legacycentral bbs

That's about the only way I can describe my day without using multiple compound swear words over and over again!

Ok....so let's start with the parts issues before I get into what happened today.

I ordered subframe locks & diff bushings over 2 weeks ago. I called the vendor today and apparently there hasn't been a fedex scan since the 11th. So they're "investigating" as we speak. I however need those parts NOW. So I had him overnight me the parts....of course on my dime. Assuming fedex lost the package, I will be calling and reaming someone a new ahole, and get them to refund or comp me some of my shipping money.

Next issue, ordered struts from tirerack, got them friday. The one strut in the front was obviously installed before, or attempted to be installed. Strut was scratched up, and parts were out of the little baggy. Called tirerack up, and they were going to send me another one. This isn't too big a deal, but still another thing to deal with.

Today.....bushings.....oh do I hate bushings....they can go straight to hell!! I spent some time last night, and a good portion of the morning trying to get the sti trailing link bushings in the hub. I was able to pop the stock one out with my jaw puller. The sti ones wouldn't go in at all. I ran around to several different places, including the subie dealership....the fuck holes there told me I had the wrong bushings....dumbasses. I finally found a buddy who recommended me to his buddy at a dodge dealership. He said to put the bushings in the freezer. So I did that. Left them in there for about 2 hours.....no go. I'm going to leave them in overnight.....if they haven't shrunk, I'm just going to take them to him, and let him do them. He said he would.

I found a machine shop that would do the front trailing link bushings. He said they were a major pain in the ass!!! He spent 2 hours on them, making fixtures and such. Cost me 60 bucks, but I don't car at this point. They're in.

This evening I was trying to keep busy, so I was going to work on the struts....well smart me figured...."hey I'll cut the bump stops a little since I have lowered springs" Well the top of the bump stop is what keeps it at the top, so now it won't stay up......argh....now I have to find another one. I'm hoping someone in town has one....get to do that tomorrow too....fucking yay.

I just can't wait for the diff bushings.....I bet those will be loads of fun. Not sure if the poly bushings will be any better/easier to work with then the sti ones.

I hate bushings with an utter passion!!!! My suggestion to you is pay the money for the pieces that come with the bushings already in them.

On a plus side.....I got the gas tank from the AWD car in mine. It's all piped up, and got the fuel separator installed as well. Buddy in utah found one for me.

I also got the subframe bolted up....however I don't want to torque it down without the subframe bolts. So I can only go so far with that....plus the hubs need to be there so I can get those in there along with all the rest of the crap......it's just causing a major hold up in things.

Also trimmed the backing plates, so they're ready for the B4 rear rotors when I get to them.

I'll have updated pics from today's efforts up shortly if anyone cares to see.

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... yswap.html

even if you would've managed to cut the bumpstop properly, woudln't it had still messed up your suspension geometry. Also all I've got to say is, remember the goal. It'll be so sweet when you're done

is this what i have to look forward too ?

ah. i'm only doing 4eat to 5mt conversion.. already have AWD.

nope, you get to look forward to just the countless hours on your back bench pressing parts into place. You dont get the extra treat of doing suspension as well

i'm glad i dont mind my automatic transmission.

LaureltheQueen wrote:i'm glad i dont mind my automatic transmission.

I'm surprised you don't mind your automatic transmission

Stay with it Josh. Think about it: the ONLY NA BC Legacy in America with a hydraulic clutch and 3.90 LSD

Hardy - The bumpstops don't change any geometries. They just cushion the strut when it bottoms out.

I feel your pain Josh. I've been fighting with my car for 6 months to get it to idle. It STILL Doesnt. I swapped throttle bodies, ECU's, IAC's, everything, and nothing has fixed it yet. I'm very upset over this, as I'm sure you are about your car.

Phil - I wonder if running cleaner through the engine will help. Going from one engine to the other my idle went from 1000-1200 to 750. My guess is it's a hell of a lot cleaner, but it IS just a guess.

Steve

LaureltheQueen wrote:i'm glad i dont mind my automatic transmission.

i dont either. it is my feeling that subys and sticks dont mix. aside form the fact that the auto keeps breaking. i just might get a rigoli. homer simpsion voice : mmmmmmmm rigoli

LaureltheQueen wrote:i'm glad i dont mind my automatic transmission.

I don't mind mine either, although it doesn't seem to like me anymore, I'm giving mine another 8 months of life.

Josh, You're a better man than I, I would've broken things by now.

Funny, I never seemed to mind my auto either -and I'm a dyed in the wool manual tranny proponent.
Sadly, I can empathize with quickdrive -my auto doesn't seem to be all that sweet on me anymore either. Maybe it's because I keep calling her a f****** whore all the time?
What I originally thought might be a mechanical issue with the 4EAT, now clearly seems to rest in the TCU. I'm praying for another year and then I'll start scouring the papers for a super clean LS wagon with a bad motor. Prolly be mucho mas cheaper than replacing the tranny.
*repeats mantra, "I love my car, I love my car, I love my car"*

Steve - Well, I'm getting a CEL for my IAC valve. I should probably sea-foam the thing, but they don't sell that stuff anywhere around here.

Azn2nr - What do you mean Suby's and Stick's don't mix!? I won't comment for fear of starting another "stick vs auto" debate.

My only experience with bushings was on an 84 GSL-SE RX-7. Two words: Propane Torch.

I've had no problems with my manual swap. It's two and a half years and it probably shifts better now than it did then.

Are you in some kind of rush, besides wanting to get it done in a reasonable amount of time, Josh?

I feel for you about the delayed parts. When I was getting screwed over on parts coming from Japan, I was hurriedly putting my car together with a new suspension for Beaverun... that would have really sucked to miss that because of 2 silly rear topmounts. I ended up not going that day, due to a combination of reasons but that can really get on your nerves taking everything to the last minute.

But if you are just getting into a snit because everyone isn't punctual, get over it

Myles hooked you up though, right William?

Yeah, it wasn't his fault at all. They held back the order in Japan and only shipped half the shipment.

Those were teeth pulling days, trying to set up the install, parts, alignments, and everything i needed to race with only a week to go...

elkaboom wrote:What I originally thought might be a mechanical issue with the 4EAT, now clearly seems to rest in the TCU. I'm praying for another year and then I'll start scouring the papers for a super clean LS wagon with a bad motor. Prolly be mucho mas cheaper than replacing the tranny.

if it's a problem of the tcu, I very much doubt that it will be cheaper.

BAC5.2 wrote:I should probably sea-foam the thing, but they don't sell that stuff anywhere around here.

Just this week I saw Sea Foam at AutoZone. It seems that it was not there a few weeks ago, but they carry it now. They also have other products by the Sea Foam company, Deep Creep and Trans Tune.

Hopefully there is an AutoZone near you.

Trans Tune seems to work okay. I put some in my tranny, drove it around for awhile and then flushed and refilled it. Despite the other "problems" I'm having, I'm sure the Trans Tune didn't hurt anything.
THAWA: What I meant was I'm seriously considering an engine swap into another auto wagon -asuming, of course, the auto tranny in the replacement car is in good shape. Time will tell the tale of what I ultimately decide to do though -as in most things

*edit* thing is, the auto 4EAT is a total frigging mystery to me... I get totally nervous anytime I even consider having to work on, replace or investigate any abnormalities down there.
Seems to me if I can just get a another solid (resonably) auto tranny, it'd be infinitly cheaper to swap ity out rather than repair the old one. Most times it seems as though once a problem develops with it, it's generally a bad thing (kinda like cancer ).
Anyway, just my 2 cents.

I totally agree and it doesnt help that one of the few people here that actually understood the 4eat is gone. Thats actually part of the reason I did the swap, cause noone could help me with my problematic tranny. It's tough, I know, I totally feel your pain, but if the tcu is atfault, definately replace that before something else messes up, and if everything else is in order, slap an aux ATF cooler on that beast.

Brat4by4 wrote:But if you are just getting into a snit because everyone isn't punctual, get over it

You don't know Josh very well

ultrasonic wrote:Just this week I saw Sea Foam at AutoZone. It seems that it was not there a few weeks ago, but they carry it now. They also have other products by the Sea Foam company, Deep Creep and Trans Tune.

Hopefully there is an AutoZone near you.

Hmmm... There IS an AutoZone near me. I'll check there tomorrow after class and run some through this tank of gas

wow....this thread sure went all over the place.

Update.....bushing for the hub won't work. Took it to the guy who said to freeze them. He tried....couldn't get them in. Said they were too narrow in width and too large in diameter. After easily getting the originals back in, I'd probably have to agree with him. They must have changed the hub design over the years. I'll have to see if I can get some measurements off of a wrx or something.

Today was far more productive. Got the bump stop.....got the subframe locks, whole rear drivetrain/suspension in, and put the parking brake back in.....wow I hate drum brakes!!

Updated pictures, and will be taking the tranny out tomorrow.

thawa.....the rush thing is mainly because I order parts from people that should be correct and they're not. Plus I took off work this week to get as much of the project done as I could because it's a pain working intermittantly on something this big.

I think I should be able to have the auto out tomorrow, and if I get all the pedal/shifter stuff taken care of and booster swap done, possibly get the MT in thursday afternoon/evening if I can scrounge up help.

dont you mean brat4by4?

Hmm, it's odd that you are having such a problem. My buddy JUST did an AWD swap into his 93 Impreza, and said it was fairly straight forward. He used a 90 Legacy L as the donor.