Talk to me about non turbo imprezas

[stuboy]

Pick up is Sunday, forecast is for solid rain there and back which is crap. 350 mile round trip setting off at 6am, should be a laugh.

4wd be fine 

[Tamworthbay]

And will we get pics?!

 

 

Of course! It is all planned out, just need a decent location on the way back to get a good woolarding pic 

4wd be fine

 

Too right, I am just pissed off its not snowing.

[Slacky]

Always liked the look & sound of these , good luck with collection

[Tamworthbay]

Not long now, my mate is due round for a small beer and route plan any minute. Then we plan to be off at 6am tomorrow.

[Bren]

Bottom end gives problems occasionally and not cheap to put right, more in respect of the blown examples.

[Tamworthbay]

All sorted now and it went without a hitch, the car was perfect, it's sat on my drive in the pouring rain. Brilliant trip and some pics taken so will do a proper collection thread as soon as I get the pics off the camera.

[Tamworthbay]

Following immense technical difficulties the collection thread is finally up:

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/21547-subaru-banana-collection-thread/

[Tamworthbay]

Why is the world so damn complicated? Having bought a car that I am more than happy with I have been offered a turbo project for sensible money. I can't have both, so do I stick with the known quantity or go for the balls out stupid turbo? Why does this always happen?

 

The few niggles on the banana have been sorted and it's going a treat, I have been transformed into a full on scooby fan. The engineering is awesome and the chassis is superb. So do I go safe yellow banana or possible bucket of trouble blood red bag of bits?

[Asimo]

Stay yellow.

N.A. always better than turbo because less bits and more money for other fun.

[Tamworthbay]

That is what my sensible side is saying, but the possibility of a turbo........ I knew I shouldn't have had a go in one.

[andy18s]

Stick some details of the Turbo up,and maybe someone will be interested..........

ahem

[Tamworthbay]

Stick some details of the Turbo up,and maybe someone will be interested..........

ahem

If I decide against I will, it's a guy in Sheffield but I don't know him personally. Looks good in the pics and he was helpful on the phone. I have decided to at least go and have a look and that way I can make a better decision and not regret it either way hopefully. It will be next weekend at the earliest before I can see it so it gives me time to think.

[Tamworthbay]

I have been to see the turbo and just couldn't resist. It needs a fair bit of bodywork but is mechanically sound (wrong way around normally). It will be a while before we can arrange for me to have it which is a pain but gives me time to sort some space. So it looks like the banana will be up for sale as soon as I get the V5 back. If anyone is interested in a limited edition (1 of 200) sport special in yellow, decent length MOT, very good runner and decent overall condition then give me a shout.

[Tetleysmooth]

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/181840/subaru-impreza-wagon-sport-macclesfield

[Tamworthbay]

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/181840/subaru-impreza-wagon-sport-macclesfield

not sure why the link? It's a 2.0 wagon with no MOT, if it's an attempt to tempt me to another project then even I could resist that one!

[andy18s]

I have been to see the turbo and just couldn't resist. It needs a fair bit of bodywork but is mechanically sound (wrong way around normally). It will be a while before we can arrange for me to have it which is a pain but gives me time to sort some space. So it looks like the banana will be up for sale as soon as I get the V5 back. If anyone is interested in a limited edition (1 of 200) sport special in yellow, decent length MOT, very good runner and decent overall condition then give me a shout.

Mmmmmm,what sort of price are we talking about ?

May be interested if I could sell on the Range Rover

[Tamworthbay]

Mmmmmm,what sort of price are we talking about ?

May be interested if I could sell on the Range Rover

I paid £1100 for it and have spent about £200 on it, if I could see somewhere near the original price I would be happy. It's not perfect but is a good solid car. I can send you some pics or you can come over and have a look if you are interested.

[Pete-M]

I've just bought myself another Impreza Turbo. Wagon this time.

 

I'd forgotten how much fun they are.

[Dave_Q]

Bumping this as I have one of these now, can anyone recommend a good Subaru forum?

 

Am more after accurate technical advice than 20 inch rimzz and spurious power claims.

[Tamworthbay]

I never found one, sadly they do attract a few muppets, but a lot of sound guys out there as well. I am still on the hunt for a decent turbo as I have been let down on a couple now. The early ones are hard to find in decent but not mint or knackered condition.

[Dave_Q]

Yeah mine is a 95 jap import wagon, have got a fred with some pics here.

 

I'd say mine is in decent condition, has a bit of previous crash damage to one corner but only had minor reversible modifications, late import (2003) so no rusty arches etc. I'm happy to say it owes me less than a grand.

 

Have a look on swapz if you haven't already, mine was from there.

[martybabes]

I've had two JDM WRXs - one was the saloon (with 260 PS) and the other was a wagon (with 220 PS).  While the saloon was very quick, the wagon was smoother in the power delivery.  When the turbo in the wagon kicked in, the surge was progressive and fast.  In the saloon, the kick was explosive and the car was a real animal.  Both were very enjoyable cars to own and drive, but the wagon was easier to handle and less frightening (think brisk exits from a roundabout in the wet).  

 

Or maybe I'm just a wimp!

[Andrew353w]

Reviving a 10 year old thread, as it's the nearest one I can find that relates to my problem, for which advice from the Autoshite community is sought:

My 2 litre Subaru Forester, now 16 years old and with 110,000 miles on the clock appears to have done something terminal, but it might not be that bad....... Last Tuesday w went en famile to  Walton-On-The-Naze, for a day out; 100 miles from Barnet, all done at 60/70/80 on the M25, A12 & A133 faultlessly. Leaving Essex I started the car & heard a terrible racket from under the car, which sounded like part of the exhaust had come loose. If I revved the engine a little the noise became less, suggesting some sort of resonant speed=exhaust baffle. Set off towards home-no warning lights on dash, fuel economy was normal. With increasing confidence I drove home as normal and the noise only returned once I slowed down on the town roads. Parked up, used the car the next day and then launched an investigation. The exhaust is fine, but the rattle is from the cam belt area. Removed off & near side cam belt covers (timing marks align) and two small ball bearings fell out. Decided NOT to drive the car until a new cam belt kit is fitted and arranged to have the car recovered on a low loader to a local garage.  

The weird thing is, The engine sounded perfectly smooth at speed, say 2K RPM+, and only rattled below this speed. I shall have the garage's verdict on Tuesday (why do these things happen on a bank holiday weekend?) but I'm wondering if the tensioner "sort of" carried on working if the revs were high enough? Have any other Subaru drivers experienced this? Mightily pissed off, as the belt's supposed to do 60,000 miles or 6 years; mine's done 59,000 miles and 5 years 10 months, having been fitted by a Subaru dealer! 

Any thoughts?

 

[Metal Guru]

What’s the consensus on Subaru timing belts? Mine (UK supplied WRX)  says 60000 miles / 5 years. American websites say 100 000 miles / 10 years. 
I got mine done every 5 years for the first 15 years, now the current one is at 7 years but only 25 000 miles. Am I wasting money getting it replaced or sitting on a time bomb?

[andy18s]

It's the quality of the various idler pulleys and bearings that are the main concern these days,not even branded seem immune to dropping a bearing early.

My last Subaru was a chaindrive so didn't need that sort of preventative maintenance.

[Andrew353w]

I checked in the car's handbook this morning & the schedule there says "66,000 miles or 84 months", and my belt was well under that when one of the pulleys failed (if that's when it is!) so I'm not overly impressed with Subaru's suggestions as to belt change intervals at the moment.

We await the garage's assessment on Monday......

Edited-TUESDAY! Bloody bank holidays! 

[Andrew353w]

My Subaru's survived! Attached are pictures of the broken parts the garage handed me after fitting the new belt, cam followers and tensioners. I've been advised by the garage staff to buy a lottery ticket this weekend, as NO-ONE has been as lucky as me-EVER! They reckon had I flicked the starter once more the engine would have been toast! Removing the main crank was a fiddle, as the usual method of a 22mm socket, a tie bar and a starter motor 'flick' wasn't possible, so the flywheel had to be locked, but they managed it. if you look at the pictures the grooves in the inner bearing are visible, together with the wear on the cog and the splits in the belt. Boy, I WAS lucky!   

I'm £500 lighter; £150 for the parts, £100 for the recovery and £250 labour + ancillaries, but the car lives to fight another day!