Off Topic Forester XT work log

If yours was a manual, you could swap a 2004 STI turbo, ecu and exhaust to have 300hp in a few hours. The swap only worked on the 2004 FXT. Manual FXT are kind of rare. I looked for a low mileage FXT before I got my 18 M3, and none were forsale within 200 miles of me.
 
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If yours was a manual, you could swap a 2004 STI turbo, ecu and exhaust to have 300hp in a few hours. The swap only worked on the 2004 FXT. Manual FXT are kind of rare. I looked for a low mileage FXT before I got my 18 M3, and none were forsale within 200 miles of me.

Check post #4 and #27! :)
 
Got me a new point and shoot camera during the holiday sales and it's lightyears better than my iPhone camera. For some of the test shots, I revisited the rear strut bar.

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It's been a while. I've been taking it easy since injuring my finger. Good news on that is my nail doesn't appear like it's going to fall off :) Anywho, the results of the rear sway bar and rear strut bar are awesome. With my setup, it's not like a tiny little go kart but there definitely is improvement to be felt. I give it an A+.

I wasn't able to fit the front Megan Racing strut bar on the car. It really required some bending of the A/C lines on the passenger side of the engine bay which I wasn't about. I'd rather keep my A/C and not have a front strut bar lol. I gave it to a friend that owns a 2002 WRX for exchange of some design work (for the MSP) so that worked out well.

In other news, finally took this thing out of its box and started cleaning it. Ordered Grimmspeed gaskets and DEI cool tape for it too. Most likely will try to install it after new years.

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Finished taping up the TMIC with the DEI cool tape. I still have to do the Y pipe under the TMIC. Got my gaskets in! Figured I'd give those a refresh before being installed. Sometimes I swear when I walk passed the thing it's glowing from that reflective tape lol.

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Finally got the Y pipe taped up and installed onto the tmic. That's as far as I got today. I've been moving pretty slow on car related projects lately.

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A couple more photos from last weekend's trip.

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Been a few years since we got snow! Nothing to really report here. Still need to install the STI tmic and replace a coolant hose clamp but other projects have pushed back all car projects and maintenance for the time being.

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Long time no see everyone. No major changes here, just sort coming out of that winter hibernation like everyone else. Car has been doing fine aside from a few small things.
  • Replaced another coolant hose clamp. This time it's the top passenger side end that goes into the engine.
  • Driver side window gusset needed to "DIY fixing" again, might just replace it if it the fix doesn't last long again.
  • AC belt tension or belt itself since it's squealing sometimes.
  • Driver side window regular appears screwy, rolling down really slow intermittently.
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I need to do my gussets as well.
Yeah, my driver side one has a small tear on the very top of the gusset. The squeezing DIY technique only seems to last about 2-3 weeks on that one and I'm going to attribute it to the torn seal.
 
Found the time today to tighten the AC belt tension and now the squealing is gone. Luckily the plastic component the tensioner bolt screws into didn't break on me. To be on the safe side, I had the metal version of the component on hand (Dorman 917-124).

Also installed front WeatherTech floor mats last week. Pretty pleased with the fitment.

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Been a while. It's hard to find time to do things when you have a newborn but I finally made some time to install the STI TMIC. My first attempt last week was a fail due to me not knowing about a hidden bolt hiding under the throttle body for removing the stock BPV hose. Didn't have a throttle body gasket on me so I put everything back together since I needed to use the car. After getting a gasket, everything else was a breeze aside from the TMIC being a tight fit. The 90 degree coupler took a few trimmings to get it to fit right. I painted the top of the BPV to give it a refresh but unfortunately scratched it with the TMIC during install lol.

Stock TMIC off
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The hidden bolt under the throttle body.
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Finished!
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Grats on the newborn @323! I had a new addition to my family recently as well. Hope baby and mama are doing well!
 

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