Abductee

3rd task- Complete fluids change. Exactly as described I changed all the fluids. With an OEM oil filter, crush washers, and my lubricants/fluids of choice I changed everything except rear differential. It looked like a 1/2" drive would work. Company23 13mm square drain socket ordered. Sourced replacement drain plug and after cleaning up threads on the housing I finished the fluid change. FYI I always change my engine oil in all vehicles at 2500-3000 miles regardless of what the manufacturer says regular intervals are. Oil analysis every 25-30k miles.

Second task- Oil change. Took the car to local Subaru dealer where my wife bought her 2015 Outback limited. I figured I would let the "experts" tell me about the car and what was wrong with it so I would know what to fix. After telling me all about how rare an OBXT with a 5MT was, the tech and I made friends after I noticed he was using Proto tools and complimented him on his choice. Seeing that he had 21 years as a Subaru mechanic and was not a total retard I proceeded to pick his brain about all things related to this car. VF52 and accessport? Mental note made to find out what those were. Watch for cylinder 4 misfire and AVCS filters? No idea what AVCS is but noted. Check oil regularly? Doesn't everyone do that? Air bubble in the cooling system means overheating? Pain in the ass to burp radiator? Noted. Zero toe when aligned. Roger. OEM everything where possible. Depends I said. Yeah on if you want to do it twice he said. Noted. Honestly he told me more than I could take in. One thing he told me that really stuck with me was that these cars are pretty easy to work on. That piqued my curiosity.

First task- Son says the AC doesn't work. 20181004_163400 Gotta clean the cabin air filter kid! The lack of air flow killed the fan for the evaporator coil. Somehow or another I found out the fan for a RAV4 was the same and only $40 (I don't remember what years or part number). Swapped that out and shimmering blue waves of cooling goodness poured forth. Already liking the Subaru more.

The car- The first day I had it- 20181016_052318 My son drove out to Colorado for the summer to work and wound up wrecking his Lexus. Once he healed up and went back to work he found this car at a Subaru shop in Broomfield I believe it was. It had 165k on the chassis and a fresh short block and turbo. He used it for the rest of his time there and headed back home. I had seen an 05-09 Outback a couple of times before and always liked the way they looked, but didn't know anything about them. We got together for dinner and he asked me if I could show him how to shift really fast. I drove him in the Outback to pick up the pizza and in Sport# ran through the gears a few times. I was surprised by the car, especially the fact the traction control kicked in on the 2-3 shift. I have/have had fast cars before and this car was not "fast" but was pleasantly quick. This was only the 2nd turbo car I had ever driven with the first being my wife’s 2008 Mazda Speed3 for the couple of years we had it around. Fast forward a few months, and my son decided to pick up a new 2019 Civic SI and asked me if I wanted the Outback. It had been several years since my last row your own transmission, and the 250k mile 2002 Suburban 2500 4x4 I was currently using as the daily driver was in need of a rear main seal so I said sure. My wife jokes about my fleet of vehicles, which has thinned out lately. I do not care to have a brand new vehicle, so I have always had several used vehicles that I rotate out as the situation calls for or as I want. One breaks, I stick it in my shop and drive another one till I fix it. I have gone through many many vehicles. Currently, I have 4 though one is for sale. The goal for years has been to wind up with what I call the perfect fleet- 1st a sporty, comfortable, quick, cool looking, utilitarian, family friendly daily driver. 2nd a big, go anywhere, comfortable, somewhat family friendly 4x4 SUV. 3rd the raw, visceral, unedited power of a loud, lowered, cammed, peel your face off American made v8 powered C10. My 1985 C10 has been in the fleet for 16 years and will never leave. It mostly satisfies the 3rd slot requirements. My 2002 Suburban will wind up filling the 2nd slot after I finish the solid axle swap (trailing arm front, 4 link rear on coilovers) and other required accouterments. Surprisingly for me, the Outback has easily stolen the 1st slot.

Me- I am a Chevy guy and have personally had only a few import vehicles as transitions between v8's when necessary. My first car was a 1964 Chevy Malibu back in 1989. I have done all my own repair work/maintenance/upgrades except for automatic transmission rebuilds and proper alignments since my first tricycle. I work here as a Mechanical/Electrical Team Leader- 20191220_064140

Specs/Parts List- -Grimmspeed Ceramic downpipe 007091 -GS TMIC 090027 -GS 3port Boost control solenoid 057032 -GS Intake 060071 -GS AOS 078016 -GS Delrin Shift knob 038007 -GS Ceramic turbo heat shield 092007 -GMS Turbo Inlet GMS-INLET-08+-BK -BNR Evo3 16g 8cm -Turbosmart Kompact BPV TS-0203-1210 -AEM fuel pump 50-1215 340lph -AEM wbo2 gauge 30-4110 -Injector Dynamics ID720's 725.48.11.WRX.4 -Cobb Accessport v3 AP3-SUB-003 -OEM TGV deletes -KStech Air pump delete KST-APD-W/G-HW -Koyorad Aluminum radiator VHO91662 -Kartboy Short throw shifter KB-001-LEG -Nameless 5" axleback mufflers (u) -Whiteline 20mm rear swaybar BSR39Z -Whiteline control arms KTA124 -Whiteline shifter bushings KDT957 -OEM Legacy GT bump stops 20501AE00A -OEM Legacy GT upper control arms 20250AE021 20250AE041 -BC Racing F-04 Legacy GT coilovers (u) -BC Racing F-07 extreme low rear dampers 220125AR114M12 -OEM Diamond Ignition coils 22433AA541 -Primitive Racing skidplate 3/16" w/ holes SKIDF16187 -Fumoto drain valve FMTF10SS-LC-10 -ProSport Evo Oil pressure gauge 216EVOEOP.PSI -OEM short block -OEM rebuilt heads -OEM STI radiator fans (u) 45121FJ000 -Group N STI pitch stop D1040FE000 -Torque Solutions steering dampner TS-SU-310 -Torque Solutions cylinder 4 coolant mod TS-SU-585 -EBC Brakes slotted discs red stuff pads S4KR1122 S4KF1230 -JDM Outback front end swap -Torque solutions silicone radiator hoses TS-SU-420BK -Diode Dynamics LED brake lights DD0112P -Diode Dynamics Trunk light DD0022S -Diode Dynamics license plate light DD0022P -Diode Dynamics map lights DD0071P -Diode Dynamics dome light DD0071S -Diode Dynamics SmartTap flasher relay CF18 -Federal Evoluzion ST1 235/50/17 -Vibrant Silicone vacuum lines

Most recent photo of the car 2009 OBXT LTD 5MT-(I will keep this current) 20201101_165809

I have had this car since October 2018 and I (like others) would like to document the progress/history in one place.

Krylon Fusion satin black Good stuff. Did the headlights too. Unfortunately the clear coat I used on the lenses orange peeled. I may buff it off and try again. I'll edit this with pics when I get to my laptop 20201025_174919 20201025_175018

Hoping to be driving it again Monday 11/2 Coming along 20201025_143149 by

If I hadn't have wrecked, I would still be the guy looking at jdm swaps as cool but not for me. It has turned out to be the more economical way to go for my situation.

I contacted AW4BYT about PNP harnesses. xt2005bonbon you are full of good ideas! Thanks. Hood arrived today 20201021_160550 by David Erdman, on Flickr Also now not getting the wrx wheels- deal fell through.

Started working on wiring plan. Picked up some satin black krylon for the grille and clear coat for the headlight lenses. Hood is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Also snagged some 2011 wrx wheels for a great price. I am thinking about painting them burnt bronze. Depending on their condition I may just run them as they are. I dunno.

Yes the fenders are a bit rough, but better shape than what I had. I'm going to retain my plastic bits- it looks like they will fit. I found this walk-through from bbjones121 I was going to follow- but if you have a better one I won't mind looking at it. https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/jdm-hid-headlight-conversion-walkthrough-113094.html Still debating on painting the innards black. I have Diode Dynamics switchbacks so the cleared JDM lens would look good either way. I do have to wet sand and clear coat the lenses too. Hood was supposed to be here Friday, but now delayed till Monday. Not a big deal as I am not only working all weekend but I also have a wedding to attend Saturday night.

Lots of stuff I didn't think about like the RHD vs LHD hood latch. I was able to bend mine back into shape and works. Dimensionally they are the same just mirrored. 20201014_164809 by David Erdman, on Flickr

I'll edit post from my laptop later. For whatever reason that never works from my phone

Got my JDM front clip in yesterday. No headlight washers. 20201013_160212 by David Erdman, on Flickr

I had swapped to them previously when I had a fan go out. They seem to pull more air. It gets pretty hot here. Between the Koyorad radiator, sti fans, and lowering the fan activation temperatures my coolant temp never gets above 185F even at 100F ambient and ac blasting. Plus they are 3/4" shallower in overall depth, so you gain a little bit of room.

Sourced hood and another set of 08-14 sti cooling fans. Now everyone involved in the accident has retained a lawyer except little old me. So guess what I'm doing tomorrow? Ugh I hate this. One question for the guys that have messed with the ac on these cars- filter dryer is desiccant in the condensing coil on the passenger side right? Thanks in advance

I had the thought of switching to a front mount and using the hood, but I haven't even really got to experience the car with a finished tune. I was still taking it easy somewhat only doing the pulls the tuner was requesting. Maybe swap later on but not for a while. I'm looking forward to getting it back on the road.

JDM goodies get delivered the 12th. Once it gets here I'll figure out where I am going to graft everything together. The seller did me a favor and dropped the price and isn't sending me the hood as it's a non turbo model. Any 05-09 lgt hood will work correct? Thanks in advance

That's the one I picked up.

JDM front clip purchased. Good idea. Thanks

Redid my grill yesterday morning by becoming part of a multi vehicle accident on the interstate. No one was seriously injured. Car was fantastic and will be again after I fix it. Insurance wants to total it but I told them to pound sand. Ill repair it myself. Nothing structural just body/radiator etc. Maybe $2k if I buy all new oem. Anybody know if I can swap to the aluminum 05-07 hood without changing fenders? I only need to replace the drivers side and I like the body line on the facelift models 20200929_150856 by David Erdman, on Flickr

Today I installed the Primitive Racing skidplate, AVO rear sway braces and a Whiteline BSR39Z rear sway. I also gave her a bath. I don't have time this evening to go for a drive to test the rear sway, but I am sure it will tighten up that wiggly butt these cars seem to have. As far as the AVO rear sway braces go, I had to add a .125in washer to the passenger side between the brace and the bushing cup to get everything to line up correctly. Drivers side didn't need anything. The AVO braces were dimensionally the same so it's not a production error. I looked everything over and I don't see any sign of misalignment or indications of having had the rear tweaked in a curb hit or anything. Car has no accidents on record. Just one of those things I guess. Edit- Also I am at 21.5 psi peak with 18psi at 3100rpm in 3rd with the tune. Tapers to 18.5psi at redline. Things are coming together nicely