It's getting cold! Subaru block heater install

The weather outside is frightful. I don’t think it gets like this in Japan, and though Subaru decided that block heaters would be standard equipment for Canada, this car isn’t from Canada.

It needs one of these:

$18 mud flaps

As the Starks say, “winter’s coming…”. With winter comes messy roads, so some mud flaps are in order.

Subaru auxiliary lighting - foglights!

When I first removed the fog light covers from the Subaru I was disappointed to find no actual fog lights underneath. This, the first stage of auxiliary lighting upgrades, sets out to fix that.

Audio upgrade - replacing the front Subaru speakers

One thing that has been bothering me since buying the Subaru is a slightly buzzy front driver’s side speaker. I found a set of replacement speakers at Pick n Pull last time I was there that would do nicely.

Downpipe replacement: modifying the new pipe

While swapping out the old, rusty downpipe on the WRX STi I discovered that Subaru, in all their trickery, decided to make a small change to the exhaust oxygen sensor in the different years and models of their otherwise-ubiquitous turbo engine.

Note in this pic how there is an opening in the old pipe for an oxygen sensor, and none in the new pipe!

A bit o’ grinding and a spot o’ welding should cure this.

Downpipe replacement: removal

Continuing with the replacement of the downpipe in the 1996 STi, today I got to the removal.

To get this rusty piece off…

…was not high on the “Let’s make this easy!” list for the Subaru engineers in 1996.

The tinworm strikes

One of the first projects due on the new WRX STi was to take care of that terrible exhaust leak.

What you see here is the downpipe - or at least what was left of it after the car arrived in Canada. The downpipe takes the hot exhaust gases from the turbocharger, runs them through a catalytic converter, and then connects to the long exhaust pipe that runs under the body of the car. At least that’s what it is supposed to do. In this state, it takes the exhaust from the turbocharger and converts it directly into noise.

A New Addition

No, not the dog. That’s Farley, and he’s not new. Although he certainly acts new.

Please welcome to the Fixbroke family o’ projects my new-to-me and new-to-Canada 1996 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version 3 wagon! (that’s definitely a mouthful)

This trusty steed comes via Japan, and accordingly, is steered from the right hand side. It takes a little getting used to - and yes, the pedals are still laid out with clutch on the left and gas on the right. The shift pattern still has first gear in the top left spot. The only thing that is really different is that the wiper and turn signal stalks are reversed, so that anyone unfamiliar with the car WILL turn on the wipers the first time they try to turn right.

The WRX STi is a car that is now available at your local Subaru dealer, but imagine a time back before the internet was big, way back in 1996 - Subaru sold Imprezas on our shores, but not in the WRX or STi trim. The STi added a whole bucketload of horsepower (280 hp on paper, 300 hp in reality) via a turbocharged 2.0 L flat 4-cylinder engine. It added limited slip differentials, a short-shifting close-ratio 5-speed gearbox, special suspension, seats, and body reinforcements. I’m sure they added even more than that, but I can tell already I’m losing the interest of the less techically-inclined. Suffice it to say, it’s a rally car with a wagon back.

The first order of business is new fluids. New oil for the engine, differential, and gearbox.

Look for a lot more on this car in future installments!