Edtough

Is a Subaru the type of car you could easily work on as an competent DIY mechanic, or is it all electrics that needs a Subaru dealer to sort out?

Katana

Yes I do. But then again I'm gonna be a trained engineer soon.

MattOz

I'm not a trained mechanic, but a Scoob is no different to a Mini as far as the basics are concerned. I used to change oil, oil filter, air filter, plugs, pads, discs etc and it's really simple once you've done it once

Bigger stuff like cambelts I'd leave to a garage.

Matt

Moles Dad

Yep And I'm a divvy builder

Katana

Believe it or not, its not as difficult as you might think it is. Its just a long tedious job and lining up the four spring loaded pulleys is the most time consuming bit for it. I agree, next time I'm gonna get a garage to do it, or if I ever have to change my gearboxes again.

JamieMacdonald

I did the discs/pads and downpipe swap (all easy ) myself but I'm getting the garage to replace the shocks for me, tomorrow actually.
Edited to say that I am what some would call, an IT 'geek'! So if I can do it....

[Edited by JamieMacdonald - 10/17/2002 6:59:15 PM]

paul w

Like the others say a scoob is no different to any other car,easy to service and good access to most things,dont be put off by dealers and so on saying anything else,its only a car and providing you do things correctly you'll probably do a better job than others would.From my experience with dealers i will never let them near my car again only specialists like tsl,ss if i have any major probs.

Paul

MorayMackenzie

Yes. Have removed and installed engines, brakes and so on. Car is pretty easy to work on, as befits a rally car base.

ukbob

having bought my car as a shell and half a truck of bits
i can confirm that scoobs are not rocket science to take apart
and put back to gether again,just a big jigsaw really,bob

dnb

I had a clutch fitted yesterday. I hung around the garage to do a few other jobs to the car, as I didn't have a lift back home. The guy who fitted the clutch said that he liked working on Subarus because they were easy - things were accessible and designed to be taken apart.

I have done all other service items (and a few mods) myself. The only downside is that there is no paper manual to the things other than the official Suabru stuff. (There are some manual PDFs for the older cars downloadable from someone on the BBS)

If you're happy getting your hands dirty it's a relatively easy car to keep right - plenty of oil changes. (touch wood)
Also, you could do with plenty of time on your hands if it's the first time you do a particular job. The learning curve is quite steep!

You have to remember it's a rally car base, so most things should be able to be done in a hurry in the middle of a field

Jaay

I havent done any work on the inards of the engine but ive replaced steering racks, struts, driveshafts, exhausts, Calipers, Fuel Tanks, Belts, not all of these are scoobs though, but most. The thing that I noticed that was Vital was proper good qulity tools, all jobs would be much easier with all of the correct tools. Too often you can only use the tools that you have, but if you'd had the right ones then the job would be halfed.

uk_turbo

Do you not worry about service history when you service your own cars?

doctor CLIFFORD

I have been in the motor trade for 16 years most of that as a main dealer mechanic/electrician
I think i,m not to bad at it so when my sti engine went bang i thought i would fit the new one my self.
Got it in no problem at all and it even started first time!!!!
But when i put my foot on the clutch??????
**** !!!!
I for got to put the clutch releace fork in
Never mind i need the practice anyway

paul w

uk_turbo,

I have serviced every car i have ever owned myself and when i've sold them i've had no problems with history as i always keep every reciept and detailed service records.

I would always prefer this to a stamped book with no reciepts as this means nothing,anyone can get a book and stamp it.

I bet most people who service their own cars will have simular thoughts.

uk_turbo

I have always serviced my own cars as well but i was asking because you get people on here that say if the car isnt serviced by main dealer/specialist you will never be able to sell it or it will go bang.

johnfelstead

LOL

I tend to do most simple servicing myself, i cant be bothered to do the tougher stuff that takes access to proper hydraulic ramps and specialised tools. It's a lot less agro and quite often quicker to pay someone who knows what they are doing, has the right tools, to do the job for you.

For example, i have just had my gearbox rebuilt and 5th gear ratio swapped. I would rather pay for that to be done with the correct tools than strugle getting the box out and working out what bearings to order, what torque to use.

However, i am happy to install not so specialist kit, such as installing my AP 4 pots. I do change all the service items myself, oil changes after each run on track with new filters, plugs, pads etc.

If i had more spare time i would do more myself, but some jobs i know from past experience its better to let the specialist handle it.

On something like my westie, i did every job myself because time wasnt an issue and often i was designing what i was fitting, so no one else could do it anyway.

Impreza's are easy to work on, it's when you get to the more complex, time consuming items i give the car to someone else. And in this i think it's very important to have a good relationship with the specialist you choose to use.

Of course all this can be affected by how much money you have available, sometimes you dont have any choice but to do all the work yourself, even if it is a pain in the *** for you to do.

Jaay

John, quick question! Did you have to change any of the rear diff when you changed number 5 Gear. I was thinking of getting it done soon. What did it cost you. My sti Ra box is great but only for rapidly accerating through the gears but once I get to fifth I kinda feel its more like fourth and that I could do with another gear . 70+ sees me up near 6K revs, making long distances hard on the box and on the wallet.

mista weava

gotta say that if your car is jap (like mine) then you do not have any service history anyway! i personally think thatif for example, a car with say, 60k on the clock, of which the 1st 20k was dealer servicing, and the latter 40k, by a competent owner who had maintained the car himself where appropriate, then intuition leads me to belive that if you are a reasonably good judge of car and character, then you tell whether either the car, or the bloke is a sh***er!

respect

weava

Fuzz

Can't wait to get my hands oily from the inside of my UK 00MY turbo.
Just a matter of money tho at the moment,
never had a dealer do anything I couldn't do myself, unless of course it's under warranty.
but I must remind myself that even this, last week the above statement doesn't hold true because after ringing Listers for some electrical warranty work, I was told "we are to busy re-building engines at the mo, the workshop is full and we can't fit you in till the 22nd"
I ended up stripping the dash out and fixing it myself..
electrics in these things might give me a bit of a headache tho.
If I can see it broke...I can fix it, doesn't quite work with ECU's tho

Andy

johnfelstead

first off, not all Jap spec cars are imported second hand, my own was imported brand new and has FSH. I have been doing the service since i bought it and have all the reciepts.

Changing 5th gear has nothing to do with your diffs, you are just changing the gear ratio by replacing the two gears on the input/output shaft that make up your 5th, plus the associated syncronizer set, locknut etc.

For what i use the car for, the higher 5th was anoying me, for someone who uses the car on the motorway and wants a relaxed overdrive (in relation to the first 4) then its ideal.

You are welcome to buy my 5th ratio if you like, only reason it came out was to do the ratio swap, it wasnt faulty.

Pete and the guys at Prosport in Manchester carried the work out and sorted the correct parts for me such as the new 5th ratio, baulk rings, syncros etc. I had the 3rd/4th/5th syncros/baulk rings etc changed as its been knakered since i bought the car, so whilst i was having the box rebuilt it was a good oportunity to get the gearing sorted.

I replaced the clutch plate, replaced the rear crank seal and resealed the gudgeon pin access hole plate as they were both weeping a tiny bit. Replaced a broken heat shield clamp. Seals on the box changed etc.

Total bill for all the work including VAT/labour/parts came in at £905, the parts needed came to £475 of that, labour £295, VAT £134 If i was just changing the gear ratio then it would have been just the cost of the gearset/5th syncro set and locknut plus labour.

They recieved the car Monday morning at 10am and it was ready wednesday 6pm, They kept the car overnight wednesday to do a proper road test this morning, so i collected it at lunchtime. For a strip/rebuild plus modification to the box ratios, plus the other jobs i think thats a very good turnaround. So far very happy with the box, it's a big improvement in selection and i prefer the ratios much more for the driving i will be doing.

This is what is installed in the STi5 TypeRA V-Ltd as standard (what i had)

Max RPM = 8250

1st gear 5MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 41MPH
2nd gear 7.75MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 64MPH (5200rpm at 41MPH)
3rd gear 10.25MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 84MPH (6200rpm at 64MPH)
4th gear 13.75MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 112MPH (6100rpm at 84MPH)
5th gear 22MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 180MPH (5010rpm at 112MPH)

Gear ratios are as follows now. (non V-Ltd ratios)

Max RPM = 8250

1st gear 5MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 41MPH
2nd gear 7.75MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 64MPH (5200rpm at 41MPH)
3rd gear 10.25MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 84MPH (6200rpm at 64MPH)
4th gear 13.75MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 112MPH (6100rpm at 84MPH)
5th gear 19MPH/1000rpm Top Speed 155MPH (5900rpm at 112MPH)


edited to get the price right. Every job will no doubt cost diferently depending on what is found as required during strip down, so dont base your costs on what i paid.

[Edited by johnfelstead - 10/18/2002 11:36:14 AM]

Jaay

I contacted the importer of my car and managed to get hold of all their documentation on it, it was in Japanese and Ive got a Family friend who is translating it. From what I could make out its been serviced by Subaru a few times.

Learning Japanese looks very tedious, I spent hours staring it trying to make out even the smallest clue eventually id convinced myself of all sorts of **** and my brain started to melt!! People who have bought an import car should try hard to get hold of the Logbook and history, it could prove to be fruitfull and will at least put your mind at rest.

Jaay

John, Yhm