The Voices

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 !

23 hours ago, JOE-DOT-COM said:

Hi Jon

Its the one that goes from the back of the thermo stat housing to the throttle body, that usually goes, named the valley pipe, early hoses were one piece and they ballooned right by the thermo stat housing, where the hose went from the large size of the stat and then reduced size, later hoses are in two pieces with a plastic adapter that changes the size of the pipe, later ones are much less prone to failing

also when you look at the part list, for hoses, there is a large number of hoses on the s-type r

In summer, I going to change my valley pipe and go to evans waterless coolant, I've used it in other cars and bikes and it very impressive , you get no pressure in the system what so ever, when the engine is running and the fan is on, you can just unscrew your expansion tank cap and nothing happens, as there is no pressure and you never need to change it again, well recomended, but its a not cheap on the STR as you need twice the amount of coolant as it holds quite a lot

cheers

Joe

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'

5 hours ago, Russ68 said:

Ah, good thinking! If we lasered metal it would be an easier sell, but unless we're doing sump and diff guards in plastic or wood, it wouldn't really work, as this is the laser work we (currently) do  

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 ?

Parking space ?

You were lucky !

I used to have to work a 72 hour shift..................................................

A two post lift would be awesome !

You could recoup some of the cost by hiring it out to fellow enthusiasts !

Getting soft in my old age.

I probably can fix it myself, but I am working by the roadside, my driveway is on a slope so not the most practical !

Used to enjoy a bit (or a lot) of 'spannering', but these days I can't really be bothered, lazy b**t**d that I am !

My current idea of working on the car would involve heating, lighting, background music and a ramp (and no deadline for when it has to be ready)

Thanks guys !

I am itching to have a go at the hoses myself but don't have the use of my friends garage anymore.

My garage is not big enough to get the car in and have any room to work.

Just have to bide my time and wait for Andy to get back from his hols.

He said he was going away in a camper van, I asked him 'camper than what ?'

Got the new tyres fitted this morning and MOT'd this afternoon.

Went through with no advisories, just need Andy back to sort the hoses !

The picture below shows some of the intake setup (filter box to supercharger / throttle body inlet)

I haven't looked where the feed comes into the airbox.

From what I can tell, the STR upgrade is either 'panel' filter or cone with heatshield, usually with a one piece stainless intake pipe that does away with the corrugated plastic one.

I was more concerned about it getting hot whilst doing the emission test.

Temperature seems fine when the car is moving and has airflow but not monitored the coolant temperature at a standstill ?