James' Subaru Liberty 3.0R-B Wagon "SKD55S"

[applegeek897]

This could be one of the cleanest looking liberty's I've seen
Great job man! Also how do you go with the exhaust seeing as you're a p plater, does it attract much attention?

Haha thanks man, still only about half way through restoring my thread, so there's more to come Look I've probs been lucky but I have had zero issue from the police. Saying that I did get an EPA complain which makes me laugh, would've just been from a person in my unit though, lots of cracky people with nothing better to do. I've been pulled a few times and RBT'd heaps, they never blinked an eye. One of the great things about a wagon.

[applegeek897]

August 2016: Finally after a huge wait its time for take two with the Redline Goods.



Things were looking good off the bat with the handbrake actually being RHD and the shifter being the correct length.

I started off with the handbrake.



It was a little tricky but eventually came off.



Started with test fitting the new one. Lots of pegs.



The leather is very thick and it ended up needs some cutting to make it fit properly. It was far from "bolt on". Time for the glue and even more pegs.



While that was drying it was onto the gear leather. So much shorter, much better.



This needed even more adjustments. Lots of cutting the make way for the clips. Maybe US ones of different to AUS ones but who knows, either way far from "bolt on".



On and looking good so far.



After getting the handbrake on this is where the trouble started. The leather was completely in the way of the clips and it didn't help it being so thick.



After lots of cutting I mostly got it sorted.



Anyway, time to fit. Shifter first. So much better then the last one.



Armrest.



Then the handbrake



Overall I'm pretty happy with the look of everything. Although after just one day of use, this has already happened.



I'm not going to bother sending back again, I'll see if I can fix it at some point. After all the bullshit with Redline Goods I honestly can't recommend them, I'm pretty sure the original order was made in early April, more then 4 months ago. After postage back and forth and the restocking fee that they forced us to pay it would've been better getting one custom made somewhere local and then the fit would've been perfect.

Oh well turned out ok I suppose.

[applegeek897]

October 2016: Things are happening nicely with the car lately.

The car had a nice month long rest while I was on holiday so when I got back it was straight into a few things.

First thing on the list was a quick minor service.

Ive switched from Castrol Edge 5W-30 to Penrite 10W-50 as per the recommendation of Ben Neal. Fresh oil and filter later the car is certainly running smoother then before, particularly with the cars idle which is much smoother and quieter.

While I as there I thought was a good time to chuck a new air filter in the car as I had never even had a look at it so who knows how long it was in there for.

Wasnt too bad but had also seen better days.

Old and Dirty





New and Clean





Next up was what was also meant to be the first mod on my car, tints. Finally. I ended up going with 15 percent all round with a small strip for the windscreen. The old tints were in terrible condition and were so mild they man as well not have even been there.

Before and After





I decided to get both cars at the same time because it just made sense.



I went with Show Me Your Tints. He was a top bloke with a great price and great product.





Something I didnt really expect to be doing was as soon was to change my wheel nuts. Reason being is despite being told they were fine when the new tyres were put on two nuts came loose while driving which was not fun at all.

Old / Factory



New nuts are Work Emotion Racing Nuts in Blue with lock nut



On the car



Im not ultra happy with the colour as I reckon they clash with the brakes but they were needed the same day otherwise I couldnt drive the car and they were cheap from a mate so at some point they will be changed.

Something that was extremely over due was to finally start sorting out the front end of the car. Main starting point was getting rid of that terrible GT bonnet, it shouldnt be on an NA car, it was a poor lapse in judgement but finally its rectified with an Outback bonnet in lovely Atlantic Blue Pearl.

How it was,



How it should be,





Finally its staring to look decent. The car also had a new grill which I got for a steal. Once my bumper arrives itll it and the bumper will go in for paint and this should be looking good.

[applegeek897]

December 2016: The car has mostly been resting lately, only get to drive it maybe twice a week but its been great as usual.

Cleaning up has basically been the goal over the last few weeks, so Ive constantly been on the lookout for better condition pieces for the interior, which isnt hard as most of the stuff inside is really quite badly worn, expected with well over 300K on the clock.

A set of really nice set of door cards front and rear popped up for great price from a mate. This was also good timing as my brother had broken the handle on the passenger side.



They were looking fairly good but I gave them a good clean with cleaner and conditioner.





The replacement was much quicker then I thought but there was some sneaky hidden screws, Ive rushed before and broken stuff so took it super easy this time around. The old handles were so crusty!



Old



Remove



Replace



Rinse and repeat. Much better. Cat hair removed shortly after

Im happy with the change for now but I will still be looking out for a truly mint set from a face lift car, the one with silver handles to replace in.

My bumper has finally arrived after a almost three month wait, still totally worth it. It was imported through Import Monky, such a awesome guy to deal with, great price and are based in Sydney which is a nice change from Import Monster. Time delay was not his fault it was just bad timing to order.



Ultrex Eyelids were also ordered and arrived a few days later.



To save some $$$ I removed and dismantled all the bits before they went in for paint.

The Subaru Sports Mesh grill was removed and mesh removed.



Looks so strange with no grill.



Fog lights also came off and as usual things seem to be held on with cable ties.





These clips are evil and are missing left, right and centre from the car.



Should get everything back from the painters tomorrow, fingers crossed.

So excited for the first time since owning the car for the front end to actually look nice.

Goodbye old front end!



Gave the cars a quick clean and went for some photos











Also makes for a great iPhone wallpaper



Just waiting on some 3M double sided tape before I can throw the eyelids back on.

[applegeek897]

December 2016: Today was the Shire Subaru Show Us What You Got! Dyno day at Elite Autohaus. While I knew the car wouldnt make the claimed 180KW ATW that keeps being thrown around on these, I was very interested to see how it goes.





Here is the video of the cars three pulls

First run | 144.6 KW / 193.4 HP



Second run | 147.6 KW / 197.9 HP



Third run | 148.6 KW / 199.3 HP



So yes fairly far off that 180KW but Im still happy with where it is, A tune actually on the dyno should happen soon and then we can actually see how much we can get out of it, will also likely add a Raptor CAI while Im there too, just waiting for Matt to finish Flex Fuel compatibly.

Interestingly enough there was a FL H6 which has basically the exact same things done, exhaust is the same except the other car has a extra, very small resonator in it and a bigger fuel pump. His numbers were quite a lot lower.





Interestingly the discrepancy seems to be in the fuel. The car was running quite lean, so much so the dyno operator didn't want to do a third run. Mine was also running a touch rich which could also be robbing me some power. Below is the difference, Purple is me, green is the other car.



Overall it was a cool day with a bunch of really interesting cars.









I also managed to snag this awesome detail pack from CarCareProducts.com.au in the raffle.

[applegeek897]

December 2016: 3M tape arrived so it was time for eyelids.



Headlights got a quick clean and a once over with some wax and grease remover.



The passenger side eyelid was shaped pretty badly and didn't follow the lines of the headlight super well, some help from a headgun to somewhat mold it.



It took a few trys but got it lined up the best I could.



As you can see there is what looks like a fair gap on the drivers side, the eyelid is actually fine, the bumper still needs to be sorted so it sits higher, plus the bonnet is slightly bent there too, not helping things. Overall, happy.

[applegeek897]

December 2016: A nice little goodie arrived today. A laser cut License Plate Riser in a sexy anodised black finish thanks to Rakesh from Atrax Engineering.



It also came with a nice set of Stainless Steel M6x12mm and M6x25mm bolts along with some nice plastic spacers.



This is how the plate looked before, it really does sit quite low.



Riser on. Ive set it as high as it goes.



I've used all 4 spacers on the bottom to reduce the possibly of the plate scratching the bumper.



Everything back together.



Its nothing crazy special and yes an extremely cheap solution could've been made with bits from Bunnings but this is made to fit and will never degrade.

[applegeek897]

January 2017: So after what was probably more then 6 months I finally got the short shifter and bushings installed.

I went over the Peter / CorgiWerx for the help with the install, after all he did make them, and has done this install many times.

Started bright an early, pro tip, get engineer to jack car up. Yes eyelid fell off, luckily at home, need to heat-gun to help mold a bit better to shape of the headlight.



We decided to do the bushings under the car first.



Started with taking the heat shield off, then the gearbox crossmember. Due to the way the exhaust is laid out on the H6 this is apparently much harder then it is on a GT.





There were a bunch of pesky little things like clips refusing to come out and then fact that one of the bolts was actually installed the opposite way, we were guessing that happened when the clutch was done by a previous mechanic. That and the fact that we obversely didnt have a hoist it made the process quite lengthy, but eventually it all came out.





The bushings here werent too bad but certainly still due for replacement.

After the new bushings were pressed in and the knuckle got a clean it all went back together, and much quicker too. Next up was the shifter.

Leather and knob off



Then bit by bit everything came off









Pretty festy, it got a small clean before everything went back in.

Short shifter installed.





Then removed old and installed the new bushes





Peter also decided to take out a small curve section on the shifter bracket thing, just to make things a bit easier when reinstalling.







Then everything went back in



And done.



Man what a difference it makes too, not only is the shorter throw nicer but the extreme amount of slop is completely gone. So much better!

[applegeek897]

February 2017: Car has been running well as per usual. Rego / pink-slip has just happened which certainly hurt the wallet / mod money but its just something that has to be done.

The only issue the car has had lately is its been leaking quite a bit of coolant but at completely random times. Everything looked good, hoses were fine and the radiator is only a couple of years old. Turns out in the end to just be a bad radiator cap, which is lucky, could've been something much worse. A $9.00 replacement item fixed the problem quick smart. Its a non genuine item but it will do for now.



The other day I saw a post of Garage 88s Facebook page regarding a recently released Cusco rear diff brace. Ive seen a few liberty owners running a similar version of this from Beatrush. This is the Cusco version.



I had a quick look under the car and to no surprise considering the milage of the car, the rear diff bushings that connect to the rear sub frame were completely shot.





Considering the condition of the above Id imagine the ones that are on the actual diff support are also completely gone as its hard to see from that particular angle.



Whiteline sell replacement polyurethane units for both the support and rear section. Due to the fact that the Cusco brace is fairly inexpensive, similar price to if I were to purchase aftermarket bushings and pay a replacement labour, I may as well just get the Cusco unit for a swap. Plus its a good excuse to get started on the Cusco band wagon which Im sure will get out of hand one day. This is what it will end up looking like.



As far as the actual rear bushings are concerned I will likely just get some whiteline units and replace at home. Its no easy job, but considering the cost of labour I will happily attempt it at home.

A bunch of other goodies have also been ordered today.

- 3D floor mats front and rear in carpet
- Gas bonnet struts
- Genuine Subaru oil filter
- Genuine washer and overflow caps
- Genuine radiator cap
- Atrax Engineering laser cut battery tie-down bracket

[applegeek897]

February 2017: This was something that I suppose I wasnt expecting to do today. Bridgestone have once again run their buy 3 and get the 4th free promotion on select tyres, one being the Potenza series. The last two times this happened I didnt manage to get any tyres in my size, they were always out of stock, so this time I wasnt going to let it go. Called straight away and headed over to Bridgestone Select.



While I was there I thought I may way well just get an alignment as its been pulling right a touch lately, its wasnt going to be anything perfect, but its cheap and itll need to be done again anyway in a couple months when coilovers go on, at that point I will go to Heasmans Suspension and get it done properly.

The absolute rubbish cheap shit Goodrides had served fairly well over the last year plus and it looks like they have hardly worn.





The biggest difference Ive noticed so far is they are significantly more comfortable and quiet. The grip isnt there just yet but they have to be broken in so no problem there. I love the sidewalls, just a nicer shape and kinda gives an illusion of a smaller profile.





I would have loved to have gotten some Advan Neova AD08Rs but considering the price difference I just couldnt justify it at the moment. Hey, maybe next time.

[applegeek897]

My gas bonnet struts arrived today and I wasted no time getting them on.



Out with the old



In with the new





Its such a neat little improvement. Plus for the price and ease of installation its really a no brainer.

I also dropped past Garage 88 today to pick up the Cusco diff brace. While I was there I thought I may as well also get a strut brace, spent so much this week whats a touch more -_- Anyway I ended up going with a Cusco unit with the built in Brake Master Cylinder Stopper. I was told the it wasnt compatible with an H6, which seemed strange to me as it was with ever other model of gen 4. A few people on the club.lib Facebook page seemed to be running it with no issues so I bit the bullet.





Another employee at Garage 88 mentioned that he had installed a few on an H6 but the intake got in the way and needed to be cut up and filled up to make room, I was interested to see if this was the case but it turned out it fitted perfectly and by cleared by miles.



All tightened up and working wonders.



More shots because why not.





Diff brace will go on over the weekend. Also spoke to 3D mats and unfortunately they are completely out of stock of the carpet style mats. Im not keen on the rubber so I

[applegeek897]

My gas bonnet struts arrived today and I wasted no time getting them on.



Out with the old



In with the new





Its such a neat little improvement. Plus for the price and ease of installation its really a no brainer.

I also dropped past Garage 88 today to pick up the Cusco diff brace. While I was there I thought I may as well also get a strut brace, spent so much this week whats a touch more -_- Anyway I ended up going with a Cusco unit with the built in Brake Master Cylinder Stopper. I was told the it wasnt compatible with an H6, which seemed strange to me as it was with ever other model of gen 4. A few people on the club.lib Facebook page seemed to be running it with no issues so I bit the bullet.





Another employee at Garage 88 mentioned that he had installed a few on an H6 but the intake got in the way and needed to be cut up and filled up to make room, I was interested to see if this was the case but it turned out it fitted perfectly and by cleared by miles.



All tightened up and working wonders.



More shots because why not.





Diff brace will go on over the weekend. Also spoke to 3D mats and unfortunately they are completely out of stock of the carpet style mats. Im not keen on the rubber so I will either wait until stock comes in or go for another option, maybe just finding a mint set of legacy mats is the go.

[Kei-86]

That's one very smart looking wagon. I've had a soft spot for the legacy for years as it is a more grown up subaru that doesn't come with the stigma of an impreza. The fuel economy is the only thing that put me off.

Gas lift struts on the bonnet are such a convenient feature, I can't understand why they are so uncommon. Although I will say that it is very annoying when they fail as you can end up getting brained by the tailgate or bonnet. I just had to replace the tailgate ones yesterday for this very reason. (lordy I never realised just how heavy it actually was)

[applegeek897]

That's one very smart looking wagon. I've had a soft spot for the legacy for years as it is a more grown up subaru that doesn't come with the stigma of an impreza. The fuel economy is the only thing that put me off.

Gas lift struts on the bonnet are such a convenient feature, I can't understand why they are so uncommon. Although I will say that it is very annoying when they fail as you can end up getting brained by the tailgate or bonnet. I just had to replace the tailgate ones yesterday for this very reason. (lordy I never realised just how heavy it actually was)

Thanks man, it was one of my main reasons for getting, I think it looks pretty modern for it's age plus the fact that standard ones are everywhere here so they really blend in.

[applegeek897]

Another goodie from Atrax Engineering arrived, this time a battery tie-down. Nothing special but another nice addition to the engine bay. I decided to go with a grey anodised finish.





Its a really nicely designed unit with cutout for the bolts.



Out with the old





In with the new



It does feel much stronger. Is it making a difference? Probably not, but at at least it looks better. Same the battery is so ugly. I will be getting some battery and ABS covers at some point anyway so oh well.