Coco26's Build Thread

[coco26]

This thread has some good discussion on alignments

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/share-your-alignment-specs-224330.html?t=224330&highlight=alignment+specs

 

 

Thanks for that link, I remembered seeing that thread a long time ago but forgot about it.

 

I can definitely believe it was just poor work, after reading that thread I'm not sure how they managed to get it so positive. I was the second to last car before they closed, so they very well could've just measured it and called it good. I got the 1 year deal just for this reason - I can go back every day until its good for free... So I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning to get a fresh, non-busy, technician.

[GTEASER]

Just hope he's not hung over, tonight is Friday night afterall.

[coco26]

The story gets worse.

 

I went back, and asked the guy at the desk for as close to -1.2 camber and 0 toe. He very reluctantly wrote it on the sheet. Same technician as thursday took it in. Came out 10 minutes later, and tried to teach me a lesson about alignments.

 

The Highlights:

1. Camber doesn't matter for tire wear

 

2. Camber doesn't affect driving as long as it is within 1 degree to the other side

 

3. Your car doesn't come from the factory with camber bolts in the front, they're just bolts

 

When I asked "So it comes from the factory with no camber adjustment at all?",

4. "I don't know about the back..." (Meaning he never attempted to adjust the rear camber)

 

5. "Being a front wheel drive car, toe is the only thing that has an effect on whether it pulls or not"

 

 

Safe to say I'm not going back there. I'm going to call AWDTuning to make sure they didn't swap the cambolts for regular bolts when they put the coils in, but I can't imagine they did and didn't tell me. I'm going to give it one more shot at a different location before I give up and go to a more subaru-friendly shop.

[A_A_ron]

 

"Being a front wheel drive car, toe is the only thing that has an effect on whether it pulls or not"

 

 

LMAO This guy is the laziest mechanic I have ever heard of.

[cww516]

If I paid for a 1-year unlimited alignment and got that kind of treatment, I'd be looking for a manager and trying to get some (if not all) of my money back. Did you get a printout the first time showing before and after numbers? Just wondering if the guy even tried, or if he got under there and went "nah, that looks rusty".

[coco26]

If I paid for a 1-year unlimited alignment and got that kind of treatment, I'd be looking for a manager and trying to get some (if not all) of my money back. Did you get a printout the first time showing before and after numbers? Just wondering if the guy even tried, or if he got under there and went "nah, that looks rusty".

 

Nope. Only got an after. I'll be sure to mention something to the effect of "actually adjust it" when I go to another location. He seemed adamant that I needed to buy bolts, and offered to put them in. So I'm not sure if that was a big ploy for labor or what.

[GTEASER]

It was a ploy. That guy should be strung up by his ball sack for his arrogant ignorance.

[coco26]

Tried location #2 this morning, and was able to watch exactly what they did...which was nothing. Technically everything is "in spec" except for caster, so I guess that's their cue to not touch anything. They didn't even tell me 'it was already in spec so we didn't change anything", they just handed me the sheet and sent me on my way.

 

I'm going to see what I can manage with a digital level, and if its not good enough I'll take it somewhere that does race alignments.

[cww516]

I'd crawl under there and move some stuff out of spec first, see if that'll convince them to adjust things.

 

Seriously, if you just paid them a bunch of money for them to look at it and send you on your way, get your money back, or raise hell until they actually pick up a wrench.

[GTEASER]

I usually pay about $100 to $120 for a custom alignment to the specs I request. And I expect to see a before and after printout.

[thegiraffe]

The before and after print out as stated above is key, When I used to work on cars I remember seeing lazy mechanics pull down on the "fronts" of vehicles to bring them within spec on the screen. I always try to be-friend whoever is working on my car to watch them do and it make sure they are doing it right.

[coco26]

I asked to get both sheets at the beginning to show if they touched anything or not. It does show both, they're just exactly the same.

 

I think my plan is to adjust it myself, and take it there just to have them measure it and tell them not to adjust it. It'll take more time, but that way I can still get my money's worth out of them and get the exact specs I want.

[Sarang]

No offense, but why take it back at all? You've established that they're no good. You deserve better.

I would suggest asking to speak to a manager and telling them that since their tech thinks that your car is FWD and that camber doesn't affect tire wear, that you'd like you money back. Also, they haven't even aligned it if the specs didn't change, they just did a check. Those are typically free.

 

They didn't do the thing that you wanted them to, and the blew smoke up your butt. Not cool.

[cww516]

Threaten to leave negative reviews online, too, that seems to get people's attention nowadays.

[dgoodhue]

I asked to get both sheets at the beginning to show if they touched anything or not. It does show both, they're just exactly the same.

 

I think my plan is to adjust it myself, and take it there just to have them measure it and tell them not to adjust it. It'll take more time, but that way I can still get my money's worth out of them and get the exact specs I want.

 

It's going to be painful to adjust your alignment blindly using another shop to measure who isn't adjusting anything when its in spec. You might as well buy a camber gauge and toe plates ( or using strings) to adjust your alignment.

[coco26]

Officially finished an engine-out service. Only took 3 days, but a few necessary fixes have presented themselves since then.

 

Transmission Fluid Fill (Subaru HP Gear Oil)

Timing belt, idlers, tensioner (Aisin TKF-004)

Subaru OEM Water Pump

Subaru OEM Serpentine Belt

Subaru Super Blue Coolant Fill

Felpro Manifold Gaskets

Subaru Downpipe Gasket

Subaru Downpipe Studs and Nuts

Invidia Catted Downpipe

Kinugawa Turbo Coolant Lines

2013 Subaru OEM FSB (26mm), bushings, mounts

Moog FSB Endlinks

Southbend Stage 2 Daily Clutch

Exedy OEM Flywheel + Hardware

PDM Tranquil TSK-3 Kit

Verus Forged Clutch Fork

Verus Billet Clutch Pivot Ball

NGK Iridium Spark Plugs

 

Getting the engine out was pretty straightforward, thanks to FLegacy's walkthrough in the stickies. It took about 6 hours, and at least 2.5 of those were spent trying to get the engine and transmission separated. Did about 6 more hours worth of work on it outside the car (timing belt, clutch, sway bar in the car) and spent about 4 more hours getting it back in. This is all with a very corroded car, that has never been apart before, and I was still able to get it out and back in within a weekend with a little help. If I had to do it again, it could almost be a day project!

 

I spent an hour or so trying to get the Kinugawa turbo coolant lines to seal after the engine was back in. Eventually, I gave up and just drove it. It steamed the whole way to work, but when I left at the end of the day, it had sealed itself.

 

A few days later, checking for leaks, I noticed the sway bar. It had looked a little funny going in because it was missing a bend the stock one had in the middle. Now I realized it was very wrong - it was against the oil pan in the middle, and pushing on the downpipe on the side. Did some research, and realized it was the 3.6R bar. Got the correct one, and set about getting the 3.6 bar out. Turns out the bend that its missing also makes it difficult to get out. With the engine as high as it would go, and 6 hours later, it finally snaked out. 3 minutes later, the correct bar was in.

 

Overall, I'm glad I did this myself. Learning experience for me, and for a fellow subaru enthusiast who got to learn all about our unique setup.

 

Taking a break, then up next is pads/rotors and maybe control arms.

Edited July 27, 2019 by coco26

[coco26]

Over the summer I took apart my shift knob to repaint the lens, so I also painted the trim rings black because the silver finish was starting to wear off.

 

Two weeks later, most of that black paint had rubbed off. Today I had some time so I machined the top ring out of aluminum. The original plan was to get it anodized black, but I'm going to test out the polished look for a while.

[dudemonster]

Thumbs up!

[dgoodhue]

The shift knob ring came out looking awesome.

[Falcor]

Ok, that’s cool. How did the repaint go? I still have my stock knob and thought of painting it Subaru blue and swapping back and fourth with the red one.

 

I’ve seen a couple videos of it on YouTube, but am afraid of sanding down too far and removing the silver shift pattern, or at least messing it up.

 

 

Also, what material did you use for the ring? We have a machine shop at work, and this would be doable.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[coco26]

Painting the lens was pretty easy. I used the youtube video of the WRX knob to disassemble it. My original plan was to paint the lettering red and the background a different color, but I realized it would be nearly impossible to get the silver out of the letters. I don't think you'll ever hit it by accident with regular sand paper. I think I started with 240 grit and worked up to 1500 before polishing and painting. I used some basic spray paint laying around.

 

The ring is 6061 aluminum just because that's what I have the most scraps of. I had to make a custom tool to get the inner profile. After that, 30 seconds with some 3000 grit and a few minutes with polish.

 

I can share the CAD file I made for it if anyone is interested.

Edited January 6, 2020 by coco26

[Falcor]

I would love the CAD file. I use it every day at work. We just switched from AutoCAD 2007LT to Draftsight. Going to try it for a year since it is subscription based like Autodesk is. What do you use?

 

Sorry about being off topic.

[coco26]

I use PTC Creo. Very user-unfriendly but gets the job done.

 

The dome behind the lens doesn't match up perfectly, but the gap leaves options for your choice of adhesives to hold the lens on. The chamfer around the outside is what holds the lens in place.

 

Link to File

[coco26]

Got Koni shocks, H&R springs, new strut mounts, and whiteline rear control arms installed.

 

I also attempted to replace the front control arms with mevotech's, but the ball joint pinch bolts and pancake bushing bolts on both sides are completely seized. They'll need to be cut and replaced in the future.

 

I also found out the rear toe adjusting bolts are seized to the bushings, so toe can only be changed by changing camber. They'll have to get cut too, and probably replaced with the more adjustable whiteline pieces.

 

Impression so far with the new suspension setup is that it is definitely smoother than the Tein coilovers I took off, and the increased damping is noticeable, even on full soft. Looking forward to stiffening them up more. Only negative is that I have an occasional click when individual corners are loaded heavily... I suspect the springs are shifting on the seats.

[coco26]

A few months ago, I experimented with some roof spoiler options, and settled on this one. Its solid rubber which I find much easier to mold to fit than the abs plastic most of the cheap options are. I think it fits with the aesthetic of the stock wing pretty well.

 

Ebay Link