New Sway bar kit and Cobb Accessport!

Last night I picked myself up a Agency-Power sway bar kit. The kit includes front and rear 22MM sway bars, bushings, rear mounts, front and rear end links, and all the bolts, nuts, and washers your heart could desire. The stock sway bars are 19MM and the stock end links are weak and I've managed to bend one of them so these new beefy ones will do the job! When I ran over to Ill-Tech Auto in Tacoma, WA to pick up the kit they just happened to have a Cobb AccessPort for a '07 STi sitting right in front of me so like a kid in a candy story my eyes lite up and I started drooling. I ended up walking away with the Cobb Accessport and the Sway bar kit.

After I got home I dug everything out of the boxes and looked at it then I ran to the car to get a stage 1 tune on it. I flashed the car and on start up it didn't want to kick over but this is typical whenever your ECU is reset. After a few seconds it fired up and you could hear a more pronounced boxer sound. The car is much more responsive and it does exactly what I tell it to do. I am fairly certain my turbo is shot so I was running little to no boost however running with no boost the car definitely felt faster. I can't wait to get my turbo replaced and see what she is capable of!

The saga of the clutch and flywheel...

Have you ever been cruising down the highway and needed to downshift for a quick burst of acceleration say to change lanes or pass somebody, then out of nowhere you hear the engine rev up, yet the car does not seem to go anywhere, on top of that you start to smell something that appears to be burning. Well my friend you have just experienced clutch slip. My STi had a stock clutch and flywheel for the first 30K miles of its life. Around 29K I noticed the clutch slipping slightly, over the next few months it got worse and worse until I could not push the throttle passed 10-20% in 4th, 5th, and 6th gears. It was time for a new clutch. You ask yourself why is the clutch gone on only 30K miles? Well first I am a fairly aggressive driver and I engine brake excessively. 2nd, there was a recall on the stock clutch. I asked Subaru about the details of the recall but they would not tell me anything.

Around a month ago I dropped the car off at the Auburn, WA. Subaru dealership where I bought the car. I told them my clutch was slipping and I wanted them to verify that was in fact the case (I was also having oil burning issues, more on that in a later post). They claimed my clutch was fine. Since this was a dealership I believed them and went on my way. Over the next few weeks it became apparent that something was in fact wrong. I researched into the problem but all symptoms pointed to a failing clutch. I decided to try another dealership in Tacoma, again, I dropped the car off and told them exactly what I had told the dealership in Auburn. They said it sounded like the clutch and they would look at it. I dropped the car off the following week for a full two day visit (try being without your car for two full days, it's brutal). After the mechanic drove it for one minute he informed me that the clutch was in fact bad and because there was a recall I’d be getting a new clutch and flywheel free of charge. After waiting two days I finally received the call saying she was done and ready for pick up. Not two hours later I was down there picking her up. The new clutch grabs much more than the previous one. I am one happy camper (for now).

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID...

Stupid sums it all up. There is no need for a description of what I did, the pictures say it all. S.T.U.P.I.D!

....For those who still are having trouble seeing the problem. Notice how everything on the right side is discolored yet everything on the left seems normal. Anybody ever hear of a oil filler cap?

Fun with exhaust note...

After I fixed my exhaust leak I decided to take some video of the car on jacks. I ended up with this cut. Another sample of what she sounds like. Make sure you listen to this on speakers with a good low end so you get the sweeeeeet boxer sound. Enjoy.

Exhaust Leak Repair

While looking into a completely separate issue with my rear suspension over the weekend I discovered that my exhaust was leaking where my SPT cat-back meets up with the downpipe. We can't have this so the following day I picked up the parts needed for the repair, got the car on jacks and started pounding on bolts. The picture on the left is the downpipe connecting to the cat-back via the bolts with the springs.



Here is a video of the exhaust while the car is running. You can see the leak as well as the moisture complete with a puddle on the ground.

This was the first time that I have put the car up on 4 jacks. Usually I lift either the rear or the front but with this repair I needed to get under the center of the car with enough room to break loose the 15MM bolts so the entire car had to come up.

The old bolts, springs, and nuts. I replaced all three pieces. You can also see the rear passenger side tire and one of the jacks.

Here is what the inner of the downpipe looks like. The piece I am holding is the cat-back. Notice that there is no gasket???

I've placed a new non-factory gasket on the downpipe and we are ready to bolt it back together.

Bolts are on, notice the springs. 26 feet-pounds on the bolts.