cBax's OBXT build

[cBax]

This thread gets no love until >>this one <<is closed. haha

 

thanks guys.

[cBax]

did something "non-ynansb" yesterday. Installed my gauges! They are Autometer ES Boost, Oil Pressure and Trans Temp; with an AEM UEGO. Wasn't terribly impressed with the finish of the HVAC pod, so I sanded and painted it a while back. I also wound up drilling a hole behind the boost gauge to route the vacuum line since the fitting hit the back of the pod.

 

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/sti__this/OBXT/IMG_20160309.jpg

 

Interior is still 50% torn apart, but I plan to get most of it put back in tonight while I wait for help and a couple small things for the motor install. It's killing me putting some of this stuff back in. The PO's dogs killed this interior. Almost all of the plastic is scratched. I was going to replace the carpet. But the part # for 2005 is backordered indefinitely and I'm way over budget on the motor, so it will wait. I will be keeping an eye out for good quality interior pieces and I plan to investigate whether the 2006 carpet will work.

[cBax]

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cbaxs-ynansb-thread-243539.html

 

^^^Soooo all of this stuff happened, and here we are. Post #135 in that thread is today.

 

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/sti__this/OBXT/DSC_0321_2.jpg

 

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/sti__this/OBXT/DSC_0352_2.jpg

 

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/sti__this/OBXT/IMG_20160319_140604949.jpg

 

 

Break in has been fun.

[Rhitter]

Awesome! Congratulations on finishing the rebuild.

[MTBwrench]

Congrats on finishing! I've been watching your saga from a far, and feeling your pain the whole way. Glad it all worked out for ya. I also like that gauge pod, is it from block8head?

[cBax]

Congrats on finishing! I've been watching your saga from a far, and feeling your pain the whole way. Glad it all worked out for ya. I also like that gauge pod, is it from block8head?

 

thanks! Not in the clear yet, but the 60 miles I put on it so far has felt pretty awesome.

 

Yeah, it's a block8head pod. I did some refinishing on it. And I had to drill a hole behind the boost gauge for the fitting. The vacuum line comes out of that hole and wraps around and into the vent. You can almost see it in the pic.

 

Assuming I get this stupid broken double banjo bolt out of the head tonight, I'm hoping to get some more miles on tomorrow. More miles with a lack of burning oil would be a huge bonus.

[cBax]

Back in action. Now I get to do the shake down that I started 7 months ago.

 

Observations over the last 60 miles:

- Slight oil leak still at valve cover.

- Got a clunk in rear. Assuming sway endlinks or a bushing. Both are on the list to get upgraded anyways, so no biggie. Just need to diagnose and fix at least temporarily to get an inspection sticker.

- Nasty brake rotor shake upon heavy braking from 60+mph. I've been trying to re-bed them in safely. Seems to be helping. This morning's commute was fine, but I did not test any emergency stops. May end up getting LGT rotors/calipers sooner than later if it's a problem.

- Right front wheel bearing is making some noise. I purchased 2 new oem units from a member here a few weeks ago.

- Interior is still half assembled, nothing behind front seats. And to be 100% honest, noise isn't that bad. Remember...there is no sound deadening or foam insulation in the car any more. I expected worse. Once the rear interior is re-installed, I don't forsee myself wanting to make it quieter.

- The Group N motor mounts are "noticeable" haha. Im used to having stiff mounts, so not a big deal. I may play with idle speed and idle timing to smooth it out some. It's smooth as can be until the last minute it drops to idle speed.

- Stock catback sounds like the turbo is blowing through a coffee stir. Once I get the rest of this list taken care of and the race car is ready, I'm going to visit my buddy's shop and make a single exit.

 

This list is most likely the extent of phase 1. Can't wait to start phase 2.

[Rhitter]

- Stock catback sounds like the turbo is blowing through a coffee stir. Once I get the rest of this list taken care of and the race car is ready, I'm going to visit my buddy's shop and make a single exit.

 

Looking forward to what you do for this. I might want to copy it. Although, your tolerance for noise might be higher than my own.

[cBax]

Looking forward to what you do for this. I might want to copy it. Although, your tolerance for noise might be higher than my own.

 

I'm just going to get some mandrel bends and straight sections and see what I can make fit. It seems fairly straight forward. I'm planning to only put a muffler in at first. If it's too loud, I'll toss a resonator in as well. I am running a catted DP, so that will help with noise levels.

 

It's super quiet right now, but it doesn't sound very good and there is at least one small leak. The donut gasket I got at Napa didn't fit, so I just found a 3" used Remflex gasket laying around and used it. And I think one leak is from the Y pipe or one (maybe both) of the muffler flanges. No way I'm pulling the hardware off to fix it. The flanges are pretty rusted and I don't want to touch them.

[Rhitter]

Oh, I know exactly what you mean. The stock exhaust has no sporty sound. Just sort of a whoosing noise. My group-N mounts brought engine noise / sporty sound into the cabin, but the rear of the car still sounds pretty bad.

[cBax]

The battery that came in the car was dead after sitting for the last few months and wouldn't hold a charge. I've been swapping the battery out of my DD every time I drive the XT. Wally world replaced it with no questions. I just had to bear the pain of actually doing a shopping trip there while we waited for them to test the old one.

[cBax]

Wife has been running this thing into the ground. Currently around 1100 miles on the new motor. Still has a small oil leak, o2 sensor CEL, chirp coming from timing area, clean Learning View, +/- 2% AF Learning, 10.8-11.2 AFR at WOT (still not wired up to laptop, just eye balling for now), still runs like a champ! BUT...I drove it today and decided that the front end rebuild was way overdue and I needed to go ahead and get some stuff on the way. Right front tire is feathering and there are vibes at speed and upon heavy braking. And, of course, when parts need to be replaced, we look at our long term goals and buy accordingly. Trying hard to get a good value for the $ and hit every area once and be done with it.

 

Purchased today:

- Centric reman. LGT front calipers/brackets

- Centric "blank" Premium LGT front rotors

- Mevotech aluminum loaded LCAs (I'm sad I'm not going with poly bushings right now...)

- Hawk HPS 5.0 pads

- StopTech braided lines

- Denso upstream o2 sensor

 

I bought parts to convert to LGT suspension a while back when I first bought the car. The guy just cut the e-brake cables and pulled the rear subframe and gave it all to me with all of the arms, brakes, brackets and diff (although I think it is different). And I also got front end brackets and driveshaft from him. So, I've got LGT rear calipers and rotors sitting here. Problem is that they've sat for a while and were in the weather. Not sure if I'm going to be able to use them. Or if they need a rebuild before I do. I want to fix the front end asap, then deal with the rear.

 

I also picked up some oem front hubs a while back that will be getting installed at the same time.

 

She'll still be making sway end-link noise and flopping all over the place on this worn out suspension, but we'll get there.

[Flinkly]

the rears are essentially the same (same diameter, LGT is thicker cause it's ventilated), so can do the fronts and rebuild the rears. i got PN# 26697FC000, which is the seal/rebuild kit for BOTH rear calipers, for $11.76. Might want to get new bleeders and clips too, but no pics so can't weigh in.

 

good choice on the rotors, they're good enough for everything.

 

Also, the mevotech are loaded with their version of poly bushings already, so hopefully they've got a good design, or i guess you can try to swap them out later. get lotsa PB blaster too.

 

i'd personally skip the braided lines (although i guess you already bought them). new fluid, LGT calipers, new pads and rotors should put you leaps and bounds above the old. probably wouldn't notice the braided lines, and the ones i got (not stoptech) sucked. replaced them with OEM lines and all was well. sh*ty fitment. I'd also skip the MCB (not on your list, but the common next step), but that's just me. WRX/STI MC swap always sounded like a reasonable idea though...

[cBax]

That's what a thought on the rears. I may end up getting some new rear LGT rotors, though. My neighbor has a nice powder coating and sand blasting setup. Definitely planning to do the calipers and most small brackets if I can.

 

I need brake lines, so braided it is.

 

No PB, I've got Kroil.

[Flinkly]

That's what a thought on the rears. I may end up getting some new rear LGT rotors, though. My neighbor has a nice powder coating and sand blasting setup. Definitely planning to do the calipers and most small brackets if I can.

 

I need brake lines, so braided it is.

 

No PB, I've got Kroil.

 

oh yeah, new rotors for sure.

[cBax]

My name is Charlie and I have a problem.

 

Perrin front sway bar and some new Moog front endlinks on the way.

 

I was literally cringing at the thought of trying to re-use my endlinks and I know these sway bushings are done. So...problem fixed.

[cBax]

Last of the front end rebuild parts showed up yesterday. Wife calls as she leaves work and says brakes are making the loudest grinding noise she's ever heard. Looks like I'm right on time, or 2 days behind..I suppose. XT is getting pushed to the top of the list this weekend and I'll be pushing out her 2.5i's head gasket replacement another week.

 

Also changing to synthetic oil, fixing an ATF leak and doing another ATF drain/fill. Hope NAPA has the correct spin-on trans filter. I did not change it last drain/fill, but figured I'd do that now and then do one more drain/fill soon.

[rebourne]

Probably just the squealer tabs. bend them away and keep going. :wink: When you get down to steel on steel, it gets louder. And if one side gets there before the other, it pulls to one side like it wants to kill you. So, you're probably still on the safe side of right on time.

[cBax]

Mostly successful weekend.

 

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/sti__this/OBXT/IMG_20160514_112457383_HDR.jpg

 

Got the majority of list taken care of. Rotors, calipers, pads, LCAs, sway bar, end links, hub bearings, o2 sensor and change over to synthetic oil done. Ran out of time to do another flush on the trans and change the diff fluid.

 

Brake lines did not fit, at least 10" too short. So I just reused the old ones. Luckily figured this out before going through the trouble of pulling the old lines.

 

Biggest problems were the speed sensor bolts. Both broke. Passenger side drilled out and tapped easy. Driver's side took at least 3 hours. uggh.

 

One of the hub bolts came out with no threads left on it. Good thing I have a "parts car" waiting for a head gasket replacement. And good thing the bolts can be accessed without even jacking the car up. (need to put a big obvious reminder on the steering wheel not to drive the thing until I get a new bolt)

 

Finally got it back together around 7 last night and bedded in the new pads. The thing will throw you into the windshield now. I want a stiffer suspension on this thing like yesterday. It's waaay more responsive on steering input now. But it's an immediate transition to floppy. And the rear end needs the same treatment soon.

 

[MTBwrench]

Jealous of those control arms.... 'tis a fine looking build you've got going there sir.

[cBax]

thanks! Don't have a ton of free time so I've got to group upgrades/repairs together. Lot's more planned. This is supposed to be #3 on the list. But it needed the repairs and there was no way I was tearing this down to the hubs and putting all that old crap back on.

 

I can't wait to get my wife back into her car so I can drive this every day and start tuning. That's when I expect the thread updates to get a lot more fun (aka uncomfortable, fast and loud). I hope she's ok giving it up when the time comes.

[cBax]

So, now that the front end is "done" (minus coilovers), I'm trying to put a plan together for the rear. The rear brakes aren't far behind the old fronts and every bushing is pretty much torn. Front end had rust I'd expect in VA. Rear end has rust I expect in Chicago. So it needs to be fully gone through.

 

I've been planning to toss some coilovers on next year. I plan to go fairly low, pull the spacers out and fully convert to LGT stuff. I'm pretty sure I have everything, including an extra subframe and all the linkages, rotors, hubs, calipers, axles, hub carrier, etc.

 

I think I'm going to go ahead and pull the spare stuff apart, remove all the bushings, clean/sand/blast/paint (or PC) all of it including subframe.

 

Got a couple questions/concerns:

1. If I'm not going to pony up the $ for coilovers now, do I still do the full conversion? Or wait to install only those parts when the time comes, re-using old stuff there now. Or possibly buy some used LGT struts/springs locally. I'd rather not have to fix a butt sag either...

 

2. Any of you guys ran the KTA124 kit that includes both lower adj arms? At the end of the project, I think it is about $200 more than just doing the offset upper arm bushing. As much as I like adjustable stuff, I don't like seized adjustable stuff. The car will see winter. I also don't care for offset bushings. From what I've read, you guys seem to be fine. But any occurrences of it moving in between alignments? I'm paying for a lifetime alignment on Thursday, but I still don't want to deal with an issue like that on a regular basis.

[Rhitter]

1. The spacers are in there to correct the drivetrain angles due to the raised height OBXT suspension. You might go through more CV axles if you pull it all out. Usually LGT suspensions can be found for pretty cheap. If you put Koni's on, you can probably make money when you re-sell them. Butt Sag is easy. Just throw on a 3/4inch spacer and you are set.

 

2. Bushing is $50, KTA124 is $360 - $400. If you remove the spacers the bushing should be all you need. It is significantly easier to dial in exactly what you need with KTA124.

 

I have the offset bushing. I have not had an issue with it moving, but I suck at planning out my mods and I have had an alignment every year for 3 years. With the spacers in and the bushing -2 degrees camber is where the rear ends up to get the toe right.

 

Eventually I want to move to pinks, and when I do that I'll probably move to KTA124 to dial out the camber in the rear. Or I will just figure out how to get more in the front .

 

I live in Ca though, I have no concerns with rust. Everything on my car is from before I bought it.

[cBax]

1. The spacers are in there to correct the drivetrain angles due to the raised height OBXT suspension. You might go through more CV axles if you pull it all out. Usually LGT suspensions can be found for pretty cheap. If you put Koni's on, you can probably make money when you re-sell them. Butt Sag is easy. Just throw on a 3/4inch spacer and you are set.

 

I understand why they are there. I'm just trying to put a timeline to it in my head. I think the cheapest temporary solution will be to just get some used stuff locally and maybe even keep it and run it as a winter setup every year to keep the corrosion off the eventual coilovers.

 

2. Bushing is $50, KTA124 is $360 - $400. If you remove the spacers the bushing should be all you need. It is significantly easier to dial in exactly what you need with KTA124.

 

I have the offset bushing. I have not had an issue with it moving, but I suck at planning out my mods and I have had an alignment every year for 3 years. With the spacers in and the bushing -2 degrees camber is where the rear ends up to get the toe right.

 

I'm factoring in replacing all of the bushings into the decision of adjustable arms. If I don't buy the KTA124 kit, I will still have to replace 4 bushings there, plus the offset bushing, plus the time to refinish those parts and replace bushings. Total cost is roughly $200 more than the offset bushing judging by prices in Whiteline's site (note: I would never buy straight from Whiteline at MSRP).

 

-2 isn't too bad though. I'd like to be closer to -1.5, but could live with -2. I run -3.5 and -2.5 on my autox car, aint scared of camber, just don't need the extra wear, although some more fender clearance might be a good thing. My biggest concern is it staying put.

[Rhitter]

Sorry, didn't mean to imply you didn't know why they are there. I think I have the tendency to just write it out at a basic level for anyone else reading (who actually starts researching before asking questions). My main point was get the legacy Suspension, car feels better lower .

 

In that case I would get the KTA124 kit. $200 more isn't bad, and they are far easier to get exactly the alignment you want. But, I don't think you should be concerned with it moving.

 

I didn't see this mentioned, but get the Legacy (2.5i, GT, Aluminum Spec.B) Rear Upper control arm and rear bump stops, especially if you move to a Legacy suspension before coilovers. The rear of the car will thank you.