The Suba-Banger (2005 Forester)

So as some of y'all already know, I got this car for cheap, $600, it looks like hell worn over, and I intend to have some fun with it. Sooo.. I'm throwing up a thread to take y'all along for the ride, it'll be a little while before the ball really gets going, gotta crawl out of the financial hole wrecking my '77 Delta got me into, but I should have it on the road by the end of November, in time for the snow!'

I'm only doing this thread for my own amusement. I feel it is necessary to drag along whomever will be dragged along on my crazy nonsense involving cars, haven't really done this much before, so we'll see how it goes.

My plan for this car is simple, fix what I have too, service what I have too, probably throw in a better radio and front door speakers, the obligitry loud exhaust. I'm a child cleverly disguised as a responsible adult, buzzing / rumbling through neighborhoods in an obnoxious car will never grow old

So the current plan is in more detail, and mostly in no specific order apart from the first two items:

Timing belt service, kit is $170 or so, labor will be $200, coolant will be about $40 'cause the kit comes with the water pump, will probably throw in a thermostat while I'm at it.

Transmission fluid change, Subaru's have a drain plug on the pan, and an external filter with an internal mesh, I won't be changing the mesh yet, I want to get all that old fluid out first. I think they hold around 9 quarts including the torque converter, so it'll take a few changes. I plan to change the fluid three times before changing the filter again, once every 4-5,000 miles, then change the filter at 15,000 (if it makes it that long ) That won't cost much, takes Dextron III (I have a bunch of that around) and the filter is about $10.

Tires, got my eye on some like new cheap Douglas tires, might get those, not sure yet. Have to see if I can haggle the price down.

Obligatory exhaust modification (Hacking the muffler off and putting on a glasspack, 'cause, like I said, I'm a child)

Past that, I've got a few minor things to do, like figure out why so many grounds are unhooked on the engine. I think the engine may have been serviced or replaced. Might have already had the head gaskets done, as they often need.

Sooo... That's it for now, we'll see how this goes. I plan to keep this car until it dies. It may not be turbocharged, it may not be a dual overhead cam engine, it may only have had 165 horses from the factory (Which really isn't bad for a four banger), but it's going to be a fun little toy of a puddle jumper.

I should note, I got this car to mainly fix my '79 Delta Holiday 88, but that will happen in the spring, I don't do anything but what I have to a car in the winter. I hate the cold! But I'm going to keep this car going as long as I can, I have a feeling 24+ MPG will be wonderful in comparison to ~12MPG.

Videos so far:

First off, this is my Subaru:



And this is some questionable service the car has had:



And this is the horrible noise of a bad timing belt tensioner



Got another one coming where I look at the possibility that this engine has been serviced and changed.

 

Why not get the Gates timing belt kit with the water pump and do it yourself? It's really not bad to install yourself. The hardest part is holding the crank from rotating while you loosen the crank damper bolt and then tightening it back up.

Also FWIW the Subaru guys swear that the aftermarket thermostats do not flow well enough and will cause your engine to over heat. They insist that the OEM thermostat is the only way to go. Not sure how much truth there is to that.

 

There is. Subaru T-stat only. And since the t-stat housing is attached to the WP housing and you have to switch it over, you might as well change it anyway. There's also a procedure for preventing the t-stat from airlocking and causing the engine to overheat. So if you were to decide to do this yourself, definitely reach out to me as I have several year's worth of Subie t-belt experience. I'll do my best to walk you through it all, but most of it is very easy. Consider yourself lucky you didn't buy an older one with dual timing belts.

 

I agree on the do it yourself. You admit you're an overgrown kid and you got the wagon to play with it. Playing does not include hiring someone to do the work and throwing away 1/3 what you paid for the car in the first place.
You drug us along so for the most part we are gonna be here to bug you and have some fun..... cause we're kids at heart too.
You have some good help here just pay attention and let them lead you down the path of shade tree mechanics.
Those dents in the right front fender and some of the others will come out with a few blows with a little hammer. Start out slowly and don't over stretch the metal. Things like that wire for a fuse, a little body work and some ground wires won't cost much and will make things look and run better.

 

I know someone who knows how to do this properly, hence why I'm paying him $200 to fix it. As for the Gates kit, that's the one I had my eye on. And, as for the thermostat, on these engines it's located in a small housing on the bottom of the engine. It has the EJ25 SOHC N/A.

What it boils down too is that, while I'm sure I could do it, I'm not sure I want to take the chance of getting the timing off and bending a valve or something. Once I've seen it done, and know how it's done, I'd gladly do it myself.

I'll look into it, but I doubt I will attempt to change the belt / pullies / tensioner myself, for the record this is the kit I am looking at using:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?catalog=64&partnum=TCKWP304C

Now as for the transmission fluid / filter / screen and gasket change, I have no issues doing that, I've done that on a few vehicles already, and the Subaru makes it easy. So as I said, I'll change the external filter and as much fluid as I can, and do this once or twice more until I only have good fluid in the transmission, then drop the pan and change the screen, and put a new external filter on it again and call it for about 20k miles (if it lasts that long). The transmission shifts a bit hard, but it doesn't slip, I feel like clean fluid will fix it. The fluid is pretty dark, but I've brought back transmissions in this bad of shape before doing this, 'course those where old Chevy transmissions that have that horrible two screw screen filter. I don't like that design, at all. Made 'em shift like new, even got the one in my '77 Delta to stop slipping.

So, as I've said, I don't want to risk damage, so I'll have to do more research before I decide for sure if I am going to try to do the timing belt myself. One problem is a tool to hold the crank, I have nothing to do that with. Was thinking of getting a friend to weld up some posts on a pipe, rod, or rebar to stick in the crank so it can't turn, into those holes on the front. Just something that can rest over on the fender, I'm not worried about the body. But we'll see, and I'll keep y'all updated.

By the way I've already replaced the fuse, as seen in one video, started the car three or four times with it there and it hasn't blown (yet). No idea why that wire was there except they thought the only replacement was a $25 subaru fuse. I bought a fuse for $4.20 locally.

So, I'm gonna watch a few videos on changing the timing belt, see if I feel up too it or not.

 

I never 'held' the crank. I took a breaker bar and (I think) a 22mm socket, plus a few layers of cardboard. After removing the coolant bottle, fans, belt shrouds, accessory belts and the A/C belt tensioner, put the cardboard up against the radiator, put the socket and breaker bar on the crank bolt so that the handle is sitting flat on the driver's side of the engine compartment, between the battery and the window washer reservoir. Disconnect the connector to the coil pack to disable the engine, then just 'hit' the key to break the bolt loose. To tighten it, pull the little rubber cover off the back of the engine near the top, and place a BIG screwdriver or a prybarin so that one of the torque converter nuts/studs is held by the tool, then go ahead and torque the crank bolt. But be sure to use red threadlocker on it to ensure it doesn't spin itself out. I'm willing to tell you the other tricks I use to do Subie belts, if you want to know.

 

You can do this, and I can help you with it, if you think you have the confidence to do it.

 

Starter bump trick is what I use to loosen the crank bolt too and it works well. I couldn't get a big enough screwdriver in to hold the flex plate to retighten so I used a strap wrench on the damper to retighten. If you aren't comfortable doing it then that is cool, but it really isn't that hard. I'm sure there are a ton of how to's and youtube videos on it floating around.

 

Yeah I've heard of the starter crank trick, I'd rather not try it, I'm sure it will likely work without hurting anything, but it just unnerves me too much to try. Another reason I'd pay someone a bit to do this, if he screws it up, he owes me. Cycle of life, or some nonsense like that.

 

In all the times I've done it, I've never had any mishap. But I also used a Mac Tools fender mat; cardboard will work in a pinch. DON'T use a ratchet. A 1/2" long breaker bar from HF works beautifully.

 

Subscribed to thread...looking forward to seeing the Sube get back on the road.

 

Yea right, and I'll hold my breath if this happens.
Why not try what the members are suggesting? If the bolt doesn't come loose throw away good money to let someone else do it. You can't crawl out of a financial hole by burying yourself under more expenses. This is supposed to be a fun learning experience so park that Suba under the nearest shade tree and start tearing it apart.

 

Just do it carefully and keep track of all the bolts and nuts.

 

So park that Subaru under the nearest shade tree and start tearing it apart.
Just do it carefully and keep track of all the bolts and nuts.

We discovered there's a pecan tree at the other house we bought. Lots of nuts to keep track of when working under that one.

 

You won't have to take a lunch break with that one!