Topic: Mason's 2003 STI swapped forester

[Mason]

That's ok, I mean gaskets are just suggestions anyways... tight is tight. 

Great way to ensure that the coolant is always fresh.

[SpdDmn]

hahaha I read the line about heat wrap and all, but still thought those mounts were paper wasp nests behind a grill.

I probably shouldn't do anything mentally taxing today.

[deedz]

Lots of great questions haha. The previous owner did the swap and used a full donation car (2004 Impreza with the v7 swap). The entire wiring harness was swapped from the Impreza to the forester and then wires were ran to make up for the missing pieces work ( sun roof, hatch lock, ect). Most of the electronics work with the exception of the auto climate control *coming soon* and ABS.

Forester pitch stop is longer and the GNP one is the exact same size as the sti pitch stop. I believe other brands make the pitch stop slightly longer to be more universal.

The mounts are on day 7 or 8 and are finally feeling way more solid. After 3 days it was squishy and wouldn't have worked. I am a little bit scared because I didn't consider the heat from the headers near the engine mounts. Before I install I am going hit it with some heat and see how it reacts.

The struts have been great. No clunking yet and way rather run sti OEM than any coils.

That's pretty impressive even with the few things left to tidy up.

Thanks for the clarification on the pitch stop mount, that's great to know going forward.

Also, good to read that the engine mounts have made a noticeable difference. I recall watching an episode of Hot Rod Garage (if I recall correctly) where they used a 3M polyurethane sealant to stiffen up some old mounts. I stll may attempt this with my mentioned factory mounts.

[Mason]

Why must my car reject coolant?

New oil is in, power steering was burped, then coolant burp turned for the worst.

Coolant was slightly bubbling at idle from cold to operating temp. I found some nice hot coolant outside at the bottom of the radiator. Ran out of time before I could do a full investigation, but hoping it is just a loose hose clamp or rad cap.

2 hours a week to work on car just isn't enough

[deedz]

Oh yay... I hate dropping the coolant so much.

I highly recommend one of these units if you don't already have one or if you've never used one. Tests the system and fills it air free.

I got one from Princess Auto, but can't seem to find a link.

https://www.amazon.ca/OEMTOOLS-Tools-27066-Cooling-Refiller/dp/B01GSQA5BI/ref=asc_df_B01GSQA5BI/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292902012369&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12001652387189707865&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9060758&hvtargid=pla-450818435483&psc=1

[Mason]

Went around and double checked all the coolant hose clamps, Fired it up and the leak seems to have stopped. YAY!. Got to operating temp and the rad fans didn't kick on NAY!. Likely Just a loose wire in my hand crimped plugs, but I already had bumper mounted and all my spare pins were at my house. I drove it home on the highway and temps stayed low. I purchased some super knock off STI pedals with the package deal for the power steering pump. Finally able to get rid of that shameful old pedal set up.

IMG_20190503_105351 by mason rice, on Flickr

IMG_20190503_121552 by mason rice, on Flickr

Also Grew tried of using zip ties to keep the front bumper on so i bought these knock off Quick latches on Amazon. 2 pairs were $70 all in and they came in a week. they actually look pretty cool. Should be able to get them on when I fix the wiring for the rad fans.

MVIMG_20190507_095723 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190507_095712 by mason rice, on Flickr

[Mason]

Drove the car a bit in last few months and things were going well. First trip was of course out to baseline mountain for a evening bike ride with my boss man. The cheap bike rack roof set up was not happy and busted. check out how far back the roof rail slide after the rear support on the rack snapped. That front bar was over the sun roof when we first left!

Snapchat-1144431984 by mason rice, on Flickr

My second daughter had her first ride home from the hospital in the fozzy and is where things took a turn for the not so good. About a km from home the power steering hose blew, I ended up strong arming the smoke show home. Not too sure what happened, but the image below is what came out of the fitting end. I suspect heat played a roll being that it was fairly close to the hot side. should be an easy fix, and I also had already picked up a Perring heat shield just before.

MVIMG_20190707_134259 by mason rice, on Flickr

Got called away for work and knew I had a bunch of standby days so I pulled off the visible Intercooler piping and repainted it. Did the same colour, but added some high temp clear coat.

Snapchat-61658549 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190714_183037 by mason rice, on Flickr

Last thing I currently have on the go is this piece of itshay. Paid a grand total of 30 dollars for this cheap ABS plastic gauge pod that didn't proper fit in a GD STI like it was suppose to. I heat gunned it into a better shape and plastic epoxy the thing to a Forester clock pod lid. Turned out not very good. If i had the parts for a second try I could probably build a pretty nice one, but this one will do. The huge bonus is that I should be able to run the storage unit below without interfering with the space and the wires can be tucked away.

MVIMG_20190525_193334 by mason rice, on Flickr


MVIMG_20190714_175327 by mason rice, on Flickr

I've got some other junk laying in my basement, one day I'll get around to it and post it up when i have some time.

[DaDuke99]

Don't sell yourself short, that gauge pod has come out pretty awesome considering some of the progress pics I've seen...

[SubieRoo]

Pod doesn't look half bad at all, ittshay about the rack. How'd you enjoy Baseline?

[Mason]

Pod doesn't look half bad at all, ittshay about the rack. How'd you enjoy Baseline?

Ah the down fall with the pod is that the side over hang more than the lid, and during one of the 3 attempts at painting I gouged some of the plastic. It's not bad, but I could have done better for sure.

Rack is not the biggest deal, mainly because the new bike is carbon and I am not able to use it anyways. One evening at baseline may have been the reason behind getting a new bike

[Mason]

MVIMG_20190719_120854 by mason rice, on Flickr

And the pod is installed.

[SubieRoo]

Gets new bike..

Weather is itshay for months.

Thanks.

[diamondedge]

Oh that looks tight!!

Also nice hiding spot for your Defi controller. Fits in there so cute.

[Mason]

Gets new bike..

Weather is itshay for months.

Thanks.

I put on a few KM on the new bike before the weather turned to absolute trash, I also found out I purchased the bike off one of your ridding buddies!

Oh that looks tight!!

Also nice hiding spot for your Defi controller. Fits in there so cute.

Previous owner did a great job tucking it in there.

[Mason]

well, Got everything back together, and cleaned the fozzy inside to out. Listed it for sale, and have a couple people set up to view the car.

MVIMG_20190814_131403 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190815_173734 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190815_171629 by mason rice, on Flickr

Running healthier than ever, tied up almost all the loose ends and cleanest since i've owned it.

[thedude]

So, what's next?

[Mason]

So, what's next?

Hopefully a house, then maybe Import a v9 sti

[DaDuke99]

I could just trade you my foresters for yours... 

[SubieRoo]

Woh dude, you put a lot of money into that to sell for 12g!

[Mason]

Woh dude, you put a lot of money into that to sell for 12g!

I figure that's what market value on it is. Lots of messages, also lots of flakes

[FalulaBrown]

That's scary that a shop passes that.