Plenty of Subaru’s have the capability to make some boost but until lately most models were without a gauge to count those boosts! It was an accessory, as read in the title and viewed below. You could use your Cobb Accessport to check those boosts but you will probably want to tuck it away if you are parking anywhere but your garage and that can be a bit frustrating.

Nothing too fancy here, but it worked well enough in my STi for the last 7 years. Gauge is a bit off but I don’t mind.

There are plenty of boost gauges out there for varying prices but what if you are trying to keep things cheap, easy and with most of how the to already worked out for you. If your read those and thought: “Yep, that is exactly what I want!” Well you are in for a treat. The below guide outlines the installation of the Lamco factory boost gauge that was fitted to plenty of Stis and Wrxs in the 2000s. These are generally easy to find for really cheap if not free, so come along and let us find out what it takes! My gauge was removed from my Sti and so it lives on in my Forester.

Time frame

There aren’t many special tools or tricky parts to this install. But it still takes a bit of time to remove all the interior panels, stereo and gauge cluster without marring all the surfaces up. I would put this around one to 2 hours to install.

Tools

Parts

The factory Lamco boost gauge needed. Hopefully it will come with wiring otherwise it will be a more difficult install. For those interested the part number is H5010FE041, but it is discontinued.

Next up is a vacuum hose of five feet in length. I used 3/16 vacuum hose(which was larger than I wanted) is the size ended up with but anything that holds tight on the boost gauge will work fine Take your gauge with you to make a test fit. A 3 way t fitting of similar size to your hose and vacuum line of choice, test fit on your vacuum line by removing it from one side. Once again I ended up with a 3/16” as it was what I had.

Installation

Into the cabin we go! I started off by removing the shift knob which then allows you to pull the shift surround and boot out as one piece. You will now see two philips screws on the lower portion of the radio surround remove those.

Next we can use a pry tool to remove the radio surround near the vents and upper area. Once they are all loose you can move it out far enough to disconnect your climate control connections and the hazard switch connection. You may now set the surround off to the side.

You will now see the four screws that hold the radio in, remove those and the radio will slide out far enough to locate the connection the boost gauge utilizes for power and ground. If it is there you are golden and you can continue onward! This is not a power source, this is only for illumination when the head lights are on. If you are installing a boost gauge that needs power you will need to find another source.

Shifting your attention to the gauge cluster you can start by undoing the the two screws that hold it to the dashboard shroud. You can use your hands or a pry tool to remove it from the clips that hold the rest of it together.

With the surround set aside you can point your attention to the gauge cluster, three screws hold it in place and three electrical connections is all that hold it to the car. You can remove them all and put the cluster somewhere safe, my method was removing the left side connection and pivoting out of the way.

Three screws hold the gauge cluster in place. Two in the bottom corners as seen and one up top, dead center but not visible in this image.

Moving to the steering wheel you can undo the lower steering column cover by removing single screw located within a hole in the center of the lower cover. The rest of it is held in by clips that snap into the upper portion, using your pry tool you can easily pop these apart and remove the lower cover.

Next is the upper column cover behind the steering wheel is held on by two screws that are slightly hidden by the wiring and electronics that run the ignition, wipers, lighting stalk, etc. Once you locate and remove these two screws you can now lift up on the cover and remove it from your area.

The last thing on the list of trim pieces is the lower portion of the dash under the steering wheel. There are two screws located on the lower section,with these removed you can pull the top clips of it out and slide this piece out of your way. This will allow you more access and room when running the wiring and vacuum hose.

Now that we have plenty of open room to work we can run the wiring for the Lamco boost gauge, I ran my down the left side of the wheel and used a zip tie to hold it close. Then around the back side of where the steering wheel shaft meets the bracing and on across to pop out in the stereo wiring area, plugging it into the open connection and finishing the wiring part of this install.

We will now move to the engine bay, looking behind the top mount intercooler you can find a circular rubber grommet to weather seal the engine bay from the interior. Removing this rubber cover you can now see a bit of the insulating foam that helps muffle the noise. You can push your finger through this to make sure the vacuum hose can make it’s way through to the gauge.

Now take a drill or knife and make a hole that allows the hose to travel through the fire wall while maintaining a seal to keep moisture and noise from entering the cabin. If you are having trouble locating the area where the hose will come through, you can use a flash light on the other side. A picture below will help you also identify the area to look for the hose poking through.

Start the hose by sliding it through the rubber seal, now you can pop it back into the hole in the firewall, move to the cabin to locate the vacuum line. Start pulling it through then you can find the wiring and follow the same path. You can also lightly zip tie the two together to keep track of them.

Now is the time to make sure your vacuum hose was long enough, make sure your vacuum line is resting near the steering wheel and go check that it makes it to your target area for a vacuum source. I went ahead and used the factory location which is tees into the vacuum line that runs to the Bypass valve. Using a pair of wire cutters or knife you can find a a straight portion of the hose and cut into it. The attach your t-fitting to either side.

If you received the complete kit for the boost gauge kit you will have two pieces of metal that attach the rubber holder to the steering wheel plastic cover. You can use them as a template to mark and drill your holes for mounting it. I don’t have a template but hopefully the below photos and measurements will help you locate the best location.

You can install the rubber gauge holder onto the steering column cover before sliding it back on. I would recommend removing your left side multi function stalk to allow you to pivot the cover out of the way when reinstalling the gauge cluster and gauge surround. Only two small screws hold it in and you can slide the switch out and let it hang for a minute.

Up next we will pop the gauge cluster back home, making sure to plug everything back in, then install the surround . Now you can pivot the column cover back in to position and attach the electrical connection and vacuum hose to the boost gauge. If you have wire covering from the kit or any shop you can use that to make it look a little bit nicer, instead of just having two wires and vacuum hose running up into gauge.

Before putting everything back together this is a excellent time to test that everything is still working. Start up your car and check for the boost gauge coming to life and moving and everything still running on your gauge cluster. If all is well you can go about putting everything back together in reverse!

Boost time!… Or vacuum time if you are at idle.

Congratulations! You have the ability to watch a gauge tell you that some air pressure is being built up! Even though most of the time you won’t be able to look upon it as you are too busy driving and enjoying the boost!