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Dont bother repacking the struts with new grease it doesnt work, you will pend two hours doing it only for the problem to return a week later. It will also fail an MOT if the wear can be felt so that being the case the car is not fit for purpose and the struts should be changed under the warranty you have.

Cheapest option would be a short block from the newest low mileage car you can find. Plenty newage STI's being broken on scoobynet. Put your own heads on, assuming they are ok, and away you go. To forge a standard P1 block would be madness. Next option CDB and the best crank, pistons and rods you can afford.

Cool worked out well then. Although the synchro's in the early 6-speeds are rubbish Might be interested in one of your front hawkeye shafts or both if they are cheap

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-HAWKEYE-5-SPEED-GEARBOX-44000-MILES-/280447294266?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item414bf61b3a Not worth that price as their prices are always high but gives you an idea.

oops you also need the 6 speed starter and the 6 speed gearbox mount so prob best to just get the gearbox cradle thrown in which will have the mount fitted to it.

Very surprised you have been quoted "silly money" for a hawkeye WRX box as they go for silly cheep money due to the different clutch set up, they have a pull clutch. Think there is a lad on scoobynet been trying to sell one for a while and cant shift it because of the clutch scenario. What is the code of your box?. From memory I think they are TY754VG6AA or 7AA. The problem is that I think the 6AA is the normal pull set up but the 7AA is def the opposite push clutch set up. If you are lucky you will have the push clutch as these boxes go for around £200 - 300 as they are a pain to retrofit to pull clutch cars. Can you check the code on your current box, also try and see if there is is a round plug with a 6mm allan key slot on the box, this is located on the LHS of the box just forward of the starter. If there is no plug then you have a pull clutch gearbox. If you are changing the box coz you def want a six speed then i would suggest you get a UK 6 speed which uses a 3.54 rear diff. That way you can retain all your rear running gear (hubs, shafts etc) as 3.54 R160 diffs are easily available, all newage bug and blobeye WRX's use this rear diff. This would mean you would only need the gearbox, front shafts, clutch slave cylinder, flywheel and clutch, linkage and propshaft and an R160 3.54 rear diff. If you go down the route of using an R160 rear diff you need to redrill the diff flange as the 6 speed prop uses a different PCD, easy job which takes about 10 mins.

What were the water temps? What ECU?

I would have a sniffer check done to be on the safe side if it is worrying you. I had similar symptoms recently in my RA and it was an airlock, no matter how hard I tried i could not clear it using normal methods. In the end I filled the radiator and block by doing the following, I removed the top radiator hose from the block water cross over pipe but left it attached to the top of the radiator, I then put a spare top hose onto the water cross over pipe. I then filled the block using the spare hose as the filling point and filled the radiator using the top hose fitted to it. Then removed the spare top hose and reconnected the top hose to the water cross over pipe it then bled up as normal. It is possible that the thermostat has stuck closed, does the temp come up from cold very quickly?. When the car is up to temp does it cool down when the fans come on and the fans cycle on and off? When the car is up to temp is the top hose rock solid, it should be a little bit hard to press but not obviously solid and hard to press? I would suggest trying to fill the system as above and seeing how you get on.

Decent pads as well used them for a season on Subaru 4 pots. Do tend to crumble at the edges but a capable road and occasional track use.

You cant go wrong with PF Z rated pads as for discs you get what you pay for. Give Alyn at AS Performance a ring and get some quotes and advice.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-PC-LOCKING-WHEEL-NUT-REMOVAL-SOCKET-SET-/300382336564?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item45f02eb634 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sealey-Locking-Wheel-Nut-Removal-Sockets-1-2Drive-SX201-/230376968170?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35a3898fea you may be able to get these at some motor factors, not sure if machine mart stock them.

Wow this is better than the banter on my project thread

Plan ahead as it will prob fail an MOT as the movement can normally be felt.

Greasing the struts doesnt work. It will help for about 1-2 weeks then the knock will come back, its wear in struts. The only thing worth checking is that there is no wear in the rear top mounts and that everything is tight at the top mount.

A cosworth belt on a road car running almost normal power is not worth it, a gates belt is more than adequate.

The fact that it is an import does reduce its value and can in some cases increase insurance costs. As Grieg mentioned above there are also some items that are standard on UK cars that are not on the imports.

Ciaran you may have some issues with that exhaust location depending on what you are looking to use the car for.

This was only a matter of time, I thought every time I went down that road that it was ripe for an easy money generation trap.

20G is an awesome turbo on a road car although you will be entering the upper limits of your gearbox. I personally would not go the ported standard headers route you will regret not fitting a decent set of tubular headers if you do.

I have a set of Rota Torques which have survived the Stevenson test so no worries here.

why not see what it costs to activate the tracker and what it costs monthly for the tracker. You can then work out if its worth having the tracker activated to get the reduced premium, you might end up paying about the same both ways but have the advantage of an active tracker.

As dark says worth a try, its the most commonly fitted tracker.

Most trackers wont transfer the lifetime subscription to the new owner. Worth contacting them and asking otherwise you will be around £11 a month for it.

What areas does he cover and price to fit 4 tyres and balance?

mmm water pump?