3. Using a good Youtube video out there, I also addressed my hood scoop, of which the rear-most corner on the passenger side raises up when driving at highway speed. I DESPISE those goddam Xmas tree plastic bits, and instead of buying the factory hex bolts w/ nuts for <$10, some A-hole had the hood scoop off and re-attached with those all around instead – except for the aforementioned corner.

1. The hex bolts slot into 6 spots, with plastic clips in another 4 spots. 1 of the original plastic clips broke, so I bought a 7th metal hex bolt/nut combo from the dealer and placed there. The hex nuts must be installed BEFORE you put the hood scoop back on and in its holes, followed by install of the new nuts with an 8mm socket.

 

4. My state requires a front license plate, but I don’t like it nor have I ever run one on this. But it looks silly without it. I bought the aluminum Perrin “license plate delete bracket” off Subimods.com for $50. All the cheaper ones had bad reviews IMO. However, I despise their logo all over – luckily 1 side is smooth with their name, but the other is embossed/engraved.

1. I sanded the aluminum somewhat with 220 > 600 grit, then primed it. I plan to lightly sand again, then topcoat with WR Blue + 2k clear coat at the same time I re-do the rear spoiler and some other body part to get my aerosol can money’s worth. *More to come here.
2. Perrin License Plate Delete 2002-2005 WRX / 2004-2005 STIDefault Title

5. I removed and painted the upper radiator stays + replaced the rubber bushings in them. Why not, they were like $5 each. Krylon semi-gloss black.

6. Lastly, but most important, my valve cover bolt leaking oil. So annoyed because I spent quite a bit of time cleaning up all under the car from a prior leak when I bought it. The entire valve cover gasket was also replaced on both sides back in January before me… But, my cleaning did help me isolate this slow oil leak being due to 1 of the lower passenger side bolts.

1. Luckily, those gaskets are each replaceable WITHOUT removing the entire valve cover! Yay. Unlike our old Jeep and my Blazer.
2. Got the Becks/Arney bolt gaskets off RockAuto, and installed with a new OEM valve cover bolt because the one I took off was becoming slightly rounded – can’t be burned in that location next to the frame rail!

That’s it for now. Painting the under-hood-scoop diffuser thing is next on my short-list. And since completing this work on Sunday, the car still leaks oil down onto the oil filter (lowest point) which is blown back onto the exhaust while driving and still smells like burning when you stop LOL. Who knows. Older car problems. It’s not as bad though since taking care of the valve cover bolt. My next guess is I need a new oil pan gasket.

 

Look at that, I have parking lights on both sides! Never knew they were supposed to come on with headlights either lol. One side never worked as the socket for it was fairly burnt, so I removed the bulb from the working side to not look tacky. Ordered a new harness for about $32 from the dealer [part #84931FE310 as seen in photo below] and boom - done.

I also installed new yellow plastic 'female' tabs that the 2 'male' metal sticks on the edges of the headlight go into when mounting them on the car. The yellow 'female' plastic bits are part #909130085; photo below for reference. Thought I ordered 2 new 'male' metal parts but apparently grabbed the wrong prat #... my drivers side headlight is missing both. Headlight still mounts up fine.

Next up electrical-wise is being able to see my tach + speedo + fuel gauge at night. The lights on my gauge cluster have never worked. The odometer box light and important lights (airbag, CEL, parking brake, etc.) work, but until recent YouTube videos I wondered if I was also supposed to have general dash light at night.

I ordered these this morning to replace all the bulbs in the cluster, as per some post back in 2013 I found: T-1 1/2 Glass Wedge Based 14V - replaces EWG103

 

Nice progress, these kind of repairs are oddly satisfying and take years off the car's appearance and feel.

 

Thanks! Certainly nice when everything 'works', ha

 

After my research + the consensus gathered on here that the factory plastic color is not distinctive (no unique paint code that I found), was most likely the color from the plastic mold to begin with, and for argument's sake more-or-less "black" from factory, I have decided to stop being anal and begin my trim painting on the car in black. [https://www.clubwrx.net/threads/factory-grille-color-on-bugeye.134618653/#post-5369274]

I started this process today with the front bumper facia that is black (or grey - who knows!). This section is not removable sadly, so I had to tape around. I then draped a cloth over the non-taped edges during the paint session. Scored with a blue ScotchBrite (green would be better but the blue 'non-scratch' is all I had on hand), then SEM plastic adhesion promotor (2 coats per instructions) followed by SEM "trim black" (4 coats).

I didn't do any body work per say, no filler, etc. but I sure am pleased with the final result! Excited now to move onto the side skirts and windshield cowl. Should really help freshen up the car.

 

I also could not recall how to remove the front bumper despite my posts above and more pics on my phone lol. Took me longer than it should have. This go-round I took a bunch of short video clips on my phone. Since there are no detailed videos on YouTube for '04-05 Blobeye front bumper removal, and the forum posts I found had dead photo links or again were not detailed, if I can figure out how to combine multiple video clips I'll do that and share on YouTube for everyones future reference (and that of myself).

 

if I can figure out how to combine multiple video clips I'll do that and share on YouTube

Ok well iMovie was simpler to use than I thought. Here you go, how to remove the "Blobeye" front bumper:

 

While the bumper is off I wanted to refresh the section you see through the lower facia bumper opening. It was all black and grimy (pic #1 below), so I lightly hand-sanded with 320 grit (pic #2), then primed last night with the Atlas grey "G6" high-build primer (pic #3), followed by WR Blue this morning (pic #4). The surrounding area and none of the frame are clear coated so I decided to pass on that here as well; figured that would make any overspray I end up with more obvious.

 

Got the bumper back on over lunch, way faster than removal of course. Literally no one will notice this but me but it looks so much better now with no more faded black strip up front from years of a front license plate.

Another Meguiar's headlight restoration kit arrives Friday. In direct sunlight, the passenger side getting the "2nd round" of the kit is nowhere near the results that a fresh kit had on my drivers side light.

 

In cont. to refresh the front end... I ordered a bunch from the dealer yesterday, incl. a new front grille badge [part #93011FE040 for $58], a bunch of clips for the cowl in anticipation of removing that this spring (will post those part #'s when I get there), and new fog light covers in WR Blue mainly just to have a factory paint for future reference [part #'s, side specific: 57731FE410PG + 57731FE420PG for $34 each].

I have moved to the side skirts! Removed them last night using the below YouTube video. However, no one goes into detail on the 2 leftover rear-most trim pieces... more on that from me to come. BUT! Subaru still sells them!!!

So I bought $90 worth of side-skirt related trim molding [part #91051FE010 (I only was missing mine on the passenger side and part #'s 91022FE020 + 91022FE030] and related clips and screws, and 1 side seal [part #96074FE000NN].

I'll post photos of what I'm referring to once they come in. In meantime, I will be cleaning up what I took off and be painting in the "trim black" paint.

-

 

Washed up the areas underneath the side skirts and wow - looks good! Honestly can't tell any trim is missing, besides the holes of course. You could body filler the holes, paint to match, and it would actually look sharp.

 

Got painting done on 1 of the side skirts. The ancillary rear-most trim pieces also painted up very nicely. I definitely broke the vertical piece on both sides (behind the rear doors; 1st pic below) as it turns out they screw in, aren't just clips. I'll see how the new parts look to compare. There is no immediate access to behind where they are, so unsure how one would get to their little screws.

*If anyone knows how to properly remove/install please let me know!

Below pic: Right side one is freshly painted "SEM Trim Black" (plastic adhesion promotor first of course), left side is the not-yet-resprayed other side off the car.

 

I am a w*ore for automotive branded shit so of course when at the dealer I bought socks and hot wheels.
Some of of yesterday's parts haul; part #'s, quantity, and pricing below. I will get back to the group here on removal/install of those vertical rear trim pieces once I finish painting and re-install. Might do a standalone DIY write-up too since no one has from my search.
That new Subaru badge is puuuurdy, but I'm back and forth on putting that on or getting the blue "i" JDM Impreza badge instead. Decisions decisions...

Side Skirt-related:

#904500019 – Body trim molding screw *for vertical trim pieces, x4 [$1]
#909140023 – Rear body panel molding clip *for vertical trim pieces, x4 [$2]
#91022FE020– Vertical trim piece itself, right side, [$17]
#91022FE030 – Vertical trim piece itself, left side, [$17]
#91051FE010 – Splash board, right side, [$8]
#96074FE000NN – Rubber seal/trim that goes at top of side skirt between it and body, [$30]

Misc. parts:
#57731FE410PG - Fog Light Cover, right, WR Blue Mica [$34]
#57731FE420PG - Fog Light Cover, left, WR Blue Mica [$34]

• **FYI I’ve gathered that part #’s including “PG” references it being factory painted in WR Blue. This concept applies to other colors too.

#93011FE040 – Subaru 6-star OEM grille emblem [$58]
#91612AE061 – “Warning” sticker for roof rail [$3]

Various windshield cowl clips (for when I remove that to paint):
#909130026 – cowl cover clip, x2 [$2]
#91167AA000 – cowl grille panel clip, x2 [$3]
#91167AA110 – cowl grille panel clip, x2 [$2]

 

Painted the rear tow hook. You never noticed it, which isn't a bad thing, but I went with Rustoleum silver followed by a single-stage (off the shelf at HD) 'matte' clear coat.

 

Officially ordered an STI hood scoop! I'm very excited. They're overly large and just plain cool looking. Only available un-painted in the raw (lol) and part #90821FE080NN which the cheapest dealer I found sold for $138 after tax.

I'll post comparison pics once it arrives. Unlike my rear spoiler, I may have this one professionally painted. If anyone knows of a quality paint shop in the mid-Atlantic area please let me know (*I am picky so cheap does not equal the best).

 

IT HAS ARRIVED! I love it haha. I measure the opening in the WRX scoop to be about 2-1/4" vs. this STI scoop at 3-1/4". The bulges on the sides make it more aggressive looking however. It is only available unpainted, so while I installed yesterday to see how it looked, I'll take it off shortly to go back in the box until paint.

That is low priority as I need to finish my side skirt and rear spoiler painting + re-install first... I think I removed the spoiler almost 6 months ago now, eek.

 

No painting progress sadly in the past few weeks due to weather + time. Gold wheels are back on for the warmer season however.

Did a brake fluid flush yesterday at ~161k miles; first time since buying. Fluid wasn't too dark thankfully. Internet ppl claim the FSM states to start at the front passenger side (FR), then RR, RL, and finally front drivers side (FL). That contradicts what I know in that you always start furthest away from the master cylinder (so RR on this). Anyhow, I did an initial flush of all 4 corners under my method, then did a 2nd round final flush using this supposed 'Subaru' method. All was good. Barely used an entire 1L bottle of Valvoline synthetic DOT3+4 fluid too during all this which was surprising.

 

Got the side skirts back on this weekend after I had painted everything! Some comments on the install below.

I have video clips to make another YouTube video here because the only ones out there show 'side skirt removal' - there is no footage nor mention I've found of removing the 'dog legs', the rear L-clamps, or the little splash guards. Part #'s can be found above already for those interested in this process.

1) Upper side skirt trim. I installed the new soft rubber top trim onto each side skirt. This trim provided by Subaru is longer than what needs to go on the side skirt; cutting is required. I took off about 2-3/8" from the end if I recall [photo #1].
Remove the white tape as you go [photo #2-3], revealing the sticky part (it's not as stick as 3M tape but it's being pushed up against the car after side skirt install mind you), and gently push it on from one end to the other.

2) Rear splash guards. I spent way too long trying to figure out how these go on lol. They basically hook in to the rear-most point on the side skirt [photo #4-5]. You pretty much must install these prior to putting the side skirt on the car; it requires a flipping motion to get it on, which metal on the chassis prevents you from doing with ease afterwards. Photo #6 below shows how it look on the car.

My passenger side didn't have one so I bought a new one. However, I see why it was missing - due to someone screwing up jack/lift placement, things are bent on the rear such that only my side skirt will install, but it would not accommodate the splash guard. The drivers side worked however, so I re-used my old one as painted up.

3) 'Dog legs'. Seen in pics above on this thread, these are attached by (in my opinion) permanent clips. There is no way I am aware of to access the back side of them and squeeze the clips for removal. Luckily while I broke off both upper and lower 'male' portions on my trim pieces here, the outer part and edges still looked good and painted up well. While I bought new trim pieces here for both sides, I figured to just re-use my old ones and install with 3M automotive tape. Much less permanent of an install and if it doesn't work and falls off, then I will put on my new OEM pieces.

For install, I did 3 layers of 3M tape [photo #7], used the non-broke male tab as a guide to line up with the upper hole, and pressed it on [photo #8]. Looks great and you would never know!

Overall I am extremely happy with how they turned out. I'm not sure I have a great 'before' photo but they were definitely more on the faded grey spectrum than black. This was an easy project that anyone could do, you don't even need a jack (I never used one), and helps freshen up the car.

 

So Im going through and "refreshing" my original 2004 wrx wagon as well and noticed these "dog leg" pieces or aka moulding protectors (OEM name) are extinct now. I have one brand new one for the left side just would love to find a right side. but Im going to reuse mine also and just use the 3M VHB tape like you did.

So I was curious how well yours are holding up so far with the tape that you used as well?

 

Finished up my rear spoiler yesterday!!! Decided to hang it this go round so as to shoot upwards with the aerosol can. That worked for my 1st 2 re-coats but the can still shit the bed on the 3rd coat, leaving a heavy wet/dark line that is visible to me, perhaps not the casual observer. The 2-stage clear coat can went on fine. And of course, hanging it left a mark w the string [left side on photo #4 below] but it is what it is. Once the paint gasses off in 30-45 days I will wet sand the topside and see if I can help get some of the orange peel out. Otherwise I am much more pleased w this 2nd attempt compared to my first which ended up with streaks of light and dark blue (uneven coats). I'm calling it done and installed this morning after 2 painting go-rounds and about $200 in aerosol cans smh. Quality painting is hard!

Photo #5 shows the difference between my spraying of the spoiler and the drivers side "L" spoiler bolt cap, a new OEM factory painted part from the dealer. My passenger side "R" bolt cover cap didn't break upon removal, and thus I painted it at the same time as the spoiler itself.

No pics here but I got the STI hood scoop primed with my 'G6 grey' high-build primer as well yesterday, after having wet sanded w 320 grit. Turned out nice, now to wet sand once more w 320, and buy yet another batch of WR Blue and 2-stage clear coat paint. I'm in no hurry for that though as I know it will stand out as obviously not matching the original now-old hood color.

Feels really good to have the car all back together now between this and the side skirts Now, as my friends keep reminding me, I need to turn my attention to my #stillleaksoil issue haha.

 

Officially decided to convert to the "i" Impreza JDM badge up front, despite buying a new Subaru logo. I'll save the latter for the future if I ever buy a new grille. Bought a heat gun from HD and worked a gift card into it to get off. Wasn't too bad, I've never removed a badge from a vehicle before!

Then I spiraled of course and since the badge is off no better time to paint it... in this thread and others I failed to find what the factory front grille OEM color was, as you may recall.

For purposes of cohesiveness I have just decided to hit it with the SEM Trim Black like all my other trim pieces as of late. I sanded with #320 grit then took a first pass of spraying yesterday. The plastic has silicone on it clearly (photo #3 below) which makes the paint not stick and look like shit. I ran into this with 1 of the trim pieces above ^. Wiping acetone does the trick (it removes all the paint too), re-wash the pieces, rub w 70% alcohol, then do your painting procedure.

Once my new can of black comes in (ran out) I will do just this and then put back together with the new badge.

 

My alternator is pretty dungy looking and most likely old so in leu of just swapping like-for-like, I've been looking into Subaru factory alternator upgrades. This is a common and easy direct-bolt-on upgrade with the older GM trucks.

Well, from my research (mainly on older NASIOC threads), Subaru offered from the factory across various vehicles alternators in the amp ratings of 75, 90, 110, and 135. Maybe more? The 135 amp sounds like it was mainly used on the 6-cylinders and is not a direct bolt-on to the EJ20 motors (which here is my application and not the EJ25; I imagine it might also apply to that too?). However, from what I gather it appears the 110-amp factory alternator on the 2008-2014 gen Impreza/WRX's [GE, GH, etc.] is backwards compatible with the GD/GG chassis.

As such, and unless someone here tells me otherwise, I'll look to buy a 110-amp unit for my '04 in the near future. The price delta is negligible...a 75 or 90-amp replacement for me (idk which I have now) is about $160 vs. the 110-amp's go for $220, both ACDelco brands and as on RockAuto.

 

Round 2 of SEM Trim Black on the grille turned out suuuuuper well, after the acetone + 320-grit sanding on those problem areas. Very pleased. I'm also surprised how well the rubber-ish mesh middle section took paint... to the point that my blue painters tape has annoyingly stuck to it lol. I must now tediously remove the leftover pieces of tape, re-assess if I need another spray, then my "i" badge can go on.

 

A sight I'm sure has been over-done but I think the badge turned out nice on the grille. It's more subtle than I thought, I believe since it's blue just like the OEM logo.

 

Finally changed transmission fluid for the 1st time. PO had obviously done this not too long before I bought because fluid looked good. Magnet had, I thought, a decent amount of metal on it, but I did learn to drive stick on this thing lol. The OEM magnetic drain plug had also been replaced to a 17mm bolt head design vs. my understanding is the factory one was a T-60 torx bit. I got about 3.5 quarts out of it, and put back in 3 quarts of Subaru OEM 75W-90 gear oil (may need to grab another bottle). Removal of the intercooler made re-filling wayyy easier.

And I bought a set of ramps... made this immensely easier than rolling out the jack and stands. Plan to use em much more often when I can.

 

What does this mean?? Haha. Was running 16/16 DAM, dropped to 0/16 turning and hitting 3.x PSI of boost. No FBK that I noticed from that time, still showed 0. Car off and on back at home and still sitting at 0. Strange. Haven't gotten gas in 150 miles, wouldn't think it would be that. Oil level fine. Crossing fingers, ha.

 

Gave it some boost this morning, kicked right back up in increments of 4 to 16 without any FBK. Strange. Anxiety diverted, almost time for some beers on the 4th lol.