Added another to the collection. (updates,SIDESWIPED!)

[PhyrraM]

They say it's the small things that matter most, right?

How about a variable intermittent wiper? The fixed intermittent wiper was always a pet-peeve of mine.


Saw these at the local Pick-N-Pull, figured what the hell....

[dropdfocus]

They say it's the small things that matter most, right?

How about a variable intermittent wiper? The fixed intermittent wiper was always a pet-peeve of mine.

How freakin' true!!! I was really hoping that swap was possible. So knowing it is, this will be my very next mod for sure!

What was that snagged from? From the looks of it, a BD or GC series wagon...? I did the same swap in my Focus ZX3 and all you did was swap out the stalk since it controlled the delay from there. Same scenario again?

[beatersubi]

^+1. What'd that come from?

[PhyrraM]

It's from a pre-facelift BF wagon. It was a non-turbo, but higher end model (LS?). I've been checking every single BC/BF I come across in the yards. It seems like this 'option' was really rare.

Yes, It plugged right in. Hardest thing is removong that metal anti-theft shield under the column to pull the wires.

[PhyrraM]

With the new steering wheel in, I figured it was finally time to stop stareing at the airbag light. If you recall from page 1, it's been on since I bought the car.

It turns out that the airbag light is not just a simple light. It's an entire module that plugs into the rest of the cluster.


I generally like to modify as little as possible in case I decide to sell the car later. So I just lifted the wires on the bulb (like a Xmas light) and put it all back together.



I also found the shear bolts that hold the ignition switch to the column completely loose. Of course there is no way to tighten them once the heads are sheared off at the factory. I cut slots with a grinder and tightened them back down with a large screwdriver.


The catch? Well, I made some kind of mistake when re-assembling the cluster. The fuel gauge reads full. All the time. With any amount of gas in the tank. I guess I'll just go by mileage for a few weeks untill I can pull the cluster out again. I really don't know what went wrong, as it's actually pretty simple to take the cluster apart. I'll be sure to let you all know just how bumb I can be, when I get it working again.

[fatgc8]

very nice and detailed writeup man keep up the good work.. i guess its very rare people are building these like you are anymore with informative pictures.. i really like your setup...

[PhyrraM]

very nice and detailed writeup man keep up the good work.. i guess its very rare people are building these like you are anymore with informative pictures.. i really like your setup...

Thanks!

It was always a pet peeve of mine to see others work on thier cars and only show the finished result. Then when you go to do it yourself, you find out some missing detail that derails the whole project. I'm trying to fill in as many gaps as possible.

[fatgc8]

lmaoooo i feel the same way too dude... we always manage to see a good looking car with all these mods but no writeup on how it was done.. anways good looking ss man now lets see that hybrid ej20g/ej22 build you got going on...





Thanks!

It was always a pet peeve of mine to see others work on thier cars and only show the finished result. Then when you go to do it yourself, you find out some missing detail that derails the whole project. I'm trying to fill in as many gaps as possible. [/quote]

[PhyrraM]

Well, just shy of 259,000 miles I have a water leak somewhere near the waterpump. Can't see if it's one of the hoses, the weep hole, or something else.

Usually it's not a problem. As indicated in my sig, I've got an '02 WRX that was my daily driver up until I got this car to keep the miles off the WRX. Well, the WRX has been neglected for so long the battery was dead. How's that for wanting to drive the O.G.?

Probably won't have time to look at the Legacy until after New Year's. Most likely this coming weekend. Let's hope it's simple, the EJ20G/hybrid isn't ready yet.

[PhyrraM]

I found some time over the holiday weekend (5 days for me ) to check out my newfound water leak. I took apart the whole front of the motor. I didn't actually find anything totally conclusive, but most of the hoses and the pump iteself looked like thay had seen better days. So I replaced them with good used parts I had from donor motors.

Why used parts? I don't expect to go more than another few months before the EJ22G (possible EJ23G or EJ25G) swap.

I DID find something interesting. The front oil seal had been pushed out of it's bore and was rubbing on the back of the crank timing pully.




It was leaking oil, but it wasn't causing the massive lossl that you would have expected. There must have been at least a tiny lip that still remained in the bore. I, personally, haven't seen anthing like that before. And I've seen my share.


My Subaru Tensioner Resetting Device (tm)

Pressure washed it all down and reassembled, sans the timing covers. I want to see it if it starts leaking again. (again, motor is pulled soon)



Filled it up with water and a bottle of Prestone(?) flush and took the kids to go see the snow with my bro, sister, and her husband and kids. Yep, here is SoCal, snow is a novelty to be traveled to -not a chore! My brother happens to have an '01 2.5RS.


The Forester in the background is a bonus!






Maybe I should have checked for water leaks before leaving?

[BC5RA]

Not sure what you're going to do ultimatly, But neither of those turbos will flow 300hp if you had to pick one then pick the TD04 mainly because its newer tech will spool a bit quicker then the VF10.

Also can you get a hold of a WAIC?

Nice work

[PhyrraM]

Not sure what you're going to do ultimatly, But neither of those turbos will flow 300hp if you had to pick one then pick the TD04 mainly because its newer tech will spool a bit quicker then the VF10.

For the final turbo, I have a 90 degree inlet TD05 from a ~'95 WRX. The smaller turbos were mainly for testing so I wouldn't have to change the tune.

Also can you get a hold of a WAIC?

I do have the intercooler, but have not sourced a pump or heat exchanger yet. The proper JDM parts are hard to come by and it seems the OEM Subaru pump has occasional bearing problems. If I do a water-to-air intercooler I'll most likely follow Josh's lead.

Nice work

Coming from a RS/RA owner I'll take that as a complement.

[BC5RA]

Oh a TD05 will flow plenty, What parts do you require? what sort of gas can you guys get a hold of?

Could you give me a link to Josh's setup?, the pumps do fail but not that often, MRT in Australia used to a larger heat exchanger and highflow pump (the heatexchanger was basically two welded together.

I'm pretty out of touch with the setup of USDM legacys.

I take it you'll collect all these parts and then tune it with aforementioned Power FC.

Let me know I'd be happy to help, we've still got loads of parts over here easy to take for granted.

I always appreciate anybody who learns and works on there own cars, and i like white legacys

[PhyrraM]

Oh a TD05 will flow plenty, What parts do you require? what sort of gas can you guys get a hold of?

The best pump gas here (without spending 3x the price) is 91 octane, close to 95.5 using the more common RON rating used in the rest of the world. I currently only have a black series 2 exchanger and the twin pipes mounted on the intake manifold. Anything mounted on the chassis itself I do not have yet.

Could you give me a link to Josh's setup?, the pumps do fail but not that often, MRT in Australia used to a larger heat exchanger and highflow pump (the heatexchanger was basically two welded together.

Here is Josh's latest intercooler thread. http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=35394

I'm pretty out of touch with the setup of USDM legacys.

Basically a closed deck EJ22. Same crank and rods as EJ20G RS/WRX with a cast piston @~8.0:1 compression. Very small turbo, non-intercooled. SOHC heads, most likely very similier to your EJ18 SOHC heads. Wasted spark coilpack instead of your coil-on-plug setup. Built for low end torque that us Americans supposedly love. The good news is that our harness and ECU pinouts are 98% compatable with EJ20Gs. Only a few pins to swap, so the PFC conversion was very easy.

I take it you'll collect all these parts and then tune it with aforementioned Power FC.

Yeah, self done road tunes for now. I tend to prefer good condition used parts. These cars ARE 15 years old now, right? As soon as I get my EJ22 hybrid (EJ22 or EJ25 block w/ EJ20G heads) installed I plan to get a proper dyno tune. It's a shame that dyno time is so expensive, I really would have liked to add real numbers at every stage of the build so far.

Let me know I'd be happy to help, we've still got loads of parts over here easy to take for granted.

I will. Thanks.

I always appreciate anybody who learns and works on there own cars, and i like white legacys

Ditto.

[BC5RA]

91. Hell, i run BP ultimate 98 (97.5 octane) though the aformentioned chip is tuned for 95.

A closed deck EJ22 block is every desirable thing over here in NZ and Australia.

99.9% of 1st gen legacy have a closed deck EJ20 block and some early WRX's

For install, setup and tune for a name brand computer (LINK, Autronic, Microtech, HKS etc) would cost about $2500NZ drive in drive out.

To spend a tune on the dyno would be about $500NZ, i'm not really all that impressed with dyno tuning, obviously you get to a point when it is necesary (larger injectors being one) many over here do an exhaust, intake and larger bolt on turbo and then tune, or should you wait? One good friend of mine had done many mods on his legacy and ended up with a slower car until it was on boost (4500rpm) due to it being poorly setup.

It's all about setup in my opinion

[PhyrraM]

And that's miles, bitches!

In other news....
The '06 WRX 17" wheels and crappy chinese tires (don't ask, too embarassing) started to develop a vibration. So I decided to take them off and re-install the '99 RS 5-spokes, as those are the only other wheels I have that will clear the 4-pot/2-pot brakes.

The bastards that installed the tires must have been monkeys with the impact wrench. I now have at least 1 stripped or broken stud on every hub . I can try to go back, but it's been about 6 months.

On the brighter side....

I can start my engine build. I've finally got all the 'hard' parts. According to people I trust, the early EJ251 cranks were machined for both thrust locations. So I picked one up from an '01 2.5RS. My brother wanted the heads, so my net cost for the complete 134K shortblock was $130. We even got a complete '99 2.5RS intake manifold too.

Upon first inspection, it does appear that this crank is machined for both thrust locations. A post in the engine forum will follow.

The parts I have so far:

Numerous EJ22T blocks to choose from.


EJ251 phase 2 52mm journal crankshaft.


CP EJ22T stroker pistons, used but machine shop OKed.


Pauter phase 2 EJ25 rods. Used, but reconditioned.


Stock '93 WRX EJ20G heads.
Stock V2 STI "555" edition EJ20G intake manifold w/440 grey-tops.
90 degree TD04, 90 degree TD05 and a VF10 to choose from.

And of course, the Power FC is already installed and running to control it all.

Still need all the 'soft' parts. Gaskets, bearings, pumps, etc....

Wish me luck.

[PhyrraM]

It's been a while, but I have a few updates.

My block, crank, rods and pistons have all been sent to the machine shop. I chose Millenieum Motorsports in Temecula, Ca based on numerous recomendations. It turns out that my used CP pistons will not work in even my best EJ22T block. So I had them order new CP pistons, rings and retainers. They are also machining the block for a phase 2 crank. The EJ25 crank and Pauter rods are in perfect condition, so that's good.

I traded a few parts off for a Garmin Nuvi 760 GPS unit. It also does handsfree Bluetooth and plays MP3s off an SD card. I installed a pre-facelift stereo with the input jack to compliment the unit. I also installed an old school Sony CDX-C910 below it. That's the one with the copper plated chassis and the Burr-Brown DACs. It's not hooked up yet, but will be the basis of an 'ol school Sony/Soundstream SQ system. I do plan to stealth and hide the wires as soon as I decide exactly where I'd like the GPS to sit. So far that corner seems unobtrusive.



During a random junkyard sweep I saw these switches. I've never seen them before. I don't know if they are a factory, dealer or aftermarket part. Even though they are labeled as heated seat switches, you can never have enough "factory" style switches.


Also picked up during the same JY trip was this clean post-facelift manual transmission instrument cluster. I need the fuel gauge to replace the one I broke when I disabled my airbag light. The fual and temp gauges are part of the "facia" so I needed one from a 5-speed. I'll post a how-to if there is interest.


Finally, I decided on tires. I was up in the air on alot of descions. 16" or 17"? Street or rallycross? WRX size or Legacy SS size? I decided on a middle ground, mostly because I can't justify the cost of 2 sets of tires.



Yup, I know what your saying......" WTF? Generals?" I said the same thing too. But reality says I don't need a full-on max performance summer tire. And these came well recommended in the rallycross community as a good dual purpose rallycross friendly tire. General tries to sell these as a pure performance summer tire, but reviews actually place it closer to a really good performing all season. I'm OK with that and the tread really does look good for rallycross here in SoCal. We'll see. ~$350 @ TireRack. $404 shipped to my door. I though that was reasonable.

[PhyrraM]

Aren't they purrdy? Hopefully something will get installed this weekend.





With the motor finally in the machine shop, I figured it's about time to get one of these. Harbor Freight has them on sale currently. $150 (+$30 for the balancer).

[kimokalihi]

I bought that same hoist from harbor freight a few months ago. It's great. I didn't get that balancer though. It would be nice.

[93forestpearl]

Very nice. My next motor will have CP pistons and Pauter Machine rods.

[PhyrraM]

The balancer can be a lifesaver on our Subarus. I just pulled the motor out of my brother's '01 2.5RS to change the headgaskets and one head (blew sparkplug out). Pulling it was easy enough, but being able to rock the motor back made lining up the input shaft to the transmission a piece of cake.

According to the shop, the pistons had up to 9 thousand clearance to the cylinder wall. I didn't ask at this point if the pistons are undersize or the walls were worn. Greg @ Millenium said he normally uses CP and an updated 2.35 design w/rings and retainers is going to be about $500. He wants to cc the heads before actually ordering them.

I was going to run EJ20G WRX heads, but I picked up one of the EJ20K sets that Kierrna was selling. SO, I need to find out if EJ20Gs and EJ20Ks have the same chamber size. If they are different I need to hold on the machine work until I recieve the heads from Japan.

[PhyrraM]

So, I get home Friday and run the car up on the ramps. I was planning on installing a Whiteline front sway bar and an underbrace. Get the creeper, peep under the car and see this:


At first, I thought it was oil and a possible blown VF11. Nope, it's water. And the coolant reservoir is low. Nothing in the oil, nothing on the ground, except for what is leaking from the exhaust. It started a bit rough at work when I went out for lunch earlier in the day, I shugged it off because it ran well after 10 seconds. I'm figuring it's a head gasket.

Change of weekend plans.



Details coming, but I didn't open the A/C or the P/S. Kinda proud of that.

Need an Apexi Power F/C map for it now. Apexi's "base" map is WAY to aggressive for our California 91 octane.

Modified EJ22T harness:



Just before install:


Clutch master cylinder clearance:

[Fkyx]

I want your dual tip exhaust...

[Fkyx]

Just a couple of questions for you...

Did you keep your wideband O2 installed in this car? Were you running a narrowband O2 sensor alongside it? Or were you sending signals to the ECU from the wideband?

[PhyrraM]

I did keep the PLX wideband installed. It has been installed almost a year now using the car as a daily driver. I have, however, moved it downstream to the end of the downpipe (catless) since the original post.

I am feeding the Power FC the similated narrowband output and usually have the PFC set to use it. You can set the Power FC to use it or not and set the A/F threshhold where it switches open/closed loop.