MarkJHarris

Sounds just like mine. I bought private and it had been done by "The Racing Line" up in Yorkshire somewhere. They had fitted a Walbro 255 and put the wrong one in, wrecking the fuel float in ther process then mapping it to 1.5BAR peak and fitting a crap cheapo 2.5" full exhaust. No impressed but Caveat Emptor and all that! I bit the bullet and went to The Engine Tuner, Alan, and despite the cost I now have an utterly reliable strong as an ox motor ready for whatever I throw at it. If you can back as it was modified I would consider it.

Phil, Exact same symptoms mine had. 2006 model 2.5 STi. It would drive fine normally but on full boosdt for a bit would heat up and blow coolant out. (smell of cooland and signs of coolant in the area of the expansion bottle as it sprays out under pressure. Basically. Questions. Is your car standard or remapped? Generally the head bolts on the 2.5 can take 1.0BAR of boost all day long but any more and the inherent stretch causes the heads to "lift" off the block leaking boost air into the coolant system. The HG hasn't "failed" as such only the clamping forces are insuficient due to the design of the cylinder head bolts. Once it starts it can get worse gradually. Mappers now who know wouldn't remap a 2.5 to anything over 1.2BAR to avoid this, but it can happen to standard cars too. You can drive the car normally all day long without worry. It will not be an issue. If you are concerned, for a safety margin, pull the electrical plug from the three way boost controller so the car sees full boost to the wastegate. This will soften the boost giving you a bit of margin to overtake and accelerate without reaching full boost at lower revs. The Fix is unfortunately engine out. Head studs and new gaskets and if you can budget and afford it ba forged rebuild while you are at it. Alan Jeffery Engineering in Plympton did mine and even at 1.5BAR and 350bhp I can razz about like a loony and the temp stays perfectly normal all day long now. I could put a full 3" system on and with front mount intercooler, SC46 turbo and remap, it's ready for 500bhp if I wish and the engine is strong enough, ready and willing! My heart is not though....

Or try to get the full scoop and plastic surround that bolts on under the bonnet to go with the STi top mount.

...And you wonder why Subaru as a brand is dying on it's arse nowadays.......

I have an Alpine iXA unit in my 06. Big touch screen and a proper usb input on the rear with iPod fly lead that has an adapter so I have the ipod charging/connector up by the drivers mirror. I clip my iPhone in to a cradle and it plays and charges as I drive. I can rotate it to use as an in car video camera and blue tooth connect (lord knows why when it's plugged in) as well to use as a hands free phone. I suspect my hands free mike is faulty though as it allows all the background noises but not me speaking! Unit is just an RDS radio with inputs so a changer (so old school) reverse camera, DVD player (again old school now) and proper AINET coonnections for amps, etc are there. Plenty of variation on prices now and it looks and works great. Shame the coverflow ipod functions aren't part of the software for the unit as it's a bit awkward to search for songs so I tend to unplug the phone and select on that before re-connecting. Have a good look around before you choose, and think about sound proofing as the standard speakers are crap and good ones only make the doors vibrate more!

I think you'll find they don't because the wagon is a narrow track car. if you have a Gl or other saloon with no flared arches they might, but WRX, Sport and similar use flared arches and I presume a wider track and hub position. The Sti 05 on also had different spec hubs, etc so nothing fits other non STi cars from 05 on. Cheers,

Agh! no no no. Tell him NOT split it at this stage. The order is this. 1. Remove the 10mm nuts from inside the boot lid all the way round. There are two under the bump rubbers that you can't seer and a total of 12 bolts. The spopiler will still not come out but is now held with 4 clips. Pop it up and away slowly and make sure you have undone the rear brake light connector on the boot hinge and fed it through the grommet. 2. Undo the ten screws that hold the plate under the main wing and when you release this plate the wire that runs from the left base to the right will come loose. No remove the small side plates and unbolt the upper from the lower feeding through the wire as you go. Remove the two screws and withdraw the rear brake light a bit. I don't recommend fully removing it as the wire feeds through and is a pain to put back- just lift up to fix the wrap. Reassemble in reverse. Enjoy. Do not forget the rubber

Dunno why you want it so low anyway? Lower=more roll moment=stiffer springs=worse ride and poor handling. More than 25mm from O.E. ride height will push the roll centres well down on any McPherson strutt design. I'd try the original springs again first. I bet it would handle OK. The lack of spring in a 30 profile tyre is also one of your big problems. F1 cars use 13" wheels and tall profile tyres, but you'd not catch one of them! It's all a matter of balance. Slammed and huge wheels looks good, but you pay the price. No thanks.

You can really cause a lot of damage driving around like this. Get the pipe off NOW! Or get it mapped but don't drive it around with a "I'll do it next week" thought. You probably won't have that long..... Tick Tick Tick.....

Bridgestone RE070 are awesome tyres and even half decent in th wet, despite the tread pattern would have you believe. A bit noisy but incredable grippy. No idea what they are like in warm dry conditions though, as I live in the Isle of Man.....

I think you might have just found your answer! TYRES. The Subaru is very sensitive to both tyre and tyre pressure. Crap tyres bite! Subaru as standard understeer for safety, and the car tends to sit down at the back on corners to achieve this. The STi runs a 19mm rear ARB and a 22mm is more than enough to transform the car, holding the rear corner up and putting more weight on the inside front. Where the cars really suffer is the spring rates are very soft, and the car relies on the long bump stops to assist and create a rising or two stage rate, not something the sampers have a clue how to handle. You can feel the choppiness on bumpy roads as the cars bounce on tyhe stops all the time. My STi ran a lot better on the 22mm and it now sits on the softest setting- and that's with the Sti O.E. front bar. It was the tyres that transformed mine the most- Bridgestone 070. For yours the 050 is just right.

Mine made that sound too. It was the head gaskets........

Plus you need to make allowance for ice build up if it works really well! I use my Air-con in the wet to dry out the inside of the car. I would think it's very much useful in NE Scotland too! If you want to shed weight, try a Caterham!

You just about hear the expletive as the boost comes in.....doh!

RACEROM is an ECUTEK mapping option. Martyn does a damn fine job with it too.

Plain white with your national flag on the roof- simple and clear. Then go get some sponsors to cover the rest of it!

You really need every single bolt and the plastic lugs too. Better still, and no joke, get the boot lid from the blobeye too and have it painted if needed. There are 17 holes of different sizes to be matched up perfectly. I did it for mine and was very glad I changed the bootlid too. The lock and badges are the easy bit to change!

Yes, sideways through a gravel track mid forrest! I can imaging the nappy contents as well! Nice pics!

But then the Hawkeye has isofix brackets anyway......

Strictly speaking it's not V power they have here. They apparently blend their own from normal premium unleaded. Supposed to be slightly better? Mine runs on it well enough and every Scooby I know always fills up at the Milestone on Peel road, Douglas. It's the one next to Mcdonalds on the way out of the town centre towards Quarterbridge. We use it because, with the volumes they do, it's the only one you can depend on being relatively fresh. Mark.

Drove into London tonight and apart from three tatty Evo Vlll rat cars I didn't see a single Subaru out there. Not one of any kind. Is I against the law for anyone insid the M25 to purchase a Subaru then? Also glad Mr Livingston's £200million Kengestion Charge system can't figure out IOM plates too. Tried to pay up, honest!

Stop eating then! I've lost half a stone this year so far by cutting out the crap, and I'm nearly 43.

I get the odd snide remark too, which is nice as mine is the only scooby in the estate with a standard exhaust on it!

You can get foam tape from body shops or their factors. I used double sided from my local and tar and glue to get rid of the sticky side I didn't need. You may find the stuff comes off intact anyway. Remember it's not stuck down! The top one is, but the plastic guide is there on a genuine one and the seal is stuck to the spoiler and then the production line just drops it on and it sticks enough to keep it there until the boltsd ar put in. The lower one is not sealed because it's designed to flow water through the slots at the front and back. You'll see when you pop it off. I take it you are doing this to repair the boot lid? Remember that as water is present under the spoiler, it is imperitive to retain and make sure each bolt's rubberised washer/seal is in good condition. Mark.

Both spoilers are bolted on. The upper one has a plastic screw on the inside face of the uprigth that you undo and pop the retainer out. You can then pull the painted cover UP out of it's place. The weather seal is held on with adhesive and this may detach, come lose or be damaged. Once you have the sides off, the spoiler is held on with two Bolts each side. The gasket between the spoiler and car is again a foam one with adhesive on both sides. It will come apart and need replacing, but they're only £7 or so ea. from Subaru. The lower main spoiler is held on by bolts. Firstly undo the rear brake light plug on the right hinge, then undo each bolt. There should be 13 of then in three lengths. Note them but it's not difficult to sork out where they go. The spoiler again has a foam edge seal which will come off and probably leave residue. The spolier is held on by four addituional clips that will give resistance but pop off easily enough. Just feed the wire and grommet out and you're done. Regards, Mark.