KZJonny

Previous problem solved. Tighten banjo fitting and clean up oily mess.

Lots of Simple Green later, and one piece of wire heat sleeve cleaned up in a TSP bath, and nothing should be waiting ot catch fire now.

There is always a "but" however, and I can't get the car to go into gear.... *sigh* I'll try just fiddling with the fork, and see if maybe it got bumped off of it's pivot during engine install, or some such, and maybe the throwout bearing is just hung up....

Ordering a trans jack right now becuase it seems like I never get things that are the easy fix. There is also a leaking seal on top of the trans that I might as well fix, and the short shifter could use a coat of spraypaint too.

Oh, and might as well throw on a set of 'blast plates' while it's out.

Be a good time to drop the diff and replace the broken cover plate too, I would think.

It'll be ready by ECM.... for sure.

43 minutes ago, SubOperator said:

Yes, exactly. I do think that Canada has 15 years rule on car imports though. If that made you feel sad, know that US has 25 years rule.

All because of rich pucks importing grey market Mercedes from Germany decades ago.

Yup, 15 years old or you have to pay a fee to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. Which, for vehicles originally BUILT FOR, but not necassarily BUILT IN the USDM, is only $325 CAD. So, we can get all the odd vehicles that you get that we do not. They just come with a freedom speedometer and no daytime lights.

Mexico is in a different category, apparently. I'll need to dig more, but one would assume it is more expensive. They've set things up for it to easy to buy vehicles from the US up here in Canada..... I don't think there are many people trying to export from Mexico. Information isn't readily available on the gov't website.

1 hour ago, oODanKNesSOo said:

 

If my up pipe is also catless, is that gonna move the needle replacing with catted?

Probably not very much. The up pipe cat is tiny….

But I have one somewhere you can have for the cost of shipping and some beer or whatever. Cat in it was fine…. @ 142k kms got swapped out for a catless one.

EDIT for clarity: I have an up pipe with cat. The DP I sold for like $700 when the market was good a couple years ago. But again, it was very low kms and in perfect health.

6 minutes 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.

Gotcha, so it would be the equivalent of importing a car from Japan, for example.

Which means in a few years (I think Canada has a 5 year limit on importing vehicles from abroad...) buying one of these out of Mexico would be markedly easier than getting a Levorg from Japan into the country. And it would already be LHD which is a big win in my books. Plus, I could more than likely just fly down, and drive it back up, the paperwork for this stuff is remarkably easy. The guy I am working with for another car charged something like $100 to do all the licenceing/import and send it to the computer people at Customs Canada. Hm....

The reason I more or less gave up on the JDM import thing for my next car was the cost and annoyance of having to LHD swap it....

Well, that isn’t what is meant to happen. Hah.

missed the passenger OCV banjo while installing everything and during the nut and bolt check.

Puked a couple litres of oil, but I was watching for something like this and shut it down right away.

Worst part is the mess and having to clean the floors now. As long as I didn’t get too much on a blanket or anything like that, it should be fine.

Lesson learned: do not install all blankets + heat sheilding until you’ve ruled out oil leaks. You won’t cook the engine bay idling the car and burping the coolant. But if this had been the turbo oil supply banjo, it would have meant taking a lot of junk off to get at it.

That touchscreen tho… this is why I’ll never have a newish car now. Or not until they stop being built with a monitor in the dash….

I have heard they’re fun to drive tho. Good to hear confirmation of that.

20 minutes ago, SubOperator said:

I'll just leave this here 

https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-is-finally-making-a-manual-wrx-wagon-for-mexico

 

Dang. That is compelling.

Guess in a few years I'll have to start looking in Mexico for used cars. One of those (kept stock) + my 4th Gen would cover all my car needs.

Is there something keeping the average American from just going and buying on in Mexico and importing it into the country?

I am 98% sure I can do that in Canada because of NAFTA, but I know you guys have different rules about these things.

1 hour ago, killjoy323232 said:

For me, if they don’t go flying across the room of their own volition, it’s because I threw it after mangling it taking it off the car 

I know what tools I’m buying next…

It's posted elsewhere but as good a time as any to mention it here if you haven't been through the thread of "Places to get useful stuff"

If, like me, you've gone from hating CT clamps because they get mangled and fling themselves recklessly into your eyes, or the farthest corner of the garage, to using worm clamps, to hating worm clamps becuase they suck, then back around to CT clamps.....

www.belmetric.com

Has a great selection of metric CT clamps. Just got an order in from them to replace a pile of the tired, rusty ones in my engine bay. Prices are FAR better than dealer, and quality is great. Lots of flashy SS metric thread bolts as well if you have gnarly, tired old fasteners everywhere too.

On 4/10/2024 at 4:04 PM, JJBerk said:

I have some pizza stuff to add to the WRX stash as well, and can make dough ahead of time and freeze and bring. Easy peasy.

Cirling back around to this.

If anyone else has any great ideas, then kick in, but I'll plan also making/freezing a few batches of dough, and I'll start shopping sales to stock up on some basic toppings and some canadian cheese. Pizza night Friday. Or every night, I don't care. There is no such thing as too much pizza.

Happy to help with whatever, but as pointed out last year, there are a few limitations on what you can bring across the border, so probably burgers or a cooler full of ground meat is likely to cause problems.

+1 to that. I don't know how I got anything done before having hose pliers.

Equally:

https://www.amazon.ca/Powerbuilt-Multi-Directional-Hose-Clamp-Pliers/dp/B08TH864JL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N2I3O3NGPLRV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hBtp0LzpyuOSd5W4wKkrKw.WoGW_2vKjsx_vfWy5ForDzCu1u8KH_U156aF9wUbNqY&dib_tag=se&keywords=647868M&qid=1715005835&sprefix=647868m%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-1

Ridiculously better than normal pliers for constant tensions clamps. Far fewer of them get either mangled or flung across the room when applying and removing.

I also picked up some Clic-R clamp pliers while doing the refresh, and while they are super helpful (practically necassary) to reinstall clic-r clamps, I wouldn't say you have to have them, by any means.

On 5/3/2024 at 2:47 PM, rhino6303 said:

Also, I think the NTK is the oem supplier for vvt actuators.

Cool. First I have heard of that. And I know others have had their issues with the company around here, but I have had zero issues with NGK/NTK stuff in the past, so that interesting in term of having a more reasonably priced option in future, if needing a pair of VVT actuators.

Maybe not super surprising tho. Look like the NTK and OE are the only 'made in Japan' ones on the list at Rockauto...

2 hours ago, killjoy323232 said:

The "new" hose (that I paid a shop an insane amount of money to replace) is twisted and damn near torn to shreds, so now, I have to find a creative way to replace that.

Ugh. Oh man, when I did a complete header to exhaust tip ‘replace everything’ job, that stupid drain hose was the worst part.

Any chance you can go back with some photos and lodge a complaint at the shop that did the work?

It’s an annoying part of the job, but selling a botched job as done for high dollars is not okay.

Won’t hurt to get some sensor cleaner and do the MAF while you’re in there.

Not likely the cause if that particular problem, but it never hurts to have it good and clean anyway.  It can hurt idle if it’s dirty.

The Moogs are pretty good. Be sure and cover them in anti seize, and grease the hell outta them once in a while.

I’ve cut a bunch of those out, and it’s not much fun. 

No more misfires?

12 minutes ago, Turbomister2 said:

Didn’t take any pictures but installed my spec b aluminum front control arms, cusco sway bar, new sway bar links, sway bar bushings, ball joints and Cusco brace. Got an alignment and enjoyed the most comfortable non clunky ride I’ve had in the car since I got it.

now I get to have the fun of trying to figure out and solve the oil leaks starting with valve cover gaskets, turbo return hose, pcv and I’ll probably swap all the turbo feed lines out with the iag braided set up and if that doesn’t clean it up probably get a new clutch kit and pull the motor and do the rear main seal 

How good is having a ride that doesn’t clunk or make noise! Hah! Enjoy!

UV dye is really cheap and may help you narrow down what the problem is?

Tho aside from the rear main seal, non of those jobs are terribly difficult and are replacing regular wear items anyway.

I rolled the dice and just took a lot of photos, then filled the trench.

It was almost a year between that and actually getting an inspection, so I didn’t feel like waiting on it, and breaking my leg one night in the dark hah!

Been done mate:

1 hour ago, Deltaking said:

I removed one of the VVTs a few moments ago and saw that it had some gasket sealant on it so I suspect they did something there as the sealant is over the entire surface which meets the block (Should have taken a photo)

Wonder if instead of installing new o-rings (which were probably knackered and seeping from age...) They instead decided that RTV was the solution. (It is not)

A good multi pack of Viton o-rings is literal dollars on Amazon. If I can find an old OCV I can take measurements of either the rings themselves or the grooves. Or just get a mixer pack and use the ones that are goldilocks.

Looks well made and thoughtfully laid out dude!

Looks like you are on a FMIC? My gut tell me this would have an effect on the air flow through the scoop for those of us on a more stock-like system? But I am especially sure what the aerodynamics under hood would do with more venting, etc..

(Admittedly, I'm not cutting up my hood for anything, but I am genuinely curious if these will significantly effect under hood temps.)

37 minutes ago, Deltaking said:

Optional thoughts of replacing:

Radiator to All metal

Don't know what your climate is like, but if you don't overheat, or run hotter than you should be with your driving style, then it's probably not worth the extra cash?

I don't remember if Koyo or Denso is OE manufacturer, but I think Koyorad is. In any case, many here have used them, and they work well. I have one, am not afraid to romp on the car, and have zero heating issues. Personal opinion, but the difference in price between a good OE style radiator and a thick core all-aluminium one is better spend on heat sheilding and just preventing the engine bay from capturing heat.

I'm willing to bet that given it's age, the foam rubber seals around your current rad have kicked the bucket, and aren't doing a great job of forcing air through, or preventing it from escaping around the sides.. This is literal dollars of new foam and some adhesive. UP turbo and DP blankets not only keep heat out of the engine bay, but help with spool. Some heat reflective metal tape in the right places prevents heat soaking the engine,TMIC,coolant lines, etc.... Do you, but preventing heat build up is better than trying to reject more heat into the atmosphere in my books.

Also, the cooling fins on a fancy expensive solid ali raditator will break down at roughly the same rate as a simple one with plastic end tanks.... So, you either have to have it re-welded or replaced at about the same age... If my $120 rad works well for me, I'd rather replace that more often when it takes stone and road damage than a $450 Mishimoto.

37 minutes ago, Deltaking said:

Radiator hose replacement

Yes. Unless you know they are new, abosolutely. OE not needed at all. Contintenal, Dayco, Gates, all good producers.

37 minutes ago, Deltaking said:

General hose replacements

Again, it's a great idea, but beware that many are not available on the aftermarket unless you are willing to go to a silicon hose set. People have preferences, but I do not like silicon hoses for application like PCV etc... OE parts are quite expensive. So... price it out and see. I ended up installing an AOS which replaced a lot of the existing hoses (and added an AOS as a bonus) So, I only ended up with a handful of hoses left to replace with new Subaru OEM ones. Some I got a bit cranky about price, and am making my own with some 5/8" fuel safe hose and stainless steel elbows. Looks just as good, lasts as long, and is a fraction of the price. (I want to say that the RHS valve cover to PCV system hose was like $75 from Subaru? 2 x Stainless steel elbows = $3.80 + 1.5 feet of 5/8" Continental emissions safe hose ~$12. Done.

If you are in a hurry, just pay for the express shipping. It'll get to SA in 6 days.

BUT, you'd still have to wait on a second one to get to them. Just sayin.

Or do as @Infosecdad suggests. Any of us would get in a set and ship them to you at your preferred speed. But, the shipping costs would be a lot higher. Rockauto must ship hundreds of packages a day, and has some of the best shipping I have ever seen from a supplier. It's shocking.

Sure, I can see that as well. I just would only use OE Subaru, so I was pointing that part out. It's at the bottom of the list. ($178)

I wouldn't personally use a "Rostra" brand vvt. I've never even heard of them.

So, you'll need to zoom on the image a little, sorry about that.

BUT, RockAuto will ship worldwide, and usually for good rates. People in New Zealand I know buy from them because they are THAT GOOD on pricing and shipping.

In this case, you can get an OE SUBARU VVT for $178 CAD + $98 CAD shipping to Cape Town. Don't know where you are exactly, so I just picked a random large city.

Now, they do not have 2 x OE at the moment, but you can request they get more, and they will. I've done this before for parts they did not have in stock at the time. Either way, add in a second VVT as you should, to replace in pairs... Total should come to something like $460 CAD. Which is along the lines of $340 USD delivered.

That is worlds away from $1400 USD each.

The shipping time may offend your method of "I want this now", but for that level of savings, it seems like a no brainer, especially if yours aren't currently failing, and this is preventative.

PS - Rock auto always has a 5% discount code you can find online for looking so, take maybe $10-12 out of that total. (No discount on shipping)

Yikes!