motorbreath

So I have finally gotten around to starting on stage 1 of the build. However, given all that is going on in my life and my experiences doing relatively simple stuff with the car, I am looking into having a local shop specializing in Subarus do most of this work.

I have contacted several local shops, one of which responded immediately that they could not help me because I prefer an open source tune and they only deal with Cobb APs...is that normal?

I have dedicated winters (General Altimax Arctic), have never had a set of all-seasons that performed acceptably in snow when braking. That being said, I am going to have my parents try out Michelin's CrossClimate all-seasons once their current tires are worn-out. They are apparently pretty good in the snow compared to most all-seasons.

EDIT: My parents live in Maryland, drive in snow 2-3x per year, would not recommend anything but dedicated winter tires in Ontario

Just out of curiosity, why didn't you go with the Stoptech coated rotors? Also, do you know if any brands that offer slotted only, not drilled and slotted?

yes, i did. I chose the centric GCX elemental rotors. a good balance between price and corrosion protection. they broke in phenomenally after a quick bed-in with the stoptech sport pads.

If you think the rotors are already warped, it cannot hurt, but it's going to take more than two hard stops, and you definitely do not want to come to a complete stop. I went to an empty country highway and did 4x 40mph to 5mph in succession, as if I was bedding new pads.

If I remember correctly, I ended up doing this several times a year that my wife was frequently driving the Outback. It also wore the rear pads faster than the front ones.

Whitetiger, sounds like I could try some brakekleen.

Motorbreath, I could give it a hard stop or two, but I have a feeling it will make it worse.

I had a problem with my wife's Outback where she was driving mainly in town and was very light with the throttle and brakes. On highway trips there would be significant vibration in the brake pedal. Replaced both the pads and rotors with relatively high quality aftermarket parts, within 3 months had the same problem.

My friend is a mechanic, told me to drive it hard every once in a while. This solved the issue completely, also, was surprisingly fun given the size of the vehicle.

be sure its warped and not just pad deposits on the rotor. OE pads are usually garbage and will leave deposits if overheated.

I have a 2010 LGT, had to remove the radiator fans, piping from the turbo outlet to intercooler, and two upper coolant hoses. I am not especially talented mechanically and was able to do it, so most people should not have problems if they take their time. Getting the new timing belt on with marks aligned was frustrating, but with the cam pulley tool and a mirror, I eventually got it.

If I was doing the water pump too it would be a different story...

I can't see not removing the radiator to accomplish this what you said has peaked my interest. If I can avoid removing the radiator then saves a ton of time.

 

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That is crazy that they would not replace the idlers, I ended up doing it myself after the dealer quoted me some insane number. I did not do the water pump and thermostat, though. My understanding is that Subaru water pumps rarely fail and if it ain't broke don't fix it

I used the Continental kit and GMB tensioner, ended-up getting quite the shock when I pulled the timing belt covers off and found tons of rubber shavings. All of the small guides on the inner cover corners were digging into the existing timing belt. Readjusted all of them using the spacer tool provided for reinstallation of the main timing belt guide.

I really think this is a reasonable DIY job if you have a few evenings to work on it. I did not need to remove the radiator, only the fans, and the hardest part was dealing with all of the rusty bolts.

Anyway, I'd recommend replacing the idlers too, and it seems that's not automatically included in the job by dealers, at least by my one experience.

If I'm replacing all four corners on my 2011, do I also put the 2013-14 spec rear shocks on? And in the case of the KYBs you're buying the springs from the dealer? RockAuto does show a quick-mount setup available. From FCS?

I got the 13-14 springs from the dealer, quite cheap, but a long wait,

20380AJ10A (front) and 20330AJ10A (rear)

and KYB everything else for 13-14. I did end up needing 1" spacers for the rear for some reason, but most people did not.

Excuse a dissenting opinion, but I suggest just buying the long life Hella or Phillips bulbs and calling it a day. LED retrofits tend to be a headache and lack long term reliability of most LED systems because of poor thermal management.

I have yet to get less than 2 years from Phillips extended life bulbs and they are dirt cheap off Rock Auto.

You are correct. I put 2013 oem springs with KTB struts on my 2010. It made it WAY better, like the car should have come from the factory.

Did the same with my 2010, rides great for a daily driver.

As it is, I don't like all season tires in any capacity as they're pretty much no season tires. BUT, of them, the DWS is pretty much the only one I'd buy if I were forced.

Agreed, but I have heard good things about the Michelin Cross Climate tires for occasional snow. Being in Canada, I'll stick with dedicated summer and winter tires, but for mild climate that we infrequent snow, they might be ok.

I have been using General tires for almost a decade, they perform very well for the price and the only drawback I have found is that they are a bit louder than other tires. So far I only have experience with their winter and all season tires, but I am a few weeks away from ordering their summer performance tire (G-MAX RS).

HOWEVER, if you want an awesome set of tires for a mix of occasional track use and weekend driving, Yokohama AD08Rs have treated me well in the past (2001 2.5RS).

I've personally also noticed that both my old 2.5i and current LGT have heavier steering than a lot of other cars, but this is a good thing imo, gives better steering feel. I think a lot of cars these days have overboosted power steering and you end up losing the connection to the road.

I just flushed my power steering fluid, hasn't done much for my noisy PS pump, but the steering has become noticeably lighter!

Thanks for the info did u fab ur skid plate or is this something that’s purchasable? Does it create more in cabin noise from the exhaust? I’d also wonder if salt would get trapped up in it and slowly..

I purchased both skid plates from Primitive Racing, both without any cutouts for oil filter etc. Stuff still gets into that area of the engine, but I also spray the underbody at least once a week with water. I do not have pictures of the Outback, sold it a few years ago, but I'll post some of my 2.5gt later this week.

With my previous Outback and current Legacy, I removed most of the heat shielding and added an aluminum skid plate.

Thanks that puts my mind at ease

 

 

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HPS intake, Nameless Axleback Exhaust, SSD FSB, Cusco RSB, 20mm rear sway bar, Voxx 18” rims, Infinity Kappa system,

More to come...

That works similar to the hub slide puller, in that it bolts to the lug studs. Yea, I pulled the hub in half doing that! No worky!

I think (and hope!) that is less likely to happen with the hub buster, it pulls out AND down simultaneously, not straight out, so there should be a decent amount of force keeping the two sides together. I'll let you know when I start replacing bearing assembles

Got a link to that buster?

Here it is,

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Removal-replaces-Tools-compatible/dp/B0885XWFWG/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hub+buster&qid=1616239771&sr=8-3

You might need to get M12x1.25 nuts with larger washers, there are several YouTube videos demonstrating its usage. In a few of them it doesn't work, but mostly it does, mostly...

Paid a lot more than you guys for the rear driver's side bearing in my 14 FXT. I got most of the bearing off myself, but not the outer hub assembly. It was so rusted in there, nothing I did would make it budge. I had a local indie bust it out and install the new one. If I have to do another bearing I'll let them charge me book and eat the rest. Total waste of my time trying to get it out.

 

 

"four bolts and it's out," they said. "SUPER easy to do on Subies," they said....

I haven't done one yet, but there is a tool called the Hub Buster that I'm going to buy, bolts to the hub and let's you whack it with a sledge hammer until it comes off... might need an alignment after, though

I work in Waterloo! A cruise sounds good once the weather warms up!

On another note, do you have any experience with Autologix in Kitchener?

Our wheel opening arch out as they go higher, flush at the top means more roads debris get kicked up. My 2.5i with WRX wheel ended up with chips in the paint. My 12 has scratch in the paint when I bought it and it is likely from the prior owner who used spacers. Making it look good may have addition consequences.

Hmm, I'll keep this in mind, so far I am having a hell of a time finding spacers in-stock from reputable manufacturers, so I have some time to think.

I am thinking about buying wheel spacers, running stock wheels and brakes my understanding from several other posts in the forum is the minimum would be 17mm in the front and 20mm in the back to bring front and rear flush.

I am thinking about getting the Ichiba version 2 hubcentric spacers, any thoughts?

There's enough complaints about it across all the Subaru forums that it raises a red flag for me. Also talked about it with my mechanic as I felt failure at ~30k miles was unusual. Probably couldve made Subaru replace it, but then I run the risk of it failing again prematurely. I'm fortunate enough to be in a spot where the cost is a minor annoyance and the lost time of having to take my car in is more of a setback than the money involved in the repair.

Failure at ~30k is definitely unusual, but from my family's experience with 6 different Subarus (2 Outbacks, 2 Imprezas, 1 LGT, 2.5RS) all over 100k miles on their original wheel bearings.

We predominantly drive on highway and in rural/suburban areas, so maybe that has something to do with our positive experience.