports I believe open up a decent restriction.

I wouldn't be against going standalone if I had to. Currently my car runs a modified rom from a 2011 manual WRX sti. I feel like that might help in this situation. Would be nice to know more, but also don't mind messing around with it.