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

[KZJonny]

8 minutes ago, amm203 said:

I wonder if this is the source of some of my random knocking. My GS splitter has a slight sag under the hood and I can get it to rattle if I push on it with my finger. Assuming engine vibrations accomplish the same rattle. Short of taping it, sounds like JB Weld is the way to go. No plans on removing the intercooler or splitter anytime soon.

 

In other news, crossed over 140K miles and 40K miles on the rebuilt engine. OEM 5EAT is somehow still going strong. Not launching but not exactly babying it either.

I am sure you did, but by any chance did you not move the sprayer hoses when installing the splitter. I did not at first and it definitely affected how it was able to be snug to the hood.

I also wonder if putting some fresh strips of adhesive foam where the old factory stuff is might be a good idea. That stuff does tend to dry rot eventually.

When I saw the rusty, grot-looking metal screws that hold the splitter to the underside of the hood, I hated that I didn't have something nice to install it with, so I'm going to see if I can install SS nutserts into the holes that currently have the plastic tabs for the screws. Even if you don't see the fasteners, I'll feel better knowing that they aren't super-rusty screws that you can hardly get a socket on, hah! I swear, since I got the nutsert setting tool, it's like I see a place to use it every time I work on the car. It's really awesome being able to replace crappy rusted mild steel fasteners with little SS buttonheads. Not exactly high dollar dress up, but it's functional and happens to look good.

 

[xt2005bonbon]

12 minutes ago, amm203 said:

I wonder if this is the source of some of my random knocking. My GS splitter has a slight sag under the hood and I can get it to rattle if I push on it with my finger. Assuming engine vibrations accomplish the same rattle. Short of taping it, sounds like JB Weld is the way to go. No plans on removing the intercooler or splitter anytime soon.

 

Definitely possible. Here is the thread where I asked about this issue a while back.

 

[amm203]

28 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

I am sure you did, but by any chance did you not move the sprayer hoses when installing the splitter. I did not at first and it definitely affected how it was able to be snug to the hood.

Hmm I don't recall messing with the sprayer hoses at all when installing the splitter. The foam idea makes sense - like a  buffer of sorts between the metal splitter and hood. Definitely going to check this out. Good call on SS screws as well! It's been garaged up since the NE decided it was freaking March and not May

[amm203]

37 minutes ago, xt2005bonbon said:

 

Definitely possible. Here is the thread where I asked about this issue a while back.

 

Thank you for pointing me to this. I don't think my splitter fin cracked like yours did but it's good to know GS will remedy the problem. My issue is at the mid-point of the sheet-metal part that touches the hood towards the front of it. It sags and you can see a 1/8"-3/16" gap where it can easily rattle. Hell I wonder if weather-stripping along that edge might remedy the issue as well. I will randomly get 11 degrees of knock correction out of nowhere while cruising just like you mentioned. It's very rare but still concerning. ECU is smart enough to not learn it, thankfully. Guessing your random massive knock events went away for good after fixing the splitter?

[KZJonny]

46 minutes ago, xt2005bonbon said:

Definitely possible. Here is the thread where I asked about this issue a while back.

Thanks for the headsup, and will keep a eye on that for a crack in future. My unit was produced well after your install date, so maybe they remedied that particular problem, but don't know...

 

17 minutes ago, amm203 said:

Hmm I don't recall messing with the sprayer hoses at all when installing the splitter.

I would say it might be worth taking a look at. The mounts for the spray hoses were holding thhe back edge of my splitter at least 8-10mm away from the hood, where it should sit flush. I imagine this would put some degree of tension on everything? Conveniently, there are holes in the hood bracing immediately beside where the sprayers used to mount, so I ran the hose up inside the hood and held it in place with some zap straps.

 

When I figure out if I can remove the crappy plastic inserts and replace them with nutserts, I'll take a few photos of all of that.

8 minutes ago, amm203 said:

It sags and you can see a 1/8"-3/16" gap where it can easily rattle.

I would think that this could also be solved with either a metal screw or a nutsert + bolt... I'll investigate if the GS design could be improved with some more fastening. It only makes sense they would build it to attach to where there are already fastening points on the car, rather than requiring more drilling. Doesn't mean it is necassarily the *best* design.

[Febreze Mee]

4 hours ago, KZJonny said:

Supercharged H6?! I bet it's a riot to drive.
 

I'm sure they're around, but there can't be many 3.0L 4th gen wagons in my market, or there is a reasonable chance I would have ended up with one.... although with the dearth of information on the manual swap, maybe not!

The confusion is coming from the fact that this is a face-lifted Outback, not a Legacy wagon. 
 

Supercharged LL Bean with a 6MT. 

[xt2005bonbon]

17 minutes ago, amm203 said:

Thank you for pointing me to this. I don't think my splitter fin cracked like yours did but it's good to know GS will remedy the problem. My issue is at the mid-point of the sheet-metal part that touches the hood towards the front of it. It sags and you can see a 1/8"-3/16" gap where it can easily rattle. Hell I wonder if weather-stripping along that edge might remedy the issue as well. I will randomly get 11 degrees of knock correction out of nowhere while cruising just like you mentioned. It's very rare but still concerning. ECU is smart enough to not learn it, thankfully. Guessing your random massive knock events went away for good after fixing the splitter?

 

Not fully got rid of my knock events. Now, that's because of a loose up pipe heat shield that I have yet to weld back on. It is really loose and does trigger the knock sensor at that times, but the ECU does not learn anything really. My guess is the knock sensor may provide two pieces of info: the actual resonant frequency of the knock and its amplitude. I surmise the latter is quite weak, and therefore the ECU decides not to learn it. Assumptions assumptions though

 

As for the spray hoses, I do remember I had to reroute a hose when I installed the splitter.

[Febreze Mee]

@ckwaters I've been waiting too long for you to update the peoples about this. Now I can share.
 

These videos were taken during the two hours the Nameless muffler deletes were on, before coming right back off. Same setup: Supercharged H6 6MT. 

 

 

 

[KZJonny]

25 minutes ago, Febreze Mee said:

The confusion is coming from the fact that this is a face-lifted Outback, not a Legacy wagon. 
 

Supercharged LL Bean with a 6MT. 

Very interesting. I had a quick look around and of the dozens of 2005-2009 Outbacks available, a single one was a 3.0R, out on the west coast. So my guess is there either were very few sold here in the first place, or perhaps people just don't sell them on. I don't think I've ever seen on personally, and I am that guy who walks across a parking lot to look at any 3rd Gen OB or 4th Gen Legacy I spot.

[GearJamr]

6 hours ago, KZJonny said:

Failed last night attempting to re-boot my rear axle with the bad boot. Too much corrosion on the joint outer housing, and the boot won't stay put. No amount of screwing around with clamps would get it to stay where it has to.... probably the reason the old one failed in the first place. Another lesson learned in the rust belt.

Set of decent looking OEM CV's off of Ebay are on the way from Quebec.

That was most of an evening wasted, aside from learning when not to try and salvage a thing! Hah! Plus side to all that is getting 2x good looking OE axles for the price of one reman, so I'll give them a coat of rust encapsulator and they should live fairly happy lives since the GT doesn't do winter duty any longer.

Ah hell.  I have my old set with broken boots sitting in the basement!  Miss a little miss a lot around here!

[KZJonny]

12 minutes ago, GearJamr said:

Ah hell.  I have my old set with broken boots sitting in the basement!  Miss a little miss a lot around here!

Well, either hang on to them for if you ever need to fix a set, or let me know if you want to part with them at some point. I am the parts packrat. *lol*

Don't think I need the engine cover any longer... no way to make that fit over the GS top mount.....

[pksystems]

Installed new o-ring in power steering pump, and new reservoir hose.

Continued hooking up wiring harness.

These black connectors are both TGV wires I think?  I did TGV deletes and tossed the connectors a year ago.

[Febreze Mee]

Mid-summer Meetup thread posted:

 

[KZJonny]

1 hour ago, Febreze Mee said:

Mid-summer Meetup thread posted:

 

Dang! Don't think I'll have the vacation time or funds left to do it this year.

This will maybe not be a one-off event?

[Febreze Mee]

1 hour ago, KZJonny said:

Dang! Don't think I'll have the vacation time or funds left to do it this year.

This will maybe not be a one-off event?

Understandable, but still a bummer. 
 

I'm sure we'll drive the road again, I just can't say when. I'll be living in Georgia in the next two years, so I'll frequent it plenty more then. 

[KZJonny]

54 minutes ago, Febreze Mee said:

Understandable, but still a bummer. 
 

I'm sure we'll drive the road again, I just can't say when. I'll be living in Georgia in the next two years, so I'll frequent it plenty more then. 

Sounds like a reason to get a few cars together.

I’ll start saving for some wider rims and a set of Conti Extremes.

Is it possible to have a set of stock wheels cut and welded to be wider?? 

[Febreze Mee]

15 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

Sounds like a reason to get a few cars together.

I’ll start saving for some wider rims and a set of Conti Extremes.

Is it possible to have a set of stock wheels cut and welded to be wider?? 

It absolutely is! 
 

And it's absolutely possible. There was this 240sx hatch that came in on the factory coupe 5-spokes, and the wheels where cut, and widened to 9in. They were wrapped in meaty 615K+ and looked GOOD. Definitely doable.

[m sprank]

26 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

Is it possible to have a set of stock wheels cut and welded to be wider?? 

Thats a joke, eh?  It better be.

[m sprank]

4 hours ago, Febreze Mee said:

Mid-summer Meetup thread posted:

 

If I had a car... but no fun in a 4Runner. 

 

2 minutes ago, Febreze Mee said:

It absolutely is! 
 

And it's absolutely possible. There was this 240sx hatch that came in on the factory coupe 5-spokes, and the wheels where cut, and widened to 9in. They were wrapped in meaty 615K+ and looked GOOD. Definitely doable.

Um, possible and legal as well as smart are two different things.  Yes, its illegal as it is not DOT approved.  Yes, it is stupid as there is no way to guarantee structural integrity and repaired wheel failures are VERY common.  I did it once for a show car, but the wheels never saw drive time. 

[m sprank]

16 hours ago, pksystems said:

Installed new o-ring in power steering pump, and new reservoir hose.

Continued hooking up wiring harness.

These black connectors are both TGV wires I think?  I did TGV deletes and tossed the connectors a year ago.

Looks like side feeds, so I want to say that those are the TGV motor and sensor plugs.

[KZJonny]

31 minutes ago, m sprank said:

Thats a joke, eh?  It better be.

No. Legitimate question. I am aware that this has been done, but was asking to get a feel for cost/difficulty etc…

I understand metallurgy pretty well, having minored in inorganic chemistry, an in the hands of a skilled welder, or a good welding machine, I don’t see why there should be a significant chance of failure by widening a wheel by, .5” or so.

Wiling to listen to the voice of experience tho. The wheels would not have been engineered for the additional stresses etc, etc… so.

So perhaps no 7.5” wide wheel for me.

Edited May 3, 2023 by KZJonny

[m sprank]

Wheels are not steel.  They are alloy.  You can tig weld alloy, but you can not guarantee structural integrity or performance.  Tig welding a cracked alloy wheel is an art.  It can be done, but is normally recommended against.  Widening a wheel for street use, LMFAO.  Seen it a million times on drag cars though.  Call these guys

https://weldcraftwheels.com/

[tehspud]

4 hours ago, Febreze Mee said:

Understandable, but still a bummer. 
 

I'm sure we'll drive the road again, I just can't say when. I'll be living in Georgia in the next two years, so I'll frequent it plenty more then. 

Dang, I'll miss hanging out with you at WagonFest after you leave the PNW. 

[KZJonny]

2 hours ago, m sprank said:

Wheels are not steel.  They are alloy.  You can tig weld alloy, but you can not guarantee structural integrity or performance.  Tig welding a cracked alloy wheel is an art.  It can be done, but is normally recommended against.  Widening a wheel for street use, LMFAO.  Seen it a million times on drag cars though.  Call these guys

https://weldcraftwheels.com/

I do some tig welding, but not aluminium or alloys (yet) and would certainly never do that kind of work myself. 
 

I fully understand the level of precision required to get proper weld penetration while not overheating and altering the crystal structure of the neighbouring metal, not to mention wheels that are absolutely true…

If this is something that is warned against out of experience, I’m fine to take a pass. Just thought that if it was something that was done on the regular it potentially would be a path for me.

I don’t need wider wheels bad enough at my use case to justify giving up my stock ones for something else!

Thanks!

[Code]

Nice job. You may want to consider a hardwire kit for the fuel pump.