Bessie II - Enlight's '05 6mt Matte Blacke Wagon

[BoozeRS05]

Maybe the injector is trying to overcompensate for the low static flow?

[Infosecdad]

Honestly, it's probably within a margin for error in the testing. If those are single tests and not averages of multiple tests, that would be my guess.  They are much more consistent now, with better static flow.

[cheeseenlo]

@EnlightAre you still looking for an engine hoist? If you are, send me a PM. I can help you since your in Queens, NY. 

[Enlight]

Yes I did, I picked one up off of Craigslist while I was visiting a friend in N. Massachusetts during the fall. Interestingly enough, the seller was only 5 minutes off of my route. I've also been picking through other listings on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to get an engine stand and other engine parts (fuel lines, TGV's, v3 Accessport, fuel pressure regulator, etc.). The parts that I bought new were all the oiling components you listed in your post. For those, I bought them new off of eBay. I'll eventually share a sheet of total expenses, i.e. cost of building oneself vs. letting the shop take care of it all.

Appreciate the offer of help, that goes right back at you - we're practically neighbors.

[cheeseenlo]

Nice. I have my engine hoist tucked away in the corner of the garage. If I saw this earlier, I would've let you take it so you could get the job done. 

I'm not far from Queens at all, so if you ever need help or want to chat let me know. If you're ever in a pinch, I have all my stock parts that I've been hoarding. I've kept everything including my 5MT drivetrain. This car has been with me since Day 1 when I purchased it new back in 2009. I've been reluctant to sell off the original parts, all under 45k miles. 

It's also funny how you've looked into the pre-heater for the forged motor. I actually just picked up the OEM engine block heater that installs into one of the coolant plugs next to the dipstick. It won't get the coolant over 100F but it's still better than 10F or lower. If I really wanted to, I could install supplement that with an engine oil heater w/ an internal heating element. I'd have to find one with a thermostat so it shuts off at a specific temperature. My quest is to keep the forged block alive as long as possible. 

[Enlight]

We really do have the same goals. I think this video about VVKB heaters will interest you. It's a Chinese circulating coolant heater which he reported has since died, but at approx. $150 a pop every two years they might not be so bad - assuming you can't exchange it for a new one. IIRC it got the coolant up to 160f.

With my coolant heater, I've also thought about plumbing a coolant passage through the oil pan itself, which would serve a similar function to the factory oil cooler. Let me know if you come up with anything for the engine oil, I've been looking into immersion heaters as well. I've been told that the coolant pre-heater is overkill by some shops but that just makes me want to investigate even more. It's all fun to me.

In other news, I received a nice package today. I don't want to unwrap it for fear of scratching it, but you all may be able to guess what it is by its shape. It's a bit of engine bay bling but also makes inspecting mechanical components easier.

[Enlight]

Removed the bottom bolt of the downpipe for the second time today. This time it only took part of an afternoon and this morning instead of the 2 months (!) it took me the first time. The problem is the Invidia downpipe which makes it impossible to fully seat a socket or wrench on to that nut. If there's one tool out of my arsenal that I would pick to tackle this nut, it's the oscillating multitool. It's the only power tool, including the sawzall, which can get to this nut and do work on it. The next step is an acetylene torch. The third picture is of the first time I took out this nut. I had kept it and planned on framing it but I unfortunately couldn't find it anymore.

Now that the turbo is out I'm going to discuss with @JmP6889928 options for it. It's already got ceramic coating on the hot side and a port and polish. There is zero side-to-side and fore-aft play. I'm mostly concerned about any remnants of metal inside that will make its way into the new engine.

[Enlight]

As I'm in the midst of my engine rebuild, I've been wondering how bearings actually work and how I arrived in this predicament (I think I've pinpointed it down to this drive). I didn't understand how a thin film of oil could actually protect the crankshaft from immense force of the piston's pushing and pulling. There are many videos that discuss the importance of oil in Subaru's but few that go into the science of lubrication.

After digging into terms that sounded like the right direction (i.e. hydrodynamic lubrication) I found some interesting videos that dove deeper into the topic. Our crank and camshafts bearings are types of journal bearings. Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious. When the journal is at rest, it will actually displace the oil and make metal-to-metal contact with the bearing. However, when it is in motion, I think the viscosity of the oil clings to the rotating surface of the journal, dragging it under the bottom of the journal and creating a boundary layer. Oil is not easily compressible, it can only be displaced. Under the conditions that there is sufficient flow of oil, the journal shafts actually might never touch the bearing surfaces. You really want the bearings themselves to be swimming in oil. Journal bearings (as opposed to anti-friction ball bearings) are actually the preferred bearings in heavy industrial applications. This tells me that under the proper conditions, this is actually a really robust solution. We owners just need to check the oil.

Oddly enough, this old video from 1937 did one of the best jobs of explaining this.

This gentleman also does a great job:

And here is where I first heard the term "hydrodynamic lubrication":

Stribeck Curve, which observes the minimum speed at which a journal has to rotate to create a boundary later:

 

[cheeseenlo]

@EnlightThat bottom downpipe nut is a real PITA. I've heard some people just leaving it off completely without any issues. Every time I'm in that area I replace the nut with a new one and anti-seize. Most times if I'm planning on doing any work there I'll soak them in penetrating oil for a day or two if I can. A stubby wrench has worked every time for me. 

Also - where did you get that clear timing cover? I've been looking into them also for my rebuild too.

[KZJonny]

All cool stuff right? Knowing the minuteia of oiling is both incredibly complicated and kinda simple in the same way, but most people don't go down the rabbithole of hydrodynamics and fluid tensions. No good reason to, but it's nerdy, interesting stuff nonetheless. Share away. That 1937 video looks pretty good actually, considering.

 

This is also why journal bearing turbos are just fine for most applications. Because of the fluid friction at the bearing and greater surface area they don't accelerate as fast as a shaft in a ball bearing race, but wear should be practically nill given good oiling, and quality oil....

Edited December 8, 2022 by KZJonny

[Enlight]

3 hours ago, cheeseenlo said:

@EnlightThat bottom downpipe nut is a real PITA. I've heard some people just leaving it off completely without any issues. Every time I'm in that area I replace the nut with a new one and anti-seize. Most times if I'm planning on doing any work there I'll soak them in penetrating oil for a day or two if I can. A stubby wrench has worked every time for me. 

Also - where did you get that clear timing cover? I've been looking into them also for my rebuild too.

I put on copper anti-seize last time too but I'm not sure how much that helped. Which downpipe do you have? With the Invidia I can't put any closed wrench on it. The nut was just too close to the pipe, but maybe there are wrenches our there with a flatter profile.

I got the timing cover from Ichiban Engineering. After a slight shipping delay (from SE Asia) I reached out to them and they got it back on track. Flatirons Tuning also sells one from Roger Clark Motorsports which is priced a little higher, but when they had their Black Friday sales the price was actually pretty comparable, especially given the pedigree of RCM. I bought a bunch of my rebuild stuff from Flatirons since they share a lot of their knowledge on YouTube.

2 hours ago, KZJonny said:

All cool stuff right? Knowing the minuteia of oiling is both incredibly complicated and kinda simple in the same way, but most people don't go down the rabbithole of hydrodynamics and fluid tensions. No good reason to, but it's nerdy, interesting stuff nonetheless. Share away. That 1937 video looks pretty good actually, considering.

This is also why journal bearing turbos are just fine for most applications. Because of the fluid friction at the bearing and greater surface area they don't accelerate as fast as a shaft in a ball bearing race, but wear should be practically nill given good oiling, and quality oil....

After you mentioned turbos I just had to find out what were the actual differences of journal vs. ball bearing, the owner of Forced Performance here shares some knowledge. I'll never actually be in a position to apply any of the math that they are talking about, but just understanding that the journals need sufficient amounts of oil to be "hydroplaning" the whole time helps me to appreciate the importance of sufficient oil. Checking oil really is the no. 1 reliability mod.

 

[KZJonny]

 

Fwiw.

I won’t claim it will make all the difference, but I only use copper anti-sieze on suspension components and the backs of brake rotors, etc… non-critical, low temp applications.

Do yourself a favour and get a tin of nickel based anti-sieze as well. It is compatible with stainless steel and other exotic metals. (Copper anti-seize can corrode SS and aluminium depending on the formula.)

Usually Ni bases anti seize will have a higher temp tolerance as well which *might* help you a little with those turbo studs and nuts. The stuff in the photos is resistant to almost 400*C more than Permatex copper…..

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by KZJonny

[Enlight]

@KZJonny That's excellent, thanks for sharing that. I was wondering whether the copper anti-seize was having any adverse reactions.

Still continuing my deep-dive into hydrodynamic bearings, I found this excellent 400 level mechanical engineering lecture:

 

[cheeseenlo]

12 hours ago, Enlight said:

I got the timing cover from Ichiban Engineering. After a slight shipping delay (from SE Asia) I reached out to them and they got it back on track. Flatirons Tuning also sells one from Roger Clark Motorsports which is priced a little higher, but when they had their Black Friday sales the price was actually pretty comparable, especially given the pedigree of RCM. I bought a bunch of my rebuild stuff from Flatirons since they share a lot of their knowledge on YouTube.

I was definitely looking at the RCM timing cover too. I think they have the best build quality for what's available in the market currently. IAG's version is discontinued. Other options are Cusco which is pretty spendy too. I saw the Ichiban Engineering one and the price point was great but I've never heard of them before. How long did it take for them to get it to you? 

[Enlight]

It took about a month, it sat in the outgoing center for about that long before I called. Once I did, I got it in a week. The company themselves respond very quickly, I suppose I was just used to long ship times from other experiences. Cusco is definitely spendy. Here is a guy that reviewed the timing cover, he described some issues with the hardware included with the kit (nuts and bolts) that Ichiban corrected by the end of the video. I received the same hardware in my box, I believe. I'll report back my results once I have them installed.

 

[Enlight]

Not much to report, removed the A/C condenser and P/S pump from the block today. It looks like whoever was last in there stripped some of the A/C threads as I found tons of Loctite on the bolts that came out. I think the next time I work on her I'll be ready to split the engine from the transmission and try to get the engine out with the hoist. I also had a nice chat with @JmP6889928 who said I probably don't need to send in my VF52 to have it cleaned. He just recommended an oil change after the initial 30 or so minutes of startup. Somebody buy those 20G's off him!

 

[KZJonny]

I've said it a few other places now, but JMP was awesome to deal with. So very glad I decided to get my 'Custom' VF40 from him. The turbo looked amazing, performs even better than I expected, and the customer service was over and above.

If I had the guts/money and didn't want my engine to last to 3-400k kms, I would do a fuel system and strap on one those 20Gs in a minute.

I do appreciate the 'slap you back in your chair' feeling of an engine coming on boost hard, or 'getting on the cams' in NA applications, but don't need it in a daily driver.....

uh.. threadjack over.

Buy stuff from JMP!

Edited December 12, 2022 by KZJonny

[Enlight]

Trying to understand why not to go oversized on the oil pump (12mm), Flatirons Tuning mentioned that oversized pumps can stay in bypass mode and also have a higher likelihood of cavitation. I never quite understood how gas could be introduced to a closed liquid system and came upon this good video. Apparently, cavitation is a huge problem for propellers of all kinds, from our oil pumps to a ship's propeller. Cavitation results in tiny shocks that can eventually wear down a pump. It's also the same mechanism by which the Mantis Shrimp kills it's prey.

 

[TMBLKDG]

On 12/11/2022 at 3:17 PM, Enlight said:

...snip... I also had a nice chat with @JmP6889928 who said I probably don't need to send in my VF52 to have it cleaned. He just recommended an oil change after the initial 30 or so minutes of startup. Somebody buy those 20G's off him!

 

 

I gave it some real consideration but a 20G is just bigger than I wanted to go for a daily driver where the premium is on power at lower RPMs. The 380XT is already a little down on power down low and feels more laggy than the VF52 but it comes on strong above ~3500.  Plus to really take advantage of them I'd have had to modify the bottom end more than I did.

As for a wrench for that downpipe nut - if an open-end wrench just won't cut it, try grinding a box end wrench down to about half it's original thickness.  I've done that to be able to get one on the header bolts on my Pontiac and it worked fine.

I'm kinda envious of your kitchen... LOL!

[Enlight]

@TMBLKDGI've been looking for a comparison of VF52 vs 20G spool characteristics but couldn't find one. One of my favorite roads nearby is Bear Mountain/Harriman State Park. There are parts of it that wind through forest with tight, on-bank turns in series. IIRC, I couldn't be going any faster than 35 mph and the tires were squealing. Basically, I don't ever want to get a turbo that will size me out of these roads. I enjoy turns much more than straight line speed. JMP and I discussed Tail of the Dragon as well, which I visited this summer.

Never thought to do that with grinding down a wrench but it's a great idea! I might be too precious with my tools, I should find a used set on Craigslist that I can customize. Thanks for the kitchen compliment, I remember the feeling of having access to a full kitchen when I moved back home.

[KZJonny]

1 hour ago, Enlight said:

@TMBLKDGI've been looking for a comparison of VF52 vs 20G spool characteristics but couldn't find one. One of my favorite roads nearby is Bear Mountain/Harriman State Park. There are parts of it that wind through forest with tight, on-bank turns in series. IIRC, I couldn't be going any faster than 35 mph and the tires were squealing. Basically, I don't ever want to get a turbo that will size me out of these roads. I enjoy turns much more than straight line speed. JMP and I discussed Tail of the Dragon as well, which I visited this summer.

Never thought to do that with grinding down a wrench but it's a great idea! I might be too precious with my tools, I should find a used set on Craigslist that I can customize. Thanks for the kitchen compliment, I remember the feeling of having access to a full kitchen when I moved back home.

That's my kind of driving as well, look at those windy bits!!

Also my reason for sticking with a 'small' turbo, in the Custom JMP VF40 with improved internals.

Add that to the vigilant, thorough law enforcement w/strict penalties in my neck of the woods and all of a sudden doing 50-80 km/h on super windy roads that hardly see a cruiser sounds like a better idea all the time.

Plenty of cops on the highways happy to slap you with a big ticket for going at speeds that a 20G will get you to in a hurry. VF52 is about as big as I would ever go, I think, if I *really* need more. That said I'd love to take a ride with anyone who did a 380XT or Custom VF52 for example, and see what I am missing out on.

 

[xt2005bonbon]

I have one car with a stock VF40 (with high flow cat DP and 3" midpipe to mufflers) and one car with a JMP VF52 with same DP, but stock 2.5" midpipe and AVO mufflers. I can tell the VF40 car spools earlier in the RPMs (granted I did my own tuning for the VF52). I can tell the VF52 does lag compared to the VF40; but sure, as the RPMs rise though, the car with the VF52 keeps pulling and pulling.

[KZJonny]

So….. is that the ‘Custom’ VF52?

I can say from experience that the VF40 and the JMP ‘Custom’ VF40 are not the same.

Sure, the little turbo doesn’t make your face scrunch at high at higher rpm, but it does keep pulling all the way… And it spools, like, fast. All that on OTS Stage 2 and 91 Octane. I suspect a little more pucker factor with a proper pro tune when I have time to get that done.

All that to say that comparing a VF52 and a ‘custom’ JMP VF52 is probably a meaningfully different driving experience.

[xt2005bonbon]

yeah, custom JMP VF52 vs stock VF40. Now, suspension may play a role how the torque is distributed I would say: the JMP VF52 is on a slightly lifted outback with 225 60 17 wheels on Bilstein BTS suspension kit, while the stock VF40 is on a lowered outback with pink spring and bilstein shocks.

[KZJonny]

Makes sense then. I've got plenty more to do on my car, but do at least have new tires on Spec B Bilsteins and Springs. The pinks were too low for the roads in my area, but I may try them again, we'll see.

I'll stop the mini-threadjack now tho!!

On with Bessie getting a rebuild!!