Zenki

Mine has an infuriating rattle between idle and about 1200 RPM. I know exactly what it is but haven't decided whether to replace or remove the offending part.

Arrow Wheels, but they're up in Auckland so I'm not sure how much it would cost you to get it couriered up there and back.

I would definitely test this if my engine bay wasn't already clean and shiny. BTW how many horsepower does a Huggies sticker add?

Aucklanders had a good weekend, had to replace a fuel pump on the way down and a coolant hose before the trip up but none of our cars left Flat Nats on trailers so pretty good show TBH.

ECUs are extremely low supply/demand items, they tend to be worthless if you're trying to sell one and horribly expensive if you're trying to buy one.

Only justifiable reason I can think of: if crank pulley bolt is sufficiently stubborn as to require application of a 3/4" drive impact wrench (have seen this once). Seeing as most workshops don't have the ability to evacuate A/C systems legally, I imagine they'd much prefer to pull motor instead.

Are you sure that the springs are actually for a V7? Best to physically take that one to a trustworthy mechanic as others have mentioned.

The system is self-bleeding to an extent like most Japanese cars. Following should suffice for you: - jack up front of vehicle (or park facing uphill) - fill system , leave cap off - turn heater on, hottest temp, minimum fan - leave engine to warm up - allow to cool - top up coolant if necessary, close cap Level in overflow bottle may drop after the first few drives, this is normal. If it doesn't stop dropping then you're losing coolant.

I personally prefer double-DIN for the OEM-ish appearance, and I also find "passenger-friendly" to be a good selling point.

If they are little metal hose barbs, they are for the transmission cooler and you can blank them off no problem.

Bump stops must be unmodified (no trimming - aftermarket replacements are OK), AFAIK.

Chiming in on adjustable suspension: If RIDE HEIGHT adjustable, requires cert. The alternative (adjustable dampers + aftermarket springs) requires some homework as you need to know your desired ride height in advance, but no cert required. It's probably not much cheaper that way, but it saves you from the hassle of having an LVV certification.

If NZ New: ask for the engine code stamped on the VIN plate (tell them "it should go EJ2 something something" and most people should be able to find it) If JDM: ask for first three characters of chassis code and Google it As far as I'm aware the EJ25 head gasket issue is only on some earlier engines. The EJ204 vs EJ253 thing is mostly a matter of market demographics - JDM is more tolerant of engines that need to be revved as they are taxed based on engine capacity. Most other markets, no replacement for displacement.

Can confirm, my line of work involves fixing pranged cars and I see horrendous excesses on a rather frequent basis.

Most factory tints are far darker than 35% VLT, NZDM BRs included.

Cheap! Continuing my pattern of working on Dairusire's RA more frequently than my own car; - replaced differential support outrigger bushings (clanking noise gone) - replaced brake fluid - rebalanced all four wheels - discovered that front wheels are bent My car: - drove it - put petrol in it (you know you're pushing it when the estimated range goes blank)

You are far more likely to be pulled over in a ratty Civic with mismatched wheels and a hole in the muffler than a tidy WRX STi.

Change oil regularly? Get one of these. (Lisle 63600) Paired with the right extensions and a 3/8" drive ratchet, it will get the spin-on oil filter off just about everything. Like this thing; (Toyota JZ - depending on the particular car, ranges from "somewhat difficult" to "I wish I had smaller arms") This thing: (Some Nissan SRs, especially in transverse FWD applications causing the filter to be stuffed into a weird space between the brake booster and strut tower - because Nissan) Especially this thing: (NA EJ253, A.K.A "burning ring of fire")

Personally avoid cork gaskets as they tend to compress over time. RTV only IMO.

"ETC kado o sonyu ****e kudasai". Literal translation: "tear me out of your car or you will be given an aneurysm". (edit: lol @ censor)

The marks are a safety net that you can "reset" the engine back to if you stuff up somehow - belt skips a tooth, accidentally turned a cam, etc etc. You can do a change without them as long as you know exactly how many degrees everything should be turned relative to everything else, but why make more work when Subaru's done it for you?

Burns it.

Hi all, I realize there aren't that many CVT owners on these forums but maybe someone will find this useful. The Lineartronic CVT is "lifetime-fill". This is technically true; as of current date availability of spare Lineartronic CVTs is questionable at best, and I'm not sure if they require a specialized procedure to reprogram after installation. Therefore the lifetime of the car is probably the same as the lifetime of the CVT. I feel that it is best to replace the fluid as a preventative measure - at least that way, if it goes it's not because it wasn't maintained. Winger Subaru stocks and sells CVT fluid so they seem to agree with me. My fluid change was done at 137,000 km. Closer to 100,000 is probably safer. There is no official service interval, because "lifetime-fill". What you need: - 10mm hex bit*; - 8mm hex bit**; - CVT fluid, approx 5 to 6 litres*** - replacement crush washer for CVT drain plug - replacement washer for CVT fill plug (optional - it's a solid washer so I didn't replace this); - pump/syringe/gun to inject new fluid - if it will fill a rear diff, it will fill the CVT. * fill/check plug, on rear end of transmission ** drain plug, bottom of transmission on black sump pan - do not confuse this with the large Torx plug, that is front differential *** Winger Subaru sells Motul Multi CVTF in 1 litre bottles. I bought 6 litres but only needed 5. As far as I am aware it is not possible to obtain genuine Subaru Lineartronic CVT fluid. Procedure: 0.5) (optional but recommended) Warm up the CVT before draining, as this will take forever if you simply leave it idling. 1) Lift the car. Vehicle must be level. 2) Clean area around plugs - you do not want sand or grit in your CVT fluid. 3) Undo fill plug. Leave in place. 4) Remove drain plug, drain CVT. Between 4.5 to 5.5 litres will be drained, depending on CVT temperature. Discard crush washer. 5) Reinstall drain plug with new crush washer. 6) Remove fill plug and fill CVT. Done in the exact same manner as a differential - fluid is pumped in until it overflows through the fill/inspection port. 7) Temporarily reinstall fill plug. 8) Start car. Cycle through transmission positions. 9) When warm, check CVT level with transmission in Park. Add more if required; torque fill plug. Notes: Motul CVTF cost me ~ $25 incl per litre, trade. The crush washer was ~$3. Don't be cheap and try to reuse it; it'll probably leak and it costs you less than a cup of coffee.

Black 160ps ones also have cam-switching but they only switch down to an economy cam instead of up to a performance cam. K24A2 (red i-VTEC) is a very nice engine, also AFAIK much cheaper than certain Type R-sourced K20 variants so a fairly popular swap. Back on topic: Changed with Castrol Edge 5w-30 because the EJ253 doesn't seem to like ZIC XQFE 5w-30 very much. Also finally replaced the crush washer; I forgot if all EJs use the same drain plug and asked Winger Subaru, who says yes - order half dozen crush washers and voila, they don't fit. Also did rear diff, CVT, and air filter. Couldn't do front diff (someone lost the T70 bit years ago and it was never replaced because the only use for one is to drain Subaru front diffs). Managed to find some blue coolant, too. Just have to do accessory belts now, which I need to buy a stretch belt fitting tool for.

Pretty much this. Sure, it'll drain... straight back into the filter... AFAIK Z436 instead of Z495 is no problemo, meanwhile Z495 tends to not fit on Subies that spec Z436 because the outer casing is much wider.