Just bought a used 02 wrx wagon from a lot its bone stock so far i changed the oil full synthetic air filter changed tranny fliud and changed front and rear diderentail fliud any other sugestions on things i should change or replace before i fix it up it has 115xxx next is sparg plugs..anything else i should do and whats a good for a first mod?
Thanks

 

Timing belt and water pump.

If the radiator looks old, change it along with the hoses.

 

good call on the radiator, its made of plastic and eventually cracks due to heat expansion. no need to get anything fancy, an aluminum radiator of eBay which works/fits perfectly fine, especially for the price.

 

also, not every ebay radiator is built equally so be sure to do your research. theres tons of threads on i-club/nasioc

 

I wouldn't mod until you know you've got everything original covered. While doing the plugs you should do the valve cover gaskets since they are likely seeping at this point if they've never been done. I'd inspect the brakes, change that fluid as well. Don't do the radiator fluid yet because you can do it when you do the belt whether you replace the radiator or not. Mine was found to be cracked when I did my timing belt so I replaced it at that time. Definitely the first thing is the timing belt, pump, tensioners, etc...

Swaybars and quality tires would be my first mods.

 

CX Racing has some really good ones on ebay.


Ive been running mine for 3 or so years with zero issues.

 

Thanks for all the help guys like i said im new to wrx fam and the forum so i apreciate the advice very much had no idea id be spending so much time and money on the car before i even do upgrades lol its worth it thanks guys

 

Fuel filter is another easy one to do on this car since it is still under the hood as opposed to in the tank. They do take a fair amount of maintenance but once you've done the major stuff, they tend to go for a long time without needing a lot.

I wouldn't replace the radiator unless it is actually leaking IMO. When it does, then get a good one.

 

Which tranny fluid?

+1 on bigger rear sway and rigid links.

 

If your radiator isn't broken you don't need a new one.

If you do need a new one you don't need an aluminum one. Just get another plastic end tank Koyo. They are under $200 and work great. And before someone comes in and says something about a plastic end radiator being a bad idea because it will just break: A) He's not racing the car and doesn't need an oversized one (at this point) and B) if a stock one lasted over 10 years, will he own it in another +10 years when a stock replacement Koyo "starts to break"?

What I would do is go in and replace all the hoses and suspension bushings. You're reducing leakage problems and new bushings will make the drive feel MUCH better.

 

+1 on rubber and bushing replacement. just rebuilt engine and replaced all rubber and bushings

steering rack bushing
engine/tranny mounts
posi traction
F/R control arm bushings

 

My CXracing rad was something like $160 shipped. And they are in SoCal so it got here in a day or two.

edit: link to their site
http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchant...gory_Code=RDSU