My addiction with Subaru
Discussion
Hi all
I already have a thread running on here about my Mazda RX8 and my Alfa GTV Cup, so I hope it's alright starting a third (and last) one. When I got into cars, I bought a Xantia 1.9TD , soon replaced by an Alfa 156 Sportwagon JTD as my new to me daily driver. Both cars were Both cars were cheap and so both cars needed quite some work to keep them on the road.
I got fed up with spending time and money on them, so I started looking for other options. After trying a peugeot 406 estate (which I still like to this day in terms in styling), a xantia 2.1TD and 2.0hdi and some other french automobiles, I decided I wanted something completely different. When travelling trough Switzerland and Scandinavia, I saw a lot of Subaru Foresters and without knowing to much about them, I concluded that if the Swiss like them, they must be good cars. So the search was on. I wanted a Forester, non turbo with a manual gearbox, aircon and with less than 100 000 miles on it. I quickly realized that no one in Belgium drove a Subaru and most cars did come up for sale were WRX's. So, after a few weeks I found 'my car' at a dealership in the Netherlands. Haggled some money off and a deal was done.
Little did I know this was going to be the start of an addiction because altough I turned into quite a petrolhead and have owned different cars from different manufacturers, there has always been at least one Subaru in our household for the last 10 years and I see no reason to stop this trend hence this separate thread.
Subaru n°1: The car that started it all
A base Forester from 2004. I swapped the cloth seats for black leather and the 15 inch alloys for 16 inch outback alloys.
Sold the car after two years.
Subaru n°2: A dream come true
After renting an automatic car in the US for a big road trip, I decided my next car should have an autobox as well. But, selling my Forester after owning it for less than 6 months wasn't going to happen. A year later, a one-owner Outback from 2006 turned up for sale and it ticked every box (in my mind): station-wagon, a higher stance, luxury interior and a mighty 6-cilinder 3 litre petrol engine. Every service bill was included and a deal was done.
Apart from servicing the car and replacing worn items (some bushes, brakes) I swapped the stock 17 inch alloys for 18 inch Forester STI ones and swapped taillight units from a facelift Outback in.
Sold it after 6 years because altough in my mind (and on paper) it was my dream car, it wasn't. You could say that an Outback can do anything, and they can do a lot, but the forester was a nicer car to use as a daily. More spacious, clever design/storage inside so the Outback was sold.
Subaru n°3: A brief ownership
Ok, so Subaru n°3 (and 4) are cars that I've owned, but not driven. Both of them were in my ownership at the same time I had the Outback. I bought Subaru n°3 from the Dutch forum. It was a high mileage Forester SF S-Turbo (manual). The rear self levelling shocks were knackered and the previous owner sold it to me at a very fair price. I replaced a bunch of parts on the car hoping to convince my girlfriend to use it as her daily, but it wasn't the right car for her. So off it went. It was quite a cool car and the guy whom I sold it to seemed very happy with it.
Subaru n°4: The one that wasn't meant to be
Shortly after selling the green Forester, I wanted something special. In Belgium (and on the rest of the European continent), the only Legacies on the BP platform were 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 N/A cars, no turbo. I had serious plans on buying a white prefacelift white BP car from the UK, but life got in the way so this plan never came to fruitation, sadly.
There was option left to get into the a turboed Legacy and that would be a diesel. I had read a lot about them, mostly about them going bang, but when I white car showed up for sale at a very low price, I just had to go and have a look. It was sitting outside a huge car lot, the trader(-s) didn't really inspire confidence and the car seemed very unloved. It had a new engine, but the dealer whom I rang and inquired about it couldn't look it up because they had changed the software they were using and had lost all service history about their cars... hmm, seemed like a very dodgy story so what would you do? Exactly: arrange for it to be delivered to your house the next day.
This car needed a lot of work, way more than I had anticipated and mostly due to time concerns I could not finish the project, altough I'm not sure exactly how much time (and cash) would've to be invested to get this thing on the road again.
A few days after I got it:
The state of the engine bay says a lot (but it was even worse):
And so it ended like this (the same way it got to my place):
Subaru n°5: The 'Legacy' continues
After the mishap with the Legacy Diesel I switched to other cars (a Celica T18 and a Lexus IS200). Fun cars to drive and work on, but I kept looking for a decent petrol Legacy. A build the international Legacy forum convinced me that a 'low' power car could be fun so when a blue 2.0R came up for sale, I sold the Lexus and bought the Legacy. As always it needed some work, but nothing major to get in trough an MOT. It was a 2006 car with all the bells and whistles. After checking it's history, it turned out it was once the demo car at the biggest Subaru dealer in Belgium (which does no longer exist). It made more sense that the car had OEM sat nav, 17 inch alloys and full leather interior.
I replaced suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres, exhaust and gave it a very good clean because it was filthy. The plan to keep it for myself quickly changed when my parents found themselves without a car and I passed the car on to them. They drove it for 3 years before switching to something else. They liked the Legacy, but it was a bit to sporty.
When I first got it.
Altough it had some scratches, from a small distance it looked great and I'm still in love with the sleek lines these cars have.
Subaru n°6: Back to the Forester
Like I stated before, I never got quite used to the Outback BP and was constantly looking around for something to replace it. I considered many, many options (Jeep Cherokee/Liberty, Suzuki Gran Vitara, Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin, Forester SG facelift, Lexus IS300h...), but nothing suited 'my needs'. I went and testdrove a 2020 Levorg with the 2.0 N/A engine. It was a very low mileage car used by someone at Subaru Benelux and it was everything I was looking for, but it was just too expensive. I do regret not buying it as the price of Levorgs has gone trough the roof ever since (like with every car). I looked at older Levorgs (in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) but I was being too picky. I wanted a facelift, 1.6 DIT car with certain colours in mind.
One day when looking on facebook marketplace I stumbled across a 2010 SH Forester with the EJ204 engine (N/A) and a 4EAT. The price was 'good' and it was a one owner car. The stock cloth interior had been reupholstered with a high quality dark grey leather and apart from a few marks inside and out, the car looked to be well loved. Only downside was that it was unclear if the cambelt and waterpump had been replaced. So, I struck a deal and had those changed immediatly.
And at the moment this is the one (and only) Subaru that's sitting in my driveway. In the last 18 months of ownership I started to truely appreciate the car, even tough it has it's flaws (there's lots of roadnoise, if you 'step on it' it guzzles gas and in terms of driver aids or other gizmo's, there is nothing besides what I already had on the Outback).
I switched to 215/60/17 tyres and had the windows tinted going from the B-pillar back).
I already have a thread running on here about my Mazda RX8 and my Alfa GTV Cup, so I hope it's alright starting a third (and last) one. When I got into cars, I bought a Xantia 1.9TD , soon replaced by an Alfa 156 Sportwagon JTD as my new to me daily driver. Both cars were Both cars were cheap and so both cars needed quite some work to keep them on the road.
I got fed up with spending time and money on them, so I started looking for other options. After trying a peugeot 406 estate (which I still like to this day in terms in styling), a xantia 2.1TD and 2.0hdi and some other french automobiles, I decided I wanted something completely different. When travelling trough Switzerland and Scandinavia, I saw a lot of Subaru Foresters and without knowing to much about them, I concluded that if the Swiss like them, they must be good cars. So the search was on. I wanted a Forester, non turbo with a manual gearbox, aircon and with less than 100 000 miles on it. I quickly realized that no one in Belgium drove a Subaru and most cars did come up for sale were WRX's. So, after a few weeks I found 'my car' at a dealership in the Netherlands. Haggled some money off and a deal was done.
Little did I know this was going to be the start of an addiction because altough I turned into quite a petrolhead and have owned different cars from different manufacturers, there has always been at least one Subaru in our household for the last 10 years and I see no reason to stop this trend hence this separate thread.
Subaru n°1: The car that started it all
A base Forester from 2004. I swapped the cloth seats for black leather and the 15 inch alloys for 16 inch outback alloys.
Sold the car after two years.
Subaru n°2: A dream come true
After renting an automatic car in the US for a big road trip, I decided my next car should have an autobox as well. But, selling my Forester after owning it for less than 6 months wasn't going to happen. A year later, a one-owner Outback from 2006 turned up for sale and it ticked every box (in my mind): station-wagon, a higher stance, luxury interior and a mighty 6-cilinder 3 litre petrol engine. Every service bill was included and a deal was done.
Apart from servicing the car and replacing worn items (some bushes, brakes) I swapped the stock 17 inch alloys for 18 inch Forester STI ones and swapped taillight units from a facelift Outback in.
Sold it after 6 years because altough in my mind (and on paper) it was my dream car, it wasn't. You could say that an Outback can do anything, and they can do a lot, but the forester was a nicer car to use as a daily. More spacious, clever design/storage inside so the Outback was sold.
Subaru n°3: A brief ownership
Ok, so Subaru n°3 (and 4) are cars that I've owned, but not driven. Both of them were in my ownership at the same time I had the Outback. I bought Subaru n°3 from the Dutch forum. It was a high mileage Forester SF S-Turbo (manual). The rear self levelling shocks were knackered and the previous owner sold it to me at a very fair price. I replaced a bunch of parts on the car hoping to convince my girlfriend to use it as her daily, but it wasn't the right car for her. So off it went. It was quite a cool car and the guy whom I sold it to seemed very happy with it.
Subaru n°4: The one that wasn't meant to be
Shortly after selling the green Forester, I wanted something special. In Belgium (and on the rest of the European continent), the only Legacies on the BP platform were 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 N/A cars, no turbo. I had serious plans on buying a white prefacelift white BP car from the UK, but life got in the way so this plan never came to fruitation, sadly.
There was option left to get into the a turboed Legacy and that would be a diesel. I had read a lot about them, mostly about them going bang, but when I white car showed up for sale at a very low price, I just had to go and have a look. It was sitting outside a huge car lot, the trader(-s) didn't really inspire confidence and the car seemed very unloved. It had a new engine, but the dealer whom I rang and inquired about it couldn't look it up because they had changed the software they were using and had lost all service history about their cars... hmm, seemed like a very dodgy story so what would you do? Exactly: arrange for it to be delivered to your house the next day.
This car needed a lot of work, way more than I had anticipated and mostly due to time concerns I could not finish the project, altough I'm not sure exactly how much time (and cash) would've to be invested to get this thing on the road again.
A few days after I got it:
The state of the engine bay says a lot (but it was even worse):
And so it ended like this (the same way it got to my place):
Subaru n°5: The 'Legacy' continues
After the mishap with the Legacy Diesel I switched to other cars (a Celica T18 and a Lexus IS200). Fun cars to drive and work on, but I kept looking for a decent petrol Legacy. A build the international Legacy forum convinced me that a 'low' power car could be fun so when a blue 2.0R came up for sale, I sold the Lexus and bought the Legacy. As always it needed some work, but nothing major to get in trough an MOT. It was a 2006 car with all the bells and whistles. After checking it's history, it turned out it was once the demo car at the biggest Subaru dealer in Belgium (which does no longer exist). It made more sense that the car had OEM sat nav, 17 inch alloys and full leather interior.
I replaced suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres, exhaust and gave it a very good clean because it was filthy. The plan to keep it for myself quickly changed when my parents found themselves without a car and I passed the car on to them. They drove it for 3 years before switching to something else. They liked the Legacy, but it was a bit to sporty.
When I first got it.
Altough it had some scratches, from a small distance it looked great and I'm still in love with the sleek lines these cars have.
Subaru n°6: Back to the Forester
Like I stated before, I never got quite used to the Outback BP and was constantly looking around for something to replace it. I considered many, many options (Jeep Cherokee/Liberty, Suzuki Gran Vitara, Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin, Forester SG facelift, Lexus IS300h...), but nothing suited 'my needs'. I went and testdrove a 2020 Levorg with the 2.0 N/A engine. It was a very low mileage car used by someone at Subaru Benelux and it was everything I was looking for, but it was just too expensive. I do regret not buying it as the price of Levorgs has gone trough the roof ever since (like with every car). I looked at older Levorgs (in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) but I was being too picky. I wanted a facelift, 1.6 DIT car with certain colours in mind.
One day when looking on facebook marketplace I stumbled across a 2010 SH Forester with the EJ204 engine (N/A) and a 4EAT. The price was 'good' and it was a one owner car. The stock cloth interior had been reupholstered with a high quality dark grey leather and apart from a few marks inside and out, the car looked to be well loved. Only downside was that it was unclear if the cambelt and waterpump had been replaced. So, I struck a deal and had those changed immediatly.
And at the moment this is the one (and only) Subaru that's sitting in my driveway. In the last 18 months of ownership I started to truely appreciate the car, even tough it has it's flaws (there's lots of roadnoise, if you 'step on it' it guzzles gas and in terms of driver aids or other gizmo's, there is nothing besides what I already had on the Outback).
I switched to 215/60/17 tyres and had the windows tinted going from the B-pillar back).
Edited by thomasrs50 on Friday 14th July 14:47
Just throwing my hat in the ring here, as I'm now on my third:
1) 2008 impreza S-GT 2.0 twinscroll manual. Cracking car but a bit small for my needs
2) 2018 Outback 2.5 auto. Incredibly capable but a bit boring compared to the Impreza
3) 2009 Legacy GT 2.5 turbo manual. Hopefully has the right combo of space and pace
1) 2008 impreza S-GT 2.0 twinscroll manual. Cracking car but a bit small for my needs
2) 2018 Outback 2.5 auto. Incredibly capable but a bit boring compared to the Impreza
3) 2009 Legacy GT 2.5 turbo manual. Hopefully has the right combo of space and pace
Cambs_Stuart said:
Interested to see what comes next. I'm on my third Subaru; one wrx wagon, one JDM legacy twinscroll wagon and my current is a 3.0 H6 manual (uk spec).
Forester STi?
Great choice, why changing from a twinscroll to an H6?Forester STi?
A Forester STi (SG) would be a great fit, but it's not happening. If our MOT wouldn't be so strict (and road tax insanely high) I would've probably bought an XT and 6-speed/brembo-swapped it.
Sycamore said:
I'm hoping your post attracts a bunch of Subaru nerds.
I've always liked them but know little about them.
I could do with an auto, petrol, do it all car that's a little larger to act as my only car and a dog wagon, so the likes of the Outback seem ideal.
Off to autotrader...
The Outback is a great car, but don't overlook a turboed forester I've always liked them but know little about them.
I could do with an auto, petrol, do it all car that's a little larger to act as my only car and a dog wagon, so the likes of the Outback seem ideal.
Off to autotrader...
. W211 said:
Just throwing my hat in the ring here, as I'm now on my third:
1) 2008 impreza S-GT 2.0 twinscroll manual. Cracking car but a bit small for my needs
2) 2018 Outback 2.5 auto. Incredibly capable but a bit boring compared to the Impreza
3) 2009 Legacy GT 2.5 turbo manual. Hopefully has the right combo of space and pace
Great choice of cars. Is the S-GT impreza a Jap-spec 'WRX' hatch? 1) 2008 impreza S-GT 2.0 twinscroll manual. Cracking car but a bit small for my needs
2) 2018 Outback 2.5 auto. Incredibly capable but a bit boring compared to the Impreza
3) 2009 Legacy GT 2.5 turbo manual. Hopefully has the right combo of space and pace
And why did you go (apart from the 'boringness') from the Outback to the Legacy? How does a Gen 5 Legacy compare to the more modern Outback?
Edited by thomasrs50 on Wednesday 12th July 18:00
I have had three impreza’s 2x Type R’s and a Blobeye Twin Scroll and 2x Foresters an MY99 TurboS and MY05 Xten.
The foresters were exceptionally good cars for their time and the Xten was my wife’s daily after a Clio182. Both new owners kept them for a very long time.
The only modifications both had in our extended ownership was suspension from an FSTI, an H&S back box and better wheel and tyres to replace the Geolanders they originally came with.
The foresters were also awesome in the snow.
The foresters were exceptionally good cars for their time and the Xten was my wife’s daily after a Clio182. Both new owners kept them for a very long time.
The only modifications both had in our extended ownership was suspension from an FSTI, an H&S back box and better wheel and tyres to replace the Geolanders they originally came with.
The foresters were also awesome in the snow.
Edited by Hol on Wednesday 12th July 16:57
I was really into the classic Impreza turbos (had a lightly fettled UK turbo that we clocked 30k miles a year in!) and our neighbour had a Forester turbo, and I co-ran the local club, website, events, etc, but felt when the bug-eye came along, it lost so much of the raw, light, tin-foil-body-panel magic that the previous cars had and I ended up looking elsewhere for a replacement. Think it was a real shame, especially as Mitsubishi managed to keep the formula going for many years afterwards.
Good times!
Chris
Good times!
Chris
Edited by ScoobyChris on Wednesday 12th July 17:49
Yes, the S-GT was JDM
I've gone back a generation with the legacy for a few reasons. Largely because the gen 5 is the last manual (also JDM in my case!)
Its definitely less polished and has a lot less kit. But I do very few miles now, so a big boot (big dog to transport!) and a turbo were the key
I've gone back a generation with the legacy for a few reasons. Largely because the gen 5 is the last manual (also JDM in my case!)
Its definitely less polished and has a lot less kit. But I do very few miles now, so a big boot (big dog to transport!) and a turbo were the key
W211 said:
Yes, the S-GT was JDM
I've gone back a generation with the legacy for a few reasons. Largely because the gen 5 is the last manual (also JDM in my case!)
Its definitely less polished and has a lot less kit. But I do very few miles now, so a big boot (big dog to transport!) and a turbo were the key
I have been looking into a gen 5 wagon (more on that later), but a GT is not an option. Road tax in Belgium has become insanely expensive (a few 1000 pounds just to get it registred) and to be honest, I don't need a 'fast' car. Still, for some strange reason, I really like the design. Is yours a facelift? I've gone back a generation with the legacy for a few reasons. Largely because the gen 5 is the last manual (also JDM in my case!)
Its definitely less polished and has a lot less kit. But I do very few miles now, so a big boot (big dog to transport!) and a turbo were the key
To all others who have replied to this thread: thanks all! Love the input and it's great to see the love this brand gets.
I just updated the opening post, but wanted to share some more pics from the Legacy BP 2.0R. As I mentioned, it was an ex demo car with all the bells and whistles, but was very unloved.
Step 1: Remove and clean interior
Step 2: Brakes and suspension
Step 3: Engine bay (just a quick clean, nothing major)
Step 4: Ebay exhaust (which held up well and was still in good condition after three years of use)
I recently purchased my very first Subaru. A 2008 Legacy GT Spec B Twinscroll Auto
I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
Edited by pti on Thursday 13th July 11:51
That's a very good looking GT, altough I don't like bronze/gold wheels on black cars (but I get why people do like the combo). Did it come with the original specB alloys as well? These are JDM/USDM spec B's (and IMHO, the best looking wheel on a BP chassis Legacy).
If you're not a member yet, there's a very good Legacy UK facebook group with tons of info.
If you're not a member yet, there's a very good Legacy UK facebook group with tons of info.
pti said:
I recently purchased my very first Subaru. A 2008 Legacy GT Spec B Twinscroll Auto
I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
I was looking at that car my self. If it wasn’t so far away I’d have taken a punt on it. Even if you need to recon the whole gearbox it’s still cheaper than most on sale. I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
Edited by pti on Thursday 13th July 11:51
It also looked to be in good condition from the pics.
The knocks could be worn arb bushes and droplinks. Cheap and easy to replace. Or the shocks knocking. Pull the rubber cover of the shock tower, place your hand on the strut and feel for any play whilst bouncing the car up and down. If theres any movement the struts have gone. If its a spec b, a member on the legacy forum has good pricing on bilstein b8.
A good bit of preventative maintenance on these is to pull the calliper slide pins and grease them up. A lot of issues with vibrations are down to seized slide pins. ICP sell refurb kits. I’ve seen people spend hundreds changing calipers, disk and pads chasing “warped rotors”. All they needed was a strip down and grease of slide pins.
Edited by sam.rog on Thursday 13th July 12:38
Edited by sam.rog on Thursday 13th July 12:42
thomasrs50 said:
That's a very good looking GT, altough I don't like bronze/gold wheels on black cars (but I get why people do like the combo). Did it come with the original specB alloys as well? These are JDM/USDM spec B's (and IMHO, the best looking wheel on a BP chassis Legacy).
If you're not a member yet, there's a very good Legacy UK facebook group with tons of info.
Thanks, and I know what you mean about gold on black but my inner chav really likes it If you're not a member yet, there's a very good Legacy UK facebook group with tons of info.
How priorities change over the course of 10 years:
And I agree about the OEM wheels, they really suit the car. This is how it currently stands outside my place as the previous owner found a nail in one of the Bridgestones so swapped them over before I collected. It was still holding air and I've since pulled the nail out (which seemed to be going across the tread blocks) and haven't lost any pressure. So they'll be going back on, on Saturday.
Been on UK Legacy for some time, great bunch.
sam.rog said:
pti said:
I recently purchased my very first Subaru. A 2008 Legacy GT Spec B Twinscroll Auto
I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
I was looking at that car my self. If it wasn’t so far away I’d have taken a punt on it. Even if you need to recon the whole gearbox it’s still cheaper than most on sale. I've wanted one for a while when this one popped up with a gearbox fault (P1710 code indicates a fault with Turbine Speed Sensor 2, attached to the valve body). The young lad I bought it from couldn't find a garage to help him with it (without wanting to replace the whole box or valve body) so I picked it up for - what I feel - was a bargain. With a couple of sets of wheels as well. The golds in the picture have pretty much brand new Bridgestones all round and the standard alloys are running worn Yokohamas. HKS system fitted as well.
The 'box behaved itself on the 70 mile journey home but I noticed a couple of knocks from the front end, and it's been sat on trickle for a couple of week while I gather the parts.
Now, all the bits have arrived for the gearbox (plus top mounts, droplinks, and service items) and a colleague (who owned until recently, a well cared for UK 3.0 Spec B) is going to give me a hand getting it all sorted on Saturday. He's also selling me a couple of front Bilsteins he has in his garage as the ones on here are tired.
Fingers crossed she'll be fighting fit for a trip to North Wales on Saturday afternoon to catch up with a stag do. Should be a good 'first' drive.
Edited by pti on Thursday 13th July 11:51
It also looked to be in good condition from the pics.
The knocks could be worn arb bushes and droplinks. Cheap and easy to replace. Or the shocks knocking. Pull the rubber cover of the shock tower, place your hand on the strut and feel for any play whilst bouncing the car up and down. If theres any movement the struts have gone. If its a spec b, a member on the legacy forum has good pricing on bilstein b8.
A good bit of preventative maintenance on these is to pull the calliper slide pins and grease them up. A lot of issues with vibrations are down to seized slide pins. ICP sell refurb kits. I’ve seen people spend hundreds changing calipers, disk and pads chasing “warped rotors”. All they needed was a strip down and grease of slide pins.
Edited by sam.rog on Thursday 13th July 12:38
Edited by sam.rog on Thursday 13th July 12:42
ARBs are already polybushed so they're not knocking and I have new droplinks and fresh(er) Bilsteins (and new top mounts) to fit on Saturday, so all being well that should sort the knocking.
Good tip on the slider pins, I'll get onto that once our house move goes through.
Also on the list is the removal of the turbo banjo filter (going to assess the access on Saturday), fitting cruise buttons and brake light switch, then mapping for UK fuel at the same time as removing the 68(?)mph cruise limiter.
Anyway, apologies all for the thread hijack. Might be time to finally start a readers ride thread of my own!
pti said:
Thanks, I'm fairly confident splicing a new hall effect sensor in should fix the gearbox issue (famous last words). If that's the case I'll have a sorted Twinscroll for less than the original asking price
ARBs are already polybushed so they're not knocking and I have new droplinks and fresh(er) Bilsteins (and new top mounts) to fit on Saturday, so all being well that should sort the knocking.
Good tip on the slider pins, I'll get onto that once our house move goes through.
Also on the list is the removal of the turbo banjo filter (going to assess the access on Saturday), fitting cruise buttons and brake light switch, then mapping for UK fuel at the same time as removing the 68(?)mph cruise limiter.
Anyway, apologies all for the thread hijack. Might be time to finally start a readers ride thread of my own!
Please do start a readers ride and document the gearbox fix if possible. Would make a great recourse for others as these age faults like this can potentially make someone scrap a perfectly fine car. ARBs are already polybushed so they're not knocking and I have new droplinks and fresh(er) Bilsteins (and new top mounts) to fit on Saturday, so all being well that should sort the knocking.
Good tip on the slider pins, I'll get onto that once our house move goes through.
Also on the list is the removal of the turbo banjo filter (going to assess the access on Saturday), fitting cruise buttons and brake light switch, then mapping for UK fuel at the same time as removing the 68(?)mph cruise limiter.
Anyway, apologies all for the thread hijack. Might be time to finally start a readers ride thread of my own!
sam.rog said:
Please do start a readers ride and document the gearbox fix if possible. Would make a great recourse for others as these age faults like this can potentially make someone scrap a perfectly fine car.
If my e91 330d ever sells I’m replacing it with another legacy. This time a jdm 2.0. Already had a 3.0 spec b. pti said:
Thanks, and I know what you mean about gold on black but my inner chav really likes it
How priorities change over the course of 10 years:
I regret not buying something less sensible years ago. Now I have my RX8 (and non running GTV) that I'd like to sell, but don't want to sell because I might regret it in the long term (and prices are going trough the roof, esp. for Japanese cars). How priorities change over the course of 10 years:
pti said:
And I agree about the OEM wheels, they really suit the car. This is how it currently stands outside my place as the previous owner found a nail in one of the Bridgestones so swapped them over before I collected. It was still holding air and I've since pulled the nail out (which seemed to be going across the tread blocks) and haven't lost any pressure. So they'll be going back on, on Saturday.
Been on UK Legacy for some time, great bunch.
UK Legacy seems down for the last few days. Shame, since it's a lovely forum (and a survivor in an age where social media takes over).Been on UK Legacy for some time, great bunch.
To me that is the nicest combo. Such a classy looking car.
thomasrs50 said:
UK Legacy seems down for the last few days. Shame, since it's a lovely forum (and a survivor in an age where social media takes over).
To me that is the nicest combo. Such a classy looking car.
Try https://www.subarulegacy.com/forums/To me that is the nicest combo. Such a classy looking car.
I have issues using the uklegacy web title
sam.rog said:
Try https://www.subarulegacy.com/forums/
I have issues using the uklegacy web title
Thanks, it works now. Didn't know they changed the name.I have issues using the uklegacy web title
In the meantime, I've added Subaru n°6.
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