CovertRussian's 05 LGT Build Thread

[Dishwasher]

I have Moogs, I grease them once a year. It's pretty easy to do and only adds a minute or two to an oil change if you have a grease gun. They hold grease, and usually it doesn't take much to fill them.

[covertrussian]

I have Moogs, I grease them once a year. It's pretty easy to do and only adds a minute or two to an oil change if you have a grease gun. They hold grease, and usually it doesn't take much to fill them.

 

It adds up when everything needs it. I actually went with Mevotech greasesable ones. Main reason is, the boots are more secured on and the grease excess hole is much smaller (so less water contamination).

 

I need to get off my lazy butt and post those pictures along with the new tires

[covertrussian]

While I really liked the Cooper RS3-A's they were pretty darn worn out 27k miles in. Since cooper released G1's they stopped having sales on RS3-A's. I used to run Falken's but it's been a while, Azenis FK450's looks pretty good though.

 

2018 Update: These were down to 4/32's in 13.5k miles, sipes were also pretty gone making wet handling traction suck. Lets just say I went back to coopers...

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257494&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

I've been eyeballing 215/50/17's, for one they were $15/per cheaper then 225/45's, but having bigger sidewalls would reduce the rev's per mile and reduce the highway RPM, also they should be a little more comfy for DD. Here it is compared to the worn out 225/45/17 RS3-A's.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257493&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

They are pretty light at 22.8lbs, stock wheels are 19.8lbs, making the installed weight be 42.6lbs per

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257495&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

225/45/17 Cooper RS3-A's clearance to strut

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257496&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

215/50/17 Falken FK450 A/S clearance to strut

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257497&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

Funny thing is, Coopers (right) seem to be on the narrow side, they are the same width...

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257498&stc=1&d=1509462630

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257499&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

As for wheels themselves, I had 4 spare 5 spoke wheels, but one was purple (got it form a forum member years ago).

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257500&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

I spent the day cleaning the garage, prepping to recycle a bunch of stuff and painting (It's slightly different silver, but it will do for now)... This picture has a hint of what project is coming next

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257501&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

Finally here is what they look like on car after the suspension settled, with these taller tires the rear does look like it's sagging. This will be addressed in the hinted next project

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257502&stc=1&d=1509462630

 

 

Testing

Dry: I've been driving these tires fairly aggressively and they seem to hold pretty well, just as well as RS3-A's, I expect them to be even better as they wear down a little.

Wet: Pretty Great wet traction, no complaints so far

Snow: TBD

 

Fuel Economy:

I did a highway MPG test and these got me 30.20mpg (calculation corrected for the tire size) with AC on a 60-75*F day. I expect them to once again become better as the treads wear down and flex less.

Edited October 21, 2018 by covertrussian

[Smithcraft]

The yellow looks good!

 

SC

[covertrussian]

The yellow looks good!

 

SC

 

Yup! I got the Spec B top hats, but my spring compressors wouldn't compress the spring far enough to really get the top hats in their place. I might have to do it while in the car.

 

I was also debating on if I wanted to run my spare 35k mile wagon rear springs (Which should be 1/8" taller). After putting these tires on, I'm seeing the saggy rear butt syndrome (trunk does always have stuff in it: 40lbs tool box + full sized spare).

 

So I think Wagon springs will we good. Plus according to my jack point measurements the rear is sagging 2-5mm more then the front.

Edited February 24, 2017 by covertrussian

[Rhitter]

Did you solve your leaking brake master cylinder problem? And is there a delay valve on the slave cylinder to?

 

Went outside and looked at my slave cylinder, it looks like (based off of this https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1855826&page=2) you removed the clutch vibration dampener, but the delay valve is still there?

 

Although looking at your pictures I can't tell if you have a delay valve, mine looks like this (which matches the forum post). This might be only what 2006+ cars look like.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Y0h1JWi.jpg?1

Edited February 25, 2017 by Rhitter

[covertrussian]

All I had to remove was the disk on the master cylinder. My slave is actually much simpler then the one you linked or took a picture of. This is the best picture I got so far.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257503&stc=1&d=1509462802

Edited October 31, 2017 by covertrussian

[Rhitter]

Interesting. Looks like I have an additional delay valve built into my slave.

[covertrussian]

Interesting. Looks like I have an additional delay valve built into my slave.

 

I thought those valves were only on pull type clutches, guess they added them back in. I think doing a 05 Slave conversion might be easier then trying to dig all the parts out.

[covertrussian]

Power Steering Low Pressure Hose O-Ring

 

My PS pump leak finally got bad enough

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257504&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

Went to the dealer to get a new o-ring, he spent 10 minutes trying to find it, and found a $4 gasket, which they didn't have in stock and seemed too expensive. Busted out the phone and found BarManBean's thread with right part number: 34439FG000

 

Removed the bolt, pulled the hose and quickly blocked it and raised it above the reservoir

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257505&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

new O-Ring:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257506&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

Cleaned it up with brake parts cleaner and ran it for a day, so far looks clean:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257507&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

 

Cabin Air Filter Replacement

 

I was hoping I could dremel something the back of the glove box to be able to replace the filter, but it's just not angled correctly. Good job Subaru

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257508&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

Starting removing the back plastic, still can't get it out

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257509&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

Had to remove it completely. Previously I had to remove the center console, I wonder why I came off so easily this time.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257510&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

While I was in there I snagged a pic of the air bag numbers. I'm still not 100% convinced it was actually replaced by the dealer, I'm just not seen scuff marks around where the air bag is. Anyone know of a way to figure out if it's the new bag, google got me no where. EDIT: Turns out they only replace the inflator and not the whole bag

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257511&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

Here is what my filter looks like after about 2.5 years. I freaking hate mice around my house.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257512&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

New filter going in:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257513&stc=1&d=1509463082

 

While assembling everything back I saw why I could remove the back cover of the glove box, the dealer broke the mounting tabs.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257514&stc=1&d=1509463119

 

They also broke the 2 out of 4 top clips

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257515&stc=1&d=1509463119

Edited October 31, 2017 by covertrussian

[SubOperator]

that's too much work to have the cabin air filter replaced, your dash appears to not been modified, likely your is very early 05.

 

Mine has cut out that allows the filter cradle to be removed and put back, its not an ideal angle but workable, I now can do the whole filter replacement in 15 minutes or so. iirc there was a conversion kit that one could get at the dealer. Or I can snap you some pics where the cutout is on mine, by the look of it it was definetily NOT done at the factory...

[covertrussian]

Found this for 2008, looks like the cut a hole and added a removable cover.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3642444105_3cef8708e9.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3643251108_0a109b7363.jpg?v=0

 

 

I thought about cutting it, but then was worried that the already shallow and useless glovebox would start loosing my things into the hole. It wasn't too bad removing the back of the glovebox, so will just continue doing that.

[SubOperator]

That looks like cover on Tribeca, on my 05 it is just a cut-out. I'll look how much is the 08 piece though, might be interesting option.

 

Nothing ever fell through the cut-out from the glove box, so should not be a problem.

[covertrussian]

My stockers broke (popped out of sockets) when I was doing my clutch, so needed a replacement quickly. At first I used the EMUSA whiteline knockoffs that I had from couple years ago, but like whitelines they tend to get a bit noisy (Karboy apparently is the only poly endlink set that doesn't make noise).

 

I needed something relatively cheap and quick (to pass inspection). Moog and Mevotech both appealed to me, but after finding out that you had to grease Moogs every oil change I started digging more. After reading many reviews/opinions on the web, turns out since Moog's are greaseable they didn't bother with making a good sealing dust boot.

 

This is why I decided to give Mevotech's (MS80811) a try, at $15 a pop it doesn't break the bank if they don't last. They are much beefier then stock and have a tiny grease exit hole, so hopefully they wont pickup as much dust. The biggest downside of these is they still use allen keys instead of a hex head like Moog's.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257516&stc=1&d=1509463353

 

For comparison sake, here is what the stock ones looked like:

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257517&stc=1&d=1509463353

Edited October 31, 2017 by covertrussian

[rebourne]

those are trashed!

[Merc6]

Yeah the filter thing is horrible and now I feel like taking may car with dash already out so that doesn't happen to me.

[covertrussian]

those are trashed!

 

Surprisingly they weren't clicking, I was just letting them die before I bothered replacing them, ripping out the ball with guts was my fault, was too lazy to unbolt the endlinks (because I probably wouldn't be able to bolt them back up ).

 

Yeah the filter thing is horrible and now I feel like taking may car with dash already out so that doesn't happen to me.

 

For some reason this car is much worse then any of my other cars with the cabin filter. But, I'll check it on my G20 soon too, I last replaced that one over 5 years ago

[Max Capacity]

FWIW, I grease my Moogs once a year. Which is about every 17,000 miles or so.

[covertrussian]

As hinted a couple posts ago, after 3 years I finally got around to installing the Spec B Bilsteins. Main reason for taking so long? Stock struts and shocks are still good, why fix something that ain't broken. Plus I finally found some KYB Spec B top hats for $36 a pop at Rock Auto.

 

If you noticed the title, I did say automatic Wagon springs too. As for why, well I had them laying around from the part out. This allowed me to preinstall them on the Bilsteins to reduce the downtime. Everything I read said that wagon front springs are identical to sedan's, while the rear springs are slightly longer. FSM backs this up with wagon wheel arch to hub measurement being 10mm longer.

 

05 LGT vs 08 Spec B Strut & Top Hat Comparison

KYB Spec B on left, 05 LGT on right

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257531&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Notice how much bigger the bearing is on Spec B's.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257532&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Also notice that the Spec B top hats sit higher even though they are overall smaller. Now this shouldn't really matter because the bottom ring doesn't touch the spring, height is determines by how low on the piston rod the top hat sits.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257533&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Here is an 05 LGT strut, upper spring seat and washer, this shows how much space on the shaft is left for the top hats.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257534&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Here is the 08 LGT Spec B Bilstein, there is much less space on the piston shaft and the washer would prevent the top hat from sitting on the wider part of the shaft (thus moving around and destroying the threads overtime).

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257535&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Top hat in place, you can see that it's sitting on the wider part of the shaft

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257536&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

 

Dust boots: I actually liked the fitment and design of the 05 LGT dust boot. So used that instead of the spec b ones.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257537&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

 

After MUCH fighting with the front spring and Spec B top hat, with the help of the wife, I finally was able to get the top hat to sit on the small part of the shaft while tightening it down. The biggest issue is my spring compressors couldn't tighten the spring down any more, there is just not enough coil springs to grab by.

 

Here is the 05LGT sedan front coilover vs the new Spec B wagon setup. If you look carefully you can see that my stock shock was starting to leak, I guess it's finally broken and that's enough reason to upgrade right?

Tip: The upper spring seat has a bevel, which levels the spring on the strut, this bevel needs to parallel (from the front of the car) to the lower mounting holes. You can see this in the pic below.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257522&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

 

Installation

Really straight forward, won't waste my 20 image limit to do the detail actual installation up front. Just remember to torque the lower mounting bolts to 112.1ft-lbs, and do your best to reset the camber bolts to their old spots or you will need an alignment.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257523&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

Here is the clearance to the strut with my 215/50/17 tires

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257524&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

Holy 4x4 batman

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257525&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

I did the fronts first and did a rears a few days later. I did this to see if I should use the sedan or wagon springs. Saggy butt syndrom became much worse, guess I'm using the longer wagon springs in the rear.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257520&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

 

Here is the sedan vs wagon rear coilover comparison, can you spot the difference? I can't so the answer is sedan is on the right...

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257518&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

Wagon spring is on the Bilstein's and ready to go, this was so much easier to do then the fronts.

Tip: Top hat mounting bolts need to be perpendicular to the lower mounting hole

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257526&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

 

Here's a useful removal and installation tip that I learned. Thanks to swaybar and rubber bushings, which want to spring back to their "zero position", the knuckle will rotate up (even with swaybar unbolted). This is why you always tighten rubber bushings with the car sitting with full weight on it.

Another Tip: I'm just full of them today, If your lower the car, you want to loosen and re-tighten all the rubber bushings, otherwise they will keep on trying to spring back to stock height, or can overturn and rip.

 

With rubber bushings and swaybar fighting you will have to push the knuckle back down in order to get the shock's mounting holes to align. At first I used my hands and body weight to no avail, but a long breaker bar made this a complete breeze to remove and reinstall.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257527&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

 

Even with all my scientific tips, I still failed on one side. But the other side did line up perfectly!

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257528&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

I tried to rotate the shock body with a screw drive, no dice, had to use spring compressors in place to compress the spring enough, then I could rotate it easily.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257529&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

Rears are bolted up and torqued, 118ft-lbs for lower mount

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257530&stc=1&d=1509465016

 

 

Height Comparison

Stock 2005 LGT Sedan with 130k miles

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257521&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

2008 Spec B Bilsteins with ~35k mile 2005 LGT Wagon springs

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=257519&stc=1&d=1509464939

 

I kind of like the rear sitting a little higher, but front is too high. I'm not sure if that's the Bilstein's doing or if that's the wagon springs at work. According to FSM measurements front should be 381mm from hub center to wheel arch, I'm at 395mm right now. Now didn't measure the hub center to wheel arch on stock setup but I did measure ground to wheel arch. And right now it's about 20mm higher then it was on 130k stock setup. That's almost an inch higher up front, I wonder if sedan really is lower, or if my springs are just sagging so much.

 

According to Edmunds Sedans have 5.9" of ground clearance (even Spec b with 1" taller tires/wheels) and Wagon's have 6.1". I wonder if the front springs are indeed taller too.

 

I might be swapping my sedan springs up front to see if they lower the front back down... If it doesn't perhaps Spec B springs are shorter, which means they might be a cheaper lowering alternative for LGT guys.

 

Impressions

Even with the car sitting a little higher, these setup is phenomenal, these really impressed me with how well they handle the road.

Edited October 31, 2017 by covertrussian

[rebourne]

Great pics.

[Infosecdad]

...

I kind of like the rear sitting a little higher, but front is too high. I'm not sure if that's the Bilstein's doing or if that's the wagon springs at work. According to FSM measurements front should be 381mm from hub center to wheel arch, I'm at 395mm right now. Now didn't measure the hub center to wheel arch on stock setup but I did measure ground to wheel arch. And right now it's about 20mm higher then it was on 130k stock setup. That's almost an inch higher up front, I wonder if sedan really is lower, or if my springs are just sagging so much.

 

According to Edmunds Sedans have 5.9" of ground clearance (even Spec b with 1" taller tires/wheels) and Wagon's have 6.1". I wonder if the front springs are indeed taller too.

 

I might be swapping my sedan springs up front to see if they lower the front back down... If it doesn't perhaps Spec B springs are shorter, which means they might be a cheaper lowering alternative for LGT guys.

 

Impressions

Even with the car sitting a little higher, these setup is phenomenal, these really impressed me with how well they handle the road.

 

I ran into the same thing on my '05 wagon with JDM Bilsteins, I was told it was because they are spec for the 6spd tranny which is heavier. So the front rises a little bit on ours.

[covertrussian]

I figured the spring rates would be a little stiffer instead of being higher. But I guess it's exactly what they did to the back too by making the springs be longer.

[freaksavior]

 

 

 

Wall I was in there I snagged a pic of the air bag numbers. I'm still not 100% convinced it was actually replaced by the dealer, I'm just not seen scuff marks around where the air bag is. Anyone know of a way to figure out if it's the new bag, google got me no where.

 

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Interior/Cabin%20Filter/20170225_135857.jpg

 

 

 

 

From the donor I bought. The guy said he was unaware if it had been replaced.

 

 

This is the one from my wagon which was replaced.

 

 

 

And all three are different part numbers.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[covertrussian]

I think the right number *WAD0....* is the serial number, so looks like your replaced one is slightly older then mine (makes me feel better).

 

I should snag a pic of my 2005 legacy wagon one that definitely didn't get it replaced.

[covertrussian]

Finally put enough miles to break in the clutch and started doing some WOT logs again. First thing I noticed is the car running a good bit leaner then before. Another interesting thing is my MAF load was down .10-.20 g/rev.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=246051&stc=1&d=1489037233

 

As you can see, as I kept on increasing the fuel, my power kept on increasing. Now this is odd, because max power is usually 12.5:1 AFR, so I should be loosing power as I richen the car up. My fuel map is now in the low 10's to high 9's for "target AFR". It's really odd that it started acting up like this from October, especially since I've been driving the car real nicely (to break in the clutch).

 

I'm not exactly sure what's causing this leanness. Here are some ideas though:

• Fuel pump is dying
  
• Fuel line is leaking much more (had a slight leak inside than ever since I did the filter bypass, is at 45psi at idle no problem)
  
• Air filter is dirty/gone (about 25k miles on this one)
  
• MAF needs cleaning (been about 2 years since last cleaning)
  
• Wideband sensor is dying (Only because I made more power with richer mixture, but sensor is not too old, and reads accurately at cruising speeds)
  

 

Anyone else have any ideas? This is whats holding me up from doing the header test, want to make sure car doesn't lean out on me mid tuning the new EL header.