*SOLD* My 2004 Blue "Premium" WRX. *SOLD*

Thanks for the replies. It currently has the ACT stage 2. I might consider getting the stage 2 again. I don't plan to do any HP upgrades and I know its not quite 300hp. Maybe around 280-290hp. I NEVER hole shot this car ever so I am sure a stage 2 should last for quite a few years if I take it easy on the car. I will also check out rallisportdirect.com

Found out something very interesting that I didn't know. I guess the transmission and transfer case are all 1 piece in this car. Most cars have a transfer case AND a transmission. I was concerned that the metal shavings were in the transfer case too and wanted that inspected. But sounds like its all getting replaced anyway. They already ordered a transmission/transfer case and it should be in sometime early next week. Guessing Monday 21st or Tuesday 22nd. Hopefully have the car back all good as new next week.
 
Sorry man I just saw your message. Sucks to hear about the transmission. I can hear my throwout bearing starting to make noise, so I expect mine to go as well. Maybe (hopefully) not soon though.

With that said, I've been looking at clutches myself and talking to other Subaru people to get ideas. I hear Exedy is a good brand, stage 2 might be a little stiff. But if you're already coming out of stage 2 then you know what to expect.

Stage 3 might be unnecessary, and would be more expensive if you aren't planning on many mods. I drove my friends '06 STI with a stage 3 and it was too much, but that's just my opinion. He has the mods, pushing 20 pounds of boost, to make stage 3 useful.
 
Thanks again for the replies. I will most likely go with a stage 2 Exedy or stage 2 ACT. Probably order it today.
 
Went to the shop on Saturday and we decided to go with a stage 3. So it could be here quicker. The other news is that they only removed the transmission. They did not remove the engine or the rack and pinion. So that will save labor cost. Here are some pics.

28upwso.jpg

This is the small hole that instantly pumps out fluid onto the clutch.

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Act Stage 2 clutch fried down to the rivets. This side of the pressure plate looks very good. But will be replaced.


2qcdlad.jpg

The ACT pressure plate looks pretty good but will be replaced.

2nqxlhk.jpg


i50uhx.jpg


Might be able to just resurface the ACT flywheel but its got quite a few burn spots.


2vnghur.jpg

Oil leaking out of this tube that leads to the turbo. This will be fixed along with any other oil leaks.

14mf789.jpg

Replacement used transmission / transfer case with 85,000 miles. EDIT This trans was also junk, they purchased a different trans with about 80k.
 
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Well, always good to know that how that particular clutch is being worn down for the first time.
 
Well plans have changed again. The stage 3 clutch was almost $700.00 so we are for sure ordering a Competition Stage 2 clutch for around $450.00 off the rallysportdirect.com site that dd recommended. Hopefully have the car by next week.

I just couldn't justify a stage 3 since the tranny they are installing is used with about 85k miles. Plus I will NEVER do any hole shots. So a stage 2 should be more than enough if I take care of this car.
 
It should be plenty more than enough even if you trash it a bit. Hope you get the car back on the road soon dude :tup.
 
Yeah no kidding. I have been borrowing my neighbors truck because I really don't want to drive my Camaro in 35 degree weather. Especially since it might be snowing this week. Really miss my WRX and the heated seats.
 
UPDATE: The flywheel has been turned and the new Competition Stage 2 clutch is installed. The used trans/transfercase they purchased was bad!! Soooooo they had to buy ANOTHER used transmission. This one is guaranteed to work, has about 80,000 miles, and has a 1 year warranty. But its about $500.00 more expensive. Now I have to wait about 2-3 more days for the next used transmission to arrive. Hopefully I will have the car back by the end of the week. Been daily driving the Camaro in the cold weather.
 
FINALLY a month later it is repaired! Brand new stage 2 Competition clutch, used transmission / transfercase with about 80k miles, everything tuned on the engine, new synthetic fluid, no engine light codes, flywheel resurfaced, vacuum leaks fixed, along with ALL fluid leaks fixed!! Very expensive repair bill but at least I have my WRX back and no longer daily driving the Camaro in the winter. Feels so good to be driving this car again especially with the heated seats. :)
 
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CAMAROBOY69
FINALLY a month later it is repaired! Brand new stage 2 Competition clutch, used transmission / transfercase with about 80k miles, everything tuned on the engine, new synthetic fluid, no engine light codes, flywheel resurfaced, vacuum leaks fixed, along with ALL fluid leaks fixed!! Very expensive repair bill but at least I have my WRX back and no longer daily driving the Camaro in the winter. Feels so good to be driving this car again especially with the heated seats. :)
Click to expand...

Grats! :cheers:
Happy to hear the work is all done.
Now make sure you feed it good oil and plenty of it. ;)

I hear Rotella is the way to go. 👍
 
Thank you. I use Mobile 1 synthetic fluids in all my vehicles. Which reminds me, I have 4 quarts ($10 each) of extra synthetic gear oil I can return today. $40.00 yeah! 👍
 
Glad it's back! I'm starting to hear noises with my clutch, the throw out bearing might be on it's last leg. I might be doing this same repair in the near future.

I use Rotella T6 myself (5W-40), Subaru people rave about the stuff. But I lose about a quart at 2500 miles after a new oil change, which seems to be normal with the STI. I hate it... I'm checking my oil almost constantly.
 
Good luck with your new clutch replacement. Wont be cheap that's for sure.

More bad news.

Well not only a week later and I have an oil leak again, some clutch chatter with the brand new clutch, and the stupid engine light is on. Also had a hole in my upper radiator hose that was spraying antifreeze everywhere. I replaced that myself but I am starting to get REALLY frustrated with the repair shop I went to. So now at this point I need to decide if its time to move onto a different repair shop or try and have them finish fixing this car. I am thinking of just moving on and saying hell with that shop and telling everyone I know to avoid them. In fact if you live in Michigan, avoid MR Axle. :mad:

Actually starting to consider selling this car unless this gets fixed soon. I also have no warranty so thats just scary every day I drive this car. I cant keep driving something that's not reliable. Especially with winter and snow here already. Which sucks because I love this car so much but also hate it at the same time. :guilty::(
 
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Having gone through something somewhat like that myself (Repair shop Didnt do it right the first time) I feel your pain. Looking at the bright side at least they let you look for the parts and work with them, many repair shops just charge you for a brand new unit and there's no way around it.

Like the saying goes, if you want something done right do it yourself. The problem is that some things just need special tools which are not practical for the everyday guy.
 
I have been working on cars all my life and I could have easily replaced it myself but I thought for sure this shop would have no issues. But I knew it was a bad idea after this process started and they said they really had no idea what they needed to do. Just very frustrated. Been dealing with this for over a month now. I am going to call a different local shop near my house and see what I can figure out. Just a shame because I have been dealing with Mr Axle for almost 20 years. They seem to be struggling financially for sure and the poor service will eventually put them out of business if they keep this up. Oh well time to move on.

EDIT: Update. I will be dropping this off at the new shop (Betten) tonight after work and just drive the Camaro since the weather is looking okay.
 
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Betten confirmed that Mr Axle didn't even replace the passenger valve cover gasket. Plus both were leaking really bad still. So they replaced the valve cover gaskets. In an attempt to get rid of the check engine light they put on a new gas cap. That didn't work. They don't have a computer they can run on my car so I will have to take it somewhere else for the check engine light. I am sure it is because of the purge purge solenoid or the way the previous owners bypassed the catalytic converter.

Found out the lower radiator hose had a small leak. The upper was getting destroyed by the fan and the pulley. So Saturday I replaced the lower radiator hose and then built a new upper radiator hose. The upper had only about 1/16" of clearance and now has about 1/2" clearance.

So currently there are no leaks anywhere. Woooo!! But I wont take it in for a while. Snowing way too much and way too cold to drive the Camaro. I am still not sure if I am going to keep this car or sell it for a different AWD car.

IMG_20131123_112018.jpg
IMG_20131123_112009.jpg
IMG_20131123_102242.jpg

New lower hose.


IMG_20131123_124907.jpg

Custom upper hose.
 
Nice. My lower radiator hose needs to be replaced too. There is a small leak. Well no leak really, but I can see coolant residue around the end of the hose connecting to the radiator. I've got the replacement parts, but I've been too lazy to replace it in the cold weather.

Also... KEEP THE CAR! ;)
 
I decided to keep the car and glad I did. Nothing is leaking at all anymore which is a huge relief.

I mentioned in my very first post that this car came with an extra set of wheels and snow tires. Well I installed those a few weeks ago just in time. Winter hit pretty hard already with very low temps, a fair amount of snow, and a lot of ice. This car is just incredible in this weather. The heated seats sure are a treat especially when its down in the single digits.

It has been running very well lately but I still have a check engine light on. I took to the Subaru dealership and they had me replace the gas cap but that still didn't work. So I will take it there again early next year. Other than that its been doing very well.

I also decided to pick up a couple extra goodies. I have not installed these yet.

Floor mat hook. (google image)
pin.jpg


Trunk opener knob (google image)

imagesS9BSVUP2.jpg


Cabin filter (google image)
$(KGrHqF,!lUE4ltPhZirBOJzr)wdjg~~_12.JPG
 
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This WRX has been incredible in the winter especially with the brand new snow tires!!

The weather finally warmed up enough for me to put in my cabin filter. I wanted to install the floor mat hook but that's going to involve removing the seat, trunk latch, fuel latch, and more work than I was ready to do on Saturday. So I will do that another day. At least I was able to install the new cabin filter.

Since the day I purchased the WRX, it always had an excess amount of dust and a dust smell. As predicted I finally found the problem. Pretty sure the previous owners lived on a dirt road or this car was taken to several rally events. Smells so much better now and the heater works better too!


Keep in mind this is the air filter INSIDE the car!!!
Cabin filter old and new.

IMG_20140111_125500.jpg
IMG_20140111_125935.jpg
 
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CAMAROBOY69
This WRX has been incredible in the winter especially with the brand new snow tires!!

The weather finally warmed up enough for me to put in my cabin filter. I wanted to install the floor mat hook but that's going to involve removing the seat, trunk latch, fuel latch, and more work than I was ready to do on Saturday. So I will do that another day. At least I was able to install the new cabin filter.

Since the day I purchased the WRX, it always had an excess amount of dust and a dust smell. As predicted I finally found the problem. Pretty sure the previous owners lived on a dirt road or this car was taken to several rally events. Smells so much better now and the heater works better too!


Keep in mind this is the air filter INSIDE the car!!!
Cabin filter old and new.

View attachment 99221 View attachment 99223
Click to expand...

Finally got around to catching up on this thread, and wow you've been busy with it. With the list of issues I would say the previous owner beat it up pretty good on and off road. Unfortunately its pretty common with buying modded, that's why people always preach against buying a modified car. Just cant trust people anymore.

If they are done correctly and properly maintained they are extremely reliable, seems like the car was very lucky to get a new owner like you who is doing everything the right way. It will be awesome again its all just gonna depend on your wallet/patience. Looks like you made it through the thick of it, motor still feeling/sounding good?
 
WrxScooby
Finally got around to catching up on this thread, and wow you've been busy with it. With the list of issues I would say the previous owner beat it up pretty good on and off road. Unfortunately its pretty common with buying modded, that's why people always preach against buying a modified car. Just cant trust people anymore.

If they are done correctly and properly maintained they are extremely reliable, seems like the car was very lucky to get a new owner like you who is doing everything the right way. It will be awesome again its all just gonna depend on your wallet/patience. Looks like you made it through the thick of it, motor still feeling/sounding good?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I knew before I purchased this WRX that it was more than likely beat on and I would have issues. That's why I put quite a bit of money aside. And good thing I did. I don't think it would have been such a bad experience with the transmission if I brought it to a professional shop right away. Mr Axle ended up being a terrible experience since they had no idea how to work on this car. None of the mechanics were certified for imports. So at that point they should have just said no. But they tried anyway and for a month straight, nothing but bad luck.

With that said, this has always been a dream car of mine. I truly love this WRX especially in the winter. Repairs and upgrades should be a lot smoother now that I have found a certified dealership locally that does excellent work. So if the engine goes, or the trans, or the clutch, I have a reliable shop to do the work. So far the engine, trans and clutch seem to be doing okay. I still have not put the pedal to the floor since I got it back from the shop. I am just taking it easy on it for now. I notice the engine seems to tap quite a bit in the really cold starts. Then once warmed up, its fine again. The trans also seems to be a bit gritty in this cold weather. Not sure if that's the used trans they installed or maybe I need a new shifter. Might invest in a short throw shifter and see if that improves the shifting. Since this car was beat up, I am sure a new shifter will help a lot.

As for future upgrades. My first major plans would be full coil overs front and rear. Also a short throw shifter. But I will need to do some research to get the best application for my car. Thanks again for the reply. :)
 
@WrxScooby Thanks for the info. I will check those links out when I am ready to order the shifter. Which will be sometime around spring.

So yesterday the weatherman predicted 1-2inches yesterday and we ended up with around 8"-10" within a little over 6 hours!!

My car was perfectly clean when I arrived at work yesterday morning. This is what it looked like about 6 hours later! Drove home and into the garage without a single problem.
3.png


1.png
2.png
 
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Yep, that's Michigan for you. We were supposed to get 3-6" and we ended up with just enough to make the roads slick. :lol: Glad to see you're still liking the car. I wouldn't mind one myself if I could afford it.
 
I'm beginning to understand why so many Subaru's are blue rather than my personal preference of White - you'd lose it in the snow!

We don't get snow here so I see this more as amazing rather than frustrating like I'm sure most Americans are feeling at this point :lol:
 
TheBook
Yep, that's Michigan for you. We were supposed to get 3-6" and we ended up with just enough to make the roads slick. :lol: Glad to see you're still liking the car. I wouldn't mind one myself if I could afford it.
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Yeah you never know what the winter weather will do here in Michigan. Yes I am still loving the car even though I know I will be putting money into it every few months since it was beat on by the previous owners. Also yes the Imprezas are a bit pricey around here and hard to find for a reasonable price.
UrieHusky
I'm beginning to understand why so many Subaru's are blue rather than my personal preference of White - you'd lose it in the snow!

We don't get snow here so I see this more as amazing rather than frustrating like I'm sure most Americans are feeling at this point :lol:
Click to expand...
Haha nice. Actually around this area the blue WRX and blue STI are VERY hard to find. Took me MANY years of looking before I found one for a reasonable price. ALmost impossible to find a blue WRX or STI that has not been beat on.

Thanks for the replies. :)
 
Love snow and scoobies! Some of the best vehicular times I have experience were in a Subaru in snow.


UrieHusky
I'm beginning to understand why so many Subaru's are blue rather than my personal preference of White - you'd lose it in the snow!
Click to expand...
my leggy hiding in the snow.


 

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