awrysobriquet's '92 SS "Kali"

[awrysobriquet]

Thanks for the tip. I was planning on making a yard run today anyway, so I'll check it out.

[awrysobriquet]

Well, no luck finding an LSD at the local U-Pull-Its today, but I did find:
+ '91 LSi with variable speed intermittent wipers! Too bad the leather seats were toast.
+ correct first gen Legacy fog light switch (I currently have an Impreza one and it's not quite the same style)
+ some suspension hardware
+ another plastic trunk latch cover for good measure (both of my cars have these from previous hunts and I must have found half a dozen today)

[awrysobriquet]

I still need to wire the light for the boost gauge... and then I can tell what the heck I'm doing at night!

A 4.11 rear LSD out of a 2000 2.5RS is on the way. All it took was a quick look at the rs25.com classifieds and there it was. Good deal too.

Also, I named the car "Kali" now that it's starting to develop more of a unique personality and I'm starting to get more of a feel for it. A certain mechanical sympathy, if you will, since I've been getting significantly more hands-on lately.

[smh0101]

Nice find on the intermittant wipers. I found one out of an LSi a few months back and love them.

[awrysobriquet]

Okay.

Having a back-lit boost gauge makes night driving so much nicer. The wiring was simple; I wired it in at the cruise control button, as recommended by someone here.

The Zzyzx coilovers have been on for awhile now and they're fantastic. It was certainly an epiphany when I first got on the road with them and hit a highway on-ramp. Even more so in the hills after an alignment. It took me 12 hours straight to get those suckers set up though. Most of that time was screwing around with the left rear trying to solve the positive camber issue. I replaced the trailing arm and a lateral link on that corner, which didn't get me anywhere; the parts that came off were as straight as they looked on the car. I still can't tell what is/was tweaked. Counter intuitively, setting the top mounts to the outsides of the rear camber plates ultimately gave me the right geometry with the notched ears to get the wheels well tucked in. It's now aligned at -2.5 front, -1 degree rear camber. There is slight rubbing at the rear on both sides under heavy cornering, so I'll go a bit more negative next time around. I need to raise the ride height a bit from where I have it set also. That, and the other rear suspension parts, are still waiting on the arrival of the back-ordered swaybars, at which point I can move ahead with completing the suspension install and get another alignment. I'm looking forward to getting the Whiteline RCA on there too.

I did get the rear diff subframe lock bushings installed a few weeks ago and they make a huge difference in shift feel. They fixed the clunk from the rear diff moving around, making the shifts smoother and more precise (and consequently quicker).

At the same time as the next round of suspension work, I also need to install the rear LSD, which I still need to find some male axles for... and a new (29k used) '97 JDM 4.111 twin turbo transmission. The front diff on the current 4.111 twin turbo tranny decided to eat itself in downtown while I was having a leisurely drive to work a few days ago. This was particularly convenient, because instead of failing on my high-speed blast to Seaside and back a few days earlier, it self-destructed next to a parking lot that I operate and only a few blocks from where my company car (and other Legacy) were parked. Also a good excuse to get a tranny that has a third gear synchro and hasn't been thrashed by the previous owner. (I test drove the car with the kid that had it between Nick and I, and he was just slamming it into gear. Painful to watch.) So, I'm pretty pleased, really.

I also picked up a 1" "MOMO" steering wheel spacer off eBay. This has made the driving position infinitely better for me. I highly recommend this for anyone who has long legs and would prefer not to sit completely upright.

I'm looking into getting a plate that sits between the oil filter and pickup from which to run the oil temp/pressure sensors. Has anyone else done this successfully?







Note the difference in fender gap!


At Fort Nisqually.



Bonus ALK shots.



I also have a few shots from the Seaside cruise last weekend that I'll post up soon...

[kimokalihi]

Very nice, how much were the coilovers?

[RJ93SS]

sick dude,

[awrysobriquet]

Very nice, how much were the coilovers?

About $1900 from a very helpful guy on NASIOC. For what I got, this was a great deal and I'm really happy with them. Of course, they're a compromise like any other suspension mod; they're worlds better on good surfaces but less comfortable when it gets rough. That being said, I still prefer them on mild rough surfaces over the AGX struts.

[gijonas]

Your missing an inner CV boot clamp

[awrysobriquet]

Seaside Subaru Cruise 8/1/09. Gridded up:


It was a fun drive. Starting near the back meant playing some catch-up, which was not too difficult considering how well the car takes uphill passing lanes. This is after we eventually found a long string of 'em:


About 100 cars showed (here at Seaside HS):


The pertinent detail :


'97 Legacy TT 4.11 transmission arrived this morning:




Drivability, here I come!

[555BCTurbo]

She looks good man!

Too bad I didn't know you were in Seaside...I live over that way...would have been good to get a look at the ole girl

[awrysobriquet]

Pulled the tranny yesterday... "Hey I shouldn't be able to rotate this axle by hand, should I?" Nope.



(Half of the left-front outer CV joint bearing race.)

The behavior and noises make much more sense now. So, I have an intact spare 4.11 TT tranny for future rebuilding and I get to have 3rd gear synchro now (as soon as I put things back together).

This is on the side NOT missing a CV boot clamp (as seen above), incidentally.

[555BCTurbo]

I think that might have been an original axle lol

[kimokalihi]

So how difficult was it to install the intermittent wiper switch? I'd love to have one because having 2 settings (high or really high) sucks. At least that's what it is in my metro, can't remember what it was in the legacy it's been so long since I've driven it.

[awrysobriquet]

The most tedious part of the wiper switch install was pulling the wiring and plugs through that metal section on the underside of the column (it looked easier than taking the column further apart). Otherwise, it was fairly trivial: Remove steering wheel, remove upper and lower plastic steering column shrouds, remove a few screws, unplug a few sets of wires, pull the wires through, reverse.

That axle was the odd one out. The CV joints were unpainted, vs. the other three that are green. My assumption is that the failed one was replaced at some point with an inferior part. Who knows, really. I picked up a new CV axle at Napa for less that half of what the dealer wanted for a remanufactured one. The Napa part looks to be quality, so I'm pleased.

[555BCTurbo]

Torque is an evil mistress

[awrysobriquet]

June 2010 - Rear-ended by a Dodge Ram:

[awrysobriquet]

October 2010 - Some progress in straightening:


The floor is about where it should be now.


Frame rail is pretty much straight now too.




Useful for pushing from the inside.


Almost Legacy shaped again!


Next step is to find a donor rear end and get to welding...

[kimokalihi]

Wow that's crazy. I would have just scrapped it. Props to you.

[awrysobriquet]

Yeah, I saw my options as:
1) part out (sad)
2) swap parts to a different shell (really time consuming considering the parts list)
3) do some bodywork

I've replaced just about every mechanical part on this car now, some multiple times, and I'd rather not pull everything off. I figure the bodywork is the easiest choice and the quickest route to having it drivable. Now that we're getting into spring, I'm getting twitchy about making some progress.

In other projects, we tore down the EJ22T I blew up on the track running 20+ psi (probably should've turned it down, eh?). It had eaten a rod bearing. We have a used crank and rod set and are in the process of putting that motor back together. The plan is to put it in my uncle's '91 Loyale wagon with a VF11 and a Megasquirt setup. He has most of the necessary parts and the details worked out, so that will be coming together in the near future.

[555BCTurbo]

My poor car...

[Falken-18c]

hey look 555BCTurbo has a dodge ram Hmmm only joking lol

[kimokalihi]

Loyale wih EJ22T? Never seen that done before. Interesting. What is it used for primarily?

[darkcrave]

Sob dodge ram