kimokalihi's 91 SS EJ20 Swap

[Mattheww044]

O the love on the BBS! BTW Kimo I got those pics, I will have to get them up tomorrow or the next day.

[asc_up]

OR just get a cone filter and be done with it. I know you're horribly opposed to the idea, but I'm just throwing it out there....

[kimokalihi]

LOL! All good ideas I won't deny it. And you're right, I hate cone filters.

I just want it to be like it was from the factory and I want it to be easy to remove and bolt back in and just functional.

If I can't find the MAF I want, then I'll be forced to make an adapter plate for it.

The ARC MAF is a direct bolt on for our cars so it's got the wrong bolt pattern for this car. Why the hell is the JDM legacy MAF a different bolt pattern anyways? Is the tube actually a larger size tube? If so that will be another problem.

I would get another MAF box but you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find one with that angle on it to match up with the under-the-intake setup.

I may be wrong, but I believe the ONLY car that came with that angle of airbox with a detachable and compatible MAF was the 93-98 JDM twin turbo legacys. Possibly the WRX too? But all the USDM stuff has either the wrong MAF or it's plastic and molded out of the airbox.

[evolutionmovement]

You know what would fix this problem? Plastic welder. Fill unwanted holes. Drill new ones you want. Assuming it's a thermoplastic, which I bet it is.

[kimokalihi]

What is a plastic welder, is it hard to use and how much does it cost?

[evolutionmovement]

They are what they say. There are hot air ones and electric. I have an electric and it's a cross between a solder iron and a glue gun. You use it to melt sticks of thermoplastic and use them as you would weld metal (more or less). Mine's a Mini-weld Model 5 by Urethane Supply Co. Came with a bunch of different plastic rods and instructions on different procedures for various plastics, even ones that aren't thermoplastics. I think I paid $150, but I don't really remember. Hot air ones are cheaper, but require compressed air, I think.

[kimokalihi]

Cool. It works pretty well then? I don't have a compressor so electric would be better.

I don't know that I want to drop $150 on something I'll use only once though. Not to say I won't use it in the future but it probably wouldn't see much use.

[SubaruNation]

Cool. It works pretty well then? I don't have a compressor so electric would be better.

I don't know that I want to drop $150 on something I'll use only once though. Not to say I won't use it in the future but it probably wouldn't see much use.

borrow/rent one from someone or just return it when you are done LOL.

[evolutionmovement]

You can also fab things, repair bumpers, toys, etc. with it. I can't say I use mine all the time, but it's come in handy. I don't have air, but I like the electric because I can use it in my living room. But a rental place would be a good place to check.

[asc_up]

Just another 'poor-man' thought: what about using some JB Weld to fill in the holes and then drilling new ones?

[kimokalihi]

Good news! Today I worked on my car for a little while and I used a tiny compressor that made 120psi but had to turn on every 10 seconds while using it and my basically brand new craftsman 1/2" impact gun to remove that stubborn nut on the rear diff shaft.

After using a 9" punch and a mini sledge hammer for 15 mins of solid delt-burning pounding I finally got the flange off and fitted the new 91 legacy flange I bought from the dealer and bolted it in place. Installed the driveshaft and driveshaft cover plate. Bolted up the suspension and the axle nuts and called it a day so I could come home and eat.

I'm so happy that is all over with finally. What a pain in the ass.

Next on my list is to install my DP, when it arrives so I can drop the car back on it's wheels. Then I can put it on ramps in the rear and remove the whiteline endlinks and take the bolts that hold them together into the store and get longer ones since they are too short. After that my whole drivetrain supsension will be pretty much finished except the front swaybar. I think I'm gonna buy a whiteline adjustable front bar. $174 shipped brand new straight from whiteline. Hopefully the hardware is all there this time and the right lengths...

[kimokalihi]

Camera is dead finally. So pictures may be scarce. Ran it over several months back and it worked for a long time but once in a while would turn on, open the lens and shut off leaving the lens sticking out. But it would randomly work and now it doesn't anymore.

Don't tell my mom! It was a christmas present from 2008.

[dropdfocus]

D'oh!!!!!

[kimokalihi]

Got a little bit of work done today.

Put the wheels back on and took it off the jackstands so I could roll it out and turn it around to work under the hood.









When I popped the hood I found all the aluminum surfaces covered in this nasty white corrosion. How do I stop that? Is that just because it's sitting in stagnant humid air all the time? Will it stop once I start driving it and it gets fresh air flowing through the engine bay?









Finished bending the power steering lines as best I could without kinking them further. The line that goes into the side of the pump is lookin pretty good, the return line looks like shit. But with that tool I can't get it any better without completely kinking it. I also bolted the resevoir back on and need to locate the pulley for it...








Going to have to come up with a custom bracket since the stock one doesn't even come close to reaching the mounting point.







The twin turbo legacy intake system is overall larger than ours. Even the inlet to the airbox is too big to fit the snorkus tube on my 91!

91 SS USDM is the one with the filter in it.







This is a picture looking through the hole of the twin turbo airbox on top of the hole in the USDM airbox.







I also removed the GroupA adjustable shortshifter because it made the shifter sit too far back and too close to the eBrake which bothered me. I installed a stock 02-03 WRX shifter instead which is a bit taller than I wanted but it'll do for now. I may still get the kartboy WRX shortshifter but that's low on the priorities list.

GroupA shortshifter is now for sale in the parts shed along with my GroupA lightweight pulley set. Both new.

[Lunatech]

That's coming along nicely. I wish I would have taken pictures every time I'd done any major work to my car, but it never seems important when you gotta get the engine back together tonight or the clutch changed out today or the alternator rebuilt at lunch. It is good that you have the time to do it right and, hopefully, the way you want it. Keep up the good work.

[kimokalihi]

Thanks! It's coming along slowly though. Really slowly. Especially compared to Spencer's car!

Basically everything left to do on the car is annoying little stuff that I don't want to deal with. The intake is the worst.

I borrowed my GF's camera today. I want to make sure I document the whole thing. I'd hate to miss anything that could potentially help someone else out down the road.

[Lunatech]

Just because it's coming along slowly doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I would suggest never to compare your progress to someone else's, unless you are getting paid for it. A guy could go nuts trying to keep up with Douglas Vincent

[kimokalihi]

Yeah that guy too lol. I see what you're saying and you're right but it's been over a year now! I need this thing running within 6 months because I'm moving. I need it mobile and preferably running well because I may not have a place to work on it after that.

[asc_up]

You're more than 2/3 of the way there, Kimo, just stay persistent.

[kimokalihi]

I feel like I'm so close but then I think about all the little things holding me back and it gets me down. But I'm excited because I finally took measurements of my intake hoses so I could order the correct size hose clamps which means I'll soon be able to get those on and finally bolt my intake back on and be done with that. Except the MAF problem.

Hose clamps are in the mail and a cool leak tester too just to make sure there's no leaks.

Oh crap, I just realized it would be impossible to test for leaks with this setup with that tester. It goes on the turbo inlet and tests for leaks between the turbo and the manifold. Unfortunately I would have to remove my entire intake manifold to put that on the turbo and that would make it impossible to test.

Oh well. Lame.

[kleinkid]

You are not the only one on here that has done a lame thing, but because we are REAL men, we don't admit it. I'm sure you feel better now, you're welcome.

Not to say you are not a REAL man also.

[kimokalihi]

Yeah, oh well. Maybe I'll do a rotated setup when I go to the TD05 18g, standalone, FMIC and ditch the ABS. ABS is already bothering me with it's location. I'm wondering how much work it would be to get rid of. I'll have to find some threads on it and see if it's worth doing.

I'd like a nice clean engine bay with the battery in the trunk and the windshield washer resevoir in the trunk and no ABS.

[evolutionmovement]

Do you get snow there? If you do, I wouldn't relocate the washer bottle as the amount of time it takes to get to the windshield will be a deal longer. Maybe the amount of time it takes for someone to jump into your lane or traffic to come to a sudden stop and being constantly sprayed with a layer of salt, that can be serious. My Mazda uses a single reservoir and it takes the fluid forever (about 3 or 4 seconds) to get to the rear window. Just something to keep in mind.

[kimokalihi]

We rarely get snow here. If we do it's very mild and is gone in a day or two and only about 1-3" worth. The climate is very mild here. We get rain, that's all.

I'm either relocating it away from the heads so I can access my spark plugs or getting a slimmer one.

They don't salt the roads if that's what you were saying about the salt. Thank god for that. I think I'd move elsewhere if they salted the roads here, no joke. The cars I've seen from places that salt their roads are horrendously rusty. Any rust is too much rust for me. Even that nasty white aluminum corrossion is too much for me!

[fatgc8]

Hey Kimo, well i took the time and read over your whole thread and i came to the conclusion that im in the exact same boat as you are. I also have a 91 white legacy ss with a ej20g and in the process i have ran into the ps problems and solved it by using a ej20k ps pump i have ran into the wireing harness problems and solved them by doing the exact same thing you did. The only thing keeping my car from starting right now is the tb. I dont know what to do with the 4 wire connect for the tps as i will need it to run my set up. I dont want to use the ej22 tb because of fitment problems although i do have a bdl throttle spacer. I will let you know what i come up with to solve this problem.