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My 2009 Legacy 3.0R


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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update, I'll follow up with pictures and more details later.

 

Koni shocks are in, both front and rear bushings replaced in the front LCA.

 

I haven't driven on them let so my impressions will follow later.

 

 

Fixed the squeaky I had in the rear end. I'm going to guess this is somewhat common and doesn't look like I've read how to fix it. More on that later.

 

Did the unlock all doors on a single key press mod.

 

 

Current random thoughts/plans for electronicsl improvements.

 

Add a button in the area in which you lift up the trunk that will unlatch the truck so you can open it without using the key fob or trunk release lever. It of course will be disabled when the can is locked and enabled when the car is unlocked.

 

"push to pass" as I mentioned above

 

I want the one click sunroof module if they are still being sold. Then hopefully figure out a way to have it open at a certain temperature, close at a certain temperature and close if it detects rain.

 

There was a RAP module being sold but its not available anymore. It was a standard hobby board/circuit with some modifications but the schematic was lost in the post I read about it. I'll talk more about this later. Oh and RAP =Retained accessory power.

 

I'll likely buy and install the DEI window roll up module. I already have had one for a long time in my other car. Though this isn't too high on the priority list.

 

I'm a bit behind on my tablet install and bluetooth handsfree. It's taking a while to plan out some of the details and I'm not sure how happy I'm going to be with the nexus but I'll start with it for now.

 

Currently looking for tires for my spec b rims. Once I can find a cheap good set of summer tires they will go on. Wish I could get some really nice summer tires but can't afford those expensive tires. May or may not buy new, had some decent luck with second hand tires. As long as you are careful. Suggestions on what tires I should be looking for would be helpful.

 

And finally I recently got my airbag recall letter. I'm not excited to bring my car in. I have nothing wrong with my dash at the moment and messing with it is just asking for an issue but I also don't want to kill my passenger so I'll be getting that done in a few weeks.

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Well here are some pics.

 

8ciROYDl.jpg

k05vMdXl.jpg

EbCykpml.jpg

U8P5BaRl.jpg

 

Replaced bushings in the front LCA, front OEM subaru, rear Mevotech

PiE8HqAl.jpg

 

Pressing the bushings in and out was a PIA. Had to make up a couple tools.

7uVTuh8l.jpg

jHd9kzYl.jpg

 

Cleaned up a bit of rust and gave the arms a few coats of POR15

jUZES6El.jpg?1

 

These are the moog swaybar end links after a couple months of winter. Should have realized the bare metal would rust almost instantly, so cleaned up and POR15.

FBzcvMil.jpg

 

Also cleaned and painted the rear koni spring mounts

sD2pXCll.jpg?1

 

Also found a really easy way to remove and replace the rear shocks. The manual has you use the scissor jack to push the lower link down. Makes way more sense to wedge some wood between the sub-frame and the lower control arm. Tap the lower bolt out.

TunlD1Pl.jpg

 

Then use the jack to compress the shock just a bit and tap in the bolt.

6FgUsRil.jpg

 

Didn't like that it was a bit hard to use the Koni adjustment knob in the rear and that it was plastic, so used some scrap laying around to make one out of aluminum.

ksbw79ql.jpg

f4PQ6wOl.jpg

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Weatherstrip repair

 

Both front doors had this plastic tab on back of the weatherstripping broken.

Ef9P8WOl.jpg

 

Turns out you can pretty easily slide the plastic insert out the back. Had to take one door apart and weather strip off to learn that. Also found out you can actually slide that out without taking any of the door apart. Just remove the two plastic pins holding the rubber caps on, remove the one screw and bend up the tab. This shows access after the repair.

xuTdlSil.jpg

 

Plastic insert removed

iIwisjol.jpg

 

Before assembly

EAek0RAl.jpg?1

 

Assembled

RXuFt3Ql.jpg

 

Installed, black is POR15

INbCrw2l.jpg?1

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got an old tube style hidden hitch before winter. Didn't plan to install until I got a bike rack for it. Scored a nice bike rack for cheap so the hitch went on. Have to thank 3tones for his hitch install post here. The included instructions leave out the key about putting one side of the hitch over the back of the muffler and the other side over the front. Went in, in about 10 minutes after reading that post.

 

While the back end was up in the air, took out the reflectors in the bumper and hit them with 2 coats of Nite-Shades. I'll likely do at least another coat but I wanted to see how it would look for a bit.

 

Got my arduino mini for the "push to pass" project. And I was able to get the code tested on my uno. Basically just need to wire that up. Still need dome resistor, diodes etc though.

 

Currently looking into turning the rear reflectors into rear fog lights and making a roof line high mount third brake light.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Saw this posted in the local ads. Doubt I can afford it but I inquired. From the little info I found it looks like I need hood and fenders as well, which he does have. I primarily want to do the swap for headlight washers. Kind of weird, right?

 

I thought I read that those headlights don't fit the USDM bumper but I'm not sure.

EDIT:More reading, they definitely don't fit.

 

EDIT: Well he came back with a price and its shockingly cheap. But I would have a really hard time justifying it right now.

$_59.JPG

 

What I want to know though, is this stock DRL's (didn't think they had DRLs)

d8b82d623fd2ec9ed871952caabe09b3.jpg

Edited by nevets27
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  • 4 weeks later...

Nothing too exciting as far as progress. Airbag recall was just completed. Still working on bluetooth, Nav, tablet install etc.

 

Fixed the saging drivers side exhaust a bit with hose clamps. I know its only a subaru but its kind of crazy how uneven the exhaust tips are from factory or the exhaust is just sags more on that one side over time.

 

A quick shot of the current state. Hope to get a lip on it soon. I have a set of spec b wheel that will be going on likely next summer as there is still some decent tread left on the stock wheels. So the second picture is a terrible photo chop of how its going to look with the spec b rims, not that its anything different from what you all have seen before.

 

KevMAzV.jpg

nzJTOln.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Still slow progress on various additions that will be made. The current projects are:

Trunk release button on handle/lip.

Nav/bluetooth/backup cam etc.

 

I did get the lip installed. Love it. I drilled the holes a bit bigger and used the same oem type of push pins used to hold the fender/bumper on. Fits really well.

 

Anyhow some pics as she sitting now

TTZFsynh.jpg

2aOhBSG.jpg

NnMZL8A.jpg

5eJtHpO.jpg

TomeULq.jpg

 

And installed some LEDs. I'm one of the few that actually prefer the more yellow light of incandescent bulbs. And also don't want too much light in the cabin. So only replaced the lights in the doors and trunk as that light was very much lacking.

 

Door light. This is the easy way that doesn't involve any destructive mods and works well. I just used some mounting putty/tac. It shines a bit more up and into your eyes then I would like and obviously not centered but thats me being really picky. I may cut the contacts for the bulb off so I can mount the panel in the middle facing down.

ZuDX2SZl.jpg

 

I had a before and after picture of the lights but I can't find it now.

 

Used this for the trunk

"Warm White Car 48 SMD 5630 LED panel Light Dome Bulb T10 Festoon Spring 12V"

 

And this for the door

"Warm White Car 12 SMD 5630 LED panel Light Dome Bulb T10 Festoon Spring 12V"

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  • 1 month later...

Patched my ROM for CAN extended parameters and flashed it to my ECU. Now I can log at a lost faster speeds, which will help with tuning, that will happen at some point. If anyone with the same ECU wants to patch their ROM, here's the needed info.

 

My Car/ECU

Make: Subaru

Model: Legacy USDM

Submodel: 3.0R

Transmission: AT

Year: 09

Internal ID: D2TC001P

 

You will need a tactrix 2.0 cable and ecuflash to dump(read) and flash(write) the ROM.

 

The program was made by DimeSPb, his website with the program is here:

https://vk.com/ecuresearch

(The site is in russian, just use translate in chrome)

Go to group menu then to firmware patcher.

 

The program is in english and straightforward, here are the instructions solidxsnake gave me:

No guarantees, and the usual disclaimer applies if it bricks your ECU, etc., but I'd guess if it patches, it should work just fine. Unzip the software, open the main .exe file, then point it to your stock ROM. If it gets to the main dialog, see if the "CAN A8 Logging Patch" is available, and if so, check it and write the patched ROM out to a different filename. That can then be flashed to the car through ECUFlash, and the CAN logging should work.

 

I was a bit curious about where this file/guy came from so here he is in the RR forum

 

All credit goes to solidxsnake for the info and links. And the credit for the program goes to DimeSPb.

 

 

The car is now getting prepped for winter. Tires, removed lip and lots of rust check oil. I should probably post some info on rust prevention in the rear fender and dogleg area. I'll see if I can get around to that.

 

After getting the maintenance stuff out the way I hope to get to a few mods.

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  • 1 month later...

Picked these up last week, wasn't really in my plans but I did say to myself if these exact mufflers came up for a good price locally that I would have to buy them. From what I could find, these are supposed to go well with the 3.0.

 

They need a good clean and polish before they go on.

Tlsml1Ml.jpg

uRzP8XUl.jpg

 

Now I just need to figure out how these are supposed mate up to the stock flanges. They look like they should bolt up fine from a bit of measuring I did of the bolt spacing and from a picture I saw where they were mounted to the stock y-pipe. Even though the stock y-pipe OD is 1.615 inches and the ID of the HKS muffler is 2.400 inches. So there won't be much flange to seal on. So everything appears to be easy other then the issue of my flanges being rusted. The y-pipe looks fine, but the flanges aren't all there, they are sealing fine currently with the stock mufflers but I'm not sure what situation I'm going to be in after I remove them. Welding in new flanges would be a bit of a pain, mild steel flanges are pretty cheap but they will probably rust out again. Stainless steel flanges are dumb expensive. I guess we will see.

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  • 5 months later...

A few things have finally got done over the past little while. Still have a few more things to come, which hopefully will get done in the next few months.

 

Anyhow, installed parts/mods:

 

-Spec b rims with brand new Firestone indy 500's

-Alla lighting "1300lm" LED front turn signals

-diode dynamics smart tap flasher relay

-Auxito "2000lm" LED reverse lights

-Custom LED third/high mount brake light using 6 LED "emergency" lights. Used a generic one off AliExpress but here's an amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Interior-Windshield-Universal-Waterproof/dp/B06WGMWV5P

 

More info about the lighting can be found in my hidplanet thread here:

https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/showoff/projector-retrofits/1460346-2009-subaru-legacy-hid-retrofit/page7

 

I know spec b wheels aren't anything special on here but when I started looking at pictures of this generation of legacy before buying it I saw some pictures with these wheels and wondered why I liked some pictures more then other. I realized it was the wheels what were different between some of the pictures I saw so I wanted my car to match what I had seen in the pictures. And it must have been some sort of sign because a set of spec b rims came up for sale locally soon after I purchased the car.

 

Yf0I4wbl.jpg

5XBi9qul.jpg

g1FAbkdl.jpg

 

 

Visually it's getting closer to what I want. Still holding out for a stanza/r-rev truck lip. And I have those es premiums to go on hopefully. Likely will swap to a different grill at some point also. But that's about it for now. Maybe a JDM front end might happen in the very distant future.

 

Short term todo list:

-Backup cam

-Finish up trunk unlatch button

-Rear diff poly inserts

-JDM 19mm sway bar

-Sway bar reinforcements

-Es premium mufflers

-Hood struts

-LED under hood work lighting.

 

 

Mini review on the smart tap.

Pros:

-Makes LEDs flash correctly (though a $10 relay could do that)

-Single tap gets you multiple flashes and how many can be programed

-Neat strobe and other hazards flash patterns.

 

Cons:

-No cancel after tap. It will continue until it completes the amount of flashes programed. So you can't decide you don't want to turn anymore and tap the other direction to turn it off. Which I do get why that might be hard to do from a technological perspective.

-Turn signal "chime" isn't as nice as factory. Not that the factory one was spectacular but it had a nice sound not obnoxious but pleasant. The diode dynamics sounds a bit tinny and cheap, reminds me of my 80s car. And it's a bit quieter.

-Looses it's programed settings after a power loss so you have to go and change all the settings from default. Less of a problem of you like the default settings but personally all my settings aren't the default so it's a pain though shouldn't have to done often. Dead batteries do happen and so does work on the car that requires the battery to be disconnected.

-Does weird things. Like if you turn off the car with the turn signal flashing (arm down or up) it will continue to flash until centered. Pretty sure that doesn't happen from factory. There are couple other little quirky things that I can't remember.

 

The cons bug me, some more then others but the single tap for multiple flashes is a nice enough feature to live with them. And I've only driven the car for a day.

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  • 5 months later...

Thanks guys. Haven't had time to do too much this summer but got one thing done I wanted to before winter. And should be able to knock off a couple more things soon.

 

I was able to get the rear diff bushings installed. That was pretty much a piece of cake. Wasn't expecting to feel a difference but I'm happy they are in there.

 

I just finished installing this kit: DEFA WarmUp 1000 Futura

 

I came across someone selling these locally for stupid dirt cheap so I had to buy one or well a couple actually just to have for other cars or family or resell.

 

The pictures I have are terrible as I took them when I just finished and rushing to leave.

 

Charger/Relay, with the wires going in and out. There's 120v from the plug on the front going it. 120v going into the interior for the heater, 120v going to a standard plug to plug in the block heater. Finally the harness goes over to the battery for power/charging and the wire for the controller, and a temperature sensor. I ran those into the grommet in the drivers side fender.

Df3imYvl.jpg

bZFFRyal.jpg

 

Found an unused hole going to the interior thankfully it was the perfect size for the cable. A bit challenging to get the wire through as the other side isn't visible. I'm really glad this worked though.

HXc58uil.jpg

 

Interior side, ignore the other random wires, they are for other projects that will be posted later.

5yLe53tl.jpg

 

Bracket to hold the heater, also a bit challenging to fit it in and get the angles right to keep it away from the seat and trim.

gYrlkYtl.jpg

 

Worked out well though, I can pull the heater off easily to allow the seat to slide forward, which is rare. It doesn't go 100% forward but its close. Easily enough to give someone in the rear some leg room.

6jSb03pl.jpg

 

Plug in the front, hidden behind the license plate. Straight on its hard to see, it looks obvious in this picture for somewhat obvious reasons. Bad pic...

9AmRP0nl.jpg

 

Forgot to take a pic of the controller in the interior. I'll add that and some better pictures later.

 

Also adding one of these:

https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-sv.html

 

So I can control the system via my phone/google home. Already have one setup to start my car. :)

 

Otherwise the system is designed to have a time put into the controller of when you are supposed to be leaving (for day work). So everyday by that time the car will be warmed up. It figures out how long that will need to be based on the outside temperature sensor. It has a few other features but that's mainly how it works. Only negative is no way to turn it on demand. Which is why I'm adding the above wifi controller. I just need to apply 12v to the yellow wire in the charger/relay box and it will turn everything on.

 

 

Next up, backup camera and truck release button.

Edited by nevets27
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Since I get the feeling people don't follow the lights over to hidplanet and that everyone likes pictures, hell I like pictures. Here are some of my third brake light mod.

 

Comparison with stock, exposure lowered

http://i.imgur.com/1GqN7vW.jpg

 

 

Installed in stock housing

7W4yJ0yl.jpg

0c2sfUUl.jpg

j3ImVG6l.jpg

 

Result

wsW35XZl.jpg

 

More info/pictures etc. here: https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/showoff/projector-retrofits/1460346-2009-subaru-legacy-hid-retrofit?p=1462477#post1462477

 

Comparison of stock signal bulbs and LEDs, keep in might some of the reflective surface of my turn signal has been darkened slightly

 

Lower exposure for comparison, stock on the right

16co0CRl.jpg

 

Closer to reality but I think still lowered as it blew out the camera

0gP84iGl.jpg

 

More info/review on the bulbs here as well as a couple videos

https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/general-discussion/leds/1462119-alla-lighting-1300lm-led-bulbs

 

Not promoting them in anyway just providing my experience with them.

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  • 8 months later...

Been a little behind on getting work done on my legacy and updating this thread. But got a couple little things done. I apologize for the picture size and the lack of cropping Trying a different way of posting the images. Since I've never had any luck trying to upload to this forum, I've had to post elsewhere. Getting the images off my phone onto an image host is constantly a pain in the ass. I'm open to suggestions.

 

Anyhow, after a bit of effort with a local jdm importer I finally got a jdm rear sway bar. Not that it was hard, more that the bar they first sold me was the same as udsm stock. I had measured it the first time, came back to get it and they must have switched it on me. Spent a lot of time and two trips there to get them to exchange it with a proper jdm bar. Not a great experience with them. Anyway, sorry for the story.

 

There was a bit of confusion about the jdm bar being 18 or 19 mm. First time I measured it I got 18mm and was a bit confused if it really was the jdm bar. Turns out it measures a bit different in different spots. I unfortunately forgot to measure before putting it on. If it wasn't already known, the stock bar is solid and the jdm bar is hallow, at least that's what it seems based on weight.

 

Swaybar 19mm

uc?export=view&id=1-00JpEM-ad77tM0_RJi3WOYpT5H-5-yc

 

Swaybar 18mm

uc?export=view&id=1-0KYFuKAbzyDmgJKZSnXUsFsQsU5HqYD

 

 

Swaybar OEM 16mm

uc?export=view&id=1uI_KBjfQ_naIzqXeCH0aVCSQdLvcgolM

 

Built my own reinforcements. Didn't make them too pretty, though I do like the look of bare aluminum anyhow. And yeah the swaybar mounts should get cleaned up and painted but its a battle fighting the rust in the salt belt.

uc?export=view&id=1zyiZhJYJWRUwf85deSkkE4Tl2GZEU3Yj

 

 

Installed a truck latch switch and backup camera. Little things drive me crazy, like having to go into my pocket or open the drivers door to get into my trunk. The solenoid is already there, why isn't there a button to actuate it? Well now there is. Grabbed a button from the scrap yard. Cut a slot into the plastic and stuck it in. I ended up wiring the button to a relay (additionally to the one explained later) so there wasn't current flowing through the switch. I doubt it was necessary but that's how it ended up. Now you might be thinking its pretty dumb to have a switch available to open your trunk at any time, and yeah that would be a bad idea but I got that covered. I have a latching relay that can take separate pulses to latch one way or the other. My aftermarket alarm sends a ground signal on lock and on unlock. I use those signals along with the relay to enable power to flow to the switch or not, thus enabling or disabling it. This could probably be done with the stock alarm/wiring as it sends a 12v pulse then locking or unlocking but I think its a pulse on the same wire and it might have to be turned into a negative pulse. The beauty of the aftermarket is I have a separate pulse for lock and unlock so it can't get into the wrong state.

 

Trunk Switch and reverse camera

uc?export=view&id=1zu5z_5zxdzC4u4cyvS75dyHrA8F6F-ad

 

 

With the nexus 7 tablet and an usb capture device, there needs to be a way to power the capture device on only when in reverse to it can be auto detected by the tablet. So I built this little guy. 12v from reverse and ground go to the terminals. And just plug in the usb. Covered it in shrink wrap after the picture.

 

Reverse camera usb relay

uc?export=view&id=1zyUFfXmZ31XTu7zQZ6-2PJc-7x0WHBV4

 

Got some practically brand new winters to be mounted on the stock 17in wheels so I won't be running on the ugly steelies this winter.

 

Coming up.

-Maybe seat swap/upgrade?

-Build and house my electrical addons box. It will contain my wifi switched an some other things TBD.

-Add circuits to the fuse box with spare fuse box parts I now have.

-Investigate more on extending the steering column, now that I have a spare to play with.

-Play with trying to create a "link" button for the climate control (Did I mention little things bug me?)

-Bench test an audio switch with vox setup. So the tablet can use the NAV input on the HU (front 2 speakers only) while on any input. Then disable the vox and switch to aux when on the aux input (to prevent the vox from "talking" over the aux input)...Now that I have a spare HU.

-Get new flanges and weld them onto existing pipes a muffler connection so I can mount my es premiums.

-Get a tune....mainly the transmission

 

Hopefully I get at least some of all that done before winter..

 

 

Personal log: Oil change was done at 195k and remember the 3.0 holds a lot of damn oil.

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  • 1 month later...

Haven't knocked off much on my to do list but couple things have been done.

 

Brakes had to be done badly, knew then were getting thin but the friction material fell off one of the rear pads. Ordered and installed Raybestos Element 3 hybrid (semi-metallic and ceramic) pads and Raybestos Element 3 coated rotors. Never used either so we'll see how they do.

 

Fronts, well I was going to upgrade to the GT/bigger brakes as I needed rotors also. But sourcing front caliper for cheap is a bit challenging up here. But I was getting in dire need. Thankfully I had a friend give me some old pads to hold me over. Cleaned them up and put them on. Oddly enough my vibration on braking went away. So looks like I might not need rotors afterall, they did look fine. So I think I'll be ordering some pads for the front and just sticking with the stock size for now. I'll keep a look out for calipers so when and if I have to get new rotors, I'll do an upgrade at the same time.

 

While browsing a local scrap yard I remembered I wanted to get a homelink mirror so I grabbed one of those and installed it. Since I didn't have the correct wiring harness for it I had to make mine own. Thought it would be easy. Turned out to be a bit of a pain due to some misinformation. But its all sorted out now. Details about my issues and some wiring info about the homelink mirror can be found here.

 

One neat feature of the homelink is it can control wireless relays. Unfortunately the ones I have and planned to use are 433mhz and looks like they need to be 315mhz to work with the mirror so I'll have to order some of those as well.

 

I finally got around to bench testing some leds I plan to use for rear fog lights. I'm excited to learn they are damn bright. Got a spare set of rear reflectors to play with also, as thats where they are going to get mounted. I'll hopefully have more on this later and hopefully have them done in the next month or so.

 

Also found a crown vic grill in the yard so there will be a new grill in the future, so that's been added to the to do list.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Turns out I did need new front rotors after all. Sadly, the with annoyance of trying to find gt calipers, I've just stayed with stock brakes for now.

 

 

Making a bit of progress with the rear fogs. After a bit of experimenting and sourcing of some materials, it looks like I have a plan.

 

zx2jJ5lm.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

One neat feature of the homelink is it can control wireless relays. Unfortunately the ones I have and planned to use are 433mhz and looks like they need to be 315mhz to work with the mirror so I'll have to order some of those as well.

 

 

Huh, never thought about whether those garage door functions could be used more generally. Nice idea, and great job documenting things here! I'll check back for future development.

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