motorbreath

I am too busy with work so I had my mechanic friend install the transmission mount and the cross member pads. He also changed the transmission and rear diff fluids with the super special Subaru stuff. The stock transmission mount was gone, the solid mount feels absolutely great and really firms up the drivetrain. I should have had this done when I had the ACT clutch installed...penny wise pound foolish, I guess!

I currently have Mevotech control arms in the front, replaced when I had my front subframe replaced. So far so good, but I only have 15k km on mine so far. I went with Mevotech because they also sell an adjustable rear ?link?, so now I can get both camber and toe within specs in the rear. I'll need to replace the inner and outer tie rods soon, so just considering my options.

I have a shroud from the WRX TMIC kit that I need to modify, but it should direct air to the TMIC well, I just need to get to it.

I did an oil change today, which is a little trickier now that I have 3-port BCS installed. I also need to start cleaning up my engine bay, any ideas for a replacement guard for my serpentine belt?

Does anyone have any experience with Moog? I have used them in the past with my old Jeep, looks like I need inner and outer tie rods soon...

That makes alot of sense, I'll definitely try removing the salve cylinder and clamping it the next time I bleed it. Regarding a pressure bleeder, I am a bit nervous about them since if you do something wrong you can dump hydraulic fluid everywhere.

I never thought of using a one-way valve, but that is a good idea. What confused me was that if I tried to follow the procedure in the service manual, air kept getting in the slave cylinder. Using the vacuum bleeder without the pedal depressed seemed to be the only thing that worked. I am not sure what I did wrong, but I am pretty confident that I bled the system with the vacuum bleeder, very good clutch pedal feel and I can even double clutch now which also helps shifting into first while in motion. I sometimes have to do this in traffic because second gear is pretty high for crawling along (or I'm doing something wrong!).

I just completely drained the system to do the clutch damper delete. I also has some black residue at the bottom of my clutch fluid reservoir. I cleaned it out and used a combination of a vacuum bleeder and my wife pumping the clutch pedal. This was my first time bleeding the clutch hydraulics on any car, but I found it extremely difficult. First I tried a method I was told would work, have someone depress the clutch pedal and while is is depressed bleed from the slave cylinder bleeder until no air bubbles are observed. This didn't work for me. What seemed to work was leaving the system at rest, no depression of the clutch pedal, and just letting the vacuum bleeder do its thing for 2-3 reservoir volumes of hydraulic fluid. I am not sure if the system is perfectly bled, but I have over 200 miles driven this week and everything seems fine except for the usual issues shifting into 1st and 2nd when the car is cold. One thing that seems to help, apart from finally getting rid of the clutch damper, is to row through the gears once before taking off, getting into first is slightly easier if I do that. Like was said above, replacing the shifter bushings also makes a big difference, in my experience.

Wow, looks beautiful in your engine bay, did you have to do anything with the transmission to support the additional torque?

I already bought a solid transmission mount and Whiteline crossmember pad bushings, so I'll install those this weekend. They are easy to replace later with OEM, if NVM is much worse. Regarding engine mounts and pitch stop, you're right, it's a keeper so I'll invest in the OEM parts. After the e-tune it really is a blast to drive, especially on the highway. I do have to be careful with EGTs in 6th while cruising, but other than that it's absolutely a dream to drive.

I am procrastinating from doing more important things, I updated the initial posting to reflect that I failed with the twin-scroll kit and finished stage 2 with the stock turbo. I also finally got around to plotting the boost curves from the 3rd gear WOT pulls from my e-tune. I logged these pulls for versions 2 through 5, with version 6 being the final version and ShinjiTuned providing an alternate "low" boost version 7 that keeps boost ~18psi from 3500-4500 RPM. Version 7 is the tune I am currently running, I'll switch back to version 6 once I am ready to get the engine rebuilt some day far far far in the future

I checked online and found mixed reviews, but there were several people who found that aftermarket engine mounts listed as hydraulic were actually just regular solid mounts. I'll go with the OEM mounts, I don't want to do this job twice. I also found that you can carefully remove the upper stud of the OEM engine mount, making it much easier to remove/install. I'll have to buy a stud remover, but that isn't a big deal.

When you replaced the two side mounts, did you remove the engine arms with mounts attached, then replace and reinstall, or was there enough clearance to lift the engine a bit to replace them? The pitch stop looks easy enough (famous last words), along with the passenger side engine mount, but the drivers side looks like it will not be so fun. Regarding OEM mounts, unless I pick them up in the US, I'll be looking at almost 1000CAD for both mounts and the pitch stop from the dealer. Rock Auto has DEA/Marmon aftermarket version for 300CAD to my door, but I sold my hybrid and this is now my daily driver, so I'll spend the money if I really really need to. Thoughts?

So I have tried a few WOT runs and the MAP sensor issue seems to have gone away after replacing the MAP sensor filter and associated vacuum lines. The clutch shudder I have dealt with since getting the ACT HD clutch and single-mass flywheel installed is also gone after removing the clutch damper, I should have done this earlier! I am going to keep an eye on my PCV valve more frequently, replaced 2 years ago when I bought the car, checked it again and it seems to have failed. I replaced with a new OEM one today as well. I'll get to the transmission mount this weekend, thinking about what to do with the engine mounts...they are 12 years old so they need to get replaced, but OEM is literally a fortune!

So I just did the delete today, used my vacuum bleeder to completely remove all of the existing hydraulic fluid then proceeded to curse my way through shoving myself under the steering wheel area. Its a tight fit, in my case, but I followed the procedure and WOW, I should have done this a long time ago. I had stalled several times since I had my clutch and flywheel replaced with an ACT HD unit, along with lots of shuddering in first gear when in traffic. This is almost completely gone, there is still a tiny bit in first gear but this might be the nature of the high torque clutch. This is definitely one of the first mods you should do, especially since your clutch fluid is probably older than your first born child...

Finally did the clutch damper delete and completed flushed the hydraulic fluid in the process. I also replaced my PCV valve for the second time in 10k, the one I replaced was 1.5 years old, but seemed to be not working (used the shake-it test). The clutch damper delete is definitely worth it, but plan for 1-1.5 hours, in my case at least.

I have these on my 5th gen and another car, https://generaltire.com/tires/performance/g-max-rs decent price with decent performance, but I have not tried them on a track.

I have been suspicious of my MAP sensor readings since I had my 5th gen e-tuned last year. The readings fluctuate constantly, even while maintaining a steady engine RPM and throttle input. Before I spend the $$$ on a new MAP sensor, I am going through all of the hoses and searching for a boost leak. The obvious first thing to do was to replace the MAP sensor filter and associated vacuum hoses...which seems to have had a noticeable affect on the stability of the MAP readings! This might just be my imagination, but a super cheap thing to do, especially since I am not using the OEM shaped vacuum hoses (see the zip tie!).

So I am thankfully moving back to the area that I work in the next few months, ending over 5 years of an almost daily 2 commute (excluding when we had lockdowns). I am selling my hybrid tomorrow and my 5th gen will go back to being my daily driver. I should get around to the transmission and engine mounts in the next month, along with the clutch damper delete and checking for boost leaks. My MAP readings seem to be a bit wonky when I am near WOT, so I am also going to replace the filter on its inlet. Hopefully I do not need to replace the MAP, but it might be worth it for piece of mind.

Just an update on this, took me a while to get a DW200, which is almost exactly the same shape as the DW300. It is shorter by at least 1mm, but this is not enough to fit it into the fuel filter assembly, even with modification of the retainer bracket. Since I am not really making enough power to justify either of these, I'll have to find an OEM fuel pump so I can go ahead with the fuel filter replacement (while I'm in there, might as well replace the fuel pump since it as 120k on it). I think this thread should be updated to reflect that both the DW200 and DW300 fuel pumps are no compatible with 5th gens. I am going to contact DW about this, since they have clearly changed their pump packaging so that it is no longer compatible, but they have not updated their product literature.

Very wise, I am in KW quite frequently for work, so if you are ever in that area PM me!

I'm in the GTA

I'm no mechanic, but I think it depends how you are driving. Mainly highway miles with a reasonable driver is going to require more reasonable maintenance. Mainly city driving, or you are WOT every chance you get, then more frequent maintenance. I'm pretty hard on my vehicles so I do as much as I can myself, saves lots of money and time.

That's terrifying...I replace mine relatively frequently, thankfully. The belts are cheap and easy to replace, I usually use Continental because they consistently offer them for every car I've had, even my PHEV.

Thanks, using a DW200 might be a good solution for me since I really will not need the flowrate that a DW300 can provide. Please see the attached image, nothing much to grind away on the DW300, but from the pictures I have seen of the DW200 there should be plenty that can be removed from it. So I guess I'll order a DW200 kit and give it a shot, see if I can sell the DW300.