What did you do to your Outback today? V3

[xt2005bonbon]

Warning!! Long story below, but worth a read I guess

 

 

--> Big drama averted.

 

 

 

Crazy thing happened to us on Wednesday. I was bringing my wife to Target to get her first Pfizer shot. Had all three kids in the outback (05), outside temp was close to 100F. As I dropped her off, began to notice very strong smell of gasoline even though AC was on and was on recirc. Right away, I parked the car, grabbed my fire extinguisher and slowly opened the hood.

One of the fuel delivery hoses sprung a leak and was pissing fuel up like a fountain on the hood insulation pad and pouring down on a super hot engine .

I almost freaked out, pulled some rugs I had and tried to stop the fountain. Luckily I live in the desert, so fuel evaporates really really quickly. But also, fire can start sooo easily here. Anyway, got stuck with three little kids by myself in that parking lot for a good 45mn. A good Samaritan came by to provide some moral support.

 

Long story short, I was able to shorten the hose and limp the car to a closest parts store to replace it.

 

 

Now, why did it leak?? Well, this car was rebuilt/restored back in 08 I think in Arizona. We bought it in 09 in Utah, where 3 days later, I discovered some tape was covering the airbag light. Fixed that 1000$ later.

 

Now, has a type RA block since 2020. Runs great. Bunch of mods. Awesome. But I never paid attention to these fuel hoses and never changed them. I remember though noticing that they looked quite different than what the 06 currently has (OEM), where you need a special tool to disconnect them.

 

So while I was replacing the leaky hose, I noticed it was rated up to 50 psi!!!! . In other words, these were not EFI rated freakin hoses and I never noticed it. I can't believe it. Crooks, crooks. 11 years later, still finding surprises.

 

 

 

Anyway, we are safe. No fire, no harm. Car still runs great.

 

 

 

Still need to purchase EFI rated hoses since when I went to the parts store, I did not know better and showed them the old one. So they gave me another set of 50 psi hose. Will replace these ASAP.

 

 

Side note: I've learned from our forum that nominal fuel pressure should be around 43 psi or so for our engine. And from what I read, every psi of boost add about a psi of fuel pressure. I didn't even know that.

[Infosecdad]

Dang, glad you survived that cleanly.

 

I've had to order the high pressure fuel lines online at times because my local parts stores seem to only carry the old 50 psi lines...

 

And yes, I'll see >60psi at times when boosting

[xt2005bonbon]

Yeah man. It was scary. Again, I am glad a fire did not start. I am also glad and grateful all got caught in a parking lot, not in the middle of nowhere or in a forested area for instance. It could have started a wildfire or something. Crazy..

 

 

Regarding the high pressure fuel lines, you're right; they don't carry these. I checked local Autozones, Oreilly, and then Napa. Same story. But NAPA has them on their site.

 

 

 

Did you buy these for your Subaru or some other car? If it is for the former, what about the special connector thingy that Subaru uses instead of hose clamps?

 

 

I checked subaru sites and these hoses are like 100$ a piece! 2ft EFI rated from NAPA site is 18 bucks. But they obviously don't come with the special connector.

[Infosecdad]

Yeah man. It was scary. Again, I am glad a fire did not start. I am also glad and grateful all got caught in a parking lot, not in the middle of nowhere or in a forested area for instance. It could have started a wildfire or something. Crazy..

 

 

Regarding the high pressure fuel lines, you're right; they don't carry these. I checked local Autozones, Oreilly, and then Napa. Same story. But NAPA has them on their site.

 

 

 

Did you buy these for your Subaru or some other car? If it is for the former, what about the special connector thingy that Subaru uses instead of hose clamps?

 

 

I checked subaru sites and these hoses are like 100$ a piece! 2ft EFI rated from NAPA site is 18 bucks. But they obviously don't come with the special connector.

 

You can make your own.

 

I used Dorman 800-080 5/16 quick connect with 5/16 fuel injection hose.

Just use good worm clamps, I haven't had any issues after 3 years.

 

You might need to get a 5/16" disconnect "wrench" to get the OEM ones off, the dorman can be done with a set of pliers.

[xt2005bonbon]

Well that's the thing, the crooks never put OEM quick connects. They just pushed the 50 psi hoses onto the fuel rails and held them with regular hose clamps. Can't believe it lasted 11 years...

 

 

Thanks for the information. I will definitely get these along with the EFI rated hoses.

[Nonamedude]

I bought oe ones during my rebuild because I damaged the old ones by being an idiot. (I didn't know how fuel hoses disconnected).

 

They were stupid expensive. Glad everyone's alright. I've thought about adding a fire extinguisher to my car. Definitely would if I ever modify the fuel system.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xt2005bonbon]

Yeah. 85-115$ a pop! Not cheap.

I added a fire extinguisher a long time ago. Fortunately, never had to use it. And I hope I will never have to.

[AWDFTW]

Scored a small deal on some oil for the XT.

 

Got three 5 quart jugs of Castrol Edge 0W40 for $18.25 each. I'm set for a while now.

[rebourne]

Yeah man. It was scary. Again, I am glad a fire did not start. I am also glad and grateful all got caught in a parking lot, not in the middle of nowhere or in a forested area for instance. It could have started a wildfire or something. Crazy..

 

 

Regarding the high pressure fuel lines, you're right; they don't carry these. I checked local Autozones, Oreilly, and then Napa. Same story. But NAPA has them on their site.

 

 

 

Did you buy these for your Subaru or some other car? If it is for the former, what about the special connector thingy that Subaru uses instead of hose clamps?

 

 

I checked subaru sites and these hoses are like 100$ a piece! 2ft EFI rated from NAPA site is 18 bucks. But they obviously don't come with the special connector.

 

Great luck!

 

 

Just last weekend:

 

Driving up the (in)famous Socal Grapevine freeway (starts north of LA and goes up to 5000 feet), we passed an all lit up fire engine going as fast as it could up the hill. Smoke on the horizon, got closer and could see a brush fire just off the freeway. Traffic bunching up as we got closer, firemen on the hill attacking the fire and 5 or 6 fire vehicles. Next I see a family and all their suit cases on the side of the road near a fireman. And then I see their truck. Not much left of it. Color gone, tires gone, sitting on the wheels, still smoking, completely burnt to the ground. I think it was a 2000+ Chevy truck, but so toasted and just a few glances I couldn't make it out. Everyone safe, it seemed, but their trip was ruined.

 

I was with my mom and she asked me, what could make a car catch on fire?

 

.... I thought of a few things... I chose not to freak her out more and said "i dunno"

 

In car fire hydrant can't hurt. Begs the question: Why Not?

[boxkita]

70mph up grapevine ac on full blast w/early 2000's chevy truck? pretty much asking for a bbq. Especially if maintenance is poor.

[xt2005bonbon]

Great luck!

 

 

Just last weekend:

 

Driving up the (in)famous Socal Grapevine freeway (starts north of LA and goes up to 5000 feet), we passed an all lit up fire engine going as fast as it could up the hill. Smoke on the horizon, got closer and could see a brush fire just off the freeway. Traffic bunching up as we got closer, firemen on the hill attacking the fire and 5 or 6 fire vehicles. Next I see a family and all their suit cases on the side of the road near a fireman. And then I see their truck. Not much left of it. Color gone, tires gone, sitting on the wheels, still smoking, completely burnt to the ground. I think it was a 2000+ Chevy truck, but so toasted and just a few glances I couldn't make it out. Everyone safe, it seemed, but their trip was ruined.

 

I was with my mom and she asked me, what could make a car catch on fire?

 

.... I thought of a few things... I chose not to freak her out more and said "i dunno"

 

In car fire hydrant can't hurt. Begs the question: Why Not?

 

 

Crazy thing is our drama happened, essentially, a few days before our road trip. I am really really glad I caught this in a parking lot not too far from home. Received my quick disconnect fuel parts. Waiting for the EFI rated fuel hose to get here.

 

 

 

Just came back from a 1500 mile road trip problem free. Went from southern Utah to Yosemite national park, then to Monterey Cal. Drove along the coast there for 2-3 hr. Nice to see the ocean again and fun to drive in the twisties! Then, drove across the central valley through Bakersfield, Death Valley, Vegas and back home. Fun camping trip. May post a couple of pictures. And yeah, coolant temp peaked at 228F while climbing out of Death Valley . AC was off too! Somehow, I don't panic anymore if the temp stays below 230F. And it goes back to 195-200F pretty quickly too once you ease off the boost.

[s2baru]

Well the hunt for an outback came to an abrupt end when I came across this pretty lady 06 auto, unmolested, great maintenance history. Need to get an alignment done and possible rotors/pads. The BBS are going to look fire on it! Already ordered color matched JDM spats. Just need to address the raingaurds and also decide what % or tint to do all around or have the fronts be slightly less than the rears. All red driveway is almost there lol

 

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[rebourne]

Looks so clean! Look at those head lights, like brand new.

[xt2005bonbon]

She does look good. Nice! That's a lot of subies now. Wife still loves you?

[xt2005bonbon]

Had the weirdest thing happened to the 06.. The car has not been started for like 3 or 4 weeks now, as I am in the process of changing the inlet hose, pcv, upper radiator hose, and some other things.

 

Then, yesterday I noticed a very large puddle under the car. After closer inspection, the power steering system 'emptied itself' on the engine . What a mess. I know the infamous power steering oring was bad, but this is weird. I hope that's just it. So, now waiting for that oring to get here and a new hose as well.

[s2baru]

Did have a new bumper put on at some point in time due to a fender bender so both lights are relatively new from what I can tell. Odds are I'll find some retro fitted lights at some point if some one is selling.

Trying to find some hanabi, or screate taillights rather than traditional JDM ones.

Having a hard time deciding what to do for an exhaust. I don't mind the throaty'ness of sti genome axle backs, however I'd like something more sporty like apexi, Perrin, or stromung (doubt I'll find them though).

Not to get all sappy Fwiw just got out of a 6year relationship. The money planned for the future, well now got me a few things I was always told no to. Back to the things that I enjoy and the fun that felt like was taken away rather being supported on fully. Midlife crisis?? Idk maybe

[rebourne]

She does look good. Nice! That's a lot of subies now. Wife still loves you?

 

Did have a new bumper put on at some point in time due to a fender bender so both lights are relatively new from what I can tell. Odds are I'll find some retro fitted lights at some point if some one is selling.

Trying to find some hanabi, or screate taillights rather than traditional JDM ones.

Having a hard time deciding what to do for an exhaust. I don't mind the throaty'ness of sti genome axle backs, however I'd like something more sporty like apexi, Perrin, or stromung (doubt I'll find them though).

Not to get all sappy Fwiw just got out of a 6year relationship. The money planned for the future, well now got me a few things I was always told no to. Back to the things that I enjoy and the fun that felt like was taken away rather being supported on fully. Midlife crisis?? Idk maybe

 

oof. Well that answers that. I've been there buddy. It was a sucky time for me getting out and then figuring out who I was post divorce. I refer to my first wife as my practice wife.

 

Can't say I have any advice, other than if you're looking at expensive things, make sure the majority of the reason is it is for you, and less as a "F*ck U". A little FU is okay tho ;-)

[kzr750r1]

Just ordered new CV from http://www.raxles.com.

 

Hopefully they are as good as I read. Gonna just replace these with the hubs in one shot so I don't have to touch the front end for a while.

 

Couple weeks back replaced the steering pump.

 

240K on the chassis.

[xt2005bonbon]

I think once my FEQ axles are trashed, I will order some from raxles.

 

Last week, I had to replace yet again the passenger side inner cv boot. Fails too quick to my liking now. Doesn't help that I live in the desert either. Gonna install some kind of heat shield. Sick of dealing with the greasy mess it leaves.

[kzr750r1]

It's my left outside that is clicking right now. A few months back there was a loud pop while backing out of a parking space. All down hill from there. Right after the boot let loos and spewed grease all over the inside of the tire and rim.

 

Least it wasn't the inside turbo side again... That one took well to a reboot and is still the stock unit. Left side was a subaru replacement.

 

For $240 plus shipping for each its a deal. They provide the return label with the shipping so no core charge up front. His deal is making sure the return is a OEM axel. He's replacing all the end bits with new parts.

 

Crossing my fingers and toes this will make the car good for a while longer.

 

Nest will be getting the air control actuators replaced... Not looking forward to that. First I have to finish a ZRX1200 engine rebuild. Gahhhh.

[xt2005bonbon]

So, what happens if I want their axles but only have used aftermarkets to return to them?

[kzr750r1]

Call Marty... Or go get some Junkers from the local pick a part?

[Infosecdad]

So, what happens if I want their axles but only have used aftermarkets to return to them?

 

I have four OEM Outback axles from an ‘05 if you need any.

[xt2005bonbon]

Front ones? Still in good working order except maybe boots?

[Infosecdad]

Front ones? Still in good working order except maybe boots?

 

Full set off a 90k '05 OBXT that I had pulled the engine/tranny/etc.

I can pull them out of the cargo box and take pictures if needed.