Subaru Forester Owners Forum banner

AusCan 04 XT & 04 STI

('03-'05) 
67K views 682 replies 26 participants last post by  AusCan 
#1 · (Edited)
AusCan 04 XTi 6MT

Howdy Guys,
Decided to have a crack creating a Subie Journal.
I've been a fan of Subaru's for a number of years but didn't get a chance to own one whilst living in Oz.

I'm daily driving a JBP 04 XTi 6MT and I use to own a JBP 04 STi which I sold in 2019.
My wife also drives an 00 RS Impreza.

We love our Subies
:woohoo:
 
#6 · (Edited)
It has been sometime since the last Journal post. Okay here we go --> heaps of progress since my last post way back.
Purchased the 04 XT 5MT back in June 2015.

It is in need of a fair bit of TLC - which I'm up for the challenge.
Oh yes it required a tow which one of my mates kindly helped me out.:rock:



Here is a quick engine bay pic - b/f commencing the removal of the engine and undertaking much needed rust restoration.



In order to pull the engine I needed to source a engine hoist - found a great deal on CL (as you do) which I snapped up. Hoist looks a little lonely don't it - well not for long.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Engine Pulled. Not that difficult and there are number threads on this topic..... so no need for me to replicate etc.
Good progress and now have more room for the major job.... that being rust repairs. Alot of cut knuckles and fingers lol. More on that later.

 
#9 · (Edited)
Rusty Front Crossmember - this is toast and needs replacing badly. See below:-
Oh yes some pics are a little blurry apologies...



Now that is some major rust ha....


Another view of engine out and crossmember that needs replacing.


Crossmember removed and now off to the local wreckers to source replacement part


Found myself a replacement crossmember at the wreckers... had some minor surface rust. Nothing major - gave is a good surface clean and painted. Happy with the final result - see below:-




Here is the new crossmember installed and awaiting the engine

 
#10 · (Edited)
Rust Restoration... what am I up against.... well it has taken me extensive hrs to tackle this rust. I was determined that I could restore this beauty back to show room condition - or as close as possible.
Here is a good pic showing the under body rust - XT previously resided Ontario. No surprises here - I knew what I would be up against hmm maybe lol.
The simple/easy solution would be to part it out... that be too easy lol.



I've spent many man-hours underneath this beast .... I will show in another post the completed work.



The wood you see is additional safety measure. There are six jack stands..... Oh yes I am very safety conscience it is a given in my field of work.

Additionally not shown in this pic I also used the wheels as an extra safety precaution.
 
#12 · (Edited)
After tackle the majority of under body rust repairs - I moved onto the inside of the vehicle. The remaining exterior area that needs attention is the fuel filler piping area. A common area to watch out for rust development etc.

Okay here are some inside pics:-

--> looking from underneath the car - drain plug completed rusted.


--> just a little bit rusty ha :wink:






--> seats/carpets all removed. If you look closely over at the fuel release handle totally rusted lol.



--> oh yes here is a better pic of the super rusty release handle - wow ha









I've tackled all the areas where there was any glimmer of rust. All floor pan metal plugs were replaced



 
#13 · (Edited)
I've always liked the look of the Sti BBS Rims both on the Sti and XT. I'm always browsing and was very fortunate to come across a set of 04 BBS Rims in fantastic condition and good $$ - which I couldn't pass up. These are super rare and are the 5x100 bolt pattern.
Here is a quick pic - test fitting and basically seeing how she looks - sweet!!!!
:bananapartyhat:

 
#14 · (Edited)
Next on my list to do was the rusty fuel filler piping rusty our rear wheel area - see below:-
Now that is toast and I will definitely need to mig weld a 18g sheet metal.



Removed the filler pipe - will replace with a new piece. I've check at RockAuto and they have good new pricing for this part. You can see that I cut it in order to make the removal much easer - part was toast so didn't matter etc.



Area cleaned up and prep for welding. Will do a final grind to remove any surface rust prior to welding.

 
#18 · (Edited)
I'm now starting the more exciting part of the build - engine tear down. I'll try and show a few pics detailing what I did here.
--> first item was the removal of the intake manifold. Not super difficult - but I did take my time as there is a lot of hose plumbing and electrical connections etc.



Piping to the oil cooler is toast - I've already purchase new part.



Flipping the motor upside down - you can see how rusty oil pan and the oil cooler piping - which I mention above. Got a new oil pan ready to go.



Heat shield for the exhaust manifold it toast lol. Don't plan on replacing this shield - used paint specifically rated for exhaust manifolds.... need to show final result....



Next step was to remove the timing belt covers - but first the crank pulley needs to be removed. Did want to spend $$ on a special subie tool - so I quickly made a tool to do the job. Not pretty by any measure - but it did the job as required. Happy with that for sure.



Timing belt cover removed - here is how she looks:



Belt removed - slowly getting there ha!!



Next step is to remove the CAM bolts. If you have read about how ..... tight these things are - then believe what you read. They are crazy crazy tight. I used a long breaker bar with a metal pipe. There are varying methods that people use to hold the CAMS - I used the timing belt method with clamps - which work well.

Thinking that I'll use this method with the old timing belt to tighten them. Can't recall at the top of my head - but they are in the order of 72ish ft lb. We will see when I get to that stage.



Flipping the engine over and removed the rusty old oil pan - went straight into the trash can.



Heads removed - now we basically have a short block.



Here is a how the Heads look prior to taking them to the Machine Shop:



 
#19 · (Edited)
Here is a pic of the condition of the pistons b/f and after a quick clean. At this stage I wasn't sure if I was going to go down the route of splitting block and replace main bearings and going Forged.



Result after a very quick cleaning - they were in pretty good condition - making my decision more difficult



Oil pump, water pump and inspection plate & all plugs removed - getting closer to splitting block which I decided to undertake





Pistons removed now ready to remove case bolts and actually split the block



After piston removal(s) then removed case half bolts and commenced splitting the block





Really coming apart now - almost separated



Gave the heads and short block a good clean b/f taking to the machine shop. Maybe too of a clean lol.

 
#20 · (Edited)
After splitting the block I moved onto the Intake Manifold. I was going to leave as is - but it obviously needed a good clean down and some de-rusting - so I decided to strip it down fully and paint.

Manifold stripped down:



Manifold awaiting further cleaning:



Good cleaning completed and masked up - now we are finally ready for a wrinkle red paint.
:bling:



I used the VHT wrinkle red. Brighter then the original STI Red. Gives it a bit of bling - it has grown on me - I like the brightness.



All reassembled and ready to be installed - when I finally get to that stage. Slowly getting there :smile2:

 
#21 · (Edited)
Moving onto the brakes - now these were so so rusty that I was really considering just ditching. But I decided to restore them as best as I could. @Legacy I do plan on purchasing the Brembo's in the near future - just couldn't at this point in time.

Some rusty pics of the brakes - crazy to try and restore/remove rust?
What ya think? Lurkes come on you can say something lol.

These are pretty rusty ha?







One piston removed and see how rusty the other one is.... wow ha.
BTW if you are wondering how I removed the piston calipers? Compressed air works well - obviously you'll need to work at it ..... PB Blaster to aid in the removal.







Went with "red" colour lol. Can you tell I like red/black combo.



Didn't turn out too bad.... considering the state they were in. Will update when I purchase the pistons, boot seals at a later date.

 
#22 · (Edited)
Now I'm onto the best part of the project. That being the building of the shortblock and went with JE Forged Pistons.

Main bearings and rod bearings - it was decided that King Racing Bearings was a good choice:



All bearings install and case halves ready to be joined:
--> see the new case washers ready to go...




Quick pick of the JE Pistons packaging - forgot to take a pic of them.



Shortblock patiently awaiting the Forged Pistons:



Here is RHS No 1 piston installed:



All pistons installed - pic showing RHS 1 & 3 pistons



Rear Main Seal installed:
- didn't take a pic after the inspection plate and inspection plugs.

 
#23 · (Edited)
Commencing the Longblock build:

--> Flywheel resurfaced and pilot bearing installed - looks super nice after a resurfacing:



End result Flywheel installed - noticed that I made my own ST wrapped in electrical tape to prevent scratching etc and to hold Flywheel to torque bolts.



Oil Pump & Water Pump installed:



Quick pic oil cooler adapter:



Pic b/f and after the Baffle Plate and Oil Pickup installed:





Oil Pan installed - just a tad better then the old rusty one ha lol. Inserted link to the old one in case you didn't see it:-
--> Old Rusty Oil Pan Link



Side view:



Had a little bit of time this afternoon to install the oil cooler and some piping. Noticed one pipe is cracking (been checking closely). Labeled it and already order replacement - won't arrive until after the long weekend.

 
#25 · (Edited)
Commenced the installation of the CAMS. All was running smoothly well that was b/f I started with part.
I completed the torquing I've got an issue with the one CAM that being - LHS Intake CAM.
Posted a question on Technical section --> http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/6038801-post1.html

Gather some feedback/thoughts b/f I chat with the Machine Shop on Monday.

 
#29 · (Edited)
Quick update all valve clearances completed and all within spec. Only req'd to get 1 additional shim bucket to complete.
Here is a link which shows these final valve clearances:-

--> http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/6055690-post17.html

Here is a pic of the bucket all removed - measure all buckets with a micrometer and swap them around as req'd.



After completion of the CAMS moved onto the rocker covers and installed both and gave them a good clean up b/f installing. Should have taken a prior pic ... oh well lol.



This weekend I installed CAM seals, timing belt back covers and commenced the exhaust manifold install. Notice the paint job I did on the manifold? Used paint spec'd for exhaust manifolds. Way better than previously.

Didn't install the LHS back timing belt cover - I'll do this once I receive the replace piping I've order for the water pump. Mentioned this is a prior post - should arrive early this week.



Installed the engine mounts and continued with the exhaust manifold install.

[
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top