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Old 11-18-2012, 04:09 AM   #1
savestheeday
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Talking Normal for WRX or should I be concerned?

Hoping this is posted in the most ideal category..

I purchased my 2002 WRX about 5 months ago with 130,000 miles. Prior to then, I had never owned a vehicle with a manual transmission and rarely drove them (although I felt fairly confident in driving one, if given a few minutes to learn the vehicle). I also had never owned anything close to a "sports car", if you will, nor had I ever driven anything close to one...the closest I'd ever gotten was a virtually-stock Nissan 240sx, if that tells you anything. I feel it's also worth mentioning that I had zero experience driving a manual transmission vehicle fast or aggressively.

During these 5 months, I feel that I've had the opportunity to really get an understanding of how my vehicle runs, handles and operates in general. I do, however, have a few things I would like clarification about. I have spent hours researching these questions, on Nasioc and more, trying to find the correct answers, and I would simply like to go over them - I'd like to go over just a few of them, since I feel I haven't felt comfortable with the answers received so far...(please inform me if at all possible!) Please forgive me if some are stupid or vastly covered..I've seen tons of "answers" for these questions, ranging from retarded to seemingly precise..

1)My WRX burns oil..it does NOT leak oil! I park on a driveway and I've never seen a drop from it at any point. I have also checked around my turbo for any visible spots and haven't seen any splattered on the underneath. There is zero smoke coming the tailpipe, even with the pedal to the floor. I have not checked under the intercooler for oil. at first I was led to believe that this would be a huge telltale sign, but eventually felt confident believing that it is normal for WRX's to gather a little bit of oil within the intercooler...Please touch on this if you feel led. It's hard to say exactly how much it's leaking...I have not recorded my mileage to consumption ratio. but I would say roughly close to quart every 1,000 miles or so. I would say at least once a day, I drive it to through the first 2/3 gears with the pedal to the floor, if you need to know - Just recently have I started to do it less. Also, I've never done a fast or violent launch..If your WRX does indeed burn oil at a quicker rate than other vehicles, please tell me what is "acceptable" so that I can start accurately recording. Today I finally switched to Rotella T6 5w-40 after tons of research and positive feedback..again, comment if you feel compelled.

2) I have had zero mechanical issues with the car, besides the clutch, which I replaced. The car absolutely purrs at idle. With that being said, the motor tends to sound gritty and even rough...when "babying" the vehicle though gears, and trying to accelerate at the same pace as traffic, it just sounds so rough..It is 100% stock (performance wise) and has had only the exhaust TIP replaced. When I drive it more aggressively, especially when the turbo is spooling, it's very accurate to say it turns to butter!!! It's like it wants to be driven fast! The exhaust tip is a DC sports and was put on by the previous owner (old one was rusting). It feels rough too, it's not just the exhaust giving off the effect..but like I said, pedal to the floor, it drives and sounds great!! Is this to be expected with my WRX...? I haven't heard many opinions about this and I've never been in a Subaru in my life, much less an AWD Turbo with a boxer motor...After having to top the oil off so frequently, I'm afraid the gritty attitude the motor has is relative to the oil situation...

3) I've come to the final conclusion that the WRX stock shifter is loosey goosey! Can this be agreed upon? Of all the manual vehicles I've driven, this WRX is by far the loosest! I installed both available Cobb Bushings, but to be honest, I didn't notice a huge difference. Maybe a little stiffer at first. Is this is normal, and is there anything I can do to stiffen it up, without replacing it with a performance shifter? I already tried tightening it up via beneath the boot/console assembly. I'm really sick of constantly having to nudge it to keep it from vibrating!

4) Also related to the shifter, I've also gathered that it is completely normal for the clutch to "kick" while shifting into 1st gear from a dead stop..Is this true? That's the only way I know how to describe it..It doesn't do it every time, and it seems if I shift slower it helps..sometimes, but less often, it refuses to go into 1st and I have to re-press the clutch pedal to make it engage. It does the same thing in reverse, nearly 1/3rd of the time...I've heard LOTS of claims of this...I've heard some people described it as a grinding, but it sounds/feels much more like a thump to me..is this completely normal? I had a mechanic who was riding with me tell me my transmission is about to go and soon I won't be able to put it into gear at all...although it is showing no other symptoms. Should be be concerned?

5) Final question I'll try to make it short...I replaced my clutch 10,000 miles ago with an Exedy OEM replacement...Is it safe to say I can expect between 50,000 - 100,000 miles out of it, as long as I baby it and keep the drag racing to a minimum? Overall, I drive the car very modestly and strive for best fuel consumption. I usually get no less than 300 miles to a tank...This clutch was by no means a "learner" clutch, but I will attempt to slipping up a few times. The clutch feels great and I'm good at not riding it excessively from a dead stop. I babied the crap out of it for the first 1,000 miles and surfaced the flywheel as well. It's just that over the past couple weeks I've noticed the clutch soften up a bit and I'm curious if it's a sign of wear or if it's simply worn-in? I've tried putting it in 5th gear going 20mph and it does not slip...it also does Donuts in the dirt and sand extremely well, also with no slippage!

I apologize for the detailed questions...I've spent hours looking for the correct answers and have avoided asking these questions via forums until I felt I'd dug hard enough. NASIOC seems the most knowledgeable with Subaru's by far, especially WRX and STI's. I consider myself a very meticulous person and I intend on having this bugeye for years and years and simply want to be confident in it's care. I love the car and I will never own anything but Subaru again!

Thanks in advance!
Joshua
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Last edited by savestheeday; 11-18-2012 at 04:42 AM.
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Old 11-18-2012, 07:39 AM   #2
quazimoto
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1. Pretty sure the owners manual says 1 quart per 1000 miles is acceptable. The 5w40 should help

2. The car probably just needs a good tune up. Clean the MAF sensor,check the air filter,change the fuel filter and plugs. The boxer motors are naturally rough due to the unequal manifolds.

3. Get the lower shifter bushings .

4. Normal. Changing the fluid to a nice synthetic helps.

5. It's fine

Read the Uninombers Manifesto. Most of this stuff has been covered there.
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:18 AM   #3
Jackie leggs
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Also to really get rid of the slop in the shifter look into replacing the shift linkage. What you need to get in the 5mt shift linkage update from turn in concepts. What happens in over time the OEM bushings fall apart and gain a lot of play. Swap this in and you'll be happy happy happy.
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Old 11-18-2012, 02:50 PM   #4
savestheeday
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Thank you so much for the responses. I feel confident now that my WRX is behaving normally; I will do the suggested tune-up asap.

One question about the air filter...I've always heard good things about K&N Performance air filter until I actually looked into buying one. So far, I hear many more bad reviews than I do good ones...I'm a bit surprised tbh..What's your suggestion? Stay away from it? I plan on keeping the car stock and have heard even worse things about adding a CAI, so I'm trying to just stick with a "performance" air filter. I found a Purolator pureONE air filter that seems comparable to K&N only much cheaper and so far all good reviews.

I have a baby on the way and I sold my lowrider s10 in order to get a sedan. WRX(sti really) has been my dream vehicle for years - it's reliability and safety specs ultimately are what allowed me to talk my wife into letting me buy a WRX hahaha - so needless to say I can't afford to rob it of it's reliability by throwing a bunch of aftermarket junk on it. I've seen where these vehicles don't respond to them very well..

Jackie, I found the linkage from Turn-In and I will be ordering soon!

Thanks again
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Old 11-18-2012, 07:53 PM   #5
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#4 the uncle scotty cocktail makes shifting 100x better. no more blocked shifts into 1st and reverse since i've put it in. also a heavier shift knob and a lightened crank pulley help makes shifting smoother.
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Old 11-18-2012, 10:34 PM   #6
savestheeday
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How long have you been using the cocktail? I'd be very afraid to run this mixture...
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Old 11-18-2012, 10:38 PM   #7
Dakota D
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Why would you be afraid it works great
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:14 PM   #8
savestheeday
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Something doesn't feel right about mixing the three oils - I'm sure it provides a much smoother shifting, the reviews make that obvious.

As far the health of the transmission, there is no reason to assume this would be harmful to it? At a 140,000 miles it concerns me.
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:30 PM   #9
savestheeday
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SURELY there is an already-existing tranny fluid that gives the same results..
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:39 PM   #10
Jackie leggs
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I've been running the cocktail for roughly 30k without any issues. But just do a little research on here and see what you find out. There are numerous threads that cover trans fluids in great detail.
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Old 11-19-2012, 12:14 AM   #11
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i have got THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of pm's and emails on the cocktail

i can count on fingers the ones that were anything but positive...and some of those are from people who bought and used the wrong products and blamed ME for their issues
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Old 11-19-2012, 12:04 PM   #12
CalvinT
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For a daily driver I'd avoid the K&N. Check out bobistheoilguy or just google K&N acdelco air filter test. The difference in pressure drop between the K&N and a paper filter is around six inches of water, or 0.25 psi.

I've run K&N filters in the past on other cars. You need to make sure you put grease around the gasket. It's pretty firm and won't seal dust from leaking around the filter unless you grease it. The gaskets on paper filters is soft to prevent the problem.

I didn't grease them at first, then I noticed a thin film of very fine dust collecting inside my air cleaner. It was polished. Putting grease on the gasket solved the problem.
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:18 PM   #13
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Good info in here! I'm about to pick up a similar milage 2002, and appreciate the info
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Old 11-20-2012, 09:02 PM   #14
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I only have about 10k miles on the cocktail, but wish I would have put it in WAAAY earlier. It's night and day to any standard oil. The components are all synthetic gear oils that naturally go into a trans, so unless they chemically react with each other there is no reason they cannot be mixed.
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Old 11-21-2012, 05:52 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
i have got THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of pm's and emails on the cocktail

i can count on fingers the ones that were anything but positive...and some of those are from people who bought and used the wrong products and blamed ME for their issues
I have heard u have made 3 different "cocktails".......care to shed some light on the 3rd?

Op just get some Subaru extra S and use that in the Trans and rear diff
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Old 11-21-2012, 06:51 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shamrock 05 View Post
I have heard u have made 3 different "cocktails".......care to shed some light on the 3rd?

Op just get some Subaru extra S and use that in the Trans and rear diff



its ALL out there if ya LOOK
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Old 11-21-2012, 08:46 PM   #17
savestheeday
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I'd rather not pay that much for the extra-s...although I'm considering using it for the rear diff.

I think I will go with the cocktail for the tranny...I'm really getting sick of the grinding. I found this one thread (which I can't find now) that talked about the cocktail eating through seals...but honestly, I have a hard time seeing someone like Grimmspeed selling the concoction online, if it was harmful..

I found a thread talking about "v3" of the cocktail, but it wasn't even posted by Scotty, so I dunno..

Just for clarification - this is the blend I'm going to use...please correct me if I'm wrong.

1 Pennzoil Synchromesh Quart
2 Castrol Hypoy C 80w90
1 Redline Lightweight Shockproof

Directions: use ALL of Penzoil, Lightweight Shockproof, and 1 full bottle of the Castrol Hypoy C, then you use approx. 1/3 to 1/2 of the remaining Hypoy C until the transmission is full.


BTW..I replaced my air filter (which was dirty as ****), cleaned my MAF, and replaced my PCV Valve. I've noticed a nice difference in power, regardless of who wants to laugh at that. It's nothing mind-blowing, but quicker throttle-response it seems, and slightly more acceleration. My PCV was definitely bad and I'm almost thinking that was the cause of my oil consumption (and the strong fuel smell coming from my oil) hopefully that's all it is.

I'm going to attempt the Snorkus Delete this weekend after buying some weatherproofing. I'm a little bit concerned about the delete, since I live in FL and we get HARD rain with occasional flooding, from what I've read it's a lot harder to suck that much water in than people realize, so hopefully it'll be OK.

I will have my up-pipe within the month and that will be it as far as mods go. I'm so freaking afraid of blowing my turbo b/c of my stupid up-pipe - getting rid of it asap!

Thanks everyone for their advice! It was all taken into consideration and I appreciate the responses!

Joshua
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Old 11-23-2012, 01:41 AM   #18
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If your car is 100% stock you should have not switched to rotella t6 the zinc in that oil will ruin your catlytic converters. If you going to run rotella or other diesel oils you need to remove all 3 cats.
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Old 11-23-2012, 02:27 AM   #19
savestheeday
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I'm replacing the stock up-pipe very soon, that would be my only concern as far as the cat destruction goes. The other two I plan on replacing (or removing) down the road anyways.

I've heard such good things about Rotella T6, mostly from Subaru enthusiasts...I've got to go with experience on this one - too many people are praising it. so far I'm having good results from the T6 and hopefully Scotty's Cocktail proves just as successful.
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Old 11-23-2012, 01:08 PM   #20
BoboTheMonkey
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Scotty's cocktail is great. Super smooth compared to the factory garbage. Get shifter bushings too. Rotella has been good so far. I used another synthetic 5w30 and it was burning off.
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Old 11-23-2012, 06:30 PM   #21
Uncle Scotty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by savestheeday View Post
I'd rather not pay that much for the extra-s...although I'm considering using it for the rear diff.

I think I will go with the cocktail for the tranny...I'm really getting sick of the grinding. I found this one thread (which I can't find now) that talked about the cocktail eating through seals...but honestly, I have a hard time seeing someone like Grimmspeed selling the concoction online, if it was harmful..

I found a thread talking about "v3" of the cocktail, but it wasn't even posted by Scotty, so I dunno..

Just for clarification - this is the blend I'm going to use...please correct me if I'm wrong.

1 Pennzoil Synchromesh Quart
2 Castrol Hypoy C 80w90
1 Redline Lightweight Shockproof

Directions: use ALL of Penzoil, Lightweight Shockproof, and 1 full bottle of the Castrol Hypoy C, then you use approx. 1/3 to 1/2 of the remaining Hypoy C until the transmission is full.


BTW..I replaced my air filter (which was dirty as ****), cleaned my MAF, and replaced my PCV Valve. I've noticed a nice difference in power, regardless of who wants to laugh at that. It's nothing mind-blowing, but quicker throttle-response it seems, and slightly more acceleration. My PCV was definitely bad and I'm almost thinking that was the cause of my oil consumption (and the strong fuel smell coming from my oil) hopefully that's all it is.

I'm going to attempt the Snorkus Delete this weekend after buying some weatherproofing. I'm a little bit concerned about the delete, since I live in FL and we get HARD rain with occasional flooding, from what I've read it's a lot harder to suck that much water in than people realize, so hopefully it'll be OK.

I will have my up-pipe within the month and that will be it as far as mods go. I'm so freaking afraid of blowing my turbo b/c of my stupid up-pipe - getting rid of it asap!

Thanks everyone for their advice! It was all taken into consideration and I appreciate the responses!

Joshua
yeah...u wrong
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Old 11-24-2012, 10:33 PM   #22
savestheeday
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
yeah...u wrong
I said CORRECT ME if I'm wrong...that, sir, was not a correction.

Being as though you're the "founder" of this miracle mix, I figured you'd be a bit more amped to advertise the correct mix, since it's your name on the line after-all. You can't complain that people use the wrong mix and then blame you, when it's not easy to find..the fact that you've stated there's 3 different revisions of it doesn't help much either....

even within NASIOC I've found numerous directions, ALL of which claiming to be "Uncle Scotty's Cocktail", yet none of them were posted by you...I cannot find your initial post...

The ingredients I listed are directly off of Grimmspeed's website...If this is not your mix (or the current "version") could you list the correct one?
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Old 11-25-2012, 06:48 AM   #23
Uncle Scotty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by savestheeday View Post
I said CORRECT ME if I'm wrong...that, sir, was not a correction.

Being as though you're the "founder" of this miracle mix, I figured you'd be a bit more amped to advertise the correct mix, since it's your name on the line after-all. You can't complain that people use the wrong mix and then blame you, when it's not easy to find..the fact that you've stated there's 3 different revisions of it doesn't help much either....

even within NASIOC I've found numerous directions, ALL of which claiming to be "Uncle Scotty's Cocktail", yet none of them were posted by you...I cannot find your initial post...

The ingredients I listed are directly off of Grimmspeed's website...If this is not your mix (or the current "version") could you list the correct one?
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...84&postcount=1

its right there.....

and here

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...postcount=2575
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Old 11-25-2012, 04:57 PM   #24
savestheeday
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postcount=2575..nice. I can't believe I didn't find it earlier...

The first link I'd found already, but was cautious since it wasn't by you...this was posted in 2006, you sure there isn't a v4 by now?

it was a pleasure conversing with the infamous Uncle Scotty! Gonna give it a shot, I figure if 6 years has passed since you released v3, there'd be more complaints by now if it was known to eat seals.

THAAAAAAAAANKS
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Old 11-28-2012, 04:08 AM   #25
Tenament
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Savestheeday, I'd recommend running just regular ol' castrol hypoy-c in the rear diff.
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