*MARMOTS*03 wrx swapped sti

[IheartSTI]

Before this technical write up begins I am going to answer the question everyone is going to ask. "Why is this called the Marmots sti thread?" The only way I can describe this question is marmots are one of the most fierce animals to ever walk the earth and i believe the sti is one of the greatest cars ever driven on this earth so it just makes sense.


With that said let the swap from hell begin. I picked up the wrecked Sti two nights ago and even that did not go smoothly. At that point I knew this project was not going to be smooth sailing. When you look at buying a wrecked car take a very detailed look at every part of the car. If it was wrecked from the back do not assume the front is in perfect condition. For example the car I picked up was wrecked from the driver side yet the bottom passanger side of the bellhousing had a crack in it. Also what I have found expect to find random things broken that you could not see when looking over the car. Another example was that the dash on this sti was in perfect condition yet when I took out the radio the radio casing was cracked. With that said be ready to buy some oem parts from subaru.

Last night I started tearing down the car. Not a whole lot of tear down has been done because I have been overly careful to lable everything. It is tedious work but it will save you a few angry hours down the road. Here are a couple pictures of teardown.

[IheartSTI]

I am the type of guy who tends to get impatient. It is difficult to not take shortcuts for a little instant gradification but pure will power is holding me back. haha. I noticed that I do not like factory oem subaru wiring harness's. They have to many clips in to many wrong places. I am not going to put every factory clip back in because some of the spots they are in are just rediculous. I am going to make sure everything is secured properly but first I am going to clean the wiring up. here is a couple pictures.
before:

After:

I cant stan the mess that is behind the dash and if its the last thing I ever do on a car it will get done.

[sperry]

Okay, I'll say it... "Nice marmot!"



Back on topic... that STi look familiar, is it from around Reno?

[IheartSTI]

Originally Posted by sperry

Okay, I'll say it... "Nice marmot!"



Back on topic... that STi look familiar, is it from around Reno?

Yes recently it was owned by a gent named ramon from the "street toys". it was basically stock

[WRXlerate]

Mind sharing with us (OR me personally in a PM) what you paid for it? I have been piecing together my swap for over a year now, I'm just curious how much I could have saved if I would have just bought a whole car.

[100_Percent_Juice]

I have seen a few car running around with Street Toys on the window.

[TrueNative]

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

I have seen a few car running around with Street Toys on the window.

Same here......one pulled up next to me near Galena, so I waved....all I got back was stink face, and a good listen to his almighty BOV
Later, I went home and cried.

[renosubby]

Good stuff Sam... Cant wait to tune this bad boy! Let me know if you need any help.

[IheartSTI]

Well this afternoon I was able to make a little headway on the wiring harness. It is about 95% of the way out. Some not so fun things I needed to do is take out the ac/heater/blower unit. It is not hard but was on of the things I was trying to avoid having to deal with. Here are a couple pictures from this afternoon and hopefully if my wife lets me I can get back to work tonight.


I think the hard part for the tear down is over. Its time to get started on something I am a little more used to. I thought it was going to take a little more time to get the teardown completed but it turns out things are moving pretty smoothly. Does anyone need a spart damaged shell? If so shoot me over a pm because I want this this out of my garage by the end of the weekend. I will keep you all posted.

[Kevin M]

Yeah, unfortunately a complete swap requires a complete dismantling of the interior, even the headliner in some cases. The good news is, getting everything back together isn't all that hard, as long as you kept track of all those weird fasteners and screws they use under there.

[IheartSTI]

Originally Posted by Kevin M

Yeah, unfortunately a complete swap requires a complete dismantling of the interior, even the headliner in some cases. The good news is, getting everything back together isn't all that hard, as long as you kept track of all those weird fasteners and screws they use under there.

I actually thought it was going to be more difficult than it is but I did not realize how time consuming it really is. Usually I have help but so far I have been on my own this project. If anyone would like to learn or who has done something like this would like to help out feel free to shoot me over a pm. Thank God for power tools! I have a little electric impact made by ryobi and it is a life saver. This tool does work on just about anything 12mm or smaller. (anyone who has done this would know there is a lot of little bolts)

Last night I did not do anything for the 4th so i just made some headway. I did not pull the motor because I rather have a hand yanking it out but all the nuts, bolts, clips, and whatever else is in there are ready to come out.

Like I said before when you pick up a wrecked car you will more likely than not find more damaged parts than you first assumed. Here is a picture of the radiator after pulling it out. Also if anyone knows a good way to test the radiator to make sure it does not leak feel free to comment.

Before I mentioned that the bell housing was cracked. I though it was only damaged near the top (which this picture shows) but after getting under the car to loosen the Bellhousing nuts I found it was cracked all the way around.


I am trying to find some wheels and tires that are 5x114.3 until i find another sti wheel. I want to get the suspension, hub assembly, and brakes swapped over to the wrx so i can sell the old wrx parts. If anyone could help me out with this i would appreciate it a lot. I can even give some sort of security deposite.

[100_Percent_Juice]

^That sucks. Does that mean the transmission is pretty much toast?

[IheartSTI]

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

^That sucks. Does that mean the transmission is pretty much toast?

No i dont think so. I am pretty sure its good. it still shifts into gear fine. It did not move but a little bit it just cracked because the force. If it is toast I have a backup plan but lets not even go there.

[100_Percent_Juice]

So you just need to pick up a new bell housing?

[Dean]

We pulled the motor this morning and the input shaft appears to spin straight and true, so a new bell/front diff housing should be all he needs.

Sam's made a lot of progress with all the big stuff, but he still has a ways to go with the little stuff. Since he is moving the harness over, I think he may have to move the ABS controller and some of the hard lines over as well.

[IheartSTI]

Originally Posted by Dean

We pulled the motor this morning the ABS controller and some of the hard lines over as well.

Thank for the help pulling the motor today dean. So it does look like I just need a new bellhousing. I was able to make a bit more progress tonight but ran into a small problem. The wheels that are on the car have wheel locks and i do not have the key. I already wasted two of my good sockets so i decided to call it quits.
here is a picture of the motor after we pulled it. Everything on the motor looked ok.

Also here is a picture of the messed up bellhousing and the input shaft that looks like it is bent from the picture but its just the little thing around it that is bent.

I finally was able to take out the ecu and harness after taking some last precautions to make sure everything was labeled properly.

and this last picture shows where i drilled out the spot welds that help the front light fixtures to the body that way I can do the 05 front end swap.

Tommorow night after work I am going to try to take out the tranny, axles, front and rear suspension, brakes, hub assembly, and rear diff. I really would like to have eveything stripped by tuesday night so i can take this thing to the scrap metal place.

[WRXlerate]

Originally Posted by Dean

We pulled the motor this morning and the input shaft appears to spin straight and true, so a new bell/front diff housing should be all he needs.

Sam's made a lot of progress with all the big stuff, but he still has a ways to go with the little stuff. Since he is moving the harness over, I think he may have to move the ABS controller and some of the hard lines over as well.

You will need all 6 of the hard lines from the front of the car, make sure to take the rear proportioning valve off of the Pass. side front strut tower too. I just swapped all of mine because I am using the 05+ abs pump and it was a huge PITA to swap with the engine in.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by WRXlerate

You will need all 6 of the hard lines from the front of the car, make sure to take the rear proportioning valve off of the Pass. side front strut tower too. I just swapped all of mine because I am using the 05+ abs pump and it was a huge PITA to swap with the engine in.

I thought so. Are the rear ABS harness and lines compatible, or do those have to come as well?

[WRXlerate]

Rear abs lines and harness worked from 07-02, so they should be fine.

Make sure you pull the driver side door cord, it will be different as I think in 05+ they moved the mirror adjustment from the center console to the dr door.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by WRXlerate

Rear abs lines and harness worked from 07-02, so they should be fine.

Make sure you pull the driver side door cord, it will be different as I think in 05+ they moved the mirror adjustment from the center console to the dr door.

Based on the pictures, it doesn't look like he's got either driver side door!

[WRXlerate]

I thought maybe he pulled the doors off ?
Something to start shopping for then. I couldn't find one in town. Maybe check Rancho Cordova. Or you could re route the wires to keep the center console switch.

[IheartSTI]

I have all the doors i just took those ones off first.

[IheartSTI]

does anyone know if the tire rods on the 03 and the 05 are the same?

[100_Percent_Juice]

Are you going to be working on your car tonight? I was gonna swing by last night but it was pretty late by the time I was done with work.

[IheartSTI]

Its been a couple days adn i thought i would do some updates throughout the day. Pretty much if everything off the car with the exception of the front rack. Also I need to pull out the fuel pump assembly. Does anyone know if i am going to need the sti full tank or is it he same as the wrx? I was able to pull the rear diff/suspension/brake assembly out in one piece. Wow did this save some time!