Just bought a 2004 WRX as my first car after always driving my parents cars

Just bought a 2004 WRX as my first car after always driving my parents cars

How difficult are they to work on for someone who has never done any wrenching?

All I need is one of those Haynes books right?

well. assuming i'm not falling for terrible bait, you done goofed. it's not going to be an easy car to learn to wrench on at all.

Have fun doing plugs and coils, let alone your head gaskets (which will fail eventually).

there is easier stuff to work on. But they are not as bad as the memes suggest.

T. Pic related

The most annoying this to do is going to be changing the spark plugs.

Spark plugs aren't difficult at all you just suck at wrenching

what makes spark plugs difficult

It's a flat 4 cylinder engine with DOHC Hemispherical heads. This means the spark plugs are located between the 2 camshafts to put it in the middle of the combustion chamber. This is normally fine and good, but being a flat 4 cylinder places them right next to the frame rails. This makes it very hard to get a socket in to remove them.
This is a LOT easier on Subarus with the SOHC engines since they're at an accessible angle, but the WRX is a DOHC engine.

they are on the side of the engine and kind of awkward to get at. Not really hard just awkward

How does one begin to learn to wrench if they're a complete novice mechanically?

start doing the simple stuff like oil changes, then move up to more and more complex tasks. it's really not that hard with the internet as a resource. auto repair is like building a computer, If you are new to it it looks like witchcraft, but once you know what you are doing it's more like legos for adults

I think this is the perfect car for a beginner. Maybe not as easy as an old civic, but still a good place to start.

The best part about subaru is that pretty much anything you can do to them is well documented. The forums have some very useful information.

Just search the FAQs on every subaru forum yout can find. Start reading up on as much as you can. Spend a full day, just reading, and you will be better for it.

Although I'll say this to give you some guidance:
>Subaru's (especially turbos) like their oil changes at 3,000 miles. Be religious about it. Use good synthetic oil (mobile 1), and use good oil filters (oem, Bosch, mobile 1).

>Also, get ready to swap out the up-pipe. It contains a catalytic converter that leads directly to your turbo. Kills spool and efficiency. Also, if that cat decides to degrade and send bits of shit into your turbo... bad news bears. This won't throw check engine code, and the car will perform better.

What else do I need to know

My bro telling me that I got to warm it up 10 mins every drive.

Is that true especially if I'm keeping it in the driveway

he also said something about them not being the best in summer

>Have fun with coils/plugs
>its hard to take out a battery, airbox, and washer fluid bottle.
.
there's a little more work to get to them than your average 4 banger that has direct access from the top. Hell even new shit boxes have some plastic covers you need to take off before getting to the plugs.

for a wrx (or any relatively popular car) everything has already been done and documented to some degree. Need a timing belt changed? There are multiple how-to write ups and videos on forums and youtube respectively. Need an oil change? Everyone and their mom's dog has done a write up on it with their own special tricks. So instead of creeping fb, start reading up on your car. Hard part comes when you actually need to wrench and don't have the right tools or any at all. I bought a 323pc craftsman mechanics set (150 when on sale, paid 99 bucks when local sears was going out of business) and that held me over for general maintenance. I still had to get some random things like breaker bars and and drift pins when I needed it but i just bought rather than rented because I knew I'll need them again. If you find your self weighing the options of buying another tool or just letting "the pros" do it, just stop. Buying a tool is a one time investment that you will use over and over again. Taking it to fric and frac is a tax you have to pay for every time you use them. Once you amass a nice collection (in time) you'll rarely need to leave money with the pros again.

>My bro telling me that I got to warm it up 10 mins every drive.
My 02 wrx has more than 200k miles on it and i leave mine out on the drive way. i don't let mine warm up for long. maybe 3 minutes? never timed it. once the needle has moved to the first tick mark then i just go.
>he also said something about them not being the best in summer
in what way?

something about turbos not being good in summer?

do I have to wait 3 mins for every drive or just for the first drive of the day?

Plugs are easy. Jack the car up, take the heat shields off the exhaust manifolds, coils off, push your spark plug socket up the hole, then put a 3" ⅜dr extension in and finally your ⅜ rachet. Crack it with the rachet and then wind it out with your fingers. Then replace it with a new plug. It's like a 40 minute job even for a beginner, honestly it took me longer to do plugs on my LS1.

Also the one I got belonged to a stay at home mom so the miles were low and the body isn't perfect.

most of it looks like it correlates with being primarily a grocery getter like my brother's wife's car

stuff like scratches on bumper from what looks like a pram being taken in and out constantly, trolley dents and scratches and shit like that.

doesn't bother me too much just means I don't have to baby it that much.

but yeah what's the best way to cover up the exposed metal bits

I don't plan on redoing the body and stuff untill I get a garage to park it in and until I'm like 45 when I go through a midlife crisis and put the big wing and stuff on it.

plus on top of that I don't know how to drive manual. is it worth taking lessons or should I just suck it up and practice at night in the car. or will that really fuck shit up.

I have a 2008 sti, not the same but my rule is just drive it nicely (stay below 4k revs and above 1.5k unless idling until the oil temperature reads betwren 4/10 and 5/10 of the way to the top.

this. I'm literally from /g/ and have built two computers before.

Should I be alright doing cars?

Everyone starts somewhere, just make sure before you start you buy a full 580 peice snapon set so you never find you don't have the crucial tool.

Wut?

that's what I plan on doing.

since it was just driven by a stay at home mom it's a good sign it was driven decently?

not really. cars have a lot of quirks that you have to learn that aren't really explicitly mentioned anywhere. experience and fucking up is the only way. and parts needs to often be persuaded to come off and on, with hammers and blow torches and die grinders.

but if you buy a service manual you'll be fine. you don't need to be smart to fix cars. you just have to do it.

>sti
>driven by a stay-at-home mom
like, I've heard stories like this before, like how someone's grandfather dailyed an RX-7 or how a mom was babying an M3, but an STI? nahhh, I don't believe that for one second.

>something about turbos not being good in summer?
the turbo will have a certain performance level (don't know how to say) no matter what. turbos do perform better in colder seasons because the colder air is more dense than warmer air. The car will not be a dog in the summer (like your brother is implying); it'll drive like normal. You'll just notice a little more pep when it's colder. All cars whether turboed or not are affected by the seasons and ambient temperatures in the same way.
>tl;dr
you get a few extra horses when its cold and normal hp when its hot.

>do I have to wait 3 mins for every drive or just for the first drive of the day?
I wait every time the temp needle is bottomed out. But if you just left it sitting for an hour while you were at the shops then you can just go.

It's probably not been ragged too hard but I doubt she would have maintained it religiously. I think you'll be ok, if she was terrible it wouldn't still be running

I know plenty of stay-at-home moms who have an sti! Some even have two or more! ;)

>pram, trolley
>bongland
makes sense

>bongland
>i don't know how to drive manual
WAT?

I thought everyone over there is taught stick when learning how to drive. Have you all started foregoing manual training since autos means less time learning how to move the car and more time learning how to drive on the road? Are autos becoming more common there?

well it had the full log book services at a highly recommended place that online wrx communities use a lot.

when I checked it out it was on the other side of town and my old co-worker recognised the place as being the top non-official subaru place to get stuff done.

Nice car user, congrats. How many miles on it? All I can say is make sure to check fluids frequently and don't wait last minute for maintenance, go to NASIOC for any information or how to's. Enjoy

it's a boxer engine, it's a fucking pain in the ass to get them out and in without either pulling the engine out or everything around it

56500 miles
$8700

did I over pay?

Also how badly can I fuck up the car trying to figure out how to drive manual if I don't know own how to drive one?

>regurgitating shit you've heard on the internet with no real experience

Obviously it's more difficult than an inline engine, but the first time I ever changed the plugs on my wrx it only took about half an hour.

>how badly can I fuck up the car trying to figure out how to drive manual if I don't know own how to drive one?
not really you will smell the burning clutch if you are doing it wrong. you will stall a few times and might even dump the clutch. find an empty parking lot and practice. if you can go from stopped to moving in 1st without being jerky as fuck the rest is easy. The more you drive it the easier it becomes

>56500 miles
>$8700
not bad. if you are happy with what you spent on it then it doesn't matter.

Not bad, terrible plate surround

that sounds very good, any pics?

well it didn't have one before that. That one was free. if you would like to send me a weebed out one I will gladly put it on and take a pic for you.

Not yet going to pick it up next week.

Anything else I need to know about 2004 WRXs?

Wasn't even considering one until I found this clean unmodded one.

Are they great reliability wise if I'm not a Hoon? Also is it true the EJ engine is a grenade?

Been starting to see that and I'm getting scared. or is this just people posting g their negative experiences that it seems over exaggerated?

They are and they aren't. If you take care of it it will last like any car. If it's making weird noises and you never check anything. Yea it will die.

Post pics when you get it.

will do,

What sort of weird noises?

Was just a figure of speech. You know like the sound of something g failing. All cars make sounds before shit breaks

Also any good videos on driving manual to prep myself before my bro picks it up for me?

I feel as though I have got the gist of it just want to see some more sources on it.

From what people have told me. it's just going into 1st and reverse that's the hard part right?

Quick tips for driving a stick.

Step 1
>get car to move without using the gas
Let out clutch slowly till you find the catch point. Car will start to creep forward when you find it. Remember this spot it is the basis for everything

Step 2
>now you know catch point time to use gas pedal as well
At the catch point you now give gas while letting out clutch.

Step 3
>repeat step 2
do this many times till you can start from a stop and change gears smoothly not jerky as fuck.

Step 4
>????????

Step 5
>google more advanced downshifting techniques
More practice. Once you drive a stick daily for a few months it becomes muscle memory.

Now I need to go to bed got work in a few hours

Start saving money for an engine/transmission. With a WRX, it's not "if", but "when".

wouldnt keeping on top of servicing solve this?

by how many miles should I really start to get worried? and if I bring it I to subaru fast enough would they be able to save it?

Also this car isn't going to last me til I am a grandpa?

I wanted this to be the one and only car I will ever buy and have as something that the grandkids are going to wish to inherit when I die.

Dont listen to him i have a stock 03 wrx at 230kms. No problems here