Mike's 1991 Subaru Legacy SS

[mike-tracy]

Some of my buddies and I at WCSS 2012


So I've had this car for about 4 years now, and I'm finally getting around to making a journal about it.

This is my 2nd SS. My first was also a 91, with 4eat and an engine with a hole in the block. I bought another ej22t to put in, so I could sell it (as I found the factory 5mt one this journal is about), but that short block turned out to have bad rings. EJKilla built up an ej20k STI shortblock (forged pistons and ACL race bearings) and my other set of ej20g heads for the car, and now Silenc3r is the proud owner.


Here's what I know about it. I bought the car from Rockethound in Mt. Vernon, who bought it from Matt Monson, driving it back from Colorado on nearly bald tires during the winter.


When I bought it, it was a rolling shell. Trunk was packed full of parts, and it came with a bad ej22t and another bad ej22e. Tranny was in the back. Interior was all uninstalled, and apparently it was stripped for a seam-welding session that the previous owner didn't go through with, and subsequentially lost interest in. I got so many used parts (mostly doors, fenders and other crap), that my buddy's full size van was packed tight as well.


Here are the current specs:


Built ej20g
-1990 Legacy RS Closed deck shortblock
-forged Wiseco Pistons, brings CR up to ~ 8.6
-EJ257 heavy duty rods
-ACL race bearings
-deck polished for metal HG's
-1996 EJ20G WRX heads, rebuilt by Deltacam to stock specs
-Group-N engine mounts
-USDM WRX metal coolant box with custom bracket
-08 FXT TMIC
-3" divorced bellmouth DP, by MRT Performance (Australia).
-3" custom midpipe with 18" resonator
-3" SPT axleback from an 02-07 WRX/STI.
-TD05 16g from an early WRX

1998 WRX transmission (4.11FD)
-Subaru Extra-S-ified
-Rear 4.11FD VLSD diff (of an '03 outback 5mt with cold weather package)
-Group-N tranny & tranny crossmember bushings
-Genuine B&M short shifter
-Kartboy shifter bushings
-Exedy oem replacement 02-05 WRX clutch kit
-2002 WRX flywheel, 21lbs vs 28lbs of later years
-2005 USDM WRX offset clutch reservoir, dampener removed
-SPT STI Delarin 5mt shift knob, and a stainless steel 1lb orb knob for the summer.

Electronics and other hardware:
-440cc "Graytop injectors"
-EJ20g ECU (3b?), not yet robtuned. 10psi max, then tapers down to 6.8 psi.
-patch harness to run ej20g ecu, made by Phyramm
-coilpack bolted to custom bracket where AC used to live, custom plug-wires

Interior:
-95 WRX front seats, 00 RS rears
-EDM Legacy RS Momo steering wheel, includes cruise control
-Pioneer stereo with usb plug on front
-Stock front speakers, rear Infinity References
-Manual seat belt conversion, including Canadian upper trim and headliner.
-Boost gauge
-Partial Black dash conversion - all the trim is in, I'm going to put the dash in "one of these days"


Handling:
-Bilstein struts and Eibach springs package. $1600 Factory add on for JDM 95 Legacy GT, next year they offered a different version as the "GTB" package
-GC8 application Group N tophats all around.
-Whiteline rear 22mm swaybar, 1990-1991 Legacy specific
-USDM WRX Wagon Front 20mm swaybar
-2.5RS Front strut bar, clears all TMIC's
-Brace behind rear seats (off a FWD car)
-Moog ball joints.
-WRX steering rack (not an upgrade per-se but it replaced a horribly leaking one)
-4/2 Pot brakes with kartboy bracket.
-00 RS 6-spoke rims in desperate need of paint. Nearly new 205/55/16 tires.

Misc:
-Custom hood scoop (looks like 2.5RS one) by LegacyRallyGuy
-DOHC PS Pump and lines, much cleaner, and coolant box fits much better.


"To be installed:"
-Black dash
-EDM Glass headlights with leveler switch
-JDM Glass fog lights with relay and switch
-USDM STI yellowtop injectors
-(needs a midpipe fabricated - happening feb 8, 2013)
-Livestrong's Fender braces
-Group N "ALK"
-Rebuilt SS steering rack - 16:1 ratio vs 16.5 ratio of current USDM WRX rack.
-Cleaned and flow-tested STI Yellowtop 535cc injectors.

Extras that may or may not make their way into this car (currently own):
-EJ22T block
-Wiseco Pistons
-EJ20K STI Heads.
-Ver 5/6 DCCD STI 5mt

Wishlist:
-Robtune
-15" forged rally wheels that clear my 4/2 pots
-Full Respray in factory color
-Legacy RS badge

[alexandermf]

Pics por favor!

[mike-tracy]

When I first got it, look how goofy the front end looks with no engine or tranny:



I prefer the 6-spokes I am currently rocking, and will someday even get them painted.

[Thesubielover]

You selling this thing again?

[mike-tracy]

If someone has a 5mt 97-99 LGT WAGON I would consider trading. But this is my build journal.

[randomiam]

I actually like the way those 5spoke rs wheels look with your black car.. What color are your wheels going to be eventually?

[Alphius]

Good job making a build thread finally.

When you gonna get a RobTune?

[SILINC3R]

Clap, Clap, yea Mike! Glad to see you got some time to write a journal about this car. This car has come a long way from when I saw it. I am not sure whose looked worse, haha. Except your car was full of parts and interior. Mine was more so just the trunk. Do you have pics of all the JDM stuff you had for this car? Oh and if you want you can drive down with the dash and anything electrical that you need hooking up and I'll factory install it. Plus I'll probably need your help getting my car to start once it is put back together. Don't know why, but seeing that you haven't installed those fender braces yet makes me smile. One day our cars will reunite again Mike.

Side note, what's funny is your car without the engine and tranny is as high as my FWD N/A is, haha.
Mikes' old red

[cj91legss]

Matther044 has a second gen wagon he wants to trade

[mike-tracy]

CJ I talked to Matthew about his wagon. Sadly I have to pass on that one.

Tony, yeah these are your old fender braces, remember? I always figured having a journal would shame me into working on my car more. I'd love to pop by and work on cars again lol. Hey you should take some leave and visit us during either Oregon Trail or Olympus Rally weekend. Promise it'd be a good time.

[mike-tracy]

Well with Alphius's help, I got my car to Randy's Custom Exhaust in Smokey Point. I had asked a couple welder buddies who they would trust to have welding done on their vehicles, and Randy's came up both times.

So, now I am running a full 3" exhaust post turbo. For $250, Randy

-Welded 2 02 sensor bungs to the DP, as well as replaced the leaking flex section with a new 3" flex piece ($$).
-Made a midpipe with an 18" resonator. He said a 24" resonator would fit, but I'd have to wait till monday.
-Took my 02-07 Impreza SPT STI (made by Bosal) axleback and moved the hangers.

I haven't inspected his work yet (picked up car after dark), but $250 doesn't seem too bad (IMO) for a quality job.



Impressions?

The car has a very deep rumble, though I think I may switch to a slightly louder axleback, or perhaps keep the SPT and have a really loud muffler for "special occasions."

Above 4k rpm it really sounds sweet, but I have a couple going-bad wheel bearings and the Group N pitch stopper transmits a lot of tranny noise, that are overshadowing the exhaust.

Turbo spool doesn't seem any different than before (I was running my 3" dp with a 2.5" straight-midpipe and stock SS muffler), and I haven't tested out the top end. Had the stock 1991 turbo-back exhaust on for a couple of days, and (surprisingly?) that killed both my spool up and top end.

[beatersubi]

What kind of fuel mileage are you getting?

[mike-tracy]

My ecu is tuned for a td04/440cc setup. When I had a td04 in there I got an honest 25mpg tank to tank. With the td05 I'm getting 19-20 mpg. Hope that the robtune will help with the mileage.

[cj91legss]

I hate your mileage

[mike-tracy]

When I ran cj's z4 ecu that was actually tuned for my specific setup, I got 21.x mpg driving like an assi-hat, over 2 tanks.

[mike-tracy]

So there's been an issue that I've been experiencing for a while. Basically, under full load around 5k rpm I experience some sort of 'cut,' fuel or spark.

What I've tried:
Tried different coil packs, including stock, a diamond pack, a male head coilpack from a 99 EJ25D, and an MSD, with different plug wires for each coil. Had NGK coppers gapped at .040 then .032, then swapped in brand new ones and set them to .032.

The problem came on the soonest with the MSD, and most violently. When I hit it just right, the tach actually goes to 0 and I lose all power for 1-2 seconds. I am pretty sure this is spark cut.

The problem appears least severely with the stock coilpack and 96 EJ25d plug wires. The throttle response also feels less sharp. I would describe the feeling of hitting the cut as "pushing against a fuzzy wall" in that I can feel the limitation, but I cannot accelerate further till I let off the throttle a little.

I asked Alphius his opinion on the problem, and based on my description he thinks it could be the cam or crank sensors. When he mentioned that, I remembered that the cam wire was spliced, and the ground wire goes straight to the body. Apparently a previous owner solved a grounding problem that way. I also accidentally tore off the plug for the crank sensor when I pulled the engine a while back, but I had soldered it back with shrink rap, so I'm not as worried about it.

I have a feeling one of those 2 sensors or their wiring is at fault. So I had a spare half hour before work today and started pulling the cam and crank wires off a junkyard car, and will finish the job tomorrow. I plan to ohm them out, and if good, install those cables in my own car.

Opinions, thoughts?

[NICO]

So there's been an issue that I've been experiencing for a while. Basically, under full load around 5k rpm I experience some sort of 'cut,' fuel or spark.

What I've tried:
Tried different coil packs, including stock, a diamond pack, a male head coilpack from a 99 EJ25D, and an MSD, with different plug wires for each coil. Had NGK coppers gapped at .040 then .032, then swapped in brand new ones and set them to .032.

The problem came on the soonest with the MSD, and most violently. When I hit it just right, the tach actually goes to 0 and I lose all power for 1-2 seconds. I am pretty sure this is spark cut.

The problem appears least severely with the stock coilpack and 96 EJ25d plug wires. The throttle response also feels less sharp. I would describe the feeling of hitting the cut as "pushing against a fuzzy wall" in that I can feel the limitation, but I cannot accelerate further till I let off the throttle a little.

I asked Alphius his opinion on the problem, and based on my description he thinks it could be the cam or crank sensors. When he mentioned that, I remembered that the cam wire was spliced, and the ground wire goes straight to the body. Apparently a previous owner solved a grounding problem that way. I also accidentally tore off the plug for the crank sensor when I pulled the engine a while back, but I had soldered it back with shrink rap, so I'm not as worried about it.

I have a feeling one of those 2 sensors or their wiring is at fault. So I had a spare half hour before work today and started pulling the cam and crank wires off a junkyard car, and will finish the job tomorrow. I plan to ohm them out, and if good, install those cables in my own car.

Opinions, thoughts?

sounds like boost cut ? sensor left side under boost control unit, black one with one vac line in it. try putting bleed valve for a test. or else electronic device fcd. its been a while with boost cuts for me lol.

[Alphius]

It's not boost cut or fuel cut.

His car actually loses spark for a split second under high load. Definitely worse with the MSD coil.
AFAIK there is no programmed mechanism by which the stock ECU will cut spark; it has to be an electrical problem.
The only things I can think of that would cause the ECU to stop sparking for an instant (especially with the accompanying tach loss) is the cam or crank sensors. Even if it was a purposeful spark cut by the ECU (again, which never happens) it would not affect the tach since the tach is driven by the ECU regardless of spark output state.

As an aside, the reason no factory car is ever tuned to do a spark cut in any circumstances is because of emissions. A catalytic converter will be ruined by too much unburnt fuel. Spark cut sends unburnt fuel directly out the exhaust. Hence, on a stock catalyzed emissions vehicle, you will only ever see fuel cut, not spark cut.

[mike-tracy]

Haven't fixed the crank/cam wires yet, although I did manage to pull the complete plugs off a junkyard 90 LS wagon.



Don't worry, it was 1 of 3 preface lifts, and 1 of 6 first gens in the yard at the time. Variable speed wiper, but vehicle is a wagon.

Sunday's my first day off in a couple weeks so I'll use it to replace the wiring, and (hopefully) install the robtuned ecu if he has some free time to meet.

[beatersubi]

Grab that wiper stalk for me! I'll make it worth you while.

[mike-tracy]

Sure Stephan, its yours.

Through some epic struggles, I finally managed to install the Robtune and sti injectors. Everything that could go wrong, did. Car even evacuated all its fuel (due to an innocent mistake on my part), which added a couple of hours of testing since it "should have had over 7 gallons left". It runs, fairly decently, now has code for iacv, and an epic iacv air leak. Ill mess with it Monday.

Want to give a huge shoutout to my friends who helped me, especially alphius and adam. Without them i would be car less. they helped test all the possibilities for why she wouldn't fire, came up with the out of fuel theory, stayed late on a Sunday night till my car ran, and supplied beer. Guys I owe you a big one.

Even with the horrible idle I can tell this car has grown a huge pair. I am really excited to see what she can do when running properly.

[mike-tracy]

So this morning I bought some starting fluid for testing. WD40 and Brakecleen weren't flammable enough to pinpoint the source of the leak. Well turns out the driver side injector rails weren't seated properly in the manifold. I had a real bitch of a time with them last night, and ended up lubing the seals between the rails/manifold but apparently that wasn't enough.

So I seated them properly, and the huge hissing sound is gone, as is the horrible idle. My car can boost again Still have the full load/5k rpm spark cut, but the car is more than drivable. So long as I don't plant my foot I'm fine. Set mbc to 12psi till I get that one sorted out.


****
OK I'd like to explain how the car evacuated all it's fuel as it's something I've never experienced or read about, as well as added hours to how long this ordeal took. The passenger side rail was fully installed, and I had the driver side rail bolted down, but the rear fuel hardline wasn't connected. I turned the key on to 'ACC' for about 30 seconds, smelled fuel and realized I had pressurized the fuel system, so I turned the key off. I noticed the unbolted side of the rail leaking some fuel, but I figured that without the pump running it would run out of pressure and stop flowing shortly.

We ate dinner, and when I went back to the car, sure enough the rail wasn't leaking any more.... So after a crap ton of testing because it wouldn't start (including testing the injectors) Adam said, you sure you have fuel in there? I said yes, I filled up full yesterday, and have driven 145 miles (about half a tankful). Well, for some reason, the pressurized fuel system created a siphon effect that went on to drain the entire tank. Fortunately the car was outdoors and there was no real fire hazard. I ended up putting around a gallon of "mystery fuel" (from a gas can lying around) plus 14.8 gallons from the gas station.

I guess the takeaways would be:
-Don't work on a fuel system, in the dark, or when tired.
-Never, ever prime the fuel pump when a fuel line or rail is open.
-Always have a backup car in case you can't finish the job.

[kimokalihi]

You ain't gettin no 290 miles on 1 tank. You're dreaming.

[mike-tracy]

You ain't gettin no 290 miles on 1 tank. You're dreaming.

Umm, yes I have? Remember, my commute is 99% freeway. When I had the td04 in there and proper ecu, I didn't see the low fuel light till well after 300 miles. I've never ran it out of gas but I did see 345 on a tankful once before I lost my nerve and filled up. Don't remember what I put in exactly, but there was between 1-2 gallons left.

[SILINC3R]

Yea I have no problem pushing 400 on the freeway and if I feel like a rebel I can do 450. Oh wait this is the turbo cars, never mind.