My First Engine Build: PDX Flavor

[lgt503]

I picked up one of these the other day http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-cubbypods-mild-blemishes-cheap-260994.html

$15 is an unbelievable price.

 

Also

 

Ebay has 10% ebay bucks that applies to the GS TMIC thats like getting a $90-$100 ebay gift card. oh boy I want one, the black one looks sic:cool: but its $125 more! geezecrist! The thermal coating will keep the TMIC cooler... its worth it;) Im already ballz deep so why not add one more thing to this build. + id have $100 to spend on something else for my car haha the things to come I have a few ideas.

[rhino6303]

I think the Cobb map will work fine, after all its designed for my stage 2 setup + some[emoji38]. 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.

 

 

 

I got 2 extinguishers. dont mind the date [emoji14] its still pressurized. After 19 years of not needing this thing I don't plan on using it any time soon.[ATTACH]247006[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

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.

I would call Surgeline and ask them for direct instruction on initial start, what tune to run for your mods and how long to drive before the dyno tune. Don't leave it up to us; Surgeline is very reputable and won't lead you astray.

[lgt503]

Today I called Cobb to setup the appointment. After going over my upgrades and the situation I was told to use the OTS Economy map for the break-in tune. They want me to put on about ~1000 miles on the engine before the Dyno tune. I setup my appointment for May 23.

 

Whats odd is the first time I called Surgeline and setup the April 7 appointment, that I later canceled, they wanted me to bring the car in right away to make a break-in tune. Maybe something got lost in translation the first time I called.

 

In the past Ive talked to Bobby and Brandon. This time I think I spoke to Lance, the Lead Tuner. In any case we talked for 20 minutes so I feel more confident with what i'm doing. I asked about the fuel map and he assured me my setup shouldnt have any issues with the OTS tune.

[Max Capacity]

Sgt. Gators break in is pretty much what has been standard for ever. I did that back in 1975 when I did the 340 V8 in my Plymouth Duster.

[Sgt.Gator]

Sgt. Gators break in is pretty much what has been standard for ever. I did that back in 1975 when I did the 340 V8 in my Plymouth Duster.

 

Max are we the two oldest dudes in here?

[lgt503]

Ok guys sorry this is such a short post but I wanted to say my car runs:)! Its super late, I got work early tomorrow but i got the car running and did the initial oil change break in . videos/pics will be posted in the next few day.

 

I did get 2 codes which Im hoping are just from loose wires, I havent checked yet. The codes are P0345 which is cam position sensor and P2016 for TGV sensor. I am going to do more research on these tomorrow after I check if they arent just unplugged.

 

this post will be updated soon.

 

also

 

THANK YOU guys for all the the help and support. I couldn't have made it this far without you. I seriously mean that . I know this project isn't over yet but the joy today brought me were seriously overwhelming and made this whole crazy project worth it. Ive learned something you cant put a price on and i dont regret one second or penny of undertaking this project.

[lgt503]

Hey guys I checked both the sensors and they were both loose haha the codes went away once they where plugged in. I was going to drive to work and made it a few thousand feet before I got a cylinder 1 misfire p0301, I ended up turning around. In first gear it was fine but once I hit around 2k in second I felt some stutter and the cel started flashing.

 

Hopefully I'll have some time tonight to find the cause.

[Sgt.Gator]

There are many possibilities. If you Google: P0301 Subaru there are pages after pages. Many of them apply more to engine that has been running fine for years and now is not. Those could be all sorts of failures of parts.

 

However the first thing I would look for since this is a re-build is a vacuum leak. There are lots of ways to find the leak, I finally found mine using an eBay smoke tester.

[birkhoff]

A little misfire is nothing to worry about. Ask StklmtS You may want to push it a bit and see if the misfire is isolated to one cylinder only, or moves around before tearing into things. Get to know your enemy before they suspect . . .

 

After that, checking for a vacuum leak is a good place to start. Making sure all your engine grounds are present, clean and tight is another general thing to check. If it is really only isolated to one cylinder you can start to zero in:

 

Check for good connection of the ignition clip at the coil. Are contacts clean and does it still still 'snap' into place?

 

Did you have the injectors out? Maybe the one in cylinder 1 is unhappy. Swap it left for right and try again. Ditto the cylinder 1 coil (not at the same time).

 

The good news is that if you did bump the valves during the timing oops, that would be cylinders 2 or 4. Not 1, right?

 

If none of those work, I would go back and check your valve clearance. There were enough weird things going on with that part of the assembly that maybe, even after all the back and forth, some of the valves are out.

 

That last item would be well down the diagnostic priority list, however.

[lgt503]

Got the cylinder 1 misfire figured out I guess the ignition clip for the coil was loose, It was probably making a connection at first but once the engine started vibrating it loosened up and thats when the cylinder misfire code got tripped. No more check engine light, Hope it stays like that . I plan on racking up a few miles over the next few days so if I have any problems they should come out.

 

Here is what Cobb recommends for the initial driving break-in which I plan to follow

 

0-100 miles, run engine very lightly, no more that 1-2 psi boost, no more than 28% TPS and 3500 RPM, change engine oil and filter. Do your best to vary the engine RPM and decelerate the engine under vacuum as frequently as you accelerate the engine, you want your engine to break-in evenly.

 

100-500 miles, run engine very lightly, no more that 3-5 psi boost, no more than 40% TPS and 4500 RPM Change engine oil and filter. Look for more glittery material in oil. Do your best to vary the engine RPM and decelerate the engine under vacuum as frequently as you accelerate the engine; down shift the vehicle to come to a stop rather than using just the brakes.

 

500-1000 miles, run engine more aggressively, no more that 6-8 psi boost, no more than 50% TPS and 5000 RPM Change engine oil and filter. Look for less glittery material in oil. Datalog the engine, look for knock events, etc.

 

https://static.cobbtuning.com/support/accessport/docs/Subaru_Engine_Breakin.html

 

The following link is where I found this info

[Darth SpecB]

Glad to see you got it all worked out! After the break in, it must be a blast to drive.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[StkmltS]

Wasn't it a great feeling starting up that puppy for the first time!

 

People who haven't experienced it for themselves will never understand. In my head I'm like "do you guys not understand how manly of a badass I feel right now?"

 

Well, we here at LegacyGT.com understand that feeling, and we congratulate you!

No one here will make light of the (temporary) glory that you've earned, or deny that you are now one ginormous step closer to becoming the legendary man that you will someday be.

Well done.

[Max Capacity]

Glad it runs well. You can be a little more aggressive with the break in power. At 500 miles we did a street tune. WOT from 2500-5000rpm a few times in third gear.

[lgt503]

Glad to see you got it all worked out! After the break in, it must be a blast to drive.

 

Its already a blast to drive, I did my 100 mile oil change today so I went on a more spirited drive (5lbs boost, 4500k, and no WOT) , the car doesnt have stutter issues like it used to, it feels smoother and it feels like its got a lot more power. Im almost scared of how powerful the car is going to be when its all said and done

 

 

Wasn't it a great feeling starting up that puppy for the first time!

People who haven't experienced it for themselves will never understand. In my head I'm like "do you guys not understand how manly of a badass I feel right now?"

 

I felt/still feel so BADASS, which is because I am badass !!!The first startup was crazy, I had a few friends come over to watch and help out, Im glad all went well. the car didnt start instantly(starter motor for ~5 seconds) due to sensor being unplugged. this delayed start inadvertently helped pump some oil . But once it started everything went well. Im sure we all lost a few brain cells with all the exhaust and burning grease and oil on the engine. the exhaust was pointed out the garage but the carbon monoxide still managed to breeze in.

 

 

Glad it runs well. You can be a little more aggressive with the break in power. At 500 miles we did a street tune. WOT from 2500-5000rpm a few times in third gear.

 

That first 100 miles I tried to stay under 2 lbs boost and 3500k which is easier said than done. I probably boosted over 2lbs 1-2 dozen times, the most being 4lbs, I never went over 3800rpm but did lots of accelerating/decelerating.

 

I live on top of a hill so I can go drive around the windy backroads where it is easy to vary rpms. I constantly engine break into the turns and accelerate through/into the straights.

 

Now that Im at the 100-500 mile portion of the breakin it doesn't feel like im holding back I drove down a very curvy backroad and felt like I was pushing my car just to hit the 4500k mark. damn this car is a blast.

 

I got my pro-sport guages set up last night so when i went on my first drive post oil change it was nice having the boost gauge set so when I hit 4.5lbs it starts beeping. Its interesting that the accessport and boost gauge vary by approximately 1lb.

 

playing around with location of AP it now on the left vent so i can actually see the numbers.

 

The photo shows what gauges im looking at currently, Ive also gone on a drive where I monitored L & R OCV, L & R AVCS and roughness in all 4 cylinders. Everything looks good. nothing is out of the ordanary and eveything is reading healthy and everything feels really good.

 

I was looking at the oil from my 100 mile oil change and everything looks good, i cant really see an metal particulate, its probably all in the filter. The magnetic oil plug definitely picked up some stuff.

 

 

I also purchase a little something for my car, it should be here in a week then ill show you guys what it is

[lgt503]

It looks like I do have an oil leak passenger timing belt cover. Its definitely oil.

 

 

Its just on the left side under the cams between the front and rear plastic covers. It not a lot of oil but definitely not normal. this is the same area my old engine leaked. I thought the old leak was caused by the clogged oil passages on the heads which I made sure were clear this time. Maybe the avcs gear leaks like i didn't tighten the avcs cap enough (3 small bolts) or the cam seal gaskets. I think its less likely the valve cover due to the isolated locating on the timing belt cover and not the heads/valve covers.

 

If you guys have any other ideas of what could cause a leak here im all ears.

 

Im going to drive this week and monitor it closely. on my next days off ill try to take off the cover on that side and see if I can pinpoint the leak. If its just the cap on the AVCS i wont have to take the timing belt off. Im not looking forward to tearing everything apart.

[Darth SpecB]

Sounds good! I'm glad you are enjoying it. I am enjoying my car as well! I would start with pulling the timing cover and tracing the leak from there. My guess would be the cam seal. It could be crooked or installed incorrectly. Or maybe the oil pump wasn't sealed all the way.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[lgt503]

I pulled the left side cover off , the oil was only on the bottom of the cover. I stuck my finger behind the center cover and it was dry. the timing belt is clean and there was no noticeable oil on the gears. ill keep monitoring this leak but it looks like it might be coming from a cam gasket. Maybe it will stop leaking on its own, wish these cars used stop leak

[StkmltS]

Removing the timing belt sucks, but you can still be proud that your only problem so far is a little oil leak.

Heck, don't even fix it. Just let it slowly leak out forever to remind yourself of what you've accomplished, and that you could fix it if you ever wanted to.

 

I'm joking of course, but not really, because that's how I've treated my post-rebuild oil leak

[lgt503]

I got my newest addition today

 

It took about 2 hours to install.

 

 

I wanted to drive it but couldn't find my key. I think Im loosing my mind finally found them. guess the test drive will be to work tomorrow. Ill take off a few minutes early just in case i need to turn around.

 

While searching everywhere for my keys i noticed this

 

 

 

The second day I was driving I remember a bird flying right in front of my car but I forgot to check if i hit it. i must say this car is a BEAST:) my job it to tame the beast and hope it doesnt kill to many more animals .

[lgt503]

Removing the timing belt sucks, but you can still be proud that your only problem so far is a little oil leak.

Heck, don't even fix it. Just let it slowly leak out forever to remind yourself of what you've accomplished, and that you could fix it if you ever wanted to.

 

I'm joking of course, but not really, because that's how I've treated my post-rebuild oil leak

 

I think im going to just keep a close eye on this oil leak. If its not affecting the timing belt i dont see the harm in letting it continue for the time being. I need a break from working on this car for a bit.

[Max Capacity]

Taking a break will give you time to make a plan and fix it right the first time.

[lgt503]

I am currently trying to figure out a new problem that has come to light. I clocked up 500 issue free miles using the cobb economy tune but then something happened.

 

I was driving down the highway and messing with the cruise control (accelerating then decelerating) 3-4 times over a ~1k range. I was mesmerized how hard the cruise accelerated . All of a sudden the CEL comes on the the cruise starts flashing. I quickly pulled over to check the code which was P0420 Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1). oh yeah this also occurred on 4/20, oh the irony. The car seemed to run fine so i drove to home. probably 4 miles

 

I thought my fidgeting with the cruise caused the CEL and limp mode. I ended up resetting the ECU (COBB economy tune) and the CEL, code and flashing cruise all went away. I guess cobb doesnt disable the P0420 code in the economy tune.

 

I went on a short drive and everything seemed good. the DAM worked itself up form .5 to 1 and I didn't see any abnormal feedback knock or fine knock learning.

 

The next day I was driving home from work. I was accelerating when I felt a loss of throttle almost like the fuel cut out. I pulled over and used the AccessPort to scan for codes but nothing came up. everything felt normal during idle and i figured my car was just in limp mode. I turned on the fuel pump duty just to see if there was any correlation. Interestingly whenever I accelerating harder and the fuel pump duty hit 100 the throttle would cut out.

 

Ive done a few more short drives to capture this event on the AccessPort.

 

I just notice today my A/F learning 1 is coming in at -8.59. This is outside the +-8 recommended range according to COBB and so this also raises concern. not sure exactly when the AF left the acceptable range but before 4/20 the A/F learning 1 never went past -7.

 

 

Ive also tested the cruise control which now works (i think this means im not in limp mode)

 

Here is the AP Data log during one of these throttle cut events

 

datalog19.csv]

 

Also at 1 point while reproducing the thottle cut event, I swear I heard a small backfire.

 

I only have 1 cat which is in the downpipe so this setup might be contributing to the issues. the Cobb DP is new so its not clogged.

 

I have done a decent amount of research and have some things i plan to try but wanted to see if anybody has any suggestions.

 

I need to call/email cobb and see what they think. my breakin tune is scheduled for 1 month from now.

 

Things that might be causing the problem

1)o2 sensor - can a bad o2 sensor lead to the throttle cut events like im experiencing?

 

2)fuel pump

 

3)some sort of leak (vacuum or exhaust)

 

4)electrical something dealing with the cruise. <dont think this is the issue

 

If you have any other suggestions or advice it would be greatly appreciated:)

 

Im also going to post this in the general threads

[Max Capacity]

You might want to PM covertrussian or fahr_side and see what they think.

 

I leave that tuning stuff and data to my Tuner.

[covertrussian]

It sounds like you are flooring the car a good bit while on the Economy tune, afaik Cobb says to avoid doing that on the economy tune. I've never owned an AP nor seen what economy tunes look like, but something tells me they just lean at part throttle to full throttle area. This would explain the P420 code, assuming your not stage 2 in which case it should be disabled indeed.

 

As for the log it doesn't say much, try adding Engine Load and AFR gauges, you can probably pull some of the other AFR gauges since they wont help you in this case.

[lgt503]

Update:

 

Today I flashed to the Stage 2 and drove down the street, the AF Learning 1 decreased even more, now its ~-11.

 

Also the fuel cut issue still persist when Fuel Duty Cycle hits 100

 

After the short drive (~.2miles) I flashed back to the Economy tune. I idled the car. during idle I watched the AF Learning 1 A drop form 2.2 to 0.1 over about 2 minutes.

 

As the AF learning drops the engine runs richer and fuel is being reduced to compensate. this is my understanding atleast.

 

Im going to plug the intake, pressurize (blow into) the bpv return hose and listen for a leak.