My 93 SS (now with 100% less dashboard!)

[kimokalihi]

Probably oil pressure line for a gauge.

[cartwheels]

Actually, it's a product my friend's mom does marketing work for. (The company's website is www.intellistick.com)

Its basically an oil condition monitor. It can do temperature as well as detect water intrusion, and its main use is to test the amount of additives left in oil by measuring electrical conductivity. The main application is for semi trucks and fleets; my car was one of the first they installed a consumer system in (we made a little instructional video on how to install it, I'll see if I can find where they posted it online).

Its an interesting product, and they let me keep it for helping out. Data from the sensor is read by a computer or a Windows Mobile device via Bluetooth.

[kimokalihi]

Very interesting, although quite expensive.

[SILINC3R]

which one do you use

[cartwheels]

My Intellistick is the Bluetooth model.

Tracked the car this weekend... managed a 2:19.3XX around Buttonwillow #13CW (not sure what the exact time was, it'll be posted on the event website eventually).

The car handled very well with the suspension setup, though I can tell that stickier tires and some sway bars are in my future. I've also got some in car footage that I'll try uploading. It was great fun keeping up with S2000's and Evos in the Leggy.

For now, here's a video of my new exhaust setup, and a few pictures:

[cartwheels]

Well, looks like the car is no longer for sale. I took it out yesterday after hooking up the stock exhaust to get it smogged... and it blew up.

The car had been idling funny for a while, but simple things like filters, plugs, etc weren't causing it. It seemed to run fine off idle, so I left it be for a while. Looks like I left it too long.

The upside in all of this is that since the car is worth almost nothing now, I have no way to justify getting rid of it. Looks like a summer rebuild project is in order!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8orvlzD4gbs Here's the vid of it blowing up.

[SubaruNation]

sad and entertaining video but i wouldn't worry too much. your car is so clean that it derves another motor

[cartwheels]

That's the plan! Just gotta come up with the funds and the time. Should be a great learning experience.

EDIT: Just for kicks, here's my new daily driver. The Leggy got me hooked on turbo Subies.

[cartwheels]

Well I'm an idiot. Did a compression test today, and came back fine (155 or thereabouts in all the cylinders).

So after checking the oil level, reconnecting the O2 sensor (which I had managed to leave off the whole time... explains why I thought I had an exhaust leak at the downpipe lol) and throwing all the spark plugs back in, I started her up.

Shit. Sounds the same as before. So I leave the engine running and start pulling plug wires. A HA! Cylinders 3 and 4 have no spark... I can pull the wires to them and not only does the engine stay running the same, but there is no spark trying to jump from the coilpack to the wire.

I'm guessing my next step is to get a known good coilpack and go from there. The car still has some crazy electrical issue which will not let it die even when the key is pulled from the ignition. I ended up pulling plug wires just to shut it down, lol.

Moral of the story: I'm a huge idiot... but I think she's gonna be fine.

[SiCkSTi04]

So you bought a WRX and found out your SS wasnt toast?

[crashnburn]

sweet wrx. I hope your legacy is fine. if its just the coil pack just pick up on at a auto parts store. schucks/oreilly price $87.99, autozone 80.99

[cartwheels]

No, I bought the WRX a few months ago. The Legacy was either being given to my younger brother or sold... Then a whole host of things happened... I had to get it smogged being one of them, so I stuck the old exhaust on, went for a drive, and boom. I thought I blew it, now it turns out it's not toast.

I tried a new coilpack from Pep Boys, and it behaved the same. The car will only fire the number 1 and 2 cylinders. The FWD light is stuck on as well as the Check Engine light.

Now I'm really confused.

[PhyrraM]

Sounds like an engine grounding problem. Check all the harnesses and connectors. Double check all the fuses too.

Worst case- if you can get it over the hill, I'll look at it with you.

[Aerotech]

Yeah, I second the grounding, ECUs will freak out without good grounds on everything... all sorts of weird problems crop up.
Look at the fusible links as well, the big green fuses in the engine compartment box, I had one crack, and it drove me crazy for a week tracking it down... it would test good on a meter, but wouldn't carry any current.

[cartwheels]

Thanks guys! I'll take a look at things tomorrow, as I've got more free time. Yesterday was the last day of the semester so I've got a whole summer to fix her up.

[crashnburn]

pull the check engine light and see which codes you have.

[cartwheels]

Just for fun, here's the installation video for the Intellistick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Vul7Tk ... re=related

As for the Legacy itself, I'm looking to get a good ignitor and see if that fixes the issue. Failing that, I need to look into the wiring itself and then maybe the ECU? Correct me if I'm wrong, and if anyone knows another area I should look into, please do tell. I know the coilpack is good.

[cartwheels]

Powder-coated the 5Zigens and threw on some Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tires. Still got the Legacy... just waiting for more free time.

[cartwheels]

Keeping this thread alive since I haven't updated in a long time. The WRX is now on Prodrive springs, and the Legacy sits in my driveway without seats, a center console, or a dashboard. There is a big cardboard box in the garage filled with a wiring harness. Will update with more progress as the project continues. I love this car too much to let it go.

[Danny-G]

100% more replacement wiring harness? Or repairing the stock one?

[kimokalihi]

100% more STI dash, wiring, ecu, engine, trans, hubs, rear diff swap?

[cartwheels]

100% more STI dash, wiring, ecu, engine, trans, hubs, rear diff swap?

God I wish. If I had a crashed WRX or STI to swap into this car I would. As of now it's just going to be 100% more new harness and 100% less heavy stuff like A/C and sound deadening. Hopefully going to do some rallycross and track duty in this car (eventual plans call for a 5 speed swap at the least, and hopefully big power when I can afford it).

[cartwheels]

I know this is probably a question for the electronics section, but I figured I'd ask in this thread too. Can the car be started and driven without the dashboard hooked up? I'd like to take it for a test run before covering up all the wiring work with the dash again and making the process painful if I've screwed something up.

[cartwheels]

She runs. More to come as the odds and ends (blower motor, the whole damn dashboard, seats, steering wheel, etc) are put back in. Hopefully some video proof too!

[kimokalihi]

Sweet, video and pics!