Pleides

1 hour ago, Scottydunno said:

@xt2005bonbonI'm getting a grumbly/growl type of sound on decel and off throttle coast in 1st and 2nd. No gear whine or anything. 

@Pleidesstock high mileage bushings! Nothing fancy yet.

Worn out bushings could also be the culprit.

Did you install super hardcore crossmember bushings when you did the transmission swap? Might be time to drop the subframe and lubricate them and see if your noise subsides.

53 minutes ago, m sprank said:

2000rpm and only when cold?  Only when driving on road not rollers?  Something that heats up, expands and quiets?  Subaru (especially turbo cars) knock sensors are very finicky about postion and torque.  Otherwise they are just a microphone picking up noises.  Remove hood, have friend lay across engine with stethoscope over knock sensor while you drive and log.  Hand signals to communicate noises and knock counts.   Shit we used to do to troubleshoot, lol. 

Part of me wonders why I never asked my tuner to remove the high cold start idle. I have an aftermarket cat but it would get up to temp just driving. I'm willing to bet it would solve my issues. The knock sensor can pick up valvetrain noise from a cold start, right? 

I'm currently holed up at home on a very cold day (snow is potentially in the forecast for my neck of the woods) but I'll see if I can get my car in the shop at work tomorrow and check out the knock sensor. I can't remember - are the intercooler gaskets single-use? Been a minute since I removed it to do anything.

7 minutes ago, m sprank said:

I picked up false knock from a failing front sway bar endlink. 

 

That was my own car and I posted about it. But the thread was probably from 2009, lol. 

This has been an issue since I purchased the car. I've replaced every single component on this car by now, including OEM worn out endlinks with Kartboy ones, ha! The car has 240K on it and nearly nothing it came with when I bought it in 2018 with 200K.

The previous owner told me that the hesitation started as soon as he modified and tuned the car. He did TGV deletes and a turboback exhaust as well as a Perrin inlet. I've had it tuned by two other shops and neither has been able to trace the source of the stutter, so I'm kind of just stuck with it. I'll see if I can get an eyeball on the sensor but my assumption is that the PNW climate has been relatively kind to it and that it won't have any cracks or issues like that. 

5 hours ago, Underdog said:

That's a pretty solid clue right there - if it only happens when the car is cold and moving. I'm assuming you've checked the sensor itself? Tightened it down, looked at the wiring, etc.?

Yeah, I mean the whole engine was removed from the car two years ago so barring replacement of the sensor it all looks and performs like it should. Given it has no issues with tuning on a dyno I would assume Surgeline would have let me know that something was wrong with it if it had issues. I suppose I could replace it but I strongly suspect it works fine.

No differences. Shortblock and heads should be the same.

13 hours ago, Underdog said:

I'm 99% sure it's due to the front O2 sensor being relocated to the downpipe bellmouth on the twinscroll setup. It appears to be a common issue on USDM cars running twinscroll setups (which is not a large pool to begin with, so take that with a grain of salt) - the last tuner I worked with explained that our ECU lacks the delay parameter to deal with the altered location. It's not definitive but I've turned over pretty much every other stone.

Sounds like someone needs a standalone

Thanks for all the replies. My stutter is some sort of knock event triggered by something nobody who has worked on the car (including myself) has been able to track down. During tuning the car doesn't seem to exhibit the issue, so maybe something happens when I go over neighborhood bumps or whatever that the ECU reacts to. It generally doesn't happen if I let the car warm up by idling it during cold starts. Part of me thinks it has something to do with the fact the car has TGV deletes. 

Anyways, thanks for the information @all. I'll be waiting for a sale on the part or the crank pulley to be in slightly worse shape or maybe a few too many zeroes in my bank account (ha) before buying one. Again, if anybody has any before and after dyno results with one then that would also be appreciated.

Hey all, a potential part buy I'm considering is the Fluidampr crank pulley for our GTs. I've heard from a few people that it can help prevent false knock. Like many others, I've got a stutter at around 2K RPM that occurs mostly when driving the car cold, but often can occur when warmed up or hot-started as well. The engine is nearly new and has done this with it's previous engine and zillions of different mods from the fuel system to the valvetrain components. The usual fixes (tuning, vacuum line relocation, etc) have not fixed this problem for me and I'm fairly certain some sort of engine/engine bay noise triggers the knock sensor to aggressively pull timing quite sharply at that RPM. 

I'm wondering if the pulley has helped others with this stutter or other false knocks that had no other solutions otherwise? Also wondering if somebody has any before and after footage of their car on a dyno or the like before and after installing the Fluidampr pulley. It's an expensive item and I'm wondering if it's worth it for a stock shortblock car. If it solves that never ending stutter then I'll pony up.

On 1/23/2023 at 8:14 PM, kent55 said:

Thanks to both of you.

No worries. I'd recommend a 90-degree angle screwdriver for removing the actuator and also would recommend taking your blower motor out and cleaning it while you're in there. 

On 1/23/2023 at 8:02 PM, Dragonempress said:

Yes, true enough, I just love my girl and I've put so much work and customization into her so far. I'll probably just keep her for show and if and when she needs a new trans (she's at 182,000 wondering how long it will last ) ill keep her Auto and get a blob eye or hawkeye wrx if I want a manual car. thanks for the advice. 

These transmissions are generally thought to be more reliable than the manual transmissions offered on this car. If you want to do a valve body upgrade to make shifts snappier then perhaps that will satisfy the desire for a manual. Would also allow for the insides of the transmission to be inspected to see how healthy it is. A modified auto car should get fluid changes every 30K or so.

It's possible with enough money to do the swap but these cars are common enough that it makes more sense to just buy a manual car if that's what you want.

The one that makes your passenger side blow the wrong temp is probably the easiest one to change. Grab a new cabin filter from the Subaru dealer when you pick up your new actuator and it's a double whammy.

6 hours ago, Haze said:

Is there a reason for this other than personal preference / desire to keep the car as Subaru built it? Do these cars sound better with dual tips?

Seeing dual tips on a car that I know has a single exhaust manifold (ie. inline engine) and/or single turbo kinda bothers me. It's cheaper, lighter and likely less restricteive to just continue with a larger single once the exhaust is already merged.

The previous owner of my LGT put a single exit on it and I was quite happy about that. I admittedly haven't driven it over 10 MPH yet though so maybe I'm in for an unpleasant surprise?

I think the concern mainly is that they look hacked up on a car with dual-exit exhaust cutouts and the car OP bought is a presumably pristine example given the location of the car and its mileage.  

Damn, how in the world did you find one with 65K on the clock? That's insanity. Most of us are over 200K by now. I would almost suggest just leaving it alone given how rare these are and how uncommon they've become with them being wrecked, rusted away, etc over the years, but it's your car.

Have you listened to clips of the Borla exhaust for our car? It will give you that "Subaru" sound. Here's my car from a couple of years ago linked in a video below. It also has an Invidia downpipe on it, which will change the sound a bit. Because our cars are longer than a WRX, you won't get the *exact* sound of one of those, but you can come pretty close. The Greddy SP2 is also a good option for a wagon that gives you that sound and will fit the wagon a bit better length-wise. I later had metal pipe welded to my Borla's mufflers to fit the length of the wagon. Yes, I know that's hard to stomach given that the exhaust is so expensive. If you can find the Greddy SP2 then that would give you all you're looking for, but I believe they're discontinued. Here's a sound clip.

As for the 15+ WRX, I can't imagine it will produce the sound you're after. It uses equal length headers from the factory and I don't think the hanger locations will line up on a modern chassis car. 

Here's a prior thread that discusses the issue a bit, too.

On 1/10/2023 at 11:26 PM, Febreze Mee said:

PS4s FTW

I still remember you getting away from me on that onramp with your PS4s gripping like crazy and my half-decent Falken FK510s struggling to keep up despite me having twice your horsepower!

I'm pretty sure the AEM pump came with a filter...? Maybe it didn't, but yes, you should replace it.

Had nothing but good experiences myself with Safelite. I've been told they're kinda spendy but my local one does a good job. Best of luck getting everything redone.

10 hours ago, kzr750r1 said:

Well see. I hear what your saying.

Have an appointment with a transmission shop for the 16th.

Two different ways to go. Remanufactured or in house. Both have different warranty and turnaround times.

Will likely be putting the transgo kit in as well. Rep on the phone liked this idea as well.

Mine is a manual, too. Probably should have mentioned that. Autos have a taller 5th gear. Good luck with the rebuild. Definitely recommend a valve body upgrade. Really sharpens up shifts from what I've felt in friends' cars 

On 1/3/2023 at 10:09 AM, kzr750r1 said:

Well at 257K on my 5EAT it's time to pull it and pay the piper. Currently lockup is slipping and result is terrible fuel mileage.

Putting it in Manual helps a little. Not a cure.

Looking for transmission lift I can rent and have a friend with car lift available. So at least looks like I don't have to pull the motor to get it out.

Last fluid drop did show some clutch pack debris. Did add some Lucas slip fix again as David suggested many years ago. Has not cured it so for sure time to do something more drastic, like get it fixed.

I'd like to get at least 28 MPG again on freeway runs. Currently best average is 20.

Unless your car is stock you won't get 28 MPG on the freeway no matter how hard you try. Hypermiling (AKA drafting semi trucks) from Seattle to PDX I got 26, but my car is modified.

15 hours ago, m sprank said:

Just a word of caution. The solid pitch stop will add a lot of vibration.  In my experience this leads to cracks in the firewall.  I have had the firewall mount tear out with solid mounts.

Is the risk still there for the firewall using something like a Perrin unit? Heard about this happening on 2015+ WRXs quite a lot but not on the LGT.

3 hours ago, Febreze Mee said:

I signed up for a Driver Skills car control clinic/Autocross through PCA for the 28th of this month. I'm looking forward to going to Bremerton Raceways with a bunch of friends and learning!

Ooh, that sounds fun! You driving the Outback there or do they provide anything for the car control clinic?

Follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual. Fix stuff as needed. Oil should be changed every 3-4K if you still have your banjo bolt filters installed. If not then less frequently is OK but you should keep on top of your oil levels and do a Blackstone test to see if your car and oil are playing nice if you plan on going much beyond that. 

If your car sees road salt then cleaning the underside and door jams regularly is very important as these cars rust away very easily. Check for rust in the fuel filler neck.

My car has spent its entire life away from salt and anywhere east of NE Washington. The only spot of rust anywhere on the car is in the windshield area and, for me, is only visible with the windshield removed. 

Your picture doesn't show up, just FYI.

14 hours ago, willisdaye said:

A quick search and it looks DW and AEM are pretty similar in price, DW a tad more. My guy said the AEM one is stronger and might be too much for the stock regulator in some cases. Given I don't plan on upgrading anything else I think I'll stick with the DW. I also already ordered it, which is more justification to just roll with it 

 

I guess if it craps out on me I'll have an excuse to get the AEM and go all out with a bigger turbo

Ah, I did the STI FPR at the same-ish time as the fuel pump, so that might be part of it. Good luck.