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

[applegeek897]

September 2017: Pads have arrived now so its time to move onto brakes, product shots first of course.

Rotors wise I decided to go for a set of Slotted DBA T2s for a decent value to performance to bling ratio, I do love how they look.





They are big.





And after a shipping mishap the rears arrive some time later.





Not as big but still good looking.





The pads were a fairly easy choice, it seems to be what most people with these setups go for, Ive heard nothing but good things and the price is pretty good.

While I was keen to have a look there was mishap with Garage 88 and I was sent pads for a JDM spec BPE which apparently doesnt have the same brake setup as Australia.





After figuring out the issue I contacted Garage 88 and they had the correct parts next day. Truely epic customer service.

Now onto the correct goodies, Dixcel Type-M pads front and rear.





Goodies in the front.





Goodies in the back.





Not so sure how I feel about the gold but oh well.





Lastly was onto braided lines. The car already currently STI lines in the front but still has the old lines in the rear. So rather then just replacing one thing, I would just be better off replacing everything. BCW came to the rescue again and supplied some Hel Braided Brake Lines, in a stealthy all black.





They feel quality and also come with the necessary hardware.





Before I start pulling anything apart I wanted to get started on flushing all the old fluid, cause who knows how long its been in there. I certainly havent changed it in the last two years of ownership. I decided on some Castrol React Performance Dot 4, also something that seems like a popular choice on Liberties.





Up and ready for work.





Started with pulling out a load of the old fluid out of the master cylinder to make thing a bit easier.





Ghetto bottle at the ready and the flushing could begin. Starting with passenger rear, being the furthest away from the master cylinder.





After doing the rear we cleaned out alot of the shit and things were looking much cleaner, there also a small amount of air in the system which is interesting, irrelevant though. Once that was done it was time to turn to the fronts. To my extreme frustration the previous owner, whether it was a workshop or him, managed to make the bleed nipple into a vertically perfect circle on both sides. So for now thats going to be for flushing and that also means I wont be able to do the braided lines either. Oh well, Benny has got a set for me that he is sending first thing on Monday so its not the biggest problem.



At least in the meantime I can get the pads and rotors sorted.



Line disconnected from coilovers.



Caliper off.



The guide-pins were removed so they could get a proper clean with some new silicon paste applied.





Pads could then come off, more meat them I thought left on them.





Caliper mounting bracket was next.





Rotor could then come off, man so happy to see these RDAs go, they were so badly warped its insane.





The hub got a good sanding and a healthy does of copper anti-seise.



Rotors on.



Before the caliper could go back on the pistons needed a good clean. I was happy to see the pistons were in decent shape, no splits.





Better.





Then wound back.





Pads could then go in and done.





The other side could then be done.





It was then time to tackle the rear. These seemed to really be on their last leg, even cracking in some places.





First thing was this arm, it needed to move out the way to make the access to bit easier to the calliper bolts.





I also removed on of the end-links to get a big of movement out of the rear swaybar, Subaru dont make access easy.





Calliper then removed.





The old rotor did not want to come off but with the help of a mallet and a bolt eventually it came loose.





Handbrake shoes seem to be ok for now, theyve done their job up until this point so theyll be fine for now.





The hub and dust shields then got a bit of a clean.





The old pads didnt have much left on them.





The guide-pins could then be removed and cleaned and regreased.





Rotors were then cleaned, doing my best to keep as much of the black paint on.

[applegeek897]

Hubs were the greased and the rotor went on.





Before winding back it got a clean.





Then wound back.





Pads in and caliper on.





Rinse and repeat for the other side.

[applegeek897]

October 2017: I finally got a chance to attack the brake lines today. Starting with the rear.





They came out easier then I thought, out with the old and in with the new. The braided lines were a fair bit longer then the original.





And in they went.





Then the caliper side could come out.





Rinse and repeat for the other side.









BCW had a set of used bleeders on hand to replace the completely rooted ones on the front brakes.





With the help of some vice grips I was able to get the old ones out.





This was again pretty quick and easy, old STI lines out.





And the new lines in.





Brakes were then bled and I could finally get the car off the stands. They already feel great but they need a chance bed in still, so easy driving for a few hundred kms.

[applegeek897]

October 2017: So here is finally the basically completed audio setup.

First thing after some testing it was to secure the amp to the carpet. I considered making some sort of bracket but good and strong velcro seemed to work for the old one so it would do fine.





With all the bulk of wiring done the front half of the car could go back together. Starting with the glovebox.





Headunit and HVAC.





Shifter and centre console.





Once that was all done I moved into the boot to tackle the subwoofer. The car already had an aftermarket low-profile 8" kicker unit.





While it wasnt anything special it is better then stock and I thought Ill keep it for now. In the past Ive had the sub on -3 at-least due to the horrendous rattle. Another thing I wonder how it was able to leave a factory with such a design flaw by Subaru. So that was the first thing to sort out.





Three layers later and it went in.





And after a quick test, it still sounded like utter shit. I had to sub from the daily out so I thought Id quickly throw it in and give it ago. So much better. So for now thatll stay until a more permanent solution can be made. Likely just a new box and a wiring fix-up.





Moving onto the rear doors. Door cards off.





The old and very tired two way could then come out.





Such a big difference.





MDF mount mocked and made.





Before they went in the door got a clean and healthy dose of DS18.





Then the connectors could be crimped one, factory wires for the rears.





Then they could go in and after a very quick tune, the entire system already sounds epic. Certainly more tuning to do though. They got a very good testing on a big trip to and from Phillip Island for the MotoGP. Car was so nice to drive for it, although alignment is without question out on the rear, something to sort out for sure.

It was bug galore up front. Time for a good wash.





Ah much better.

[applegeek897]

October 2017: While things have been going fairly well on the Subaru lately it seemed it was time for another shit show. This time thanks to Suttons Subaru Rosebery. Now, while what happened happened, the manager completely sorted it out. More below.

So, after months of saying I was going to do it and finally receiving my third letter for the airbag replacement it was finally time to get it done. Suttons Subaru Rosebery is my most local dealer so thats where is was to go. I was surprised as I was able to get in just days after calling as someone apparently cancelled. So in it went, I gave the car to them for two full days, I begged for them to take their time and be careful, yes sir of-course. When it was ready to pick up I jumped in the car and straight away I saw it all. It was trashed. First thing I noticed was the shifter surround was cracked straight through.



The gear knob wasnt even on straight, legit, this is how I got it back.



Shifter surround wasnt lined up with HVAC controls.



Drivers side a pillar was hanging like this.



But nothing was as bad as the dash. Now by no means was my dash in perfect condition, but damn. They did a number on it.









Once I saw all this I flew back into the office and called the manager over. He was furious at the whole ordeal and agreed to have everything sorted out. A dash replacement was approved by Subaru Australia as well as all the damaged bits and pieces.

I dropped past the dealership again yesterday to have the dash done. I was surprised to have a Levorg waiting for me to have as a loaner. Its a great car, but man. The CVT is horrific. I dont know what they were thinking there.





Anyway, I picked up the car and everything looks good, I requested the cubby and headunit to stay out as I have replacements for both anyway, cubby I got from a wreck and theyre paying for a brand new headunit after scratching it too.





So at the end it kinda turned out good at least. Except the car seems to have developed some sort of clunk noise on decel, plus what sounds like something suspension related. Could be so many things. Ill do a service in the next couple of days and see if I can track down that noise. It never ends.

[applegeek897]

November 2017: Before getting the interior back together I wanted to see if I could track down the strange noise coming from the front end. I started with the front coilovers as that has been a trouble issue since buying them. Drivers side first as that has been the one not holding base adjustment. It seems to have held well over the Melbourne trip which is good.



What was a concern is the spring height had dropped significantly.



This was likely the noise, micro adjustments of it moving down. Regardless I loosened the collar and corrected.





While I was there it was also time for my usual 5,000km service. Penrite HPR10 10W-50 and genuine filter is my usual choice.





Oil was dropped and filter replaced.





Again while I was under there it is finally time to replace this coolant hose. Ive been putting this off for ages purely down to laziness. Which is bad because it was basically a ticking time bomb. The budging has been getting worse.





Off it came as with these clamps.





The main lower rad hose also came out so I could drain all the old coolant out.





While very stubborn the old hose eventually came out.





New one side-side. Well overdue.





A couple new clamps later and old it went.





New coolant then went in. This is actually the first time Ive done this on the car.





After a quick drive all the new nosies seemed to have disappears. Good news.

Next up was to start getting the interior back together. Well start with the shifter surround. I was told it was going to be a brand new unit and cost the dealership $650.00. I was actually presented with this when I up-wrapped it at home. It ended up being a pov-spec silver instead of black, well-used, full of scratches and five-speed unit. Good job guys. Looks like that is going to take some more to to sort out.





What I did get months ago was a MINT cubby from Pick-n-Payless. Ive been meaning to get one for ages but I havent been able to get one that has the bright button, which I need for my model. Comparison compared to my old one.





The buttons and screen in particular are night and day better.





Cubby could then go in. I got super mad for a short time because I couldnt get it to light up and thought that it was broken, but after driving for five minutes it just turned on and started working.





The brand new headunit then got mounted up.





Then it could go in.





Then HVAC and shifter surround and were done.





After a proper drive, despite all the bullshit, when it works I remember why I love this car, will put up with its usual crap and likely never sell it.

[applegeek897]

November 2017: This has been on my list for ages, and after scheduling an inspection with Garage 88 for the coilovers, which seem to have been fixed now, time will tell, it was time to finally pick one up. A Pitch-Stop Mount. I was originally going to go with a Betrush version but after learning there was a recently released Cusco version I had to go with it, common it's blue.

Pretty.









Time to jump into the engine bay.





Intake off.





Looked and felt rooted, also joy, more zipties in the engine bay...





Shot.





Side by side and in. Holy balls, after taking it for a drive the difference was noticeable immediately.

[applegeek897]

November 2017: I had a small amount of time today to do a couple small things I've been meaning to do for some time.

Got these nice LED brake lights from LEO like over 4 months ago.





The old ones were never that great and one has been half-dead for some time.



Out came the taillight



Clear quality difference.



In they went.



Tails back on and looking better.





Next up was to replace the damaged drivers-side a-pillar. Replacement parts are slowly come in from different directions. Hopefully in the next month or so the interior will be back to minty goodness.





Such fresh clips.





The old one was not looking good.





After pulling it off I noticed both the clips were broken and it had some sound deadening on it. The new one didn't come with any and it isn't transferable so I'll look into fixing that up at a later stage.





In place and looking way better. If anything too good. Subaru will be paying for a full interior clean anyway so it will be perfect at some point.

[applegeek897]

December 2017: So MCM Nationals Sydney was on last week and I was so excited to try all the bits and pieces I had done over the last year on the track. The car actually did better then I couldve ever expected. The grip was amazing but the brakes blew my mind, once they got some heat into them they pulled up so well. I had some good runs for with a few quick cars for sure. The whole experience has certainly peeked my interest.





While the car did do well in the event there was one issue, unsurprisingly. The transmission was not so happy. The 4th gear syncro has always been bad in the car, mainly only hard decel without perfect rev matching. Its never been super bad but after a few hard laps shifts were becoming almost impossible to get in and crunching almost ever 4th and 5th change, double clutching made it ok. After the 2nd session when I went to go and move the car the diff was pissed, large clunks when using any steering while moving. At that point I couldnt really be bothered, parked the car and let it sit for a few hours to cool down while I looked around.

When I got back to the car to go home it all seemed fine, no more clunks and it drove perfectly normal. So, at-least then I assume it was a heat issue. Anyway, today I through the car up on stands to have a look.



More oil down here then usual, this defiantly transmission oil.



Not good.









So after all this Im not sure, the car has always leaked a bit but not like this. Who knows where it can be coming out. Something that Ive been wanting to do for ages it to book the car in with a proper Subaru performance specialist to get a full inspection inside and out. So I have done with ADS (All Drive Subaroo). Ive heard good things about them and what will also likely happen is they will rebuild the box when Im ready, LOTS of saving to do though. With the price of a new clutch, flywheel and centre diff rebuilt from Corgi, that plus the box rebuilt with at the minimum carbon synrcos but maybe more if there is more damage Ill be looking at just under $5,000, so yeah.

In other news while the Dixcels are much better with brake dust then the QFMs, after some track work they turned the wheels black. Oh well a good excuse to do a wheel off clean.





So dirty.





Super Syrups #BloodBath works wonders for getting the dust off.





I couldnt find my clay so not perfect but wayyyy better.





After it was clean we needed some photos.

[applegeek897]

January 2018: The car has been mostly resting the last few weeks, with the odd drive here and there. Its funny. The car drives absolutely perfect, the diff doesn't bind and 4th doesn't crunch so long as I'm not being a dickhead.

Anyway I had some time yesterday so I thought it would be a good time to try and properly drain the transmission. Car up.



Oil out.



Then moved on to attempting to remove the rooted sump bolt. after a few good goes it just wasn't moving. Tried mostly with vice grips as my bolt removal kit was on order but not here in time. Safe to say its on there proper for now.





Also had a little look at the leak situation, doesn't seem to be as bad as before which is good I suppose.





Speaking of the gearbox, I dropped past ADS today to get a proper inspection of the inside and out of the car. Something I've been wanting to do for years. Safe to stay the list of things that need attending to is vast. Which is ok. Finally having a proper list to work through will make things easier on the car. I'll like just horde some parts for awhile and do it all over a long weekend.

Now this is all completely different to the box stuff. Interestingly the owner, who drove my car, was surprised how nicely it did drive. While its hard to speculate what needs to be done it was good having a chat to him about a bunch of different options. Months of saving ahead.

[applegeek897]

January 2018: Finally, the final puzzle of the airbag debacle with Suttons Subaru. It's over.

A new, non snapped shifter around was sourced through CorgiWerx.





The shifter boot was slightly damaged, although not nearly as much as the handbrake boot. Rather then having a go at refitting the current Redline Goods boots, which I've never been happy with I thought, considering it was on Subaru's dime to get a new set custom made to ensure the fit would be perfect this time.

The shifter boot now has the perfect amount of slack, far less then before. I decided to go with the same Nappa leather with red stitching as before.





Rather then going for the velcro or button route I got them to invert it with a ziptie inside for a tighter look. It will make for a bit more effort on the removal but its likely ever only going to come out one more time so it'll be perfect.





Handbrake looks so much better too.





Again a nice tight fit.





The interior needs a proper deep clean now to get everything looking proper but even now things are looking much better then ever before.

[applegeek897]

March 2018: Nothing interesting with the car going on lately. I'm keen to get everything back rolling again though. What I've decided is for the foreseeable future mods will only be done if it is a by-product of fixing something, like moving to a DCCD when the box gets swapped ect. There is lots of issues on the car that I want to finally address and fix, and as they say, if you're going to go to the trouble of fixing it, make it better. Which is mostly what I've done anyway.

Anyway, something that has been on the list for ages is to restore my headlights, particularly on the passenger side. I had some leftover credits from Supercheap Auto so I popped down there and grabbed the Mothers NuLens Headlight Restoration kit. The price is decent, and I really like the idea of having a drill attachment.





As you can see they were pretty bad.





Drivers-side was less of a problem though.





Why they recommend to just use masking tape and do it on the car I would rather just take them off, specially as I plan on removing the eyelids. Bar off first.





Then the lights could come out.





Once on the bench I could inspect them properly. Yuck.





The eyelids could come off.





Alot of gunk got in there in the last year, quite the effort to get it all off.





All else that is needed to get started is some water (not glass cleaner) in a spray bottle and a drill. Check and Check.





I threw on the backing plate and lubricated the headlight with water.





I started with a small test spot before moving onto the entire unit with 800 grit. So much froth.





Then 1500 grit.





Lastly 3000 grit dry.





Then once that was done I could finish it with the foam ball and plastic polish.





Very happy with how it came out. After that I moved drivers-side. These eyelids for what ever reason were a pain to remove.





It just left so much of it left on the plastic.





I popped past Bunnings to see if I could get some Goo Off, which I did. After doing a small spot it looked to be a bad idea and stripped a section of the headlight. It wasn't a problem later as I was able to blend and fix the area, not to mention being covered by the eyelid anyway.





What I ended up doing was using one of the old 800 grit pads to get rid of it, which worked a charm. Gunked the crap out of the pad but no problem as it won't be used later anyway.





Then I could move onto sanding. Again starting with 800 grit.





1500 grit, 3000 grit and buff.





Once they were both finally done they could go back into the car.





Looking good now, small amount of pitting at the top but that's always been there and will be covered later.





Drivers-side could then go in.





Front end could then go back together.





Overall I'm happy. Not perfect but a huge improvement from before. Neither the before or after does the justice in person. Just waiting on some more 3M tape to remount the eyelids and something special coming from Japan, but that's another thing.

[Robert]

Dude great write up and sweet car! I know this probably took a few years but it feels like months reading through it. **** that asshole that did that to your car dude. Trim pieces especially the ones on the airbag pillar snap fact of life but what kind of dick head doesn't say a word and leaves dirty finger prints on it!! Should be strangled. I got my blood boiling just looking at it. Would you look at that!! Just look at it! <-- If you know that joke. If you dont Bob bass master. Look at it. Video will have you laugh and cringe.

I got a shift rod leak and I am betting the dudes that rebuilt my motor stripped the fill plug!!! It has some teflon tape keeping it from falling out. I hope yours is all good.

What I like the most about your car is nothing looks goofy or off about it. Nice job.

[applegeek897]

Dude great write up and sweet car! I know this probably took a few years but it feels like months reading through it. **** that asshole that did that to your car dude. Trim pieces especially the ones on the airbag pillar snap fact of life but what kind of dick head doesn't say a word and leaves dirty finger prints on it!! Should be strangled. I got my blood boiling just looking at it. Would you look at that!! Just look at it! <-- If you know that joke. If you dont Bob bass master. Look at it. Video will have you laugh and cringe.

I got a shift rod leak and I am betting the dudes that rebuilt my motor stripped the fill plug!!! It has some teflon tape keeping it from falling out. I hope yours is all good.

What I like the most about your car is nothing looks goofy or off about it. Nice job.

Cheers for that mate, yeah its been awhile but I hope there will be many years to come for the car, plus I don't really plan on slowing down anytime. The box needs to come out regardless, whether it ends up being rebuild, replaced with a lower km like unit of a DCCD STI box time will tell, I'd like to go with the last option if possible. The car has over 350k km and gets driven hard every-time so its somewhat fair enough.

Yeah man the dash incident, I couldn't explain the frustration when I first saw everything. I'm just happy its all done and I got some free new goodies out of the whole thing.

My whole idea with the car has always been a tidy OEM+ kind of look. The car has a hard life before I owned it so just trying to restore it to former glory and upgrading where possible.

[Robert]

I like the clean look.

Transmission thats my worry on my car. Every time I get on it hard.

Cant wait to see your next posts and also well try to move the thread to builds along with your Dihatsu if and when we get the privileges.


BTW I chopped one like yours a while back so watch out for Lotus Esprits. :P Then two nights ago I ate a BMW V10 in a rolling start.