Well i put it in today.. cant drive the car but its in only one problem. heres the pictures tell me if i did something wrong but it wont seem to line up. and it sat on one of the wastegate hoses and tore a hole in it so i got to order one of those as well. damn im getting some use out of my camera today.,
Are you using an STi y-pipe? Also, regardless of what people will tell you it is NOT a direct bolt in on a WRX.
The the y pipe was worse.....thats what cause the hole in the hose. i took the stuff off the back of my old intercooler and used that it atleast now bolts up on one side and fits over the turbo inlet.
Well, I hate to harp on this since I've posted it before, but the STi intercooler is offset 17mm rearwards compared to the WRX one. You have a choice of either the bolts lining up and your y-pipe and like TB hose not fitting properly... ...or... ..cramming it in there with the stock hoses and figuring out how to keep it in place (seen zip ties used here, not that I'd recommend it)... ...or... ..wrestling the crap out of it and *making* it fit somehow. I wouldn't recommend this option personally, though some people swear it'll 'fit just fine'. In addition, should you get the bolts to line up with the brackets through either method, your stock WRX intercooler seal won't line up properly anymore.
I had similar issues. What I actually did was since I already had a Prodrive Y-pipe I just modified that with a piece of steel pipe which I inserted into the Y-pipe and secured the pieces with hose clamps. It causes a very small amount of bottleneck in the airstream but it's nowhere near as bad as the stock piece.... In my opinion.
I remember milos fitting pretty good. I didnt pay close close attenetion to it when i saw it along time ago but i thought it was on there pretty snug. maybe hell let me know how he did it. or maybe it was just on there like mine and i didnt notice it. Also i dont have a subaru dealer around here for 70 miles...could someone if there in the area of SOG see what that little hose would cost. Ill send you the money for it.
The STI Topmount will fit, you just really need to wrestle with it. It is definitely much easier with 2 people. One person pushes pushes it into place while the other gets the bolt started. It is a direct bolt on, but again, you need to push it into place. I don't think I could have done it without Mike's help. Milos was definitely bolted up properly.
I would get a peice of scrap aluminium or steel and make a peice that you would bolt to the WRX bracket and extend to the mounint hole in the STi intercooler. As for the hose rubbing, I try and find a small hose sock(thats what i call them) made of aluminium or some other heat resistant material. My motto for this stuff is "If it don't fit, fabricate." Another option I thought of is to take out the stock WRX bracket on that side. Then modify it or make a bracket that will fit.
Really, there is no fabrication needed. Just force it to line up. If you weren't in MS I would gladly help you do it.
on my WRX, the STi TMIC did not bolt up without at least 2 people wrestling with it... however, my hyperflow bolted up nicely i put the hyperflow on the STi and now this one doesn't bolt up... even after wrestling with it... i managed to get only one bolt in
The STi (and now the 06 WRX) have the throttle by wire system. That adds the extra 17mm that has been mentioned in this thread already. I just like making stuff and I don't feel like fighting with a part to get it to fit.
And once it was bolted on properly, how well did your stock seal fit? How much tension did you add to your hoses? If you need 2 people to 'wrestle' it in, it's likely because shit isn't fitting right in the first place. To each their own.
Fabrication is required on the electronic throttle cars. Personally I'd rather have the assurance that there are bolts holding something that important on.
it can be direct bolt on WITHOUT fabrication, but you have to watch out for turbo outlet hose (the one connects turbo and y-pipe) popping out while you drive. I checked mine every 1k mile just to be safe It just sits little off-angle, and don't forget the STi splitter for bigger tmic that u have now
So it's a 'direct bolt on' if you're ok with it sitting angled, and the turbo hose popping off. All right, I'm out of this thread, obviously we all have differing opinions on what 'proper fit' involves. It just bothers me when people pick one up on the advice from somebody that it fits 'just fine' with no mods and fail to mention that you need five people, a crowbar, and a domesticated gorilla to push the f-in thing in there half ass.
I have had mine on for over a year now, it doesn't sit at an angle, it is firmly bolted to the Stock IC mount, and I have never had any hose pop off because of it. Aside from that, one person can install the STI Topmount themselves, however it will not be easy, with an extra set of hands the whole thing can be done in about 10 minutes.
I have done the same I had someone push the intercooler up as I kinda pushed the bracket down to line the holes up took a second but got it done the intercooler did not sit at an angle nore did it hit the boost lines it's just that the yellow colored bracket not the black one! is slightly up just bend it a tad and it will fit guaranteed I sold my o4 wrx and it is still in working fine.
i got mine on by my self in about 30 mins, fit directly on using the sti y pipe and throttle body hose.