Topic: Mason's 2003 STI swapped forester

[diamondedge]

Haha, we were trying to install the rear shifter bushing on thedudes car a while back and were having a hell of a time with that one too... it was still all on the car though. Eventually we decided to save it for a later date... dunno if he ever actually got it in there...

I've been waiting to do my bushings until I have the rear one as well, but maybe I'll just throw them in now knowing it's gonna be a hassle regardless.

I thought we got the rear bushing on his car. But didn't do the U joint cuz we didn't have a roll pin punch.

Paging Player One and Real. GR dash removal party.

My rear bushing was also a itchbay to do. But so worth it.

[DaDuke99]

I thought we got the rear bushing on his car. But didn't do the U joint cuz we didn't have a roll pin punch.

Paging Player One and Real. GR dash removal party.

My rear bushing was also a itchbay to do. But so worth it.

You're likely correct, I was just there to try to hit the thing 

[thedude]

I thought we got the rear bushing on his car. But didn't do the U joint cuz we didn't have a roll pin punch.

Paging Player One and Real. GR dash removal party.

My rear bushing was also a itchbay to do. But so worth it.

This is right, it was the u-joint which we never ended up doing and I still haven't to this date. And this was our improvised roll pin punch - it did not work. We did however do the front and rear bushings without too much trouble.



The GR dash removal is really easy starting at the arm rest/center console. There's tons of tutorials online, just make sure all the tabs line up when putting it back together otherwise it will be (more) wobbly than it already is.

[Mason]

You buy an SUV for both the dogs to sit in the front seat 

Snapchat-1331767527 by mason rice, on Flickr

And onto todays work. Swapped the air bag and cruise control over and got the sti wheel installed.

MVIMG_20181219_155631 by mason rice, on Flickr

Got the suspension swapped. this was the only picture I decided to take I guess.

IMG_20181219_131157 by mason rice, on Flickr

After installation. seems to have dropped the rear a bit, but almost the same ride height.

MVIMG_20181219_153721 by mason rice, on Flickr

The old suspension was actually in great shape and when I was tearing down I found that a bolt for the exhaust hanger was loose which was causing the squeeking. I also discovered that the rear Diff mount bushing were clapped right out. I believe this was causes the bouncing from the rear end. feeling pretty disappointed that the "new" suspension didn't solve the issues, but I do hope that they perform better than the WRX suspension. Atleast I can sell them for a couple bucks to pay for the bushings.

[Real]

I thought we got the rear bushing on his car. But didn't do the U joint cuz we didn't have a roll pin punch.

Paging Player One and Real. GR dash removal party.

My rear bushing was also a itchbay to do. But so worth it.

still got the parts BNIB LOL... 2019 tho! new year, new me

[SubieRoo]

That steering wheel looks phenomenal.

Any plans with the brembos? Apparently my prep wasn't the best on those. Glad to see this making forward progress!

[Mason]

That steering wheel looks phenomenal.

Any plans with the brembos? Apparently my prep wasn't the best on those. Glad to see this making forward progress!

I chipped away the black paint on one of them before decided today wasn't the day to deal with it. I might hook up a buffer and just clean the black paint off. Im not too sure what the oem powder coating looks like under there, but I wouldn't mind the gold.

I think the only way to get a durable painton calipers for year round driving is powder coating,

[bigdark]

After installation. seems to have dropped the rear a bit, but almost the same ride height.

MVIMG_20181219_153721 by mason rice, on Flickr

I think our Foresters do sag a bit on this suspension setup so you may need spacers?
I'm running 3/8” Saggy Butt Spacers on mine and it evens the rear out to the front.

[Mason]

I have that backwards. It dropped the front a bit and now sits more level than with the impreza suspension.

I'm also not running a spare or any tools in the trunk

[DaDuke99]

I was told the wrx suspension I put in my Forester was from a wagon, but the butt sags regardless and will need spacers. May be a group buy thing really, I'll need 2 sets at least myself (one for the sti)

[Mason]

Got some motivation to swap the Rear diff carrier bushings today.

Here are the old and very sad bushing

MVIMG_20190201_114111 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190201_114115 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190201_114305 by
mason rice, on Flickr

Here are the new GNP Bushings.

MVIMG_20190201_115107 by mason rice, on Flickr

Install was again pretty ittshay because the bushings have zero give, and are slightly wider than the clapped out OEM. Lots of hitting and prying to get them into place, Felt great after a heavy chest day at the gym. Instant difference when lifting the car off the jack stands. before the diff would have about 2 inches of play before the car would move, now it is almost instant.

Also grabbed a drive shaft carrier bushing and tossed that on.

MVIMG_20190201_132256 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190201_132303 by mason rice, on Flickr

It is such a shame to put a beautifully anodized part under the car.

Drive home was great! No bouncing in the rear on acceleration, felt smoother over bumps, and is noticeably easier to shift. I am very impressed on the improvements for a $100 in bushings.

[SubieRoo]

Looking minty! I love that red

[Mason]

Well the Fozzy only really moved 3 times since I did the diff bushings. I have only put on 1950km since the tune at the end of October  . I got out today to drive it and man does it feel good. Everything is starting to feel solid when driving and it has some pretty good power for a 2.0L SUV. Took it for a quick wash, it was rather neglected for the last couple month because of working and then moving.

MVIMG_20190318_130435 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190318_132838 by mason rice, on Flickr

Stopped at the local shop and picked up everything I needed to do valve covers and cam seals.

MVIMG_20190318_133315 by mason rice, on Flickr

with break up just around the corner I should be able to get these hammered out soon.

[jellynuts]

Super clean.  Is that a dent on the driver's front wheel well?  You can get that PDF'd out easy   (If you're ever in Calgary, drop by ECO Dentworks!)

[DaDuke99]

with break up just around the corner I should be able to get these hammered out soon.

Adult spring break has become one of my favourite times to plan lots and do nothing.

[Mason]

yeah that's a goose egg. There is another one similar on the driver's door I want to get pulled! Might stop by one day in the summer

I've been off for about a week now, which means I probably already wasted most of it.

[seat safety switch]

Eco did some miracle work on my Saab, so strongly recommended.

[Mason]

First thing I did today was pull the engine and trans mounts and attempt to make DIY solid mounts. I used 3m Window weld and went wild on the oem mounts. Worst case, they are the same with a bunch of window weld jammed in there. Best case, I save 500 bucks on solid mounts.

MVIMG_20190320_134315 by mason rice, on Flickr

Now waiting for that to dry, I started tearing down the timing parts. Everything came apart fairly easy and I didn't run into any issues.

MVIMG_20190320_145153 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190320_145214 by mason rice, on Flickr

Looks like the cam seals have been replaced before, but there is some oil build up under both sides. From my short experience and a quick check over it looks like both the intake cams are leaking a bit.

MVIMG_20190320_145404 by mason rice, on Flickr

The front crank shaft seal was original and seems to be the major leak in here. I pulled the oil pump off and found the O-ring was pinched pretty severely. I started cleaning the oil pump up before i ran out of time today

[Mason]

Things were going well this morning. Replaced all the cam seals, pulled the RH valve cover and checked Valve lash. everything looked good so I sealed it back up.

MVIMG_20190321_113549 by mason rice, on Flickr

MVIMG_20190321_113524 by mason rice, on Flickr

Remember to replace your grommets!

MVIMG_20190321_104951 by mason rice, on Flickr

Next I got the oil pump back on, everything was going great.

MVIMG_20190321_125955 by mason rice, on Flickr

Here is the old oil pump o-ring #RIP

MVIMG_20190321_105013 by mason rice, on Flickr

This is where the good luck ended pretty much. The Engine is propped up on a jack while waiting for the mounts to dry. naturally the engine swayed a bit to the drivers side, which helped with the space issues. I  needed to swing the engine back over to the other side so I popped a pry bar in between the engine and frame and POP  it was already too late, I had broken the oil filler neck. Quickest replacement in red deer is a week away.

I continued forward and pulled the valve cover off. Got it cleaned up and checked valve Clearance. Intake cam was good, Exhaust cam was not so good: 0.004", 0.000" 0.005", 0.002". The 0.000" is tight enough to make it difficult to spin by hand.

Looks like my next day is all planned out now.

[Mason]

Oil filler neck and buckets are in. Ended up ordering a 470, 475, and 475 bucket from Scott Subaru at a staggering $33 per bucket. Heads up for anyone doing this in the future: This was the most painful experience trying to get these ordered even with the part number, the Parts jockey really struggled and it was nearly a 40 minute call to confirm that the buckets were correct. Also Picked up a new power steering pump and a few odds and ends that were missing for the fozzy from a part out.

 I guess work decided that break up wasn't going to happen for me this year and I was sent to North Battleford for 4 days, then get one day home, and another week in Wainwright. Car might have to sit for a couple weeks until things simmer down at work.

[deedz]

Nice Forester! I'm not sure how I've missed out on this build thread until now, but what a read and I'll be following going forward. I'm really enjoying all of the pictures and information you've shared, very descriptive. I've been lacking hugely in my build threads for some time now.

I have to say it's both a bit of a relief, but also painful to know that someone else has gone through so much itshay with their Forester. What the hell is it about black SG's hahaha! Fortunately mine has been very good since my engine rebuild, but man did I ever go through a lot of itshay to get there.

It must have been a large task swapping in a V7 EJ207 into a Forester rather than just grabbing a JDM Forester STi long block of the same model year. Very cool to see. I swapped a V7 EJ207 and full V8 6-speed/drive train in my 04 WRX Wagon which was 4EAT originally and that's been a tall enough task even with the ECU plug types and the majority of the wiring matching. Maybe the 03 Forester has the same matching connectors, etc and I'm just not aware of it...? For the WRX's I believe it was 06 when the ECU/connector's changed, basically when they ditched the 2.0L.

Did you ever fully confirm the pitch stop issue that you had with stating that the Forester pitch stop is longer? I mean it's obvious in the picture, but I'm almost suspecting the AM stop as being incorrect... I could 100% be wrong there I just don't recall noticing this at all when I had installed a STi Group N mount on my current SG9 or my old SG5. Just curious as I was thinking about getting something different to replace the current Group N. Whenever I'm able I can measure the Beatrush mount on my swapped wagon too I guess, and as long as I can find one of my original Forester mounts I could compare measurements.

Curious if your STi suspension has been holding up well? The PO of my SG9 ran the stock struts in the winter and Megan coil-overs (sub-par, but not bad for the price) in the summer. I liked staying lower, so I was on my WRX Tokico D-specs for a while, but they developed a clunk in the rear. I switched to 04 STi struts with very low km on them, yet they too developed the well known clunk after on one winter running them. I never got to the tear down for greasing etc. last summer and I didn't run the Forester much this winter so I was lazy and left the coilovers on as they don't have a lot of life left anyway. Also, with our quick change of seasons it's such a pita switching and getting aligned in such short intervals. Too many vehicles makes these tasks extra daunting when trying to divide my free time properly too.

Also, very curious to find out how the mounts turn out after the window weld addition. I'm running Group N mounts on the engine of my Forester along with the Rallitek 4EAT trans mount insert. With my other modified Subaru I'm running Cusco mounts on the engine and Group N on the 6 Speed. However I was thinking of doing a similar engine mount modification on my 6.0L swapped OBS GMC Sierra. It's utilizing the LS swap engiine mount plates with the original engine mounts for the 5.7L Vortec. I bought new mounts, but I'm leery of how well they'll hold up with the significant jump in overall power from the 6.0L.

[Mason]

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.

[Mason]

Wow I guess break up was cancelled for me this year. Worked everyday since my last post including a cancelled holiday due to being swamped. Finally got some time today to work on the Fozzy. Picked up the buckets and turns out they are not quite the same. Part number matches 2002-2014 wrx and 2004-2019 Sti. From what I have tried to search on google it looks like these are the only type available. I dropped them in and clearance was 0.009" on one and 0.010" on the rest. spun the cam over a couple times and didn't feel any binding or resistance. I chatted with the dudes at AFR and they figure it should be good to run.

MVIMG_20190412_085659 by mason rice, on Flickr

Got The valve cover back on finally!

MVIMG_20190412_124436 by mason rice, on Flickr

This was kinda lame. Looks like the EJ257 and EJ207/205 have different filler necks. I should have payed more attention while ordering, so now I am back waiting for the proper one   

MVIMG_20190412_124046 by mason rice, on Flickr

Got the new to me power steering pump installed while I wait. I guess it was leaking more than I thought. The bracket was nicely coated in power steering fluid. you can see the oil fluid caked onto the old one, I thought that was normal...
 
MVIMG_20190412_094528 by mason rice, on Flickr

[Mason]

Well, my 4 day work over has now extended into over a month. Plugged away a bit today and got the car running! I let it idle for a couple minutes on the old oil then killed it to do an oil change. I am not sure if its the Ghetto mounts or the valve adjustment, but the idle is very smooth and the engine is way more quiet now.

MVIMG_20190422_163037 by mason rice, on Flickr

I decided to use some heat wrap to protect the engine mounts. They didn't catch fire when I put a lighter on it, but I was still a bit concerned. Just window welded some exhaust wrap to the out side and boom, $50 solid mounts!


MVIMG_20190419_082034 by


I went ahead and did the oil cooler gasket while I had the oil filter off. I am not sure if I lost the gasket in the scramble to GTFO before dumping coolant all over, but there wasn't one on the cooler, nor could I find one laying around under the car. hopefully this is the culprit of my coolant loss of 1L per 1000km.

MVIMG_20190422_161857 by mason rice, on Flickr

Got the new gasket in, installed the cooler, and decided to clock out for the day.

MVIMG_20190422_161926 by mason rice, on Flickr

[DaDuke99]

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