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My 04 Forester XT

('03-'05) 
4K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  AusCan 
#1 · (Edited)
I really should have started one of these when I got my forester 2 years ago! Oh well... :shrug:

Background:
Bought nearly stock in 2014 with 84k from and older gentleman. It was a one owner car from the Boston area.

Since I bought it it has had a few issues. I have replaced the center differential, rear wheel bearings, rear differential, rear CV's and passenger front CV, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, radiator hoses, PCV valve, as well as many rusty nuts and bolts along the way and other things I'm forgetting. A rust spot on the driver rear quarter panel was repaired and both bumper covers were resprayed.

When I got this car it was pretty rusty, the previous owner rarely washed it. It had the famous Subaru rear quarter rust which has since been repaired. The whole underside has been undercoated with POR-15 (I spent way too much time doing this).


MODS:

Exterior:
  • Importology rep lip (ebay)
  • 06-07 V-Limited lip
  • JDM headlight surrounds
  • JDM rear mid spoiler
  • Rally armor mud flaps
  • Yellow fog light tint
  • DIY front grille
  • Tints (not sure of the %)

Interior:
  • Kenwood double din touch screen with nav
  • 2012 Nexus 7 in double din dash pod
  • DIY boost gauge

Engine:
  • STI catless uppipe
  • Cobb accessport V2 (stage 1)
  • TurboXS catback

Suspension/Brakes:
  • 2006 WRX struts and springs
  • 3/8" Saggy butt spacers
  • STI rear sway bar
  • STI aluminum lateral links
  • Stoptech street performance brake pads
  • Centric premium rotors

Wheels/Tires:
  • Sparco asseto gara 17" gold wheels
  • Continental purecontact 225/55-r17

Here it is in its current state:


I'll be editing and adding pictures when I have some free time.
 
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#3 ·
Nice!

Oh yes, the POR 15 mod. I need to do that on the XS and XT. It doesn't sound fun :p

I'm actually going to use Eastwood's brand stuff, but it's basically the same idea. A little less prep/fussy than POR-15.
 
#6 ·
Just installed the Kartboy front and rear rear shifter bushings and wow I would not want to do that job again. I had a lot of trouble with the rear bushing and after almost stripping out the weld nut on the chassis I had to remove the metal sleeves to get it to work.

Overall I'm not sure if it was worth it. I can barely notice a difference in the shifter feel.
 
#7 ·
Overall I'm not sure if it was worth it. I can barely notice a difference in the shifter feel.
You win some, you lose some.

If I can't notice the difference in what I've done I get really mad haha. I figure it's my money and usually quite a lot of my time that I've spent on the process. Money you can get back some of the time (by taking the part off and selling it) but time you can't!

Anyway, welcome to the forum! Can't wait to see what else you post.
 
#8 ·
Its been a while since I did an update.

Painted and installed the importology lip and modified the 06-07 v-limited lip to fit under it. Used the grimmspeed PSM and clear to paint it. It came out pretty good but the clear came out a little cloudy for some reason. The fitment on the importology lip was terrible, I could have spent forever getting it to fit correctly. All the v-limited lip needed was a few cuts and and a little persuasion, I was really surprised how easy it was!



Also installed a 2012 nexus 7, still needs some tweaks but so far its working decent. If anyone is interested I can go more in-depth on the install.

 
#9 ·
Well this week was interesting. Pulled the engine to replace the clutch and some other bits.

Parts installed:
-Exedy KSB03 clutch kit and resurfaced flywheel
-Group N motor mounts
-New oil pan
-New shifter linkage u-joint (to help get rid of side to side slop)
-Other random stuff like a rear main seal, oil cooler hoses, etc.



 
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