My First Engine Build: PDX Flavor

[Logie_OBXT]

Hey, I've been reading through your build, as I'm embarking on my own rebuild that has turned into a full engine swap.

 

Mine started out as a simple head replacement. Before I purchased my XT, a mechanic performed a burnt valve replacement. They ended up cracking the right side head at the valve cover and patched it up and didn't say anything. Well it started leaking after about 6 months and now pours oil right onto the exhaust. Makes a great smoke cloud.

 

I sourced replacement heads off Ebay and had everything ready at the machine shop when I realized that the heads didn't even have the cam caps on them. So I feel your pain. Ended up finding a new set of complete heads for sale on here and have them all ready now. (Not counting the 8 months they were at the machine shop)

 

But now I've gotten so far in with buying new things that it's easier and cheaper for me to buy a brand new short block and mount everything to it and swap out my existing engine. As this car is also my DD, the less downtime the better.

[StkmltS]

Can you describe what your timing belt scare was?

 

No matter what happened with the cams, as long as all four of your pistons were mid-stroke then your valves will be fine.

[Shadow_419]

Can you describe what your timing belt scare was?

 

No matter what happened with the cams, as long as all four of your pistons were mid-stroke then your valves will be fine.

 

May be mistaken, but won't the intake valves interfere with the exhaust valves if you alow the cam to spin backwards while the exhaust valves are extended?

[lgt503]

So basically the first time I was installing the timing belt I had both the intake and exhaust rotated to there approximate location for the timing belt but realized I'd over rotated one. From here I spun one of the cams a bit further to where both cylinders were partially open on one of the cams. I then continued to rotated the other cam back to its starting location. I only rotated the cams according to the FSM directions. CW for intake and CCW for exhaust. I didn't notice any binding which is good but it seems like at some point the intake and exhause were open simultaneously to some degree.

[rhino6303]

So basically the first time I was installing the timing belt I had both the intake and exhaust rotated to there approximate location for the timing belt but realized I'd over rotated one. From here I spun one of the cams a bit further to where both cylinders were partially open on one of the cams. I then continued to rotated the other cam back to its starting location. I only rotated the cams according to the FSM directions. CW for intake and CCW for exhaust. I didn't notice any binding which is good but it seems like at some point the intake and exhause were open simultaneously to some degree.

I wouldn't look into that much. I imagine you're fine.

[lgt503]

Hey, I've been reading through your build, as I'm embarking on my own rebuild that has turned into a full engine swap.

 

Mine started out as a simple head replacement. Before I purchased my XT, a mechanic performed a burnt valve replacement. They ended up cracking the right side head at the valve cover and patched it up and didn't say anything. Well it started leaking after about 6 months and now pours oil right onto the exhaust. Makes a great smoke cloud.

 

I sourced replacement heads off Ebay and had everything ready at the machine shop when I realized that the heads didn't even have the cam caps on them. So I feel your pain. Ended up finding a new set of complete heads for sale on here and have them all ready now. (Not counting the 8 months they were at the machine shop)

 

But now I've gotten so far in with buying new things that it's easier and cheaper for me to buy a brand new short block and mount everything to it and swap out my existing engine. As this car is also my DD, the less downtime the better.

 

Sorry to hear about your Heads, Why we're your Head at the machine shop for 8 months. Do you mind me asking how much the set you got off here cost and what shape they were in? I'd much rather buy used parts from members on here over ebay sellers just trying to make money. My eBay heads need up costing $120+ just to ship them back.

 

Good luck with your rebuild, I look forward to following your progress. At a certain point it's not worth reusing your worn SB unless your rebuilding it. These cars aren't cheap when it comes to a rebuild and it's hard to always make the right decision but I think your making a good choice with a new SB.

[lgt503]

spent a couple hours after work painting valve covers hope the paint doesnt chip on these, I used 320 sandpaper then primed and paint

 

 

The engine hoist takes up so much space.

 

I gapped all the spark plugs to .028 according to my feeler guage. I picked up one of the ring gapping tools at autozone but it reads .001-2 larger than the feeler gauge. I was surprised the two tools vary so much.

 

Got my car lifted because i wanted to look if i could find the gas tank drain plug. I didnt see anything so im thinking there is some sort of shield covering the gas tank.

[StkmltS]

May be mistaken, but won't the intake valves interfere with the exhaust valves if you allow the cam to spin backwards while the exhaust valves are extended?

You're right, but it would only happen if you found a way to almost-fully open the intake and exhaust valves at the same time. I think that's basically impossible if the springs are on, and it definitely wouldn't happen on accident. The interference problem is when the piston is close enough to TDC for the valves to hit the piston.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong

 

I wouldn't look into that much. I imagine you're fine.

I'm with rhino.

[Logie_OBXT]

Sorry to hear about your Heads, Why we're your Head at the machine shop for 8 months. Do you mind me asking how much the set you got off here cost and what shape they were in? I'd much rather buy used parts from members on here over ebay sellers just trying to make money. My eBay heads need up costing $120+ just to ship them back.

 

Good luck with your rebuild, I look forward to following your progress. At a certain point it's not worth reusing your worn SB unless your rebuilding it. These cars aren't cheap when it comes to a rebuild and it's hard to always make the right decision but I think your making a good choice with a new SB.

 

When I dropped off the heads they said there was about a 2 month wait. I kinda forgot about them and worked on gathering other things for my rebuild. At about the 6 month mark, I finally gave the shop a call. I asked what the status was and they said they were waiting on me to get them specs to machine to! Would have been nice for them to call and ask. So once I got them that, it was about another month. $400 to machine and install new valves. The existing valves were in good shape, but I had already bought new valves for the bad heads I bought.

 

The heads ran me $750 plus driving 4 hours to pick them up in Washington. They are in terrific condition and complete with covers, cams and all that. Came off of a SpecB.

 

For the longest time I resisted buying a new short block and was dead set on reusing without tearing down, but I just don't believe I can be down my DD for that long. Plus what really convinced me to buy a new short block was last month. I changed the oil a day or so before I left for a short vacation and then came home and started it and got a distinct knock from the engine like rod knock. I was not going to drop all this money into a build and then have my short block die 100 miles after I get done. It hasn't made the sound again since, but it spooked me.

 

I'm more active over at Subaruoutback and have my build thread there. But there's a lot more engine info here.

[lgt503]

Ive been busy the past few days,

 

Heres where I pick up from

 

First I get the valve covers all sealed up following FSM for where to put sealant (The Right Stuff)

 

I ended up getting the engine load level to install the engine which I highly recommend, explanation later

 

The clutch setup was easy to install, I ended up having someone hold the GS crank pulley with the GS Crank Tool while i torqued down the pressure plate and flywheel bolts. I got new REX Pressure Plate bolts (better than the original bolts) and reused Flywheel bolts.

 

 

Also I wanted to give rhino6303 a BIG THANKS!!! for letting me borrow is custom alignment tool, It worked great!

 

 

Looks like the OEM Clutch and SMFW Flywheel for the 2006 WRX are made by Exedy. Interesting.

 

 

This is where the fun really begins:lol:

 

Day 1: I have my engine ready for install, Ive decided to leave the turbo on the engine but leave the turbo to up-pipe bolts off so the turbo has more flexibility. I also havent primed the oil with the DIY pressure can. Hope I dont have any leaks:).

 

I started by having the front and back of the car on jack stands so I could have easier access to the bolts on the bottom. You can probably tell in this picture I have the back of the car lifted 4-5 inches higher. I did this whole install by myself so dont think it cant be dont, but I would highly recommend having someone help:lol:

 

 

After 45 minutes of getting thing lined up I realized there was the stud from the last SB stuck in the transmission

 

 

By 1.5 hours I'm back to the same spot but with the old stud now removed from the transmission. For the next hour I tried to get the engine and transmission straight so that I can get the top bolts threaded. I messed with the angle of load leveler, and tried jacking up on the transmission. with no success I gave up for the night. by this point my Car had given me a few bruises, a sore back and a bloody knuckle. Car One, Me Zero time to drink and come up with a new approach.

 

Day 2: After an hour of messing around I realize that the engine lift is extended as far into the engine as possible because the lift is pushing on the front bumper. good think the licence plate was there taking all the damage:lol: The lift arm was at an upward angle so by taking some slack out of the the chains holding the engine the hoist are would be more horizontal=further reach:). after removed slack from the chains the hoist are still was pointed upwards. but this seems to help a bit.

 

next I took the car off the front jack stands and lowered the back to the lowest point on the jacks. over the next couple hours I manage to get 3 bolts threading (all on the passenger side). for some reason I wasnt able to get the driver side to pull in enough to get the bolts threaded. I messed with the clutch and rotated crank thinking something wasn't aligning. finally i ended up gradually tightening the passenger side bolts and this managed to shrink the gap on the driver side

 

 

Eventually I was able to get some bolts on the left side threaded and everything finally came together. In the end I probably spend 6 hours getting this engine in the car. next time I plan on cutting this time in half:lol:.

 

I regret not wearing my mechanics gloves the whole time because I ended up sustaining multiple bloody knuckles, bruses and cuts:spin: this is becoming a very abusive relationship, but i love the car to much to leave... . Good thing Im not married, I dont know if I could take all the abuse.

 

 

finally the engine is back in the car and Ive began hook up some stuff.

 

Before the alternator and PS pump go back on I will prime the oil system. I also have to empty the gas:lol:, I keep putting this one off because i dont want to deal with all this gas BS.

 

I have the next two days off so lets see how far i can get .

[Darth SpecB]

Great write up! This must be the fastest rebuild I have observed so far!

 

Not that it matters now, but there is a hole on the bell housing you can stick a flat head into to hold the flywheel from turning. If your doing It yourself.

 

Also I wouldn't have the balls to draw the engine and tranny together with bolts, although this method works for some people. I pulled off the motor mounts and it slid right in. Of course with some help of grease on the input shaft and splines of the clutch disk.

 

I hope you replaced that crappy oil return hose and clamps!

 

I know the feeling of loving the dam car soo much. Great job! Now let's gets her runnin!

 

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[lgt503]

I need to finalize Pre-Start steps, I will post my final steps once they have been determined and or performed.

 

How much should I drive before tune? I want to make sure everything seems OK before I schedule appointment for COBBs dyno break-in tune but I also don’t want to drive the car too much before I get the proper breakin tune. Do you think it will be fine to put 50-75 miles using the COBB ots tune initially? I’d make sure to keep boost to a minimum, vary rpm all that boring stuff… I suppose I could just call Surgline but I want to hear from people that used Cobb OTS maps with supporting mods for their break-in.

 

When I originally scheduled with Surgline they said they run the car on there dyno up to 5000 rpm for break-in tunes. I was surprised by this. Maybe the higher RPM helps with seating the piston cylinder rings, also it might be necessary to see any issues that may arise under heavier load/boost.

 

Since im no expert on tuning or accessport data I don’t think I will be able to diagnose small irregularities in the accessport data which I can collect before I go to COBB. I will however be able to keep an eye on certain parameters in which COBB/you guys recommend.

 

https://static.cobbtuning.com/cobbtuningweb/site/support/techdocs/Ask_COBB-Subaru_Datalogging.pdf

Heres a list of 5 parameters Cobb recommends (A/F Learning 1, Boost, DAM, Fine Knock Learning, and Feedback Knock Correction) as explains in the link above.

[lgt503]

Great write up! This must be the fastest rebuild I have observed so far!

 

Not that it matters now, but there is a hole on the bell housing you can stick a flat head into to hold the flywheel from turning. If your doing It yourself.

 

Also I wouldn't have the balls to draw the engine and tranny together with bolts, although this method works for some people. I pulled off the motor mounts and it slid right in. Of course with some help of grease on the input shaft and splines of the clutch disk.

 

I hope you replaced that crappy oil return hose and clamps!

 

I know the feeling of loving the dam car soo much. Great job! Now let's gets her runnin!

 

Thanks for the kind words, It help when you get 3/4 day weekends to work on your car.

 

Not going to lie Drawing the engine and tranny together was nerve racking, I kept thinking something was cross threaded or stripping the threads, it definetly took a few pounds of force to twist those bolts:lol: in the end all the bolts torqued down nicely once straight and i don't think I messed anything up

 

Hopefully i didnt need to grease the input shaft / clutch splines...

 

Ive replaced the worse rubber hoses. Basically any hose where the spring clamp was missing and someone used a screw clamp instead. I still have some screw clams but I've tried to replace most of them with spring clamps which usually come on the new hoses.

[Logie_OBXT]

Nicely done.

 

I too will be doing most of the work myself. My dad has offered to help, but he lives in AZ. He says flying up would be no problem, but still...

 

I have a leveler as well, so that should help on my end. Why are you having to drain the gas? I must have missed that.

 

Anyway, looking forward to hearing about your first start up.

[Shadow_419]

I feel your pain. Spent nearly an hour trying to figure out with my brother why the driver's side of the engine was about 3 inches out further than the passenger side.

The studs from the intermediate pipe of my exhaust were on the cat/j-pipe flange (5th Gen). Big D'oh!

 

 

Good work though. Congrats on getting her back together.

[Darth SpecB]

Light grease on the shaft splines will help disengagement of the clutch disk, and reduce clutch chatter (noise) too much and it will spray the clutch disk and cause slippage. It also helps the engine slide in easier.

 

PS I like the screw clamps in hard to reach places.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[lgt503]

Nicely done.

I too will be doing most of the work myself. My dad has offered to help, but he lives in AZ. He says flying up would be no problem, but still...

 

It would be nice having a hand with the whole engine install. Ive spent the past 4 days working on getting the engine into the car by myself mostly .

 

I have a leveler as well, so that should help on my end. Why are you having to drain the gas? I must have missed that.

 

The leveler is critical if you ask me. I'm draining the gas because its been sitting for 6+ months. I dont want to run that old stuff through my new engine.

 

Anyway, looking forward to hearing about your first start up.

 

First start will happen next week hopefully, Im thinking next Monday really Im waiting on something I ordered today on amazon. *damn surprises* , this will give me time to look into everyone startup methods.

[lgt503]

What I did today:

 

Not really today but last night I primed the engine with oil, Im happy to say this morning I didn't find any oil on the ground or anywhere that I could see. lets hope it stays that way .

 

Also got down to the fuel pump but havent cracked it yet... people say not take off if the tank is full, hope my tank isn't full

this thing is dirty!

 

Installed new Power Steering Pump, I had someone rotate the steering wheel lock to lock to remove all the air in the lines, We did this twice about 15 minutes apart each time rotated the wheels 10+ times, of coarse front end was on jack stands. Power steering reservoir did bubble, it was more like a few burps. I was expecting a lot of little bubbles but nothing that frothed or left bobbles suspended for any period of time.

I meant to take a better picture but once I disconnected the old power steering pump it got a little messy,

 

I was installing the downpipe and discovered the rear O2 sensor is about 10inchs short and cant reach the connection mounted towards the front of the transmission.

WTF Id like to think Cobb would have changed there design. I ended up ordering this off amazon,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZE62E4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hopefully it arrives by monday next week

 

 

Installed the the final heat shields over the turbo and on passenger side header. I trimmed the turbo heat shield per Cobb recommendation.

 

When I was torquing down the bolt that tightens the Alternator belt adjuster it seems the bolt stripped the threads on the alternator. I am going to pick up a longer bolt and place a nut on the end behind the alternator. easy fix!

 

I installed the Cobb Air Intake and box and cleaned the MAF sensor. The MAF was really dirty. Initially I wipe it with a Q-tip and MAF cleaner so I ended up spraying it directly with the cleaner. I didnt spray any into the hole:thats what she said: where there fine wires are. when I look at the fine elements inside the MAF they looked clean.

 

I got the TMIC hooked up. I used a new Mr. gasket part # 738G, for the turbo to TMIC. This part was recommended to me by JmP6889928 when I got by turbo rebuilt by him. Did I mention how sweet my custom turbo is .

 

Its weird looking around and seeing most the shelfs and spaces empty. still got lots of loose bolts there are a few that Im confused about because they are fairly unique. oh well maybe its from one of the things i still need to install...

 

All thats left is the radiator/fluid, DP O2 sensor, Alternator bolt, and a few more bolts to torque down. and connecting the battery, hope it still works, I had it on a charger 1-2 months ago.

[Max Capacity]

Light grease on the shaft splines will help disengagement of the clutch disk, and reduce clutch chatter (noise) too much and it will spray the clutch disk and cause slippage. It also helps the engine slide in easier.

 

PS I like the screw clamps in hard to reach places.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

 

yea, the directions on the new Southbend clutch for my Spec B say's to use grease on those spots.

 

I have been doing that since my first clutch back in 1974.

 

For break in, just start it, give it a fast idle for 15 minutes, keep an eye open for leaks. Shut it off, change the oil and filter, and start it again and drive it.

 

With the changes you've done, you'll want to get some idea of fuel MAPPING before you drive to far.

 

Sorry I didn't follow this thread closer, but the PDX in the title throw me off. Aren't they a Tuning place out your way ?

[rhino6303]

You should be able to connect your rear o2 sensor by unbolting the bracket on the top/passenger side of the transmission. It stretches just enough. You have to do the same thing with a grimmspeed downpipe.

[lgt503]

yea, the directions on the new Southbend clutch for my Spec B say's to use grease on those spots.

 

I have been doing that since my first clutch back in 1974.

 

For break in, just start it, give it a fast idle for 15 minutes, keep an eye open for leaks. Shut it off, change the oil and filter, and start it again and drive it.

 

With the changes you've done, you'll want to get some idea of fuel MAPPING before you drive to far.

 

Sorry I didn't follow this thread closer, but the PDX in the title throw me off. Aren't they a Tuning place out your way ?

 

Makes me sad you didnt follow haha, but its not to late to start. you've arrived for the best part!

 

I just followed the FSM when it came to installing the clutch, they probably dont want someone mucking things up and getting grease on the clutch.

 

There was a shop at one time called PDX Tuning, maybe they are still around. Im going to go with COBB Surgeline for my tuning. Since Im running a Cobb stage 2 setup i dont see why I shouldn't have Cobb make me a custom tune.

 

Do you think the fuel mapping will have changed that much? I was previously running cattless Up-pipe, CBE, and air intake on a stock tune. Now Ive added an Access Port, Cobb catted DP, rebuilt custom vf40 by JMP and a light weight crank pulley. ive added other things but those are the performance mods could probably affect the fuel map.

 

Are there ways I can keep an eye on the fuel mapping, or is this something I should leave to the pros at Surgeline? Is this something that requires a WB A/F ratio gauge?

[Sgt.Gator]

Your fuel trims will be logged in your Cobb AP (when you enable logging). But since you are asking about them I suggest that you may not have the expertise to know what you are seeing.

 

If you've done a TGV delete you'll need a map to remove the CEL that will generate.

 

My suggestion: Start it, watch for leaks (have a buddy with you checking, a fire extinguisher in his hand), fast idle for a couple of minutes then rev it to 2,000 - 2,500 rpm for a while, you watch the gauges while your buddy looks for leaks and hopefully is not putting out any fires! A total of about 20 minutes. Change the oil/filter.

 

Take it to Surgeline and get a break in tune. Yes this will be a bit expensive because they will do a pre-dyno inspection, then the dyno time. It's worth it for the piece of mind. Imagine trashing your new engine because of the wrong tune. Tell Brandon I said hello!

 

Drive for 500 miles on the break in tune, then take it back to Surgeline for the final performance tunes.

[StkmltS]

I'm often wrong (just ask my wife) but I think all that's absolutely necessary for a safe break-in tune is stock timing, reduced boost, and a light right foot

Anything else in a safety tune would just be slight non-critical tweaks here-and-there (you know, the little things that make a machine "finely tuned"). Sure you won't see much power, but at this point it's all about safely running your engine for a while to give your rings time to seat. Remember, cars drive off the lot every day on stock tunes and don't blow up... stock tunes are intentionally very safe. Yes, your car isn't stock anymore, but you'll be relatively "safe" for quite a while as long as you stay out of boost. I assure you that it is humanly possibly to stay out of boost, it's just really, really, really, really, difficult.

[Max Capacity]

I'm often wrong (just ask my wife) but I think all that's absolutely necessary for a safe break-in tune is stock timing, reduced boost, and a light right foot

Anything else in a safety tune would just be slight non-critical tweaks here-and-there (you know, the little things that make a machine "finely tuned"). Sure you won't see much power, but at this point it's all about safely running your engine for a while to give your rings time to seat. Remember, cars drive off the lot every day on stock tunes and don't blow up... stock tunes are intentionally very safe. Yes, your car isn't stock anymore, but you'll be relatively "safe" for quite a while as long as you stay out of boost. I assure you that it is humanly possibly to stay out of boost, it's just really, really, really, really, difficult.

 

FWIW, I just used the same tune in the wagon at 21psi as the break in for the ej257.

 

It's all about a safe tune for your set up. I didn't add anything, the only change was the head porting and the ej257. After 500 miles I met up with the tuner and did a street tune just to make sure everything was still good. He made a couple small adjustments.

 

We also lost four CP pistons in a race motor in the first 30 minutes of run time by not knowing we had intermittent power to the fuel pump. We notice the engine surging and didn't understand the effect or what was causing the issue.

 

You need to know your tune is safe for your set up.

 

For the next start on the race engine we flew in a tuner and rented a dyno for the day. Having a correct MAP is critical.

 

lgt503 has a custom vf40. JmP may have some info on the output and what his thoughts are about having a proper tune.

 

Sgt, Gator has the right idea. Better safe then sorry. Drive it gently and keep it out of any mid to higher boost.

[lgt503]

I think the Cobb map will work fine, after all its designed for my stage 2 setup + some:lol:. JMP did tell me that the Cobb ots map works well with the custom turbo so Im not worried about that. If..more like when, I run into issues there will probably be 10 other culprits before the tune.. My main reserve is that ill be using a map thats never been run on the car. I got the AP v3 which seems very user friendly.

 

Another topic I haven't talked about but was reminded of today is breaking in cams. Its funny, my friend was telling me how he breaks in all his new cams. Fast Idle, rev 2k-3k for 15-20 minutes then drive it around varying rpm. I then get home and see Sgt.gator has almost the same break-in advise for my new engine.

 

Start it, watch for leaks (have a buddy with you checking, a fire extinguisher in his hand), fast idle for a couple of minutes then rev it to 2,000 - 2,500 rpm for a while, you watch the gauges while your buddy looks for leaks and hopefully is not putting out any fires! A total of about 20 minutes. Change the oil/filter.

 

I got 2 extinguishers. dont mind the date its still pressurized. After 19 years of not needing this thing I don't plan on using it any time soon.

 

 

Take it to Surgeline and get a break in tune. Yes this will be a bit expensive because they will do a pre-dyno inspection, then the dyno time. It's worth it for the piece of mind. Imagine trashing your new engine because of the wrong tune.

 

That's the plan, I know Ill have to drive ~15 miles to get to Surgeline. Id like to put a few miles on before that drive just so i know everything is operation properly and data logs look good. I haven't rescheduled my appointment with Surgline yet, usually they are 3-4 week out, i should get on that. Asking me not to drive the car for 4 weeks is like asking a crack head to stop smoking crack. I understand how the car should be driven initially (gently, engine breaking, vary rpm, 1-2 lbs boost max...) not like a crack head. Hope you guys can give me feedback on my initial logs once I make some. I have a good idea what i'm looking for but some extra eyes from you guys would definitely help and be greatly appreciated!

 

Do you think some datalogs at different steady rpms during the initial startup would be interesting to look at. Ill make some and post if you guys want to see how the engine runs initially.