Joe's 1992 Legacy SS/TW Documentary

[CAV3MAN227]

-Hi, my name is Joe. I purchased a 1992 Subaru Legacy SS x-mas of 2009. Instead of a build I wanted to call it a documentary so I had a good place to let people know whats going on, get ideas and info from others, and possibly give others ideas. Even though a build could be insight in the future I'd rather do a build on a 90-91 platform instead of a 92-94.
-My goal is a nice, quick, reliable, and fun car for a daily driver. Quite a few things have already been done to the car as posted in my signature. Some credit to me but most credited to previous owner(s). (also a jc sports chassis brace, not listed)
-Here is what the car looked like when I bought it:




-Excuse the red arrow!

-Here is what it looks like now:





-When I got the car it automatically needed a water pump. So i did the water pump and timing belt right off the bat!
-For the credit so far that goes to me is: the wrx rims, diamond coil pack, 3" down pipe, wrx intercooler, and a few small other things, stereo, etc... I don't want to be an a*s and say I did it all. Got to give gredit where credit is due!
-So here's the beginning and I know I have a long way to go. But on the up side I'm not that far away from my goal, as stated above, but as far as parts: revtronics chip stage 2, TD04 turbo, and 440cc injectors. I think that will set me good for a while!
--Constructive criticism, ideas, hints, tips, etc. is accepted! This car is a first for me in many ways: first import, turbo, awd, Subaru... all out of 18 cars I've owned through out my life, give or take! So if you would like to share some of your knowledge, info, etc, I'm all ears! Thanks for looking!
-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-So since I have purchased the t-leg, my license has been revoked due to sr22 insurance reasons. Sad enough to say, I've had a whole year to build this car up, but money has also been an issue. So I'm starting now, a month before I get my license back.
-The car has been sitting this whole time with at least weekly start-ups. But still things have gone bad or wrong. I needed rear brakes so I did those on 8/20/10. I was surprised on how easy they were to do on this car. Afterwords I went on a test drive to check my work and I found my brake pedal going to the floor. Come to find out I had brake fluid coming out of my ABS unit. So one thing fixed and another broke. This made me mad and I wanted to sell the car, but this brought up a whole new project. Now I have the whole intake manifold off and found many more problems. To sum it up fast, somethings were brittle and broke, somethings were even hooked up wrong. So in a way I'm happy I'm doing this.
-One thing I have learned through out all my cars I've owned is, Its a lot easier starting on a stock car, then having to deal with someone else's project! So this is where I start. A lot of stuff needs fixing and replaced:
-After pulling the manifold.





-After a light pressure wash.

-This is where I'm at, and I plan to get some more done today, so I better get back out there!
-Joe

[speedmaxx]

looks good!

Im liking the white wheels with a white car

[CAV3MAN227]

looks good!

Im liking the white wheels with a white car

-well too bad i don't have them anymore. as soon as i get new tires on the wrx rims, 2.5rs rims are going on
-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-Update: Went to the junk yard today. Found everything I needed as far as the abs unit, p/s lines, wire connectors, etc. Hoping by the end of Sunday I'll have my car all put back together and up n' running! Still like to find an SS grill or something better than the one I currently have.
-Joe

[SLODRIVE]

Nice, Joe. I like that metal coolant tank - Where did you get that from?

BTW I have an extra SS grille or two sitting around if you're not finding anything.

-Greg

[CAV3MAN227]

Nice, Joe. I like that metal coolant tank - Where did you get that from?

BTW I have an extra SS grille or two sitting around if you're not finding anything.

-Greg

-awesome! what do you want for one?

-the tank looks to be custom made, not by me but by a previous owner! it is cool but its a pain with the 02 tmic I'm using

-Joe

[kimokalihi]

Did you have to beat your firewall in to make that intercooler fit?

[CAV3MAN227]

Did you have to beat your firewall in to make that intercooler fit?

-No I did not. I scraped it up a little and its a tight fix but what I did was beat down the pitch mount on the firewall a little and cut the lip on the intercooler but kept enough so a clamp would still hold the rubber tube to connect to the throttle body. but on the downside i think i beat down the pitch mount to much but its something im going to fix this weekend! but by doing these custom adjustments it gave me the room to work with the tmic with out bashing in the fire wall and or cutting the hood!
-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-Update: Looks like I'm on track still. Got quite a few things done today. Put in a brand-old newer style pitch mount, replaced my leaky power steering line, replaced all vacuum hoses, got a new alternator, got a whole bunch of connectors ready to be soldered together tomorrow since a lot of mine were exposed and or brittle. Replaced the knock sensor too.
-Going back to the junk yard tomorrow for a couple more pieces, but hopefully all goes well and have her started by the end of the night!
-I'll have pix up soon!
-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-Well I damn near hit my goal. Working into the night, I got just about everything done. Went to the junk yard and picked up some more pieces, came back to the house and worked on the car all day to about 10:30 Denver time.
-Here is a pic of the donor ABS unit. I was thinking of deleting it out of there but next time. The ABS unit got bled but still have to do the wheels!

-Now with the brand-old ABS unit in.

-Power steering lines got replaced too.

-Got the intake back on!

-Finally looks like a motor again and she started right up!

-The only problem I ran into was, after start-up and letting the car run, I cant get it to idle correctly. I messed with the IAC and the idle screw but still cant get it! Any ideas I'm all ears!
-Also a lot of thanks goes to 91legacyawdturbo for taking the time to help me out, especially as busy as he is!
-Joe

[kimokalihi]

You should never mess with the idle screw. It's set at the factory and shouldn't ever need to be changed.

[Legacy777]

Joe,

It shows a photobucket bandwidth exceeded for your pics.

[CAV3MAN227]

-Yea josh, I'm trying to get this photobucket issue resolved right now. Don't know whats up cause I have a pro account!
-Kimo: Yea I know I shouldn't be messing with it but I think it was messed with before I purchased the car.

-Joe

-EDIT: yay they fixed my account!

[CAV3MAN227]

-So here's my idle issue. When the car is running it idle's high. When I give a quick tap on the gas it lowers itself for a couple of seconds then raises back up. Its like its doing a complete 180 of how the car warms up. You know, idle high for a minute or two then drop to idle, whatever it is 500-800 rpms. So even after letting it warm up to when the fans kick on, its still doing this idle issue! Also since the idle screw has been messed with by previous owners and me, how do I get it back to factory, if thats possible?
EDIT: Also would it be possible that maybe I missed a vacuum line and the rpms are raising to make up for the vacuum leak?

-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-Here is a clip of what it sounds like, idling around 2,500 rpms.

-This was after disconnecting the battery for a couple of hours and letting it sit. When it started the idle was real low then after a couple of minutes, it rose to what you hear in the video.
-Joe

[SiCkSTi04]

was it like this before removing the intake manifold??

[CAV3MAN227]

was it like this before removing the intake manifold??

-No. It did have a small idle problem before but not like this. Before removing the intake manifold it would idle fine but it would go down and up a couple 100 rpms sometimes. In other words idle would be say 700 it would drop to maybe 400 then bring itself back up to 700 again.
-Joe

[Legacy777]

Did you replace the gaskets when you removed the intake manifold?

If the problem wasn't there before you did the work, there's something likely that didn't get put back right, or may be missing/disconnected.

Regarding the TB and the idle stop screw. There's really not any way to get it back to factory specs. It's usually better just to pick up a used TB and replace the entire thing.

[CAV3MAN227]

Did you replace the gaskets when you removed the intake manifold?

If the problem wasn't there before you did the work, there's something likely that didn't get put back right, or may be missing/disconnected.

Regarding the TB and the idle stop screw. There's really not any way to get it back to factory specs. It's usually better just to pick up a used TB and replace the entire thing.

-Yes brand new intake manifold gaskets were used.
-I was thinking about that, about the TB, and just picking up another from the junk yard. Does it matter what model I get the TB off of?
-4 or 5 connectors were replaced, IAC, TPS, etc. Maybe rewired wrong?!?! Also if one on the spark plugs/wires wasn't working correctly, would that cause the idle to rise?
-How do you get your IAC to work correctly? I took mine apart and cleaned it. It was pretty gummed up!
-Thanks for your input!
-Joe

[Legacy777]

You need a TB off a first gen legacy...shouldn't matter which.

What wires and how did you redo them?

Regarding the IAC valve, did you mark where the electro magnetic head was positioned? If not, that could be your problem. It is calebrated to be in a specific spot. If you moved it, the IAC valve may not have enough travel to properly adjust the idle.

[CAV3MAN227]

You need a TB off a first gen legacy...shouldn't matter which.

What wires and how did you redo them?

Regarding the IAC valve, did you mark where the electro magnetic head was positioned? If not, that could be your problem. It is calibrated to be in a specific spot. If you moved it, the IAC valve may not have enough travel to properly adjust the idle.

-I got all wires/clips off 90-94 models that are identical to the ones i already had that were brittle on mine, then the wires were soldered together.
-I don't know much about the IAC so no I did not mark where the magnetic head was positioned.
-Guess its another trip to the junk yard again!
-Can the IAC be set back in place?
-Joe

[CAV3MAN227]

-I just took the top of the IAC off and also noticed that the rubber o-ring thats inside is broke/ripped. the magnetic head moves fine clockwise and counter clockwise, just don't know where to set it! Where should the magnetic head be set to, all the way clockwise or counter clockwise, before putting the tan head back on it?
-Joe

[Legacy777]

Yes you can adjust the top of the IAC valve. I'd set it in the middle. If the o-ring is cracked, that may be contributing.

With the car running, loosen the two screws holding the top to the IAC valve, and then rotate the top. That should affect idle. Adjust the top to the middle first and see how it runs, if it's still not good, try moving it and see if there is a spot where it idles good.

If you can't get it to run good, you may need to try and get another one, especially if the o-ring is cracked.

[CAV3MAN227]

-My buddy who was helping me with it says he might of gotten the wires crossed when swapping out the clip to the IAC. But when i go to the junk yard tomorrow I'll get one of those too!
-Joe