killjoy323232

When I had the shop in Arlington drop the EJ20 in, I suspect they didn’t route the wiring harness under the manifold properly. I had taken the IC off to check the sensor and wiring (chasing a P0328 and drivability issues), and both the knock sensor and throttle harnesses were strained. I have a new sensor to install to see if the CEL goes away, but if not, might have to repair the harness somehow.

Had to park the OBXT for the moment. Have been dealing with an odd misfire that has steadily been getting worse. The good news is I’m now pretty sure it’s spark-related. It’s the only time in my life I’ve wanted to see a blinking CEL to try to track down the misbehaving cylinder, so I’ll knock that and the dodgy knock sensor(/wiring) out at the same time.

Today, I tried to further investigate some drivability issues that I've been having with the car, that I suspect has to do with the knock sensor (P0328, running like garbage, feels like it's misfiring, but could actually be the knock sensor going crazy as there are no misfires reported). Bought a lightly used OEM one (that looks wrong, as it's a two-wire. Great.), took the I/C off, and realized that A.) the harnesses for the knock sensor and TB were very strained, like someone had the intake manifold off and didn't route the harness properly, and B.) that the knock sensor is in an incredibly inconvenient spot, and will require, at minimum, a crow's foot wrench. I buttoned it back up until I can get said wrench, but if the harness is damaged in some way, it's going to be next to impossible to examine without taking the manifold off. Fun times.

That may be my next step…I got the fuel temp sensor and level sender swapped over to the STi pump, started the car, took it out for a drive, and the car ran like utter crap. It felt like I had run out of gas, but it gradually cleared up after I drove it some more and filled the tank. It only had like 1/8 tank when I swapped the pump. Now, I THINK it’s running better…I still have the boost turned way down, and I’m not sure if it’s the crap roads or PTSD, but every now and again, I think I feel a slight stumble (not quite a miss - it’s extremely light) when accelerating. I also have a Company23 tee that I have yet to install for the FPR vacuum line though, because it could also be that famous stutter.

So, as an update to this, just until I can get a good aftermarket one, I scored a really good deal on the complete pump assembly from a really low mileage, wrecked 2018 STi locally. Figured, ah, what the heck, it's A.) really cheap, B.) OEM, and C.) not broken. What I've learned: 1. The VA STi pump assembly physically drops in and works and pumps fuel...and that's about the end of it. 2. Don't be like me - I should have known better and should have swapped the level sender and the sensor on the side of the assembly over, because the VA bits don't work. At all. Who could have seen that coming?

If it reads like mine during the day, it’s scaled 0, 20, 40, nothing, 120, 140, 160. Very useful. I’ll get around to repairing it eventually. i have a clear lens from a base model OB cluster that I can put on to mitigate the issue temporarily. Just haven’t done that either.

“Right side of the speedometer”…please don’t say “dead backlighting”. I’m putting off looking at mine, mostly because of the slightly overwhelming amount of effort it takes to swap/reprogram the immobilizer EEPROM in the cluster…or disassemble the cluster.

I echo the above sentiments…I know that pain. Such a beautiful wagon, too.

Hadn’t ever had the injectors out myself, and to be honest, not sure if they’re original or the JDM 20x injectors. Figured I’d start at the pump/filter (holy crap, speaking of the stupid filter, the OEM ones are $$$) since theyre almost certainly original to the car, and given the car’s sordid history, could be contributing to the miss. Looks like I’ve got some shopping around to do.

Got it…I’ll try searching for the DIY when I get home. Might have better luck than on mobile. On the coils, that’s kind of why I was considering used factory ones that have, say, 20,000 miles or so off of a ‘18 STi, rather than brand new NGK, if they fit. Save a little money (and lasting the life of the car) while not ending up with complete junk. Of course, failing the compatibility check, I’ll be buying new, quality coils, anyway.

I’ve had an EJ20x swapped into my XT for a few months now, and it’s been great. BUT, I have a feeling some of the 217,000-mile and 17-year-old parts are starting to show their age, as I’ve developed a weird, random stumble while accelerating. Very concerning, as it’s under boost, and at this point, equally likely to be fuel or spark, so I’m considering this “preventative maintenance”. SO, couple of questions: 1.) On changing fuel pumps on the 4th gens with an aftermarket one (eyeing something like an AEM 300), is it just a matter of disassemble basket, swap pump (with new sock), reassemble? I realize I probably sound like a rube, but I’ve never installed an aftermarket pump before on anything. 2.) Are ignition coils interchangeable from, say, later EJ25 STi’s? They appear to be visually similar on RockAuto, and I figure lightly used OEM might be better/cheaper than new aftermarket. Thanks in advance!

Ugh, thats exactly what I “repaired” today…except I cheated and used a combination of M6 hardware to secure it, as my ‘Amazon special’ tap would not cut threads. It’s not on as tight as I’d like (there’s next to no room under that part of the rad support even after taking the grille and hood latch off, so good luck holding that blind inner nut still) and will probably rattle apart even with a lock washer, but it’s something until I can tap it properly. Tomorrow’s job is drilling/riveting the driver’s door support beam back in place to stop that rattle.

Edited my EJ20X map to a “fail safe” state (stock boost and wastegate, with the required lowered timing and increased fueling for the high comp.) until I can figure out for sure why the car is breaking up under moderate/high load… …or, until I just give up and replace the likely worn out 216,000-mile fuel pump and coils with shiny new parts, when I have the time/space to do so.

My ‘06 is sitting pretty at 216k here. She ain’t exactly happy, but she’s moving under her own power at least!

While waiting for my fuel pressure gauge to come in to hopefully pinpoint some weirdness while tuning for my 20X swap, installed my new '05 headlights (thanks, @SubOperator!), cursed the collision repair shop that apparently "fixed" the car before I got it, and did a quick and dirty chrome grille surround blackout.