El Chupacabra, X-Ray's 2002 L Sedan 5MT

[xrayspecs]

El Chupacabra, X-Ray's 2002 Subaru Legacy (BE) L Sedan 5MT

**NOTE MOBILE/SLOW INTERNET PICTURE HEAVY**

So, way long time lurker and Subaru owner, another forum member talked me into actually sitting down and starting a build log for my Legacy. so this will be a big slug for all thats gone on with the car since I got it.

 

I have had my 02 L sedan since early 2014, got it in the below condition, it was a bit rough around the edges but the base was solid and didn't have any rot. Most important though was it was a Manual!!!!! it's been a slow build over the last three years and hope to keep it going. Plus had a Rebuild short block in it

 

EDIT, TLDR build sheet on my Legacy as of 04/01/2021

 

Update, starting on page 3 , got a new chassis, in the intrest of preserving the thread not making anymore changes here. Latest parts list update of installed parts are about halfway down page 4

 

 

I keep a pretty detailed logbook and binder on the work/upgrades I've done on cars I own, makes it easier to keep the hagglers at bay when you go to sell. So i've compiled everything into a list here and the milage it was installed at:

 

Chassis/Suspension:

Timken Rear unit bearings (p/n 512183 ) replaced at 186K

Moog Tie Rod outer ends (p/n ES3715 ) 192k

Beck/Arnley Ball joints (p/n 101-4105 ) 192k

Beck/Arnley Tie Rods inner/rack bellows (p/n 101-7404 ) 192k

Whiteline 55mm Inner LCA Bushings (p/n W51709 ) 192K

Whiteline LCA Rear bushings (p/n W53515 ) 192k

Whiteline Steering rack bushings (p/n KSR202 ) 192k

OEM alignment specs at 193k

Cusco Racing front strut tower brace (p/n 680 540 A) 193k

Cusco Racing rear strut tower brace (p/n 658 541 A )193k

Timken front wheel bearings both sides (p/n 517008 ) at 206k

Timken front wheel bearing retainer C clips both sides (p/n RET176 ) at 206k

SKF front inner and outer wheel seals both sides (p/n 22026 & 22032 ) at 206k

Beck/Arnley replacement spindle nuts for the front (p/n 103-0504 ) at 206k

Subaru OEM steering rack from a +15MY STI (p/n 34110VA120 was supper-seeded by 34110VA121 ) at 215k

Subaru OEM steering U-Joint replacement from a +15MY STI (p/n 34170VA30 ) at 215k

SKP new equipment power steering pump (p/n sk215254 ) at 215k

Gates Hoses high pressure power steering hose assembly (p/n 365599 ) at 215k

Gates Hoses low pressure power steering hose assembly (p/n 352638 ) at 215k

Sunsong Soses reservoir suction hose (p/n 3403725 ) at 215k

Cardone power steering reservoir (p/n 3R363 ) at 215k

Motul Dextron III fluid for Power Steering (p/n 105776 ) at 215k

Derale 4 pass power steering cooler to increase fluid volume and cooling (p/n 259-13212 ) at 215k

Whiteline adjustable rear lower tubular control arms with polymer bushings (p/n KTA124 ) at 215k

Whiteline control arm lock bolt kit (p/n KCA307 ) at 215k

Whiteline upper control arm outer bushing (p/n W63397 ) at 215k

Whiteline upper control arm inner bushing (p/n W63396 ) at 215k

Whiteline control arm lower rear outer bushing (p/n W63394 ) at 215k

Whiteline control arm lower front bushing (p/n W63398 ) at 215k

Whiteline diff cradle bushing front (p/n KDT906 ) at 215k

Powerflex rear sub-frame bushing set (p/n PFR69-417 ) at 215k

Whiteline diff rear bushing (p/n KDT905 ) at 215k

ARP 3" wheel stud kit from WRX 5x100 (p/n 100-7716 ) at 215K

Subaru OEM, driver side rear lower shock bolt and nut (p/n 20550AA010 , 90003335056 , & 901000177 ) at 215K

Koni Yellows assembly part numbers below all installed at 215K:

Front Struts.

Koni Yellow p/n 8610-1447SPORT

OEM LGT Shock bodies from a BL, spring perch removed and trimmed for Struts.

Monroe OEM equivalent Strut Mount p/n 902924

Koni coil spring perch for 2.25" coil spring mounting hole opened up to 15mm on lathe, p/n 80-0000-0007

Koni Nylon 2.25in to 2.5in adapters p/n 15 29 04 003 0

Hyperco 2.5" helper spring p/n 557-CS100

Eibach spacer/coupling for 2.5" spring p/n SPACER250

Eibach 2.5", 12" long, 450#/in Coil-Over Main Spring Standard Universal 1200.2500450

Allstar Performance 7" aluminum KONI shock threaded body sleeve kit, had to take out a tenth on the internal "humps" on the lathe to get the body to fit tight on the OEM housings. p/n ALL64147.

 

Rear Shocks

Koni Yellow p/n 8010-1053SPORT

Koni coil spring perch for 2.25" coil spring p/n 80-0000-0007

Koni Sleeve, lower spring perch and 25mm upper spring Perch p/n 80 0000 1

Koni Motorsports N/A Nylon 2.25in to 2.5in adapters p/n 15 29 04 003 0

Eibach 2.5", 8" long, 400#/in Coil-Over Main Spring Standard Universal p/n 0800.2500400

 

Subaru of America Bolt Flange shock rear lower (p/n 901000177 ) at 215K

Subaru of America Washer shock rear lower (p/n 900335056 ) at 215k

Subaru of America Nut shock rear lower (p/n 20550AA010 ) at 215k

 

 

Engine:

Interstate Green Top MT-35. At 160k then again at 192.5k

Rebuilt heads and short block at 160k

NGK spark plugs (p/n 6953 ) at 169k

Standard spark plug wires (p/n 27577 ) at 169k

PCV Valve replaced with OEM unit (p/n 1181080W00 ) 173k

PCV Vacuum lines all easily accessible lines, replaced with plain vacuum lines from LPS 173k

OEM Idle Air Control Valve (p/n 22650AA192, INTERMOTOR AC519 ) 173k

Felpro Valve cover gaskets (p/n VS50561R ) 174k

OEM Bosch Upstream O2 Sensor (p/n 17018 ) 174k

OEM Ignition coil (p/n 22433AA41A, UF240 ) 179k

WIX Air filter (p/n 42728 ) 179k

Borla (p/n 17183 ) SS UEL header with Felpro MLM exhaust manifold gasket (p/n MS95088 ) and OEM steel gasket at cat (p/n 224 49010 333 ) 190k

TRANS WAS REPLACED AT 192,533 SO SOME PARTS HAD TO BE REPLACED

NTK downstream O2 sensor (p/n 24598 ) 192.5k

Mishimotor Oil Drian Plug (p/n MMODP-2015B ) 192.5k

STP Air filter replacement (p/n SA9113 ) at 193k

IMC exhaust flange gasket (p/n 224 4901 333 ) at 193k

Felpro exhaust manifold gasket (p/n MS95088 ) at 193k

Cusco Radiator Shroud/Dress-up piece (p/n 684 003 AL ) at 193k

Fel-Pro exhaust gasket, (p/n 9827 ) at 193K

Fuel Filter and pressure lines replaced (p/n 33558 ) at 196.5K

After accident replaced the following parts:

Gates radiator hoses, top hose, bottom hose, and bypass hose (p/n 22495 , 22494 , 19535 ) at 197.9k

Stant OEM thermostat (p/n 48457 ) 197.9k

Stant radiator cap oem pressure (p/n 10233 ) all replaced at 197.9K

NGK Spark plugs (p/n BKR6Eix11 ) at 205.7K

Standard parts Knock sensor replaced (p/n KS98T ) at 205.8K

 

Drivetrain:

Front CV axles, chinese remans Suretrak (p/n SB-8011 ) at 192k

JDM Impreza 5MT transmission (p/n 71-TY754VU2AA ) (from a 98-99) with 3.90 FD, installed at 192.5K

Centric Clutch hose replacement (p/n 1513.47004 ) 192.5k

Exedy OEM clutch Kit (p/n DKN KSB04 ), pressure plate, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, and clutch disk 192.5k

Kartboy (p/n KB-003-Rear ), (p/n KB-003 ), 5MT Shifter bushings 192.5 k

Kartboy (p/n KB-025 ) Transmission mount bushings 192.5k

Standard Motor Parts new starter (P/N 17170 ) Installed at 196.5

Anchor Industries, rear transmission mount solid, filled in with 2 part urathane (p/n 9563 ) at 215k

 

Brakes:

Duralast oem replacements square at 188k

LPS turned rotors at 188k

Subaru OEM park brake cables (p/n 26051AE07A (LH), 26051AE06A (RH)) at 215k

 

 

Interior:

LED replacement dome light bulb installed at 165k

OEM WIX cabin filters replaced (p/n 72880AE080 ) at 179k

Driver's side exterior handle latch rod retaining clip replaced (oem unit) at 188k

Pioneer double din deck, custom pigtail made from oem/spare parts laying around (p/n AVH-P14000DVD ) at 190k

Grey Toyota Truck 5spd Hurst style ball knob (p/n PTR34-52080 ) at 193k

Mob Armor Mob Mount Switch Magnetic Large in Desert Tan at 195k

OEM fog light switch (p/n 1S7942 ) at 195K

Standard Relay for fogs (p/n RY612 ) at 195K

Wink 5 panel mirror. (p/n) at 206K

 

Exterior:

LED bulbs, brake, front and rear turn signal, reverse, license plate, and front running lights installed at 165k

DRL’s disabled from use at 179k

Exterior stripped to metal and repainted in OEM paint code (83N, Subaru Timberline Green Mica Pearl Metallic) base coated in two part Diamont sealer and sprayed in Matrix Systems base-coat clear coat 193k

Mirrors and grill painted SEM Trim black (p/n 39143 ) at 194k

Replaced OEM horns with HELLA (p/n 003399801 ) Supertones at 194k

JDM Rev D, B4-RSK front clip, for fenders, bumper beam, bumper skin, aluminum hood, and headlights. fully replaced headlight harness to the JDM harness for pigtails at 215k

UNK Front fender lines (p/n SU1248104 , SU1249104 ) at 215k

 

Wheels/Tires:

Enkei RPF1 17x8 5x100 +45. Put on at 197.5k

235/45R17 Continental ExtremeContact DW tires (these rub on full bump in the front, will probably roll the fenders to get rid of that.) these also gouged pretty easy and had two tear in regular commuting.

 

VENTUS V12 EVO2 - SIZE: 235/45ZR17 on at 215k.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous owner at some point in its life it was resprayed on the top coat and had a terrible case of lacquer cracking everywhere but the jams and trunk underside.

 

first thing done was a oil change, air filter and fluids check.

 

you can see the massive lacquer cracking in the bottom of this picture. also +5 hp for stickers.

 

 

It ran good for the next 10,000 miles then the ignition system and the random miss it started up, as you've gotta have fuel, spark and air to run and i had plenty of fuel pressure per the OBD scanner and id put a good filter in that it had to be the spark plugs. New spark plugs wires on the way!

From the local go fast parts store, (not being sarcastic Covina still has a small mom&pops parts store) i got new oem plugs, plug wires and a Felpro valve cover gaskets. I figured if the motor was freshly rebuilt and had reached its 5k break-in point the valves better be lashed. I get it apart and wouldnt you know it the plugs are cracked.... hmmm not so sure on that rebuid quality, they were cracked after what i was told was only 6k on the engine. got the thing back together and it ran like a top for two months then IACV also decided at 173k that it was over tired and working anymore so it got replaced with an oem on.

Also spent some time after chasing a vacuum leak on the PCV system and the PCV Valve sticking open. Swapped those out around this time too.

 

 

 

 

and it ran great, and all was good till i got backed into in the market parking lot....

 

Had a guy back up into me, because he wasn't checking his mirrors, and wrinkle the rear drivers side quarter panel. oh well just cosmetic.

 

 

 

Also around 180k the front O2 sensor decided that it no longer wanted to be apart of the band and stopped reporting the right signals. It was CHRISPY! got replaced with a OEM Bosch unit.

 

 

It also developed a HOT engine miss…. Must be the coil pack, replaced that with a new OEM unit and at the same time put a cabin filter in the dash and disable the Daytime Run light as i was tired of it prematurely burning bulbs up.

 

 

Looks like the previous owner never bothered to put a filter in or clean the trap….vacuumed it out and put a new filter in!

 

 

It took a bit of research as the Legacy L isnt as posted on as the GT, but i found the wiring diagrams and found that for the L’s its the Blue and Black pin in the dash harness plug that powers the relay for them. I pulled the plug apart removed the pin from the connector, coffined it in electrical tape and put it all back together and no more DRL’s

 

 

 

 

About a month later the plastic keeper that holds the door handle rod in place in the Driver side door decided that it was time to go, had to pull the door apart and change the little rod keeper, which for a 2$ piece is a major pain!

 

 

Drove the car till 187k the rear wheel bearings were toast. Did both back ones with a little help! Replaced the whole units with Timken units, and boy it was like night and day with the car.

 

 

 

 

to PT 2

Edited November 7, 2022 by xrayspecs
updated for new chassis as of 10/21 updated for website links broken in forum move

[xrayspecs]

PT 2

 

 

2015-11-15 17.37.26

 

At 188k the brake pads started squealing, while I wanted to go with some street performance pads wasnt in the budget so replaced with like oem duracrap pads! Had the rotors turned by the LPS and drove it some more.

 

Picked up a Borla UEL header for the 2.5L from another forum member on here for the price of a ebay knock off. The unit was still New in box! Never been run! Sweet. Now just need a cat back and it'll really sound good! Future plans still here. I did have to change to a 2.4 Miata filter on the car with these as one of the previous owners added the sandwich oil heat exchanger that goes between the filter and the engine block, this wasn't a factory option on the L’s as far as all my research has lead me to believe. I stick to 3.5k oil intervals so not worried about its dirt holding capacity.

 

IMG_20160227_141806

 

IMG_20160227_130149

 

While doing the header swap noticed that i had torn boots on the inner CV’s….. Using the well ive got it apart might as well do it all approach i sprung for Moog Tie-rods, Beck Arnley ball joints, inner tie-rods. Whiteline LCA bushings, inner, outer and steering rack bushings. Also replaced the Front CV’s with the LPS recommended chines remain front axles…. I held on to the green oems just in case as they didnt require a core back… Replaced them all in a day, nothing like spending a sunday on the cardboard cursing at dirty bolts.

 

2016-05-12 23.09.00

 

2016-03-24 18.09.56

 

2016-03-25 01.09.38

 

2016-05-12 20.34.22

 

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In the middle of all this had my second kid, got laid off and the plans for the car slowed down.

 

Had it aligned, and Boy does all new tight parts really perk these old BE’s right up. Had a lot of fun running the canyons here when i got a chance too.

 

We went on a trip to visit the Grandparents and introduce the new offspring and it made the trip just fine.

 

2016-05-26 14.46.20

 

However when getting ready to leave there was a very loud bang and crunch. Well turns out these old 5mt’s occasionally like to spit the center diffs VC’s retaining ring out ouf its holder when they get up in mileage. And with my luck the 1:1 rear output gears decided it was a good plan to have that clip for lunch. And werew missing a few bits of teeth. After making a few calls and a lot of googling figured out that the cost of these gears and a new VC would be in the 600-800$ ballpark depending on how far down the rebuild rabbit hole i wanted to go. And it looked like at some point the transmission had water in it, the gear faces had rust spots.

 

13320120_239926926399118_291589173_n

 

I figured oh i'll just get a pick-a-part unit and new rear main and slap that in, and drive away. As i’ve done numerous times with volkswagons, fords and chevys.

Nope, joke was on me, turns out the L sedan i had was provided with a 3.90 Final drive. And short of getting a transmission and rear axle packaged together everything else was 4.44’s and 4.11’s. After a lot of calls and emails, i found a LKQ in fresno that had one 3.90 that showed it was pulled from a L, sweet, i ordered it, it ships and shows up, NOPE! The damn thing is out of a outback and has 4.44,s worst part was they dropped 80k miles off the listed miles. when i searched the vin# from the car it had been pulled from (it was listed on the pallet tag) i found a chased google page showing the car had well over 200K and had been auctioned for mechanical damage total. That took a whole week of phone calls and arguing with LKQ to get shipped back… they said they found another one but when it showed up it had a 4.44 as well. Back it went… lucky enough for me my grandparents have a large shop I was able to flat tow the car to and leave at while i searched for a new transmission.

 

2016-06-08 14.15.41

 

 

Ive also got my 51 Ford stored there till i have room to bring it home!.

 

IMG_20161231_161156

 

IMG_20161231_161231

 

In the middle of this got lucky enough to get tickets to go see the filming of the Grand Tour in Apple Valley for there Los Angles episode! Got to meet all three of the Muppets! That was a hell of an experience.

 

14449221_530288537176558_1221163028792213504_n

 

TWO jdm transmissions later… that had 4.11’s and 4.44’s i got a pulled one from a JDM 3.90 impreza from a LA importer.

 

It was during this time my brother name the car El Chupacabra because of it being so damn rare to find parts for and it was all ugly from the paint and dents!

 

Got a whole list of goodies for installation as well.

Kartboy poly shifter bushings and trans mount bushings, new oem clutch hose, downstream NGK O2 sensor, Excedy OEM clutch kit and Mishimoto magnetic oil plug.

 

Spent my 2017 newyears weekend paying tribute to the gods of speed and octane.

 

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IMG_20170101_112838

 

15803509_360269004338883_4304704351932252160_n

 

Got it all back together, had it aligned and its been running great since.

 

Also upgraded from the OEM tape deck to a double din Pioneer unit i had kicking around. Its old but sounds better than the tape deck did! I might have to spend some money on upgraded components!

 

20171110_065943

 

Also two years later finally had the rear quarter panel pulled all of the big dents fixed. Stripped the whole car to the metal as i didn't want it to lacquer crack again. Then had it two respraided in the factory Green Metallic, dam does it look good when its been polished. Went with Matrix Systems Base Clear. Its now just a 10mph-10ft car instead of a 50-50 car! Lol. Ill have to wash it and get some good photos with my DSLR since the light in winter in So-Cal is always so damn good.

 

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Last thing ive done recently is black out the front grill chrome and paint the mirrors trim black Good ol Sem 39143 Trim Black!

 

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Its been a lot of little things. I'll do my best to keep this thread updated with its progress as i have a lot of little things on it I still want to change.

Edited March 12, 2018 by xrayspecs

[xrayspecs]

More Pictures of doing the clutch swap, you can see where the torn inner CV boots let the grease fling to, all over and since its normally a daily (aint about that show car clean life) I didn't bother trying to scrape it out of every crease. just wiped what i could off before putting everything back in.

 

 

 

New Clutch and pressure plate and pilot bearing all going in.

IMG_20161231_135338

 

Kartboy poly shifter bushings going in, it was super stiff putting everything back together, really made me glad to be doing this with the transmission out as it would have been a lot of cursing at the car if id have tryed to do this on jack stands and around the transmission.

IMG_20161231_135315

IMG_20161231_135326

IMG_20161231_135322

 

IMG_20161231_135355

 

picked up a new shift knob to replace the OEM one, I never liked the feel of it or the shape. the way it lumped and was asymmetric i would constantly scew/unscrew it while sitting in traffic. plus the lack of a jam nut always made it loose if i squared the H pattern up.

I picked up an aftermarket Hurst Knob that was meant for a Toyota Truck. It fits perfectly and brings some hot rod nostalgia to the cabin, not to mention has a jam nut.

 

20171212_075309

 

but damn i need a shift boot now. just gotta borrow a sewing machine!

 

20171212_075325

 

Picked up some parts from another user on here.

 

20180106_165522

20180106_165529

20180106_165551

20180106_165605

 

Front strut tower brace and rear strut tower bar and radiator shroud piece, part numbers in the breakdown sheet at the top.

Nothing like some extra spicy JDM goodness added to the car when you can.

 

Started with the rear strut bar, was easy enough to put in, pulled all the items out of the trunk and then remove the four 14mm bolts in the chassis, put the plates in and then bolt the bar up.

20180106_171833

20180106_172546

 

SPEED HOLES EVERYWHERE.

20180106_175441

 

The rear trunk liner did require a trim to fit back in properly back in place.

 

20180106_175448

 

All back together, i know my floor mat is super greasy from hauling car parts around for ages.

20180106_175716

20180106_175725

 

Next was installing the dress up piece, easy enough, two 10mm and two 13mm fasteners on the cross beam and radiator support out, piece installed and then repeat in reverse.

I know my engine bay is dusty, she aint a show car.

20180106_175923

20180106_181520

20180106_181526

Edited March 12, 2018 by xrayspecs
added more pictures to look at.

[xrayspecs]

Last item was the front strut tower brace, this one took two tries as i wasnt paying attention and put the left brace on my left facing the car not the other way round, and had to do the left side twice.

 

was quick enough to do, the plates and bar went right on after pulling the strut tower nuts off.

20180106_184539

20180106_184549

 

After driving with it on a quick canyon run by where i live, not sure if i notice any major gains with the parts, but were quick enough to install in an hour.

 

A quick beauty of her as she sits right now.

 

20180105_164742

 

since replacing the transmission, ive had a backfire in the exhaust. when i put the car back together i was lazy and reused the header to cat gasket, and also noticed that at some point along the cars life someone had welded new cats in and welded one of the flange bolts to the pipe. Cut and hammered the weld/bolt out, touched up the cut and mating surface of the flange with a hand file and put it back together. Runs great and no more backfiring, it should help with the bid dip in mpgs too i have seen since the swap.

 

20180127_153941

20180127_163138

 

updated the horns from the OEM units to Supertones. Ive used supertones in the past on offroad trucks and buggies. they get the point across better than anything short of air horns.... which i might add anyways because LA.

ignore my dirty car, its impossible to keep clean where i work. but they bolted right into place where the oem units were, since the factory uses a relay and fuse that can handle these just fine. I just made ground jumpers to ground the horns and used the factory hot lead for power. the drivers side went right on no problem and the bracket fit in the factory notches to locate the horn no problem, but to get the passengers side to fit without modifying the harness just takes flipping the Hella bracket to the other side from how they come then just bolting it on.

 

i made some quick and dirty ground jumpers to go from the post to the mounting bolt as the oem ones ground through there frame/bracket.

 

20180208_070038

20180207_205902

 

OEM units that were removed.

20180207_205910

 

after bracket flip and mounting them, bracket bolt is a 12mm.

20180207_212354

 

and my dirrrrrrty car with the supertones peeping through the grill now.

 

20180207_212708

 

Got some driving lights. My go big or go home attitude may have gotten the best of me as I thought there was room behind the grill to add these. Might make a rally bar or bumper mount them anyways.

20180209_163642

 

got tired of how the ram mounts look/work etc and switched to a Mob Armor mount, lot nicer package and goes right on the dash no more window sticky shit, plus now its easier to watch Dashcommand or GPS.

 

IMG_20180212_170603

 

20180213_102234

 

IMG_20180212_170552

 

Oil change and replacement filter, conventional 5-30wt and filter, i sould really do a relocator and front mount oil cooler with the borlas right up on the filter.

 

Also started the installation of the fogs, ordered the dash switch and relay. just need to add the actual fogs.

20180218_152430

20180218_162518

 

strut brace that I had installed, was having an interference issue with the hood, to the point I can see on the top side where its meeting.

picture of the bottom of the hood where they hit.

20180224_142257

20180224_142254

 

Cheap easy solution was a 1/2" piece of stock from scrap at work and 4 longer M8x1.25x30mm fasteners to stand the back of the hood off the hinges. these work for a rev 1, will have to make and trim up a second set that matches the hood hinge and isnt just strait bar stock.

20180224_142304

20180224_142238

Edited March 12, 2018 by xrayspecs
updated.

[Jacobpockros]

Looks sweet! How long did it take to tear the trans apart?

[xrayspecs]

On a lift it took about a half our to get the back half of the center diff off. I just took the drive shaft off then the fasteners for the rear cover and it all just slid out.

 

It had the wound spring clip type retainer not the c-clip and i found so many pieces of that i knew i would have to split the case half's to make sure it didn't chunk another gear so went the swap option.

Edited November 11, 2017 by xrayspecs

[BDII]

Great thread!

 

I drove 2 hours to a junk yard to get a 2001 legacy driveshaft for a 6 speed swap I was doing. The picker swore it was out of a manual 01 legacy and even showed me the car. Nope. It was out of an automatic...

But I was already back at the shop by the time I realized.

 

Ended up driving 3.5 hours each way, 3 states away, to get the correct part. 10 hours of driving in one day for a stupid drive shaft.

 

Moral of the story? Pickers suck.

[xrayspecs]

Thank i hope to keep it going. My son loves the green car as he puts it. Nothing crazy in the plans for it right now but maybe poly for the back and a catback. Make it a real fun momentum car. bonus picture of him helping with changing the coil pack.

 

IMG_20150610_204255

 

Yeah when i had a old Ford i never had any problems with any pickers. But i learned my lesson.

 

I need a new driveshaft too the original has got some flat spots in the u joints when i did the swap. Im just going to go to a local shaft shop(phrasing) and have them splice me a 2.5 steel one piece one with replaceable joints.

Edited April 2, 2019 by xrayspecs
added the helper trying to keep me from loosing all my 10mm sockets

[Nateb720]

+1 on father son builds. No matter the age..

[xrayspecs]

thanks, yeah i have many fond memories staying up late on school nights helping my dad do engine swaps and him explaining how everything on a car worked. i figure if i can get them into the car hobby, they wont have any money or time to get into hobbies that'll get them into trouble later.

 

even when i was doing the fix for the exhaust leak they were right there asking whats this and that while i worked away.

IMG_1445

 

 

 

I got a set of white JDM rain gaurds (Spats?) for the B4, test fit them with tape to see how they look, they will need a repaint, either a color match or Trim black, right now thinking trim black is what ill do.

20180308_173232

 

I worked on cleaning up the headlights and removing the haze using my secert sauce polish, this stuff works wonders quick and gets them shining like new in a few minutes. Before on the right, and after polish on the left.

 

Edited April 2, 2019 by xrayspecs
updated

[xrayspecs]

I have been hording parts to rebuild the rear end with all polymer, should have everything to do that soon. so will have the whole rear sub-frame out and all rubber replaced, then the front and back set ups will match.

Need to also get a steering rack as the unit in it has decided to start leaking out the passengers side that will get done soon.

 

 

The starter did give up the ghost in January, so replaced the starter with an oem unit. Also while i had the starter out replaced the clutch slave cylinder soft line with a new oem unit and bleed the clutch and put in new dot 3 fluid. Since im also a im already doing this anyways type of person i replaced the fuel filter and hoses on while in the engine bay.

 

 

 

 

 

I did however manage to pic up some Enkei RPF1's in 17x8 +45 with Continental extreme contacts in 235/45R17, there is a little rub on full bump.

 

 

 

 

Well got one week out of the RPF1's, had someone cut me off in traffic and brake check me hard. was a 20ish mph rolling hit but still did a fair amount of damage to the hood/core supports/lights and crash beam. ill have to get it to a frame shop to see if its still strait or not and decide what to do.

 

 

 

 

UPDATE: 9/6/19 still trying to get Flikr to work again since they changed how many pictures you can upload.

but i pulled the front end out, hood, core support and put the car on a frame jig *(checking and the chasis was still straight and undamaged)

 

replaced the radiator, hoses, thermostat, and rad cap and got the hood mostly straight, and am driving it again.

 

i need to replace most of front clip (hood, bumper, grill, and lights core support.) but the bumper core was unbent/touched. so on the look out for a JDM rev D front end.

Edited September 6, 2019 by xrayspecs
9/6/19 people suck.

[xrayspecs]

Did the front wheel bearings and seals, pretty sure the crash was responsible for finally killing them.

Made a huge improvement in ride quality.

[GEE-OTTO]

I loved that you have the kids in the mix, that is how and why i love wrenching on all manner of things to this day.

 

Now what is this secret polish sauce mix liquid ? I'm asking for a friend with hazy headlights

[xrayspecs]

i cant remember who manufactures the stuff I bought, but its a 1:1 blend of SS metal and plastic solid bar buffing compound. i put them in a bottle with water till its diluted and a quick rub with a microfiber cloth and a rinse with clean water and it takes the lens haze right off.

[xrayspecs]

Its been a while since any updates on this, since driving it the power steering rack and pump have gone out. so have all the parts in the garage to replace the whole power steering system.

 

At the same time i replace the power steering system im going to be finally fixing the crash damage with a full front clip i have coming in. cant wait to have it all together and painted to match.

 

 

[xrayspecs]

Parts have showed up! now all I am waiting on is a a few small items to do the swap!

 

 

 

 

 

i know ive seen it before, but cant find it now, but for the headlights, does anyone have a how to thread for on converting the JDM HID's from RHD to LHD so the cut off is correct? specifically the ones below.

 

EDIT: https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?8762 I found the thread to eliminate blinding oncoming traffic.

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by xrayspecs
found the link i was looking for

[xrayspecs]

The rack and pinion had been leaking a bit since before the fender bender. the leak finally killed the power steering pump when it got cold this winter. with everything going on finally have time to get all the parts together and tear into replacing the entire power steering system. Based on information from various forum threads on here and elsewhere i went ahead and got a +15MY steering rack to replace the OE unit. I also put in a while back a 5 panel wink mirror i made brackets to adapt to the OE visor mount point, I need to make another rev that has slots so i can get more adjustment on the mirror. I have always had these on my cars in the past and they kick ass for improving the rear visibility when driving.

 

Wink mirror brackets made two like this.

 

Mirror in place.

 

Installing the +15MY steering rack is pretty straight forward.... cleaned under the hood first so wouldnt be so dirty to work on.

 

 

You can see the failed seal on the passengers side that had been leaking since probably right after i completely rebuilt the front end a while back. it only recently got bad enough that it killed the pump. Went through the Simple Green cleaning this all up.

 

 

pull the pump, hoses, belt and power steering pump.

 

 

clean everything, and install the new power steering pump.

 

Steering racks next to each other after removing the old and busted OEM unit.

 

 

to get the newer steering rack to work with the OEM steering shaft you have to use the +15MY steering ujoint. the splines on the steering pinion are different than the ones on the 02 pinon so this piece has to be upgraded. i used Part number 34170VA30 from Subaru. ill get a picture of the new ujoint in place here shortly. the part number listed slides right onto the splines on the steering shaft with no problems.

 

 

the other major item is you have to open up the subframe, the power steering rack wont clear on the driverside without doing this. its a bit of trial and error of test fitting till you've gotten enough out of the way. size of the hole I made

 

 

the passengers side of the steering rack I reused the Whiteline bushing that i had installed on the previous rack ,and reused the OEM clamp and hardware.

 

***the other major item that i did address (didnt grab photos of the process) is you have to take about 1/2" of thread off of the inner tie rods on the +15MY STI rack. And about 3/8ths off the outter tie rods to get any toe in when you align the car, just cut and chase the threads. follow this guys instructions if you are going to do it yourself. https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=42773116

 

*****NOTE the OEM BE outer tie rod ends, I installed previously part number ES3715 FIT onto the +15MY STI inner tie rods. in fact they look IDENTICAL dimensionaly to the ones that were on the steering rack assembly i purchased. I choose to reuse the MOOG units for three reasons, the wrench flat was in a different position (this lets me cut down the tie rod with no loss of the wrench flat area), they were still in great condition, and they have grease zerk fittings that allow me to service them every 10k or so.

 

 

I Currently the rack is in the car, however i need to reclock my steering wheel and finish the hoses.

 

The OEM power steering hoses fit onto the +15MY STI steering rack, see below for test fit before i started the installation, no need for any crazy custom hoses like i have seen on all the other installations of this steering rack.

 

 

will let everyone know how it transforms the car after its all in and aligned.

Edited May 18, 2020 by xrayspecs

[boxkita]

great writeups. Luv the kid's helping pics

[xrayspecs]

Thanks! i try to keep it up to date with the big items and the running parts list is a cut and pastefrom my log book.

 

no better way to make memories and teach them is to get them involved!

Edited June 25, 2020 by xrayspecs

[xrayspecs]

Finally got around to getting the proper hardware for the longer fasteners needed on the drivers side.

 

I had picked up low grade fasteners to test fit everything when installing, however I guessed wrong on the fastener lengths. so after test fitting and measuring I ordered some M10x1.25 in Class 12.9 fasteners (70mm/80mm length), washers and lock washers for that side, i also measured up the spacer and got a stand off for the step side of the steering rack that was needed.

 

 

Steering rack installed clearance around the opened up steering rack.

 

 

now that everything is installed and in its proper place found out the +15STi steering knuckle is too long for the BE/BH chassis. see the below for side by side. I thought there might be enough splines on the steering shaft that it wouldn't be an issue. But now that i have the correct length bolts that is not the case and the shaft will need to be shortened. Based on what I have measured ill need to make it about 1.5"~2" shorter to match the overall length of the shaft that was removed. Kinda stuck on this install till I get this shortened and welded up.

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by xrayspecs
I cant spell

[xrayspecs]

I also forgot to add the updates from this winter.

 

The engine kept throwing a code for knock, took a spark plug replacement, and a new knock sensor. when I had pulled the old one off, it had a massive crack across the sensor, and testing bad with a multi-meter. All the LPS had in stock was one from a WRX, fit and has worked just fine.

 

Also had the wheel bearings on the passenger side front start to howl really bad.

replaced both front wheel bearings, seals, C-clips, lock nuts and the sound in the car decreased drastically.

 

[Chrio]

I love this!

[xrayspecs]

Slowly chipping away at this project, between work, house projects and family not had much time the last few weeks to finish it up and get the BE on the ground.

 

Cut down and got the STI u-joint shaft to the correct length. right now need to get some time to TIG it back up.

 

first cut of the OEM weld out

 

Fit check on the rack and steering column.

 

 

Installed the power steering cooler in front of the grill, and test fit all the hoses this location is temp with this front clip, when I swap the JDM front clip ill move the location and hoses to a permanent place and build a proper bracket for the cooler...

 

 

the hydraulic lines on the +15 steering rack are oriented a bit different than the OEM rack that was removed, as a result the return line is oriented a bit different than it was originally, not an issue as I am using aftermarket on the return line to loop it through the cooler before returning to the reservoir.

 

 

 

OEM sway bar and jack plate back in, a sway bar and new shocks are next on the to buy list after i finish installing the bushings in the rear axle.

 

 

 

The rack pressure lines also clear the Borla UEL that i have fit check before installation of my header .

 

 

once the I get the ujoint in, it'll be time to flip the car around in the garage and pull the whole rear subframe.

[boxkita]

I feel like a slacker reading your thread. However looking forward to the next post

[xrayspecs]

I feel like a slacker reading your thread. However looking forward to the next post

 

Yeah, there was a lot of hording parts though over the last year or so for this and the next work I have planned. Pulling the rear sub-frame and doing all the rear bushings also gives me a good excuse to buy a hydraulic press for the home garage

 

Plus I recently had my work situation change and I don't have to commute way to far daily which leaves more time for wrenching.