KZJonny

I won't know if mine is good or bad until I start the engine again, but my AC compressor is leaking some green goo, so there is a strong chance the internal seals are going.

Is the compressor on the parts car known to be good? I would assume probably yes, given the climate down your way.... I am seriously debating just doing a delete and gaining back a couple HP, but it gets pretty humid/sticky around here and passengers would complain I am sure.

So it is just an NA Impreza. I don’t need the heartache of 2 x turbo EJs in my life. Hah!

And it is sitting around 240k kms, so I fully expect it will need headgaskets now or soon anyway. But I’ve done that a couple times now so I’m not concerned. Unless the timing belt looks super-new, that is another thing I would want to do as well anyway. But beyond that, the EJ 253s are pretty good overall, and I know I can get another couple hundred kms out of that no problem.

My favourite *looking* ones are the bugeyes, but I am pretty sure they came with an NA 2.0L, so the Hawkeyes are a little better for that. And if I decided I really want to keep it for a while a front end swap is easy enough, and there are lots of bugeyes out there for parts.

The thing I found out that is encouraging, but also kind of unsurprising is that underneath the car, the Impreza and WRX are pretty much the same. (Brakes are different of course, but I don’t think think the larger brakes are critical for an NA powered car….) More that as you mentioned, there is an ocean of parts out there for them, and anything made for a WRX is bolt up. Sti hubs are different, so suspension and brakes from them does not apply.

The used parts market is strong around here as well, since rust kills 20 year old cars that are not thoroughly rust proofed and there are always a few GD/GGs that had been modified being parted out.

Going to go take a look today anyway.

That really didn't look right to me initially, but I looked at some install instructions, and it does seem to be the right way.

I don't like how close the oil line is to the hot side of the turbo, but that could be adjusted easily enough.

And it definitely looks like a lot of slack to me, yeah. I would be much happier personally, if those lines were a snugger fit and tucked in closer, but I guess that's just how they make that kit...

Probably a good idea to drop the downpipe and have a look at how much play there is in the turbo shaft/journal bearing.

Lots of diagnosis to do to really figure out what the problem is, but as a general rule, when the turbo starts making whistling noises it never used to.... bad things usually follow. First signs of the turbo being on the way out it excessive shaft play and whistling/whining.

Jeez. She big.

Aaaaand fixed?

Back to being a Donator, and no more ads on my mobile browser. 

Thanks to whoever took care of that.

17 minutes ago, mejum said:

20320AG00A

Is for NORMAL GT.

17 minutes ago, mejum said:

20320AG01A

Is for Spec B/H6.

8 minutes ago, Infosecdad said:

Tide is the admin, he's the only person that can help answer your questions as far as I know.

Figured. Thanks dude!

I tried to enter the donation station, and it is a bad link, or closed or some such...

Hopefully get an answer in a while. Appreciate your chiming in.

I read somewhere that in the Canadian market anyway, that only like 4% of all vehicle sales were wagons. Proper mid-size, not hatches.

I forget the exact figure, but I think somewhere around 80% of those wagons sold were Outbacks. At least around me, I see a rare Allroad or Benz wagon, but I must drive past 4-5 Outbacks every day on the 18km drive back home.

It's a bummer, but I suppose all the more reason to keep the one I have in good shape.

Tried sending Tide a PM.

Who is the most active Admin, if anyone? I know not many post here much any longer.

..... maybe this is because I wrote about possibly selling my BP Outback and getting a GD wagon? ...

40 minutes ago, boxkita said:

when ads show up, i close 8 million tabs on my phone and log in again. fixes every time.

i think its a safari problem as it happens on other sites too

I will try that.

47 minutes ago, Infosecdad said:

Any chance you got logged out on the mobile browser?

If you are still logged in, then it might be related to a status change on your account.

I don't know of any event that happened, that's beyond the realm of moderators.

 

Yeah. I logged out and back in. I think the second thing is more noteworthy... that I used to have the "I Donated" user status in blue, below my name.

Now I am just a member, hah! I don't know if non-donating members always have ads or something like that? I do not have any on my computer useing Chrome tho, so I'll keep messing around with things and see what happens.

EDIT: Tried on Chrome as well. No dice. Ads there too. Closed all windows in both browsers and turned the phone off then back on again. Strange. The ads make browsing on my phone nearly impossible, they're in the way of critical functions, and trying to close them inevitably opens them instead. (This is why I pay for subscriptions to most anything I use regularly...)

Thanks all.

Following this:

Just noticed my "I Donated" status is gone, but it is not for some others.

Did we have some kind of reset of profile values? Or is this perhaps a glitch?

Again, happy to do something to restore the functionality of my mobile use, etc...

11 hours ago, socalsleeper said:

Here is the thread, link

 

As far as the aluminum goes, there are a few things at play. 1st I had many parts media blast actually not that expensive, 2nd I had the valve covers hot tanked with the heads, and lastly I did apply some aluminum paint to prevent stains on the raw metal. The paint is a very good match to raw aluminum which made it interesting to paint fully. 
The heads had a valve job and the AVCS cams were also cleaned by the machine shop. 

I'll remember some of that for next time the engine comes out. Or if a new SB ever goes in, I think it will get a coat of clear POR 15 before install. Much easier to wash a sealed surface than raw aluminium as you note.

I was on too much of a time crunch to send anything out for blasting. I even bought a soda blaster and used it for some of the parts, but not everything I had planned on doing got done. OTOH the engine should go back in this weekend, so that is a plus.

Circling back aroung to this, I realized that if the TGV plates are not in the same orientation at 'rest' something is very wrong. There is spring tension on the bar/plates that is acted against by the motor to close them.....

Double check the install and calibration instructions  to make sure the spring tension and plate alignment is good when installing.

I've been using LGT.com on my iphone (Safari) for a few years now, and just started getting ads all over the place yesterday.

Makes navigating the site pretty hard and very annoying. Is this a browser thing on my device, or am I just due in for another donation to keep things ad-free.

Happy to throw a little more money at this place, since it is still a crazy font of knowledge and regularly saves my bacon.

But strange to me that one day I just got clobbered with ads.

1 hour ago, socalsleeper said:

Don’t mean to spam the forum but I know this is where most of the active users are. 
I got my new engine in the car last weekend. I have a thread going if anyone is interested in the progress. I also put a coat of exhaust paint on the mid-pipe. 

Link to the thread?

And my jealousy is painful. I just did a relatively in depth engine refresh and just not being able to get the aluminium clean like a new block in photos like that is killing me a little. (not enough to buy a short block tho.... lol!)

Looks awesome dude. Enjoy every new nut and bolt that goes into that super clean looking bay.

Anybody here had/have a NA GD Impreza?

I know there are some WRXs going round which are also similar enough for the comparison. I'm asking more on handling/suspension end of thigns than power and brakes.

I'm going to take a look at cleanish Hawkeye Impreza that is real cheap because it needs struts and the owner is complete non-mechanic and doesn't want to spend the money on an old car. Very fair. So... if isn't a rust bucket I can maybe grab it for like $1200 CAD. Which around here qualifies as screaming deal even for a used car.

I really do like the Yaris I bought in Autumn to get me through the winter, but it is just a touch too small, and if I keep it longer I am going to engine swap it and put better suspension in it..... all of which is a waste of my time and money probably. Best thing to do is get rid of it. It's also probably worth $4K or so, which means I can probably get the Impreza, do all repairs and registration and come our ahead. (I could also sell my Outback... it is getting long in the tooth, and I do not need 3 x Subaru wagons. + It is auto, which I have always hated, and the Impreza is a 5MT....)

Anyway, curious mainly about thoughts on handling if it is well set up and has all new bushes installed, etc.... I would probably do whatever the equivalent of our Spec B Bilstien upgrade is for the GD chassis. Or if there are upgrade KYBs available and some better springs, go that way. The GD certainly has a reputation for being a fun car to toss around, and that is mainly what I want to know more about. I won't get a chance to find out on a test drive, I'm sure, since if one shock is bad, I bet the rest are also clapped out.

I just want a winter beater than I can have a little fun with, and since I am already pretty fluent in Subaru and EJ, I might as well stick with it. I really wanted a bugeye, but everything around here is either a rust bucket by that age, or has been riced up pretty bad, or is auto. Also this hawkeye is both cheap and pretty clean..... It is also probably a better platform for winter highway driving that the Yaris. Even with a Whiteline RSB and new shocks all around, it gets bullied around the road pretty bad in high winds. I think I will appreciate having AWD and cruise in a dedicated winter car.

On 4/1/2024 at 4:42 PM, Infosecdad said:

I have the rails, however, the front part of the passenger rail is a little damaged from removal as the plastic around the threaded studs broke from age.  I can send pictures if interested.

Here is a picture of the front strut bar.

Also, I just noticed the Subaru socks.... You sir, are hardcore.

I know it is a maybe, but if you are coming to the ECM, I would pick up the JDM PS cover. Boozy beat me to to the battery cover, haha!

Hoping you can make the long drive just to see you again this year, but 100% understand that life gets busy and relaxing by a lake (while tempting) can be hard to prioritize.

Also hope that you feel much better re: long covid by now than you did last Spring.

10 minutes ago, pleiadesfella said:

would I be able to get away with installing an ELH without getting it retuned right off the bat?

You're good dude. The advise to not go 'full send' all the time MAY not be bad, but the difference between an ELH and OE is mainly a little bit of turbo spool (faster) without everything else in place to make the most of it.

Keep an eye on boost and AFR, to make sure nothing is out of spec and get those parts swapped.

I also don't really think a good e-tune is particularly a risk. (Cryotune or Tuning Alliance) It just puts more responsibility on you, as the driver/owner to make sure everything is in good shape before doing a few WOT pulls. (Not on public roads, of course....)

You don't have a babysitter looking at logs the whole time. But, you get what you pay for....

Studs + bolts are cheap, even at Subaru. Easy fix. Good chance the bolt is rust welded to the stud, so get both.

I’ve never heard the technical term ‘gurgles’….  Video may help?

I tend to agree with @rhino6303. More data is better. Compression test will be valuable information. Fix known problems before chasing down issues, so do the manifold first.

Maybe smoke/pressure test the intake system to look for leaks there as well?

Ruling out the easy stuff goes a long way.

1 minute ago, RumblyXT said:

Don’t mean to thread jack, but I figured I’d post this since you’re a chemistry guy and you’re refreshing your motor, not sure if you need to refresh your headlights too..

I wonder if this acetone vapor method would last, might need some clear coat spray afterwards to seal it. Seems super easy and cheap, I might try it since the headlights on our Outback look like chit.

 

Yeah. I think it works well. @jaylew did that not long ago, and I think he did a bit of a DIY setup to make the acetone vapour... He might be a good guy to reach out to about it.

My feeling is that you get a great surface, but that the UV inhibitors in the plastic are still used up, and the lens needs protection again after the refresh, but maybe I'm wrong on that, and re-melting the surface to a uniform layer is enough to get back to a 'close to OE' finish.

I have a set of lenses that I've cleaned and sanded down to good plastic, and I am just going to hit them with some 2K clearcoat. It's not perfect, but for a 3 season car that I put away in the garage for the winter, that should be good for 5+ years, and already have all the eqiupment to do it. Tho, seeing neat new tools always makes me want to try them out. (Like this acetone vapour kettle)

I would however, suggest if you try this you use an activated charcoal respirator, not just a surgical mask. Acetone isn't the *worst* thing out there, but I try not to breath too much solvent fumes no matter what I'm doing!

Installing a GS 3 port EBCS the other day, I ran in to a problem I think is pretty solveable, but I wanted to know if anyone else has had the same issue.

(For the record, I am installing the EBCS in 2-port/bleed mode for the time being, I just figured it's easier to have it installed +install the line to switch to 3 port mode sitting there and waiting to go while the engine is out that to fight with it later.)

Annoying problem is that the barbs on the EBCS are tiny, like 1/8" or 3-4mm, whichever you prefer. One of the ports tho is supposed to go to the intake manifold. No big deal, except those barbs are like 3/8" or 1/2" roughly... I MAY have found a nice SS barb adaptor to go from the tiny hose up to the IM barb, but they're not small, and real estate under the IM is pretty tight. I would have to make it a much longer loop than stock to get the barb adaptor to fit in there somewhere.

I don't see that as being a big problem, and I hardly think it will slow down response time much, but shorter hoses are probably also the best option.

I was also thinking that maybe glueing the small hose inside the larger OE hose that comes off the stock EBCS might be fine? I have lots of high quality RTV lying around after the refresh and figure if it can seal up the cranks cases/valve covers etc... from leaking fluids, it should be able to hold up to a few psi of boost or vacuum while holding a couple of little hoses together?

Anyone else come across this same problem? Other options I suppose might be to replace the barb on the EBCS with a larger fitting, or try and find barbed elbow fitting that suits the IM (Perrin) that has a 3/16" or 1/8" barb on it... Any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers!

1 hour ago, Emjayex said:

And Im assuming to replace the separator plate or the piston pin access cover, that means the engine would have to be out anyways? 

Or the trans. Depends on which is easier for you to do. Job to do the separator/piston pic cover would be slightly easier with the engine out, but not by a mile, since an engine stand will have the arms kind of in the way.....

If you happen to have a plastic separator cover plate (unlikely) there are metal replacements that are less likely to leak. I'm not super familiar with the late 90's Legacies, but I think they're in the same boat... that some had plastic covers.