AlanG

Dunno 'bout UK300's but there was a guy up here once that had a classic UK500. Fast and subtle as **** that was.

My tuppence here and i'm not taking any sides! They've been in their premises for at least 20 years and still in business. Before that they were in Clydebank..... They must be doing something right!

2006 Impreza

That'll probably be it John Excuse the lower brace in this pic etc, but i've circled the drain plug.

You'll either see remnants of gear in the container and/or you will see metal particles magnetised to the base of the drain plug. You can pick up gearbox oil easy enough from any motor factors.

It's one "big" plug at the bottom of the gearbox John. Place a container underneath, undo plug and just let it fall into the container, you can pick it out later when the box has finished draining.

PPG = Pfitzner Performance Gearbox. As for costs, I think it boils down to a no brainer in terms of uprated drivetrain given your circumstances. Either PPG or 6 speed is going to be out of your price range and if it were me in that position i'd try and source a 5 speed Sti box and rear diff. (that's if you want to keep the car) This option gives better ratios (imo) for both road and track use at your level and in terms of cost, shouldn't be much more than going down the secondhand route of a std box. Costs depend on being in the right place at the right time. If you wanted to stretch to a PPG, then i'd go here. Prices for the parts alone are also on this site.

I'll try and simplify. You have a choice of finding a like for like replacement or looking into buying something different more suitable for your power/torque. Two options basically: 5 speed PPG gearkit to build into your gearbox. Any PPG gearkit will be man enough to cope, so comes down to choice. PPG helical synchro gearkit. Your std gearbox has helical gears and synchros, so this option is the same as what you have but much stronger gears to withstand the torque. It is almost as quiet as your own box. PPG straight cut synchro gearkit. The difference here is that you use straight cut gears. These straight cut gears will whine when in use but are stronger than the helical cut gears, so can withstand even more torque, but are noisy in use. PPG dog box. These are also straight cut gears but use dogs instead of synchros.This type of box will stand up to even more abuse than the above and you can slam in the gears when changing, but can be a pig to drive on the road. 6 speed boxes: Any 6 speed box will do, but imo the Forrester has nicely spaced gear ratios whereas others have short ratios in the 1st few gears, so you could be throwing gear changes left right and centre with higher power, so could soon tire of that. The other issue with 6 speeders is that you may need the matching diff to go along with it, but you will need the 6 speed gearlever, gear linkage and propshaft to go along with the box before fitting.

I'd drain the oil and see what's on the magnetic plug.

The engine's specced for that Richie. There's NOS to go on too.

That's the one Richie. Peter, do you do powerwalking?? I'd struggle to do it in 10 even!

Lots of suggestions. Shall we have a sweepstake?

Wow. Big font Peter! Nothing to be surprised about. I was very happy with my straight cut synchro PPG kit. I wouldn't recommend a dog kit PPG for road use. However, if i was to build another car again to this power level and mainly for road use, i would choose the 6 speed Forrester box option over the PPG for it's ratios and quietness in operation. At the level i was at when i sold the car and the abuse the 6 speed box took over the following season on the drag racing scene, it's worked very well. The other option Welsho can look at if he wants to remain 5 speed is the helical synchro PPG kit, which will be quieter than the straight cut synchro, but i believe (haven't heard) it's slightly noisier than a std 5 spd box.

You sure the key won't turn, just seized, cause you never used the lock before?

I put in a rebuilt Sti box and ran it for 9 months with 500Ib ft+ before it gave up 3rd gear,but you're right, ultimately you need to look for a solution that will be able to take the torque every day without worrying about it. Short term, and to get you back on the road, find a replacement box, then start saving! Once funds are in place (and if the replacement box is still going!), change the box and punt the std one to pull back a little money and treat the missus for all the hassle!

It can be rebuilt, but the cost of replacement gears/bearings may make it an unviable proposition against sourcing a secondhand gearbox off the usual sources. If it were me, i'd look for the easy option i.e. get a secondhand gearbox, remove the old and fit the new at the same time as opposed to removing gearbox, sending for repair, awaiting parts (and getting a shock if other items are needed in the rebuild!), then arranging fitting the rebuilt unit after picking it up.

If money is a concern i'd be on the lookout for a replacement box same as what you have. (cheapest option) Next option is to find an Sti box and diff.I preferred these ratios over the UK ratios. If you can sweet talk the missus, i'd go for the 6 speed Forrester option for a few reasons: One, it's quieter then a straight cut PPG, two, it has good ratios and is strong enough for probably everything you're going to throw at it. I had the PPG straight cut 5 speed synchro and although gave piece of mind in terms of strength and was a delight to use, it wasn't until i tried the 6 speed (in the same car after i sold it), that i wished i'd gone down that route, mainly because the car was quiettt.... Don't bother about the dog box PPG, you'll eventually get tired of it for ordinary road use.

Sounds exactly like gearbox unfortunately. The way you describe the symptoms Welsho is the same as what i've experienced over the years. You're probably hearing the broken teeth off a gear which then catches and either jarrs or jams a gear until it drops and frees motion again. I wouldn't drive it if i were you as it could lock up solid and then you're stuck needing a lift on to a flatbed. My failures have never been when under power. They always break when there's little load on the gearbox!

Just back from picking the car up, so a bit late in replying. I'll try and get some pics on here tomorrow,hopefully it'll be a nice day for pic taking. The work on this car was a full respray, but the pictures won't do justice to the time and effort put in to the preparation stages before it was sprayed. No job is too big or small John ("The Welsho"), so worth your while to pop in and checkout the outfit yourself. I'm sure they'll be able to show you samples of their workmanship. Richie Yes, I seen your car in there recently. Wasn't in for long mind you! I haven't seen many in that colour, looked good.

I'd like to mention a little appreciation for being part of the membership in The Scottish Scoobies Section and i'll tell you why. A couple of months back, a forum member asked for recommendations for people or companies that were recommended for painting either parts of, or complete cars. As I was looking into this at the time and had a shortlist of companies to go and see, I went down to a company mentioned on here called: JB Coachworks in Well Street, Paisley. I chose to use them over the others i had been looking at cause one thing that struck me in talking to the owner Jim Biggam and that was a sense of pride in their workmanship. I commissioned them to carry out works on an Impreza and the only word that can describe the end result is "stunning"! The attention to detail and quality of work is 100%. The car looks like a shiny new pin, so i'm wholeheartedly giving Jim, Andy and Lee a very big thankyou for the time and effort they've put into this. Over the course of the last few weeks, they've always made time to help, advise and answer any questions or queries i've had on the car and have went out their way to ensure that the car was done the way i wanted it done. In this day and age when so many bodyshops are governed and restricted by time and monetory constraints, therefore end quality can take a back seat, it's nice to know that there are still some companies out there with pride in their workmanship that put the customer first and foremost, so if anyone is looking for bodywork done or parts needing painting, I would say you would be hard pushed to find a better quality result. To Jim and the boys, this Impreza is show quality material. JB Coachworks Jim Biggam 54 Well Street Paisley PA1 2QH 0141 842 1465

If it's as big as i think it is, then yes, it will be tight. Maybe too tight.

both fuel and brake lines run inside the car. fuel lines down passenger side, brakelines down drivers side

You've removed the seat base which is held in place by 2 bolts. Remove the seat back ( 3 bolts) and lift the seat back up off the retaining clips. You'll then see an oblong cover on the drivers side with 4 screws. (You can see the cover from the boot area if you lift the boot carpet. There's also a round cover on the passenger side, but you're not interested in that). Remove the plate, then remove the electrical connection and the hose pipes there, being careful removing the hoses (gently) cause there will probably still be fuel pressure in them. Remove the 8mm nuts (socket size) off the top of the plate and the whole assembly including pump will come out

Let me check the condition of this one that's here first and i'll PM you, though I didn't notice anything untoward when i took it off, but then again, i wasn't really interested. lol

fuel filler pipe? I've probably got one here (the metal pipe? and not the rubber which leads on to tank? classic shape Impreza?) I'm in Glasgow. If you're further afield just find a breakers as they're not common for needing replaced. Think you might find it expensive (i don't know) from a dealer.