Frankenbeater Version 4. Want to help me?

[ciper]

My 91 Legacy was finally at a point that I was happy with no more modifications necessary. It had a full 2.5 liter engine and 4.44 final drive. All it needed were some simple items like new front seats, a new rear tail light and to fix a short in the sunroof.Then this happened-


Can't a guy get a chance? Its hard enough living on disability and side jobs. The damage is worse than it may appear. The entire front end is pushed back pretty far. Worse is since it was fully converted it to EJ25D the broken timing sprockets gave it bent valves . The lady made a sudden turn out of a business so there was no chance to avoid it. The car has been sitting dead in my driveway for a year. I'm still trying to sort things out with insurance.

Back to the story
A few months back I saw a white 91 5mt sport sedan (yeah the most rare hood and with an LSD) in a parking lot. On a whim I left a note with my email address asking if they would ever be interesting in selling. Fast forward to Friday March ninth and the lady sends me an email. She will sell me the car for 1000$ flat?!

I have lots of random left over parts and my good friend Ivo from Renner Motorsport is donating his lift after hours whenever I need it. I happen to have some forged EJ25D pistons which result in 8.3:1 compression ratio.

Where you can help me is with old Japanese parts. As you may know the EJ25D heads are essentially 97 EJ20K heads. I'm looking for -
Cylinder 1/3 cam gears (both intake and exhaust)
Extra valves
Set of four turbo cams (ej20k, ej20g etc as long as they match)
Timing covers from cylinder 1/3
An old intake manifold. I could bolt my old throttle plate to this and use its idle controller

I know I'd have to tap the head and remove the plug to expose the turbo coolant and oil lines.
Alternatively a matched set of turbo heads would also be nice.

I can pay for your parts slowly over time or offer stuff in trade. Once the engine is installed I hope to sell the intact ej22t longblock back to the community (so someone with a legacy turbo can get back on the road or have a spare) to help cover the money I borrowed to buy the car. At the moment the most valuable sale items I have are, an extra female axle LSD, the low mileage Subaru rebuilt phase 1 4eat (shifts like a dream), six Forester 16 inch steelies, full set of 0 mile ej257 pistons, and a FUKTON of Subaru AWIC.

Thank you for reading my thread.

edit: Here is my previous thread http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 6&p=325795

[jamal]

the machine shop I used to use (stopped because they screwed some stuff up), has tons and tons of old jdm engines and parts. Next time you're in socal stop by there - outfront motorsports. Just don't tell them I sent you lol. They charge a lot for the old metal cam gears though.

[ciper]

Thanks for the advice. I'll be down in LA again in about 5 days so I'll ask them if I can "recycle" some of their JDM parts

[beatersubi]

I may have your cam gears. I'll check the garage and let you know. Cover shipping and they're yours.

[ciper]

I was able to get the car for 800. The check engine light was on and if you used more than 10% throttle it would cut all power. I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it home over the mountains.


The previous owners decided to use 2-3 containers of silicone caulking to seal the sunroof. It took three hours to remove all of this and I had to replace the glass because they cut the rubber seal off.


Unfortunately the caulk pulled random layers of pain off so the area around the sunroof are very textured. I didn't realize the factory paint had so many layers to it

I had to be MacGyver with the PCV system. The hoses were hard as rock and many of the plastic parts broke while working on the car. You can see the air compressor swivel here replacing part of the line that runs back to the intake. The BCS return line nipple was snapped off the intake box so I tapped a hole and installed a brass nipple



My goal is to get it running properly before I start putting together the replacement engine. So far I have -

Cleaned IAC valve and installed with new gasket
Replaced or sealed hard/broken vacuum lines and pcv piping
Replaced leaking coolant line to IAC valve (and the other lines as well)
New PCV valve, spark plugs and Oil
Cleaned MAF sensor, 12 ounces of water then 1/3 can of Seafoam into the intake
Put new sunroof glass
Replaced many burnt out lights and reconnected plug on transmission so reverse lights work
New rad cap and pressure tested system to 19psi.
Rebalanced all 4 wheels. Need to find my sledgehammer to "adjust" rear struts before transferring my good wheels

[ciper]

Installed a boost gauge today. 9.99 from Harbor freight and it measures up to 10psi.
Found that the rear pads were down to 1mm so I replaced them with some nearly new ones I had left over.
Replaced the cracked drivers side tail light. Didn't realize these were held in with silicone like material


I'm having trouble with boost. It is often maxing out at 5psi. About 20% of the time it will hit 8psi+ but I can't figure out how it decides the boost. I had an extra boost solenoid, pressure sensor and pressure switching valve and I replaced them one at a time but it made no difference.

[ciper]

Here is the boost gauge. I attached it to the air suspension blank with adhesive velcro. Its a perfect location since it's easy to read and doesn't block any other gauges or climate controls
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R8P6Js0gKc


I rebalanced and rebalanced all four of good the wheels from my crashed car. They are 02 WRX 16x6.5 with 205/55r16 Potenza RE960as Pole Position
(If you see my picture in rotation at the top of the forum they are the same wheels)

I installed a known good stock radio with aux port. The one in the car had a floppy volume control and no audio on the right side unless you smacked it

Adjusted the throttle screw, TPS and IAC valve. http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 74#p378774

The rear window had a car phone antenna attached and it was a BITCH to remove on both sides. Lots of solvent and scraping.

[ciper]

Today I made the idle smooth as glass and exactly 800rpm. Here is the thread about it http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 58#p378858


It is possible and very easy to replace the intake manifold gaskets without even disconnecting the intake.

I took the engine covers off and counted teeth on the timing belt to verify it was installed properly last time

I replaced the coolant temp sensor even though it probably wasn't necessary.

[NICO]

hello ciper !! that first pic is crazy !! and the work on the sunroof is out of this world im glad you got it all off !!


also i have allot of the stuff you want, i could make you a total price and go from there. in the for sale section i have the post

[ciper]

Today I fixed my limp penis shifter. The plastic pieces in the u-joint had broken down so while in gear the shifter could move side to side 3 inches. I was going to install a new u-joint but found out it is a different type of connection than the newer shifters. So instead of trying to source these plastic pieces that would fail again I cut the damn joint off and made it a solid bushing.

On top is the new design. Second is the old design with my solid bushing replacement welded in. Below are the old parts.


The shifter feels great. There is still some side to side play from the joint at the bottom of the shifter lever itself.

Now some of you might jump to say "OMG THE NVH" but the original plastic was 1mm thick at most. I think they were not to absorb vibration but rather to act as shims for manufacturing tolerances.

In order to make the parts just barely fit I hit a washer with a sledge hammer until it was almost the right thickness. I would put it all together and tighten the nut and see if it was able to move with a lot of force. I then used a belt sander to fine tune this washer thickness until when tightened it could rotate with say 10 foot pounds of force. I then covered all of the parts in axle grease and put it back.

BTW Fuck that dual roll pin on the shifter fork shaft. When reinstalling I only put the large pin in place.

Nico: Thank you for the offer. Can you send me a quick message for which parts exactly you have? If it includes a manifold find me a picture online of the same design so I know what i'm looking at.

[beatersubi]

I hear there is a pill you can take for the limp penis problem, as well.

[Legacy777]

BTW Fuck that dual roll pin on the shifter fork shaft. When reinstalling I only put the large pin in place.

If you make yourself a set of punches like these out of round bar, it makes putting both of those roll pins in a breeze.

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... P_4188.JPG
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... P_4192.JPG
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... P_4193.JPG

They hold the roll pins so you can get them started. I was quite happy with my ingenuity that day

[ciper]

Todays progress -
Installed the missing "TRAY"

Replaced ripped rubber that covers the door opening switches (what activates the dome light)

Ordered the cheap H6 upgrade for 99$ shipped (brackets, rotors, clips). I was given used calipers for my birthday

My research says the following RockAuto part numbers match the Subaru part numbers normally used
A-1 CARDONE Part # 141605 - $13.96 - Equal to Subaru 26625AE000
CENTRIC Part # 12147017 - $20.99 - Equal to Subaru 26700AE04A
CARLSON Part # 13370 - $4.93 - Equal to multiple Subaru 26632FC001


Took the timing belt and water pump off! Be careful with radiator flush products

If you do a real coolant flush using a chemical solution then do not follow the directions or your water pump seals are likely to fail. Once the flush is complete remove the thermostat and bolt it back together with the oring in place and fill the system with water while running with the cap off for a minute. Turn off the car and remove the water pump neck again to drain. Do this a couple times.

I did the flush and then ran water through once with the thermostat in place then filled with coolant. I found the pump to be leaking from the "weep hole" the next day. I captured my "new" coolant and it had a ton of black or white chunks floating in it It was then a big fiasco to get the right fricken pump ordered.

I posted a thread with water pump part numbers http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49161

If you make yourself a set of punches like these out of round bar, it makes putting both of those roll pins in a breeze.

That is a great idea. Not only does it stay correct oriented (protecting fingers) but also keeps them from popping out and getting lost.

[Legacy777]

That is a great idea. Not only does it stay correct oriented (protecting fingers) but also keeps them from popping out and getting lost.

Yeah, I had a hell of time getting those pins in before I made those. When I was doing my custom shifter joint I decided to make these since I was swapping stuff around.

[ciper]

Progress of the last few days:

Rekeyed a replacement drivers side lock cylinder. The original was broken so I had to enter the car from the passenger side. I also made a brand new key from scratch using a cut off wheel since the only key I had was worn out.

Upper coolant line to turbo starting leaking so I replaced it
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 24#p379724

Hit 260k miles


Finally cleared over ten years of codes in the ECU
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 22#p379722

Used corner weighing scales to get the exact weight balance of the car
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49197

[Legacy777]

That's a lot of miles!

I got thinking the other day. My 90 Legacy almost has 200,000 miles on it, and my 97 Impreza has just over 170,000 miles on it. That's quite a bit of miles compared to what most people have on their cars.

[ciper]

Last night I took my grill off and cleaned it to prepare for paint. I painted it with a few coats of flat black and when it was dry RAN THE DAMN THING OVER I am going to assume a 91 turbo grill is just as rare as a 91 turbo hood and that makes me sad.

legacy777 Do you happen to have a picture of the key cylinder code? I just read your other post and thought "dang I wasted all that time with a cut off wheel when I could have just ordered a brand new key"

[Legacy777]

Unfortunately, no I don't. If you have the original keys, it'll be on there as well.

[ciper]

If any of you NA guys are reading this I now have a complete turbo brake setup (larger front two piston calipers and vented rear calipers) for sale http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=49134

Last night I installed 295mm front rotors with 290mm rear rotors using the "H6" caliper A-1 CARDONE Part # 141605, "H6" rotor CENTRIC Part # 12147017, brake pad clips CARLSON Part # 13370, OEM 2007 FXT front rotor, OEM 07 FXT front/rear calipers, OEM 07 FXT front pads and aftermarket D770 ceramic rear pads.


I'm not sure why the rear brackets had a different coating


I don't like shiny silver calipers so I painted them with black engine paint


The fronts were straightforward (basically the WRX swap everyone does)


Since the rear rotors are bigger you have to modify the heat shield. I realized that even if I cut the shield right at the point that it bends outwards it would have no added any additional protection so I decided to remove it completely. There are only seven small spot welds.



You could drill out the welds but I feel that a sledge hammer is the faster, easier option. Just bend it towards you all the way around then bend it back all the way around. After a bit the metal will fail from fatigue and you can pull it right off


As you can see there is plenty of room between the rotor and the backing plate. No need to worry about any left over material from the welds.
On other Subarus people had an issue with the inner lip of the parking brake surface rubbing against the inside of the backing plate. I planned to grind this lip down but after testing both sides I found that its not necessary. Something about our cars makes the rotors compatible.

I took the car out to bed the brakes and once done I am impressed with the stopping power. I can now overwhelm the traction of my Potenza RE960AS Pole positions at highway speed if I want to. Threshold braking makes the car a little squirrely which I think and alignment would tame.

[kimokalihi]

What is an FXT? How much did that whole brake setup cost? Also what is cardone and carlson? Where did you get it all and lastly, are these as good as 05-07 LGT brakes?

[ciper]

Forester XT is the turbo EJ255 model. Same drivetrain as a WRX basically.

For my birthday somoene gave me a complete brake setup from their 07 FXT - four rotors, four calipers, four brackets, 8 pads. All I had to buy were the parts mention above (99 shipped) and get some different shape rearbrake pads (which I already had)

Cardone and Carlson are generic aftermarket parts companies. They are the parts I ordered from http://www.rockauto.com . If you scroll up to my previous post you'll see that I matched them up to the Subaru part numbers.

I think the 05 LGT brakes would already have the larger rear rotor so you could put them on as is

[kimokalihi]

Oh cool. Me wants LGT brakes but I have to find someone who doesn't know what they're worth like a junkyard so I can get them cheap. NASIOC peeps want big money for theirs.

[ciper]

Why do you want LGT brakes then? Just buy a set of WRX brakes and upgrade them to the same specification.

[kimokalihi]

Because I was looking at the brake spread sheet and I thought they were right below USDM STI brembos and probably can be had cheaper than WRX calipers if you find the right seller/junkyard.

[ciper]

The 05+ LGT 316mm front rotors and vented rears is not an upgrade IMO. You move the already unbalanced bias even farther forward AND increase amount of unsprung and rotational weight. Remember the farther the mass is from the center of a "flywheel" the more energy it takes to change its speed. On top of that you then have to run 17 inch wheels/tires.

Check the math yourself. Going from first gen Legacy Turbo brakes to complete 05 LGT brakes results in 4.1% more front brake bias (NA to LGT is 7.6%!). Going from first gen Legacy to "WRX" + "H6" brakes gives only 0.05% more front brake bias (probably within the margin of error). With my current setup I can overwhelm the tires at highway speeds.

Even running 295mm with 290mm still has too much front brake bias in my opinion. I am planning to get more aggressive pads to push the balance rearward. I was able to justify switching from vented rear discs to solid rears because the unsprung rotational weight is lower.I know the idea of vented rears sounds neat but the brake bias combined with the tiny pad means the rears never get hot enough for 99.9% of the population to justify it.