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finsta's 2007 specB


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I figure this thread is long overdue. I'm mostly a lurker on these forums but I decided it was time to make a thread detailing my adventures and thoughts.

 

In 2016, I decided I was done with driving automatics and wanted a car more exciting than a 1997 Camry V6. I started looking around in my area for Legacy GTs and Outback XTs as a first manual car. Initially, I wanted a 2007-2008 Forester XT. I still have a sweet spot for them. I was disappointed with what I found in Quebec so I started looking west. Eventually, I found this 2007 specB with 17100 km or 10620 miles. Car was never winter driven and an older fellow was the sole owner. I flew out and scooped it up pending an inspection.

 

The car had (and still does) have the protective wrap on the door scuff plates and had some plastic elsewhere. The snag about this car is that there is wear on it. The paint on the car has many rock chips as it was flat towed behind an RV. This also means that the mileage of 17100km that I got the car with is motor only, I have no idea how much mileage the transmission has seen in neutral. Several surfaces in the interior are scuffed. In addition to that, one of the bolsters on the driver's seat is worn. Me being extremely anal, I wish to fix this up in the future. How I go about and proceed to do so, I have no idea but I'll be discussing this and seeking advice in these forums especially since this is my first car I'd like to work on myself.

 

My plans for this car are to "restore" it to it's former cosmetic self and to make it a sleeper daily (stage 2/3, looking to keep things stock motorwise).

 

Notable work done on car so far: (Last updated on Feb 23/2021)

  • Recalls: brake, Takata and air pump (Winter 2017)
  • Double DIN stereo install with Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX (Spring 2020)
  • STI v7 Wheels with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 (215/50/17) for winter, BBS 5x100 v8 STI wheels with Pilot Sport 4 (235/45/17) for summer.
  • Brembos, all four corners with Hawk HPS 5.0 pads and Centric rotors. Powdercoated Prismatic Powders Illusion Lime Time
  • Invidia Catless downpipe with added High Output G-Sport by GESi Catalytic converter
  • Removed front and rear tow hitches and associated wiring.
  • IAG AOS, Street v3
  • DW65c Fuel Pump
  • Rebuilt VF52 from TurboPartsCanada with billet compressor wheel upgrade, clipped turbine shaft, wastegate actuator porting, upgraded flapper, upgraded 14psi wastegate actuator
  • Group N pitch stop
  • Grimmspeed TMIC
  • Getadomtune Cylinder 4 cooling mod
  • Group N pitch stop
  • Whiteline control arm bushings
  • Custom Varex Catback by Make Automotive, controller made by yours truly
  • EDM Rev D-F center console with swapped red LEDs to match
  • Remote starter, I've never had one but find it useful in northern winters (Winter 2018)
  • Raceseng Spherology shift knob and Redline Goods shift boot black leather with matching blue stitching (Spring 2018, updated in 2020 for EDM interior)
  • Tuned by Uptown Autosport , at 314whp, 323 lb-ft.

 

Future plans and hoarded parts:

  • JDM Rev D-F facelift swap, have the parts, waiting for better weather. (Front end, USDM Rev D-F rear, power folding mirrors)
  • Whiteline swaybar kit + Rear swaybar reinforcement
  • Full repaint. Unfortunately, given the state of the paint, this will be necessary since Montreal winters are not kind and just about every surface has tons of rock chips that are either starting or will begin to rust.

 

At the time of writing this, the car has 73800km. My weekly work commute is a bit shy of 70 miles weekly.

 

None the less, welcome!

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Edited by finsta
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Has the timing belt been replaced yet? It should be done at 10 years.

 

Others will say flat towing is not good for these cars.

 

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ilh/vacation/

 

The service manual may help.

 

Find a good upholstery shop, they can repair the seat. A body shop may know a good shop.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Has the timing belt been replaced yet? It should be done at 10 years.

 

Others will say flat towing is not good for these cars.

 

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ilh/vacation/

 

The service manual may help.

 

Find a good upholstery shop, they can repair the seat. A body shop may know a good shop.

 

When I had the car inspected in 2016, I was told the belt is still good. I'll be looking into it this week. Max Capacity, my door cards are kinda in rough shape, would it be possible to fix the plastic or am I hunting for new door cards as well?

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Junkyard door cards, or try and find a "part out" that someone is selling parts from there car.

 

Previous owner must have been a big person. I have to watch getting into my drivers seat too. I can feel my jeans rubber that part every time.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Junkyard door cards, or try and find a "part out" that someone is selling parts from there car.

 

Previous owner must have been a big person. I have to watch getting into my drivers seat too. I can feel my jeans rubber that part every time.

 

He is a portly individual, he had some pretty nice cars including a Continental GT, XKR and a new (at the time) Escalade. In terms of the leather, I found a few places that patch up leather like Insides (not the best of names, http://insides.ca/interieur-de-vehicule/?lang=en ) and Fibrenew but no actual upholsters.

 

Max Capacity, what's your take on the catted vs catless debacle? Your power goals is what I'm looking for. I'm veering towards catted because I want less noise and don't particularly want the fumes.

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If I had to do it over again, my wagon would have a catted DP. My Spec B does. Mainly because I have to put the stock DP back on every 2 years to pass emissions test visual.

 

The Spec B passes the visual test. I don't think there's enough HP difference to make a real difference between a catted and catless DP. Not race car.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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  • 2 years later...

Hey everybody, looooong time bump. A lot has happened since:

  • I acquired a set of '04 to '07 STI Brembos. Powdercoated them Prismatic Powders' Illusion Lime Time. Rebuilt them: new pistons, Brembo seals, Centric rotors, HPS pads and Goodridge stainless lines. I plan on putting them on next week. For those curious, I went with Kartboy adapters, KNS parking brake shoes and AC Delco parking brake hardware.
     
  • Acquired a VF52, was told it didn't have shaft play... It did. I had it rebuilt somewhat locally (I know JmP does good work). Went and got a little carried away with upgrading it: billet compressor wheel, new and clipped turbine shaft, ported wastegate + flapper upgrade and lastly, upgraded wastegate actuator. Will be putting it on in a few weeks along with a Grimmspeed intercooler, DW65c fuel pump, IAG Street AOS and a Cobb EBCS.
     
  • After much debilitation, I decided to weld in a cat into my Invidia downpipe. I went with a GESi G-Sport as it seemed promising. I was tired of being anxious and there's more of a crackdown here. Did a retune with Dave @ Cryotune.
     
  • Following the cat welding, I went one step further. I was running a Q300, sold it and had a full custom catback made with two Varex mufflers thanks to the help of the fine gents at MAKE//Automotive. I wasn't too happy with the Varex controller so I designed my own. I 3d-printed a switch holder to go in the place of the AUX jack. Power is tapped from the cigarette lighter that was there and is now replaced by the USB plug. Finished it off with some 3.5 inch tips that are 5 degree slant cut.
     
  • Did an HID retrofit, using the Morimoto H1 Retroquik kit. Put in 4500K bulbs, Pivot accent switchback LEDs for DRLs. Blacked out the headlights and the grille too.

 

I got a few more things being worked on, and lastly: thanks to tysparks81 and Dave @ Cryotune for putting up with my constant questions.

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Damn nice.. those lights are hard. I always think the subaru OEM lights are way to dim. I need to pull the trigger on that one of these days.

 

Pls update with how you like the Brembos once you have them installed.

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Damn nice.. those lights are hard. I always think the subaru OEM lights are way to dim. I need to pull the trigger on that one of these days.

 

Pls update with how you like the Brembos once you have them installed.

 

The Retroquik works nicely, my only complaint is just that the wiring inside of the headlight needs instructions but after a little bit of thinking, it was resolved. Just make sure you get all the extra harnesses, they do come in handy. All you need is a heat gun (prefer this over an oven, especially if you're using a third party light like TYC where the plastic melts, ask me how I know...), drill with stepper bit and a Philips screwdriver. For the longevity of your HIDs if you have a pre-facelift car, you should disable DRLs and if you want, wire in other lights somehow. That's why I put in those LED strips.

 

Facelift headlights use the high beams for DRLs so it's not a big issue but the pre-facelift cars use the low-beams at a reduced voltage so the ballasts will not work properly. I actually killed a cheaper Hylux ballast because of that. It would flicker at times then eventually stopped working and became a paperweight.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I got the Brembo swap done. Went with the Kartboy brackets and the parking brake shoes. I preferred the idea of being able to just use 2004 STI parts if/when the brakes need a service and not have to worry about hunting down specialized rotors. Also tossed in a master cylinder brace.

 

This was particularly annoying but not for reasons that were foreseeable. The guy who powdercoated my calipers blocked off one bleeder on two calipers because apparently they would not come out. I tried as well with no luck. So we had issues bleeding the brakes. Then on top of that, the flange nuts for the brake lines would not budge since I wanted to do stainless steel lines. Wound up bringing the car to somebody I know who is a former Subaru dealer tech and opened up a drift car shop to finish it up.

 

Apparently, one of the rear calipers did not have enough surface area for the crush washers to sit so he had to machine it. Torched to get the flange nuts off. Car runs but I do get speed dependent metal on metal noises, that go away when the brakes are pressed. Any thoughts? I followed Hawk's break in procedure for the pads so I'm thinking either one of the calipers is sticking or some material needs to be shaved off of the pad?

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Do you make sure the pads slide freely in the brackets ?

 

I have found that I need to grind down the tabs on the pads to allow them to slide freely. Also put a little brake grease on those tabs. 3M makes some silicone paste for that. Amazon for like $7.00

 

 

 

That third picture, the right front, is that pad hitting in the correct position on the rotor ?

Edited by Max Capacity

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Max Capacity to the rescue! I'll take a look later tonight and report back. I have some Permatex silicone ceramic brake grease that I used when reassembling, would that suffice? And by the tabs, you mean the ones that have the pins going through? And if so, should I be grinding the inner or outer portion?

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Yeah...on Normal pads they are more a tab style. but on These pads, yes, make sure the pads slide freely on the pins that go in those holes.

 

What about the contact/ware showing in the picture of the right front ? It's looks like the pads are hitting low on the rotor, not more centered.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Yeah...on Normal pads they are more a tab style. but on These pads, yes, make sure the pads slide freely on the pins that go in those holes.

 

What about the contact/ware showing in the picture of the right front ? It's looks like the pads are hitting low on the rotor, not more centered.

I found my issue. Friend and I took off the front left wheel, bolt to the hub was in on angle and crossthreaded. The caliper was pretty much moving while driving and especially when turning right. Going to call the shop and ask them to helicoil it and put in a new bolt. We ugga-dugga'd (think caveman) the bolt in enough so it won't rattle as much.

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One of the four bolts in the Hub was messed up.

 

I'm thinking if the Hub was not tight and allowing movement, it might be smart to replace it...?

 

Fix me now or fix me later... Not sure where you live, but Winter is a short time away...if/when its going to fail, what's the worst time it can happen...?

 

Make sure you use anti-seize compound on all threads.

Edited by Max Capacity

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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One of the four bolts in the Hub was messed up.

 

I'm thinking if the Hub was not tight and allowing movement, it might be smart to replace it...?

 

Fix me now or fix me later... Not sure where you live, but Winter is a short time away...if/when its going to fail, what's the worst time it can happen...?

 

Make sure you use anti-seize compound on all threads.

I hear you, I'm in Canada so yeah, winter's surely coming. It was one of the two M12x1.5 bolts that attaches the caliper to the hub. You think the hub itself is done?

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Oh, the caliper bracket bolts. It's the Knuckle that that caliper bolts to not the hub.

 

That gets involved with the ball joint.

 

See item #2, https://parts.subaruonlineparts.com/v-2007-subaru-legacy--gt-spec-b--2-5l-h4-gas/front-suspension--front-suspension

 

Item #4 caliper bracket, https://parts.subaruonlineparts.com/v-2007-subaru-legacy--gt-spec-b--2-5l-h4-gas/brakes--front-brakes

 

If they can put a insert in, you should be fine.

 

I can get you pictures if you want, earlier today I pulled the front calipers off my Spec B, its currently on jackstands in the driveway.

 

I have four stuck caliper pistons. NAPA is getting me two new remans later today.

Edited by Max Capacity

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Oh, the caliper bracket bolts. It's the Knuckle that that caliper bolts to not the hub.

 

That gets involved with the ball joint.

 

See item #2, https://parts.subaruonlineparts.com/v-2007-subaru-legacy--gt-spec-b--2-5l-h4-gas/front-suspension--front-suspension

 

Item #4 caliper bracket, https://parts.subaruonlineparts.com/v-2007-subaru-legacy--gt-spec-b--2-5l-h4-gas/brakes--front-brakes

 

If they can put a insert in, you should be fine.

 

I can get you pictures if you want, earlier today I pulled the front calipers off my Spec B, its currently on jackstands in the driveway.

 

I have four stuck caliper pistons. NAPA is getting me two new remans later today.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

So, I've acquired all the pieces for a Euro/JDM interior swap. Going to through with it soon. The teal backlit cupholders are a nice touch but I prefer to keep things uniform with the backlight, so I swapped out the LEDs. That was an interesting time figuring out the wiring:

 

I got the parts from Europe and then went and got the cupholder/wiring harness from Buyee and Japan. I wanted to keep things as original as possible but the harness had only one connector. After much looking, I found the connector, being a Yazaki 7183-8049. The unfortunate thing is that the connector is very likely end of life and nobody supplies it. Hell, I couldn't even find a knock off from AliExpress/Alibaba. The other issue was that the mating connector on the LEDs is actually built into the housing. This required some drilling for the wires to pass through since only the tabs have holes to poke through. A little sloppy machining and all is well.

 

I'm hoping to do the interior swap this week. I got matching Redline Goods parking brake boots, shift boots and armrest covers in black leather with blue stitching to match the seats and door cards.

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2 Questions:

 

 

What remote starter did you install and does it have the safety mechanism?

 

 

How much did the powercoat cost on the calipers? My car has the same but it looks like the owner who installed it, painted them black. I would like do get them done in red.

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2 Questions:

 

 

What remote starter did you install and does it have the safety mechanism?

 

 

How much did the powercoat cost on the calipers? My car has the same but it looks like the owner who installed it, painted them black. I would like do get them done in red.

 

Lgts have a neutral position sensor so just about any remote start can be wired to not start while in gear with a little wire wizardry.

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https://www.amazon.com/VHT-ESP731000-Brake-Caliper-Paint/dp/B000CPJLVC

 

Just paint them.

 

You may be able to find colored calipers from online parts places. I thought I saw some place in the past sold them.

Edited by Max Capacity

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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2 Questions:

 

 

What remote starter did you install and does it have the safety mechanism?

 

 

How much did the powercoat cost on the calipers? My car has the same but it looks like the owner who installed it, painted them black. I would like do get them done in red.

 

Hey there. The remote starter itself is a Compustar unit and the RF portion is called MyStartPlus. In Quebec and Ontario (Canada), there's a wireless network setup so I can either remote start from my phone (no use of LTE in the car) or the OEM fob. Cost about $450 CAD.

 

Regarding the powdercoat, I had only materials cost. I'd figure the cost would also be dependent on if you pre-disassembled and sandblasted them.

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Alrighty, so here's my post about the interior swap:

 

The parts all came off a European car in Romania. First thing I did was remove all the parts from the inside. Some had to go back on, which I will detail in a bit. Once all that stuff is removed, the bracket that holds the console and parking brake cables was switched over. The center console bolts to the car from the sides, instead of just straight down through the center console cubby. There are two little caps that cover the screws.

 

I then went right to left. I received a glovebox backing (the inner black plastic bit where the manual would be held in the glovebox, and where the glovebox itself attaches to) and tried to put it on. It would not fit, the European Legacy does not have these two mount points that are welded to the crossmember that runs behind the dash. So, I kept the original piece in because it mounted fine. This, however, proved a bit problematic. Since I have a 2007, I don't have any of the facelifted interior trim with the silver bits so I wanted to use the glovebox that came with the European bits. Unfortunately the mounting is entirely different. As the car sits right now, there is no glovebox because I had to source one from eBay. In the images I posted, the original USDM one is on the left and does not have those snap-in clips. From the front though, the USDM ones are identical minus the handle which has a lock, which I'll have to transplant from my original one to the newer one. The European one has some felt inner lining and no weights added, the USDM one certainly "feels heftier".

 

Center plastics and the console all pretty much just bolt up, no issues there. Bolt in the console, attach the cigarette lighter/ashtray assembly. Place the shift boot then the parking brake boot. Done. The right silver plastic trim pops out a little, I would like to figure out how to resolve that. It for sure has to do with the double DIN kit. At one point as well, I'd like to see if it's possible to boost the brightness of the air conditioning display. I'll have to tinker with that at some point...

 

Onto the driver's side. Once I transplanted the switches into the new piece, I then attempted to mount it. The USDM cars as well have a big metal plate behind the trim piece, held in by two 12mm bolts/philips #2 screws. I had to remove this plate to mount the trim. I suspect as well, the regular USDM facelifted trim has this piece as well. Lastly, reuse the piece with the OBD2 port under the steering column. Voila, done. For the people wanting to do this, the facelifted USDM interiors have less stuff to remove for sure. I may wrap the silver pieces because they're a little discolored and I have the shifter ring and cupholders in the darker gun metal metallic that came on the tbSTI and S402 trims, so I'd like to match those. I got a new shift boot, parking brake boot and armrest lid cover from Redline Goods. I accidentally touched them with a bit of glue on my fingers when sticking them on the plastic pieces so there's some shiny bits. I'll likely go and replace those in time and be a little more cautious when doing so.

 

For facelifted interiors, all you need is just the center console, parking brake boot, shift boot, ashtray/cigarette piece below the AC, the silver side pieces and the black plastic side pieces.

 

For non-facelifted interiors, you'll need a USDM facelift glovebox and either the USDM driver's side trim or the Euro one and remove the metal plate as well.

 

In regards to the cupholder lighting, if you get a JDM SI-Drive switch off of JapanParts, there is an extra connector for one of the LEDs in the cupholders (there's two, one on each side). I snipped it off and put a Molex Mini Fit Jr. connector and then hardwired the two cupholder LEDs to a mating connector. The lights are dimmed with the dimmer switch because the extra connector is tapped to the SI-Drive switch backlighting from the factory and provided a nice clean way to power the lights. Originally, I was going to run a tap but not needed.

 

Shout out to tysparks81 for hearing me out when I had a few doubts and being patient. Hope this helps for anybody looking to do the swap.

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Edited by finsta
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