rkrenicki's 2010 SH9 Forester X Limited - 2024-03-02 Brakes Part One!

[thenines']

your just like a kid in a candy store

[rkrenicki]

I have no idea what you are talking about.. >.>

I hadn't put up some updated photos, so here we go.
Attachment 3426

[rkrenicki]

I've had a couple of busy days. Thursday and Friday was spent wiring up the turn signals on the rearview mirrors. The driver door happened to have two wires to the mirror that were unused, but the passenger side did not and required some wires to be fished through.. I ended up pulling pins out of some old harnesses to play everything "plug and play". I did not take any pictures of the process, but I did change out the temperature scale on the HVAC controls with a metric version while I had the dash apart.


I had a box arrive from Japan today, which included the Exiga Steering Wheel, Paddle Shifters, Leveler switch panel, and the rear Fog light assembly. The rear foglight was a simple swap, two bolts and swap the LED bulbs over. I need to wire up the rear fog at some point, but the housing is on at least.


The leveler switch assembly was equally as fast.. Pop the old one out, and pop the new one in. I was going to swap just the switch itself, but this black panel has the logo for the leveler. This also gives me the switch for power folding mirrors if I ever end up doing them.


I was not in the market to replace the wheel, but it was a 2000 yen bundle which included the wheel, the paddles, and the leveler switch panel all together. Since I am changing out the other parts with black parts.. I might as well install the black wheel as well. I have not yet wired up the paddles yet, but I can get to the plug from the bottom quite easily.

[rkrenicki]

I pulled the seat out today and installed the underseat subwoofer. The Kenwood KSC-SW11 is an almost perfect fit for the stock mounts. I just needed to drill out the bracket holes slightly and remove the foam underneath the carpet right where the sub went. The best thing about these low powered subs is I do not need to run a power wire all of the way to the battery.. Since it only uses a 10a fuse, I have no worries about using a fuse tap.


While I had the Weathertechs out, I figured I would swap in my old SLI Aluminum Dead Pedal.. I need to get some new clips for it, but it looks pretty good for being 8 years old now.


I also managed to get the LED bumper reflectors wired up as well. I wired them to the running lights and the brake lights. I was originally going to do turn signals and brake lights, but I changed my mind at the list minute.

[thenines']

We really need a meet-miss the all the people and cars

[rkrenicki]

I am chipping away at the red text on the first post. Today was wiring up the headlight levelers. It was not a super exciting job, nor do I have really any photos other than during my testing.. but they are all wired up now with a proper harness which is as close to "plug-and-play" as I can make it. Luckily, the switch is the same as the 09-14 STI, so I used that diagram for the job.

[rkrenicki]

Today was a new item to install. I ordered the Automatic Sensing Wiper and Headlight kit from Japan for the SH. It looks to be a somewhat generic kit, but it has some connectors specific to Japanese market SHs. After some minor modification, and using the drill templates backwards.. it is now installed. I still need to tidy up the wiring for the headlight portion, but that can wait a few days. There is an "AT" and an "MT" version, but it looks like the only difference is the length of the harness due to the mounting location of the module.


I also still need to make some english labels for the switches.


And lastly, the sun/rain sensor, to the right of the rearview mirror in this shot.

[rkrenicki]

I did a few things in the last couple of days. First up was replacing the front swaybar bushings. The ones I pulled out were likely original and were quite a bit past their prime.


I also found a grey switch panel with the headlight leveler logo on PartSouq for only $6, so now my dash is back to one color.


And lastly.. I fixed the odometer on my cluster. Subaru made it exceptionally difficult to get to the EEPROM on these clusters, by forcing you to remove the needles to remove the PCB. I did not want to risk damaging the needles and servos, so I came up with a different solution. I needed to add about 9500 miles, so I rigged up the cluster on my workbench and fed it a 250mph speed signal for a day and a half. I slowed it down to about 100mph last night to make sure I did not overshoot my target mileage, but it is 100% accurate now. Here is a shot of it on my very messy bench.


And now a shot with the corrected mileage. I started the process at 113,491

[rkrenicki]

Not a whole lot has happened to the car as of late, but there are a few small changes.

First, My vanity plate finally arrived yesterday. Nothing too terribly exciting, but at least I do not have the "Blitzen 6" plates anymore. I also changed the rear tail lights with European lights, since they have a proper Left Hand Drive rear fog light, even though I haven't done the wiring for them yet. I also need to polish the lights a bit, as they do a have some scratches on them.



Secondly, I am in the process of changing out the radio. I just bought a Kenwood DMX907S to replace the DDX9904S that I had. They are essentially the same radio, except the 907 adds Wireless Carplay which is a feature that I have been wanting for a while. It does lack a CD/DVD player, but I never used that function anyways. The 9904S is going to go into my SO's new-to-her 2013 Impreza. The radio looks exactly the same as the old one, so I did not take any pictures.

[rkrenicki]

I finally put all of the Subarus in a row today. Finding a time when all of them are home during the daylight is not the easiest thing in the world.

[rkrenicki]

Now that there has been a line-up change at the house.. I will need to redo that last photo in the near future.

In the meantime, I took off the winter tires since spring has sprung. It gave me a chance to learn how to reprogram the TPMS with my Autel TS508, which is super easy once I figured out the menus.

[rkrenicki]

I ordered up a set of power folding mirrors for a Japanese GH so that I can harvest the motor assemblies. For some reason, proper SH chassis mirrors are $150-200/side in Japan.. while the GH ones were $35 for the pair.

[rkrenicki]

I ordered up a set of power folding mirrors for a Japanese GH so that I can harvest the motor assemblies. For some reason, proper SH chassis mirrors are $150-200/side in Japan.. while the GH ones were $35 for the pair.

So.. it turns out that GH mirrors are completely different from SH mirrors. The bases are a totally different shape. I guess I will have a set of JDM GE/GH/GV/GR mirrors for sale whenever they arrive from Japan.

I did some digging and I found one side of the SH mirrors for an excellent price. I decided to go ahead and get the other side at the "normal price", and I ended up getting a decent deal between the two. I am not entirely sure when they will arrive, but it is going to happen.

[rkrenicki]

The left side mirror arrived today. I ordered the non-heated version, since I was planning on swapping the glass around anyways. I sort of wish that I did order the heated glass so I would have convex mirrors on both sides.. but oh well. I completely disassembled both mirrors to transplant the heated mirror wiring, and repinned the new Japanese mirror to match the US style. I have not connected the power fold yet, but it is otherwise ready to go. The mirror was shipped pre-folded, so I used my bench power supply to unfold it.

This is just before I re-wrapped the harness.


And this is after the mirror was attached. I have the ground wire of the turn signal connected to the chassis, and everything else is plugged into the vehicle harness. I need to run one wire for the turn signal, but in the meantime I re-pinned the car to get the turn signal working for now.

[rkrenicki]

I ordered the brake pads and rotors to finish up the fronts, and they arrived today. I went with Centric/StopTech GCX coated rotors and Centric PosiQuiet Pro ceramic pads. These things are huge (316mm) and VERY heavy. The shipping box weighs 52lbs!

I still need to get some new braided hoses before I install these, but all of the mechanical bits are now in my possession.

[rkrenicki]

A few more things arrived for the car in the last week or so. I did run strobe cables up to the front headlights back into the car. They currently end in the back seat footwell until I can decide where I want to mount the strobe pack.

Thank goodness for the clutch pedal grommet... I still need to shove at least one more cable through here for the two-way radio, and possibly for the headlight washers.


Next up is the heater controls for a 2011-2013 Forester Touring. I originally bought the module from a Japanese Exiga which is physically the same module, except it turns out that the servos are configured differently and it reversed the temperature scale (hot when at 18c, cold when at 30c), and it reversed the defroster and front vent positions. Oddly enough, the feet position was correct. These controls are also dual-zone, but the car is not capable of that. I disabled the dual button and the second temperature control, so it is a plug-and-play upgrade here. The controls mount into the large "swoop" across the dash, so I had to replace that as well.


It turns out that between 2010 and 2011, they changed the color of the silver swoop to more of a gunmetal color, so I guess I need to replace the rest of the silver bits to match. I also forgot to order the black plastic cover, so there are a few holes above the controls as well.

[rkrenicki]

Boy.. lots of progress today. I decided to work on the strobe wiring for the rear, and to install some generic Chinese amateur radio that I have since it is small enough to fit within the dash cubby under the radio. I do not have an antenna for it yet, but the harder part was mounting the radio as it required removal of the lower dash. Since the lower dash came off, I also finished the Power Folding Mirrors and the Paddle Shifter wiring since I had plenty of access.

Also while the tail lights were out for the strobe wiring, I ran the wire for the rear fog light into the car at the same time as well. It does not connect to anything yet, but it is physically inside the cabin now.


I have not yet decided where the strobe pack is going.. so the cables are just coiled up under the floor for the moment. I think it will end up in the cubby above this spot, but it sort of depends on how I can attach the pack.


Here is the dash completely blown apart. Lots of things in progress at this point, and even in the end it is only partially reassembled since I am awaiting some replacement panels from Subaru.


So, to sum up what happened today:
JDM Power Folding Mirrors - completed
Paddle Shifters - completed
Hide-a-Way strobes - more progress.. need to figure out control wiring.
Rear fog light - some progress.. will finish wiring when strobe wiring is run.
Two way radio - completed less the antenna.

[rkrenicki]

I did get the rear strobes wired up, and I just need some more connectors to finish extending the front strobe wiring to the trunk. I decided to install the strobe pack underneath the floor inside of the foam insert to try to cut down on the noise from the pack.


I also received the shifter shroud and some other little bits of plastic trim that were either missing, broken, or scratched. The center console is essentially complete now.

[rkrenicki]

My STI Catalog Shift Knob finally showed up after being backordered for almost 3 months.


I also finished the strobe head wiring for the hideaways. I still need to rig up the power and control wires, but those should be somewhat easy.

[rkrenicki]

I brought the Foz in to get the front windows tinted. That was the last "future item" on my mod list. I still have to finish up some of the other things on my modlist, but I have no more new things planned at this point.

I went with some 47% VLT Carbon tint, which combined with the factory glass coloration, brings me to about 38% VLT. It is a touch lighter than the 25% or so in the back windows, but I am quite happy with it. I am going to bring the Sambar to them next week to have the same tint applied.

[rkrenicki]

A new mod! I came across this STI Flexible Strut Bar from a YA5 Exiga for a song. This particular part is also called for on the SH Forester. It is very much for RHD cars, as it passes directly over the brake reservoir on LHD models, preventing me from removing it.. but with the ball joint in the middle of the bar, it only takes removing 3 12mm nuts to move one half of the bar out of the way when needed. This is the earlier version with the Cherry Blossom Red hoops vs the current version with Silver hoops.

This is purely a bling item, but the price was so low, and I already had a bunch of other items coming from Japan.. it really did not cost me much at all beyond increasing the shipping cost of the package due to the length.



Also since my last post, the transmission cooler hardline that runs up along the left side framerail decided to start leaking due to rust. I replaced the line along with all of the related hoses.

I also sourced some rear brakes for a 2010 Legacy GT to go with the pending front brake upgrade, but I have not yet installed them. Now that it is starting to get a little cooler out, I should be swapping all of the brakes here pretty soon.

[LosMan603]

Great thread and thanks for all the pictures too. I never remember to photograph anything lol.

Where are you sourcing your overseas parts? I have had good luck with rhdjapan (for aftermarket) and partsouq (for oem). I have heard that crooober is good as well, but I can't verify personally.

[rkrenicki]

As someone who buys a lot of parts overseas for my vehicles, especially now having a Japanese Kei Truck, I use a variety of vendors depending on what it is and who is cheaper:

Amazon Japan, JapanParts, and Amayama are my go-tos for new OEM and Dealer Catalog parts that are only available in Japan.
Partsouq (OEM) and Spareto (Aftermarket) for parts that are available in Europe.
Yahoo Auctions Japan via a buying proxy (such as Zenmarket or Tokyobuyers) for most used parts.

Occasionally I will use other vendors like Croooober (usually for wheels) or MKTJapan (another proxy service that is a bit more hands-on, but is more expensive)

[LosMan603]

As someone who buys a lot of parts overseas for my vehicles, especially now having a Japanese Kei Truck, I use a variety of vendors depending on what it is and who is cheaper:

Amazon Japan, JapanParts, and Amayama are my go-tos for new OEM and Dealer Catalog parts that are only available in Japan.
Partsouq (OEM) and Spareto (Aftermarket) for parts that are available in Europe.
Yahoo Auctions Japan via a buying proxy (such as Zenmarket or Tokyobuyers) for most used parts.

Occasionally I will use other vendors like Croooober (usually for wheels) or MKTJapan (another proxy service that is a bit more hands-on, but is more expensive)

Amazing info, thanks so much!

Have you enjoyed owning your Sambar? I have thought about replacing my old Silverado with a Kei truck, but I like the flexibility to be able to drive at highway speeds. Either way they are so cool!

[rkrenicki]

It has been great. Check out the thread in my signature for its story.

[rkrenicki]

Not a whole lot to report lately, the car is still going strong. I need to do a timing belt replacement soon, and install the big brake kit that I have on a shelf, but other than that it has just been some oil changes and whatnot.

In the meantime, I changed up my vanity plate.. I was never super in love with "The Foz", and people kept thinking it was a Happy Days reference.. Which would clearly be "The fonz".. but I digress..

[rkrenicki]

Nothing too big to report lately. I ordered a timing belt kit, NGK plug wires and plugs, some Whiteline front LCAs (mostly because the rear bushing was toast, and the whole LCA was only marginally more expensive than the bushing on its own), and PowerStop finally had the rear calipers in stock that I wanted.. so I picked those up too.

Now I just need to find a good nice weather day to do the timing belt, front LCAs, and full brake replacement. I am rapidly approaching 150k miles, so I may need to move Sammie out of the garage so that I can do the timing belt, but that will require moving around a lot of other stuff in the garage too.

[rkrenicki]

I attempted to everything all at once this weekend.. Brakes, LCAs, front knuckles and wheel bearings.


Turns out that at least the rear brakes have different banjo bolts. It seems that they are threaded with a finer pitch than the bolt that came on the Foz. I figured it was just a year difference, but it seems that according to the parts catalog, pretty much every forester has the same banjo bolts for every year. I am not sure what the issue is there, so I put the brakes on hold for the moment until I can figure that out. In the meantime, I did the LCAs and front knuckles since I figured there was no way I was going to get the bearings out of the original knuckles. I did also install the bigger backing plate in preparation for the bigger brakes.


It felt pretty wrong to put the old rusty brakes back onto this, but it is only temporary.

[thenines']

Nice!

[Muse]

This is such a weird project. Outside, it pretty much looks like any other SF out there, but there are so many little details that you only notice after being told. Love it!