Well, there once was a story about a man who was just going to replace the radiator in his STI because the top plastic end cap started weeping. Then he decided to replace the oil pickup at the same time, and then since the oil and coolant were both drained, decided it was damn well the best time to do a clutch job. His clutch had been feeling odd for quite some time (shudder, no modulation, shallow engagement), and the release bearing was noisy, indicating he might as well. Since he was going to have all of that apart, he decided it would be best to check the valve clearance, reseal the valve covers, reseal the oil cooler, install some group n mounts everywhere and a kartboy pitch stop, and a bunch of other raisin. His friend jaKe came over and helped out a ton, and we both consumed many beers and slices of pizza. This made for an interesting weekend worth of work here and there between other things he had to get done. All said and done, he thinks his car feels like new, and has never felt tighter. All shift and throttle slop is now gone, and the clutch has excellent modulation and depth. He also has no idea why he wrote this in third person, but fudge it, why not.
What was installed:
-Group N tranny and motor mounts
-Kartboy pitch stop
-Koyo aluminum radiator w/ koyo cap
-Samco coolant hoses w/ stainless tbolt clamps
-New super blue Subaru coolant
-New heater core hoses and clamps
-New thermostat
-New oil cooler oil seal, coolant tube and hoses
-New rear main seal
-New valvecover gaskets, half-moons, spark plug tube gaskets
-New oil pan
-New Killer-B oil pickup
-New OEM flywheel
-New OEM clutch and pressure plate
-New release bearing
-Various new bolts and clamps I didn't think would make it to the next big job
PHOTOS!!!:
Had some stuff to install:
Out she comes:
Out (check out that nasty release bearing. totally grenade worthy.):
Smoked clutch anyone?:
Old oil pickup off, pre-clean up for new pickup/pan:
New killer-b pickup installed, and pan sealed up tight:
Oil cooler with a new seal and coolant hoses and group n mounts:
New oil cooler coolant tube and hoses:
New main seal, because when the flywheel is off you might as well:
Checking valve adjustment, all within spec! Sealed up the valve covers with new seals:
New clutch assembly!!!
New banjo filter bolt thing, because it’s way easier out of the car:
Engine back in with new koyo radiator and some sammyco hoses:
All back together!:
It’s ALIVE!!!!!:
Sorry I don't have more detailed pictures. Was busy working instead of playing shutterbug.
With the new mounts and clutch, the power the car puts out feels so linear and responsive now, and with a clutch that has actual modulation it's awesome! I also feel great driving around knowing it's been greatly freshened up (oil seals, etc.), and will hopefully provide tons more miles of fun. This was by far the most rewarding work/parts I've put into the car. It's just completely different, in all of the ways I wished it was before the install.