What did you do to your 4th gen. Legacy today? Vol - 10

[seanyb505]

Diy grill redo process. Lots of wet sanding in my future. 

[m sprank]

Started a dyno chart dump of LGT/OBXT here - More to come:

 

[Dragonempress]

Today my leggy's battery wouldn't turn over and I'm pretty sure she needs a new alternator. She also needs a new passenger cv axle and some new shocks. My dad is trying his hardest to convince me to trade her in and buy something new because she's worn out and has high miles. But its not about having payments, it's about the love I have for this car. She's my baby and I'd do whatever it takes to keep her going. Even if she needs a new motor, I'd take out a loan for it. Does anyone else feel this way about their leggy? Should I really give her up? I really don't want to. I have so many more plans for her. 

[rhino6303]

I bought a new engine gasket kit, some felpro headgaskets, oil cooler,  and avcs gears. I have some spare avcs solenoids. Next up to buy is bearings and rings (will reuse RA pistons since I don't push high HP numbers). I might buy a new CHRA for my turbo if it looks compromised.

Everything else will be cleaned and reused since it has just under 50k miles.

[KZJonny]

24 minutes ago, Dragonempress said:

Today my leggy's battery wouldn't turn over and I'm pretty sure she needs a new alternator. She also needs a new passenger cv axle and some new shocks. My dad is trying his hardest to convince me to trade her in and buy something new because she's worn out and has high miles. But its not about having payments, it's about the love I have for this car. She's my baby and I'd do whatever it takes to keep her going. Even if she needs a new motor, I'd take out a loan for it. Does anyone else feel this way about their leggy? Should I really give her up? I really don't want to. I have so many more plans for her. 

If your not doing that kind of work yourself, I’d suggest getting some basic tools, asking more questions, watching youtube videos etc….

Nothing you mentioned needs more than a good socket set and maybe some rust breaking penetrant. (Yeah, a floor jack and axle stands would be good, but there are also safe ways to do it without.)

Spend some money on quality parts and you’ll learn something.

Apologies if you’re already doing all your own work. If so, the cost of all those parts would be equal to a couple months of new/used car payments. And you sure won’t get anything that is a much fun to drive for something like that kind of money.

That looks like a well looked after car. Keep it that way and enjoy.

[Dragonempress]

3 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

If your not doing that kind of work yourself, I’d suggest getting some basic tools, asking more questions, watching youtube videos etc….

Nothing you mentioned needs more than a good socket set and maybe some rust breaking penetrant. (Yeah, a floor jack and axle stands would be good, but there are also safe ways to do it without.)

Spend some money on quality parts and you’ll learn something.

Apologies if you’re already doing all your own work. If so, the cost of all those parts would be equal to a couple months of new/used car payments. And you sure won’t get anything that is a much fun to drive for something like that kind of money.

That looks like a well looked after car. Keep it that way and enjoy.

Thanks so much! Unfortunately I don't have the space to work on her myself and I'm still learning. I got separated from the navy and stuck at my parents until I get back on my own. Its tough but my one constant in my life is my beautiful leggy. I'll get her fixed up and running better than ever. But I may take my dad's advice and get a decent daily and keep her for the weekends for now. 

[Febreze Mee]

1 hour ago, Dragonempress said:

Today my leggy's battery wouldn't turn over and I'm pretty sure she needs a new alternator. She also needs a new passenger cv axle and some new shocks. My dad is trying his hardest to convince me to trade her in and buy something new because she's worn out and has high miles. But its not about having payments, it's about the love I have for this car. She's my baby and I'd do whatever it takes to keep her going. Even if she needs a new motor, I'd take out a loan for it. Does anyone else feel this way about their leggy? Should I really give her up? I really don't want to. I have so many more plans for her. 

Maybe these questions were rhetorical. Maybe not. @KZJonny makes solid points that I concur with.

Unpopular opinion here: Additionally, no car is worth my financial freedom. I understand that what I have to say doesn't apply to all. I also understand that I don't know the first thing about your situation. I would find something low-maintenance, low-cost, and dead-reliable to get you to and fro during this season of life, until you can comfortably own what you'd like. "Comfort" looks different for everyone, and if it's living with parents, and scrounging for cash just to keep on the road to perform NEEDED daily duties, then that is "comfort" for you. I, personally, would suggest grinding to get your feet back under you, making it a priority to be as self-sustaining as you can be at whatever age you are now. Don't make the car a priority, unless your livelihood comes from this RBP Subaru Legacy GT.

[BoozeRS05]

Drove mine the other day for once. Then washed the shit out of it. Then waxed it last night. Looks real sharp right now

I also grabbed a CoverCraft dash cover just now. They’re on sale and I found a free shipping code. Went with a navy blue velour, pretty excited to see if it’s not completely tacky. My dash looks rancid again since it’s been parked this winter, nothing new.

[xt2005bonbon]

3 hours ago, rhino6303 said:

I bought a new engine gasket kit, some felpro headgaskets, oil cooler,  and avcs gears. I have some spare avcs solenoids. Next up to buy is bearings and rings (will reuse RA pistons since I don't push high HP numbers). I might buy a new CHRA for my turbo if it looks compromised.

Everything else will be cleaned and reused since it has just under 50k miles.

Good luck man. I commend you for not giving up on the car.

[lagwagon]

Hit 270,000-kms this weekend, added 3/4 of a quart of oil this morning, and scrubbed the front passenger seat with scrubbing bubbles fabric cleaner. I was amazed how much dirt came out of a clean looking seat. I'm sure I could do it a few more times and get even more dirt out.

[Dragonempress]

Update on my girl, I had a mobile tech look at her and it turns out the battery terminal was a little loose and also the wires were a little corroded and needed to be cleaned. After that she started right up. Bonus tho, I got to drive my dads Mercedes for the day way too fancy for my taste... but just glad she's ok. 

[m sprank]

I found Spider Pigs last dyno graph.  Re-tune as the engine was losing compression and we were trying to keep the car on track with the same engine under the hood. 

[Crazycook99]

Big thanks to Foxlighting for a sexy upgrade (impossible to get a good shot with a 5 yr old iPhone).  Didn’t go with the upgraded projectors just yet. However, she’s sexy af now with the rebranding. 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Crazycook99

[Pleides]

Surgeline changed my oil and lubed some bushings. NO MORE INCESSANT CREAKING ! The squeak was from the sway bar bushings. Thank heck nothing necessitated dropping parts of the car to fix it.

[GearJamr]

58 minutes ago, Pleides said:

Surgeline changed my oil and lubed some bushings. NO MORE INCESSANT CREAKING ! The squeak was from the sway bar bushings. Thank heck nothing necessitated dropping parts of the car to fix it.

Yes, I went the expensive route trying to eliminate the front end squeak last summer.  Turned out 30 minutes of my time and some lube was all that was needed.  Will have to do the rears once spring comes.

[BoozeRS05]

Noticed a good bit of smoke coming from my motor last night, oil leaks maybe getting more progressive.

So I started tearing down my spare motor. Heads will be sent for rebuild and short block is like new.

Those Co23 cam gear wrenches are pretty sweet too. Only had to cut/drill/chisel/hammer one bolt out, which took nearly as much time as the whole damn job.

[boxkita]

On 2/7/2023 at 5:11 PM, Dragonempress said:

Thanks so much! Unfortunately I don't have the space to work on her myself and I'm still learning. I got separated from the navy and stuck at my parents until I get back on my own. Its tough but my one constant in my life is my beautiful leggy. I'll get her fixed up and running better than ever. But I may take my dad's advice and get a decent daily and keep her for the weekends for now. 

I purchased a daily when my hg replacement went to hell. best choice ever. I flogged the crap out of that dd and sold it for scrap price. 

I finally hired a shop to fix mine. 

Pouring money into a car that needs constant maintenance doesn't make sense unless you have a good job, good mechanic skills and/or another car to get around with.

The much maligned MrTris had a thread on engine rebuilds that started with "obtain a dd that requires no maintenance and is cheap on gas for at least a year". A well-running dd makes lgt ownership possible .

[Dragonempress]

6 hours ago, boxkita said:

I purchased a daily when my hg replacement went to hell. best choice ever. I flogged the crap out of that dd and sold it for scrap price. 

I finally hired a shop to fix mine. 

Pouring money into a car that needs constant maintenance doesn't make sense unless you have a good job, good mechanic skills and/or another car to get around with.

The much maligned MrTris had a thread on engine rebuilds that started with "obtain a dd that requires no maintenance and is cheap on gas for at least a year". A well-running dd makes lgt ownership possible .

Thank you! Thats the plan. Maybe ill find me an old Honda for my dd so my girl can have a break.

[cheeseenlo]

I've had a pretty gnarly squeak after my SpecB aluminum control arms swap. All of the available poly bushings from Whiteline were installed so I would think this may have contributed to it. I will have to investigate greasing up the sways bars, I haven't touched those in years. 

Last night, I followed IAG's steps to adjust the clutch pedal. They recommend this for all multi plate clutches after a quick discussion with them. I'm not sure why this wouldn't apply for stock or aftermarket single plate clutches.

Anyhow - this was such a pain in the ass. Tapping the hole for the clutch stop would not have been possible without this small tap from Wera. A normal sized tap would need to be cut down. Once the clutch stop was installed, the clutch start switch had to be adjusted. This is where the fun begins! The jam nut is way up there with almost no room to fit your hand up there. A stubby 14mm is the only way to do this. Also don't drop and lose the nut like me, somehow I couldn't see where it landed and it's somewhere under the dash behind the carpet. It's a M10 x 1.25 nut in case you need to buy a few before attempting this. You'll need to depress the clutch and check that the switch is contacting the clutch pedal plate. Reference CL-37 for more information. There's honestly no way to accurately measure the gap (3.1-4.1mm) between the plate and the switch inside the car.  I wanted to fabricate a bar to hold the clutch pedal down and pinned against the seat but if it slips, it would've been game over if I was going to get whacked in the face/head from the clutch pedal.

https://www.kctool.com/wera-104668-single-tap-bit-m5/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInPi2s933_AIVMsmUCR1nwgtLEAQYASABEgKF3vD_BwE

 

[pksystems]

Finished hacking pieces out of my cubby and urethaned the carbon dual gauge pod panel in place.  Stealth wideband and water temp in the cubby.

Picked up some black synthetic leather (vinyl) for my a-pillar dual gauge pod. Boost and oil pressure for the pillar.

Edited February 11, 2023 by pksystems

[Underdog]

@cheeseenlo how much would you say you adjusted the pedal overall? I think it’s more of an issue in multi plate due to the stack up and subsequent wear of the multiple friction discs. Single disc kits should have around the same stack height as stock, but it’s still a good thing for people to inspect occasionally to prevent premature TOB or main bearing wear. 

[Pleides]

Found out the slowest tire leak in the world that I've had for months is actually a slightly bent wheel.... goddamn it. 

 

Also my sway bar bushings squeak is back but not in full force. Thinking the lube on them helped but it might be time to replace them as I drove on them dry for so long.

[cheeseenlo]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:38 AM, Underdog said:

@cheeseenlo how much would you say you adjusted the pedal overall? I think it’s more of an issue in multi plate due to the stack up and subsequent wear of the multiple friction discs. Single disc kits should have around the same stack height as stock, but it’s still a good thing for people to inspect occasionally to prevent premature TOB or main bearing wear. 

@UnderdogFor the clutch pedal free play, it was 3/4 of a turn back towards the firewall. So essentially, the rod was extended as far into the cabin, then I turned it clockwise back towards the master cylinder. For the pedal stop, I just measured it to be 0.63in/16.21mm from the top of bolt. That's pretty substantial in my opinion. 

The clutch free play was difficult to gauge since I couldn't really 'feel' when it stopped. There's no real point where there was a jump in resistance. I believe the clutch pedal spring might be contributing to this behavior. 

With the pedal stop adjusted per the video, the clutch pedal throw is much shorter now and it's a bit odd driving the car. Its hard to explain but the engagements are much rougher now. To smooth things out, I have to wait a little bit longer before I start letting off on the clutch pedal. 

[xt2005bonbon]

I remember at one point I was adjusting my clutch pedal free play and engagement point, not knowing I was compensating for a loose TSK3 sleeve. It was such a frustrating process .

[BoozeRS05]

I’ve been hitting every DG in my area for the last 2-3 days grabbing all the Castrol Magnatec 5w30 synth on clearance for $4.90/qt. Got 9 so far. It’s discontinued, but gf4 and I’ll run whatever