The Voices

I have to be quiet because the car is listening to what I say ! Look what happens when you speak too soon. Engine management came on again and then dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, ABS fault, brake fluid low, parkbrake fault, cruise not available and probably some others that I forgot. The car started but I think the battery is knackered. Purchased a new Exide 100ah from Eurocarparts via their Ebay shop, only £91 compared to £151 (less prevailing discount) from their own website. Had to fit it in the dark after work on Friday as Sue was not happy going back into the Impreza. So far so good ? Famous last words.............................................

Seems to be running fine now and no fault codes (fingers crossed !)

Car has started fine today and no warnings or engine management light either. See how it goes for now ?

Hi Steve, I am from Yorkshire originally so 'paid for it, so got to make it work !' Went to remove the battery this morning but tried the car first out of curiosity. Guess what ? It started ! No engine management light but usual array of 'flat battery' fault warnings for no cruise control, parkbrake fault, etc. Removed the battery and put it on charge but managed to shear off the long thin bolt that holds the plastic block clamping the battery in place ! On closer inspection, the bolt goes straight through the floor-pan and through a captive nut welded to the underside ! There is not enough thread available under the car to lock two nuts on to it and remove it like a 'stud'. Tried WD40 and mole grips but still no chance, only option was to drill it out from inside the boot. Of course the remaining portion has broken off at an angle, so cannot drill the centre to get a clean run at it, my plan was to start with a small bit and work up in stages so that I could save the threads on the captive nut. Only option I could come up with was to drill the whole thing out using a larger bit, this left me with a slightly larger hole in the floor-pan and no captive nut ! I have cleaned up the edges of the hole and rust proofed it, then used a larger bolt and stainless steel nuts and washers to replace the 'skinny' original. All seems to have worked out okay but another 5 minute job becomes a !Removed! saga ! Battery is now charged and back on the car but not had chance to do anything because I am supposed to be shifting a few tons of soil into a skip that has to go back on Monday morning. Considered buying a new battery in case the current one is on its last legs but my 'smart' charger not showing any faults, hope it is the bluetooth OBD adaptor that was draining the battery. Eurocarparts have a 30% online discount this weekend, I can get the Exide 100ah, 900a cold cranking battery for £152 less the 30%, which looks decent value ? Further updates to follow !

Oh happy day ! Engine management light on, fault code p0420 (catalytic converter) ! And a bonus flat battery ! I have a suspicion that the ODB bluetooth adaptor is constantly 'live' and may have drained the battery ? First job tomorrow is to remove the battery and get it charged (and see if it has a date on it !) Then see if the fault code is real or a phantom !

I am using the 'Torque Lite' app on my tablet to monitor temperature through a cheap Ebay ELM137 bluetooth module. Now it is driveable again, I can have a look at what else needs doing. No urgency but more of a wish list ! Some small 'smart' repairs needed, 2x car park dents, 4x alloy refurbs, slight scuffs on the leather to sort out and a general clean up. Possibly consider the supercharger pulley upgrade, intake pipe mod, remap and K+N filter (just worried whether the poor old thing will take the strain !) New front EBC yellowstuff pads to match the rear, LSD would be nice (apparently there is a reasonably priced Ford one that fits ?)

Collected it this morning, everything seemed fine on the trip home. Coolant temperature didn't go above 95 degrees. Even got the chance to suprise a Porsche Panamera ! Andy said the thermostat was shot at anyway so it was worth replacing it.

Thanks guys, I am dying to get back behind the wheel. Not as much as Sue however ! She is totally p*ss*d off with driving the Impreza ! See how it goes tomorrow !

There is another pipe that runs on the other side of the 'V' as well it seems, both appear to have already been replaced on my car. The waterless coolant is definitely worth considering.

Andy has spoken to Sue this afternoon and all sounds to have gone well. The culprit was the small throttle body hose which he has now replaced. The two hoses that are under the supercharger still have the labels on at the throttle body end and Andy is confident that they have been replaced in the not too distant past. Interestingly, people always mention the 'valley pipe' (singular) but as far as I can see, there are two coolant pipes that run down the 'V' of the engine block ? He has also replaced the radiator top and bottom hoses with the new ones that I supplied plus replaced the thermostat as a precaution. I have already fitted a new expansion tank cap. Whilst he had the car, he has also fitted the EBC 'yellowstuff' rear brake pads and the new fuel filter. Throttle body has been cleaned as well. Looking forward to collecting it on Wednesday and confirming that the problems have been sorted.

How about a nice XJ ?

Low mileage cars can be trouble in some cases ! The high mileage cars tend to have an easier life if mainly used on the motorways. Not much gear changing and braking, usually running at low RPM's in top gear and at optimum operating temperature. Most of us (myself included !) still like to go for the low mileage examples if possible, why do we do that ? My latest STR has done 156,000 miles at 10 years old so high miles but it was very cheap !

Thanks guys. Waiting to hear the verdict on Saturday. I am happy to buy replacement hoses to sort as many potential future issues as possible but it is hard work getting correct part numbers, pictures and descriptions. Even the parts system at work is confusing !

Ever have one of those days where you would have been better off shooting yourself in the face ? Went outside to check the water level before nursing the car over to Bolton, first problem, flat battery ! When I get it started, usual catalogue of faults on the dashboard, no DSC, no cruise, parkbrake fault, etc. I manage to get about 2 miles before the temperature is rising more than I would like (monitoring via the Torque app) My suspicion is that the hose that had the minor leak has got much worse so not going to risk driving it. On the motorway, so have to wait for recovery to Bolton ! Left the car with Andy and await his verdict !

Andy is now back from his hols and planning on starting on the 'R' on Saturday afternoon. Typically, it is my weekend to work so will drop the car off at Bolton tomorrow.

A spare inlet to experiment on is a good idea !

The straighter and smoother the path for the inlet, the better. Only thing to keep in mind is how any other bits would connect if you replaced the factory inlet with a straight pipe, looks like there is another pipe connected just after the MAF ?

It does sound like the headlamp adjusters have broken. Probably quicker and easier to replace the complete headlamp assembly with a 'good' used one as you still need to remove the headlamp unit to replace the adjusters. I managed to replace the headlight unit on my 2003 without completely removing the bumper. Undid everything on the same side of the bumper as the failed headlight and the loosened the grille, then pulled the bumper forward. This gave me enough space to get to the bottom mounting bolts. I bought a set of replacement adjusters off Ebay as well to repair the broken lamp unit as a spare, the replacement adjusters fell in bits during the fitting procedure ! Luckily the seller replaced them FOC. Fitting the adjusters is a bit of a pain, as you need to dismantle the headlamp assembly, including splitting the clear lense from the backing unit.

Looks like you would need more than a couple of spoons and a puncture repair kit to make much impression on those tyres !

Second hand gearbox at the right money might be worth a look ? It looks as though you have put a lot of time and effort into your upgrades so would be a shame to sell or break it. Probably not worth much if you sell it needing a gearbox, most private buyers expect perfection ! If you put a gearbox in and get a few more years out of it, the repair 'pays for itself'

I could be wrong, but a lot of intake pipes have a hollow 'swirl chamber' (for want of a better description) to reduce the amount of intake noise. That is what I think the 'lump' is in this case ? In Subaru world, we remove the intake 'silencer' for more induction noise and so that you can hear the turbo ! In need a bigger picture to see properly, but you could potentially replace the MAF to throttle body section of the hose with a piece of flexible ducting in the correct diameter ? Should give you slightly better airflow and a slightly sportier induction noise ? I would want to use something with a reasonably thick wall but flexible enough to bend to shape. Tried a 4" silicone pipe as a cold air feed to an enclosed cone filter on one of my Imprezas but the silicone pipe was too 'rigid' to bend where I wanted it to go, ended up using a wire reinforced 4" ducting pipe instead.

Result ! Justification for the new ramp as a 'legitimate business expense'

Enviro friendly wooden guards for hippies (to put on their V8's) ? Or Lightweight plastic ones for racing !

That looks great ! Very subtle / OEM looking.

You need it to be able to test fit the laser cut sump and diff guards that you are 'considering' producing ?