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

[Febreze Mee]

16 hours ago, seanyb505 said:

Been enjoying driving it lately in spite of driveshaft annoyances. Oem piece busted a u-joint and I replaced it with a dorman unit from advanced auto. Part number 936-955. A more quality piece from the driveshaft shop and parts thread above would have taken too long to arrive. 

Well the Dorman unit had an awful vibration above 32mph. 

I figured I'd order the driveshaft shop unit, and just return the Dorman to advanced auto. 

Well the driveshaft shop piece arrived today. Same box. Same Dorman part suffix. Same painted over scrapes. Same paint over unit labels. Same weights, everything. Pretty lol considering their website goes through great lengths to say beware of Chinese parts. 

At this point I've got nothing but two hours to lose to see if this driveshaft is correctly balanced. At least I enjoy wrenching and my brakes could use a bleeding... 

 

Upon closer inspection, both the Dorman unit and the driveshaft shop unit (brand "DuraShaft" ©) were shipped from the exact same warehouse in Reno.

This is really disheartening to hear. I was going to order a new one from them soon. Now, I'm evaluating my options. 

[BoozeRS05]

Anyone else see the driveshaft mod that was going around on FB? It was some sort of housing that attaches to the existing support, and the company was starting a group buy for like $230.

 

https://www.jxbperformance.com/products/subaru-legacy-bl/bp-4th-gen-driveshaft-center-support-bearing-carrier-upgrade

[WRX USA]

42 minutes ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Anyone else see the driveshaft mod that was going around on FB? It was some sort of housing that attaches to the existing support, and the company was starting a group buy for like $230.

 

https://www.jxbperformance.com/products/subaru-legacy-bl/bp-4th-gen-driveshaft-center-support-bearing-carrier-upgrade

That’s interesting. I’m not sure if it would work on my car since it says it’s not compatible with Outback except I have SpecB bits there. It doesn’t say anything about 6MT compatibility.

[BoozeRS05]

I’m pretty sure the owner mentioned it fitting the 6mt’s also. 

[KZJonny]

4 hours ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Anyone else see the driveshaft mod that was going around on FB? It was some sort of housing that attaches to the existing support, and the company was starting a group buy for like $230.

 

https://www.jxbperformance.com/products/subaru-legacy-bl/bp-4th-gen-driveshaft-center-support-bearing-carrier-upgrade

I like the idea of this for sure. Only driveline failure I've had in a 4th gen to date (aside from normal wear and tear) was a catastophic carrier bearing/bushing failure on the highway.... not my best morning.

Have to do a little reading on this, but I suppose it means you would forever be cutting carrier bearings off of replacement propshafts? Have to take a look at a driveshaft again, and see if the bearing itself can be made removeable. That, combined with replaceable u-joints would be the best solution for long term maintenance. Of course, that all costs...

[WRX USA]

4 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

I like the idea of this for sure. Only driveline failure I've had in a 4th gen to date (aside from normal wear and tear) was a catastophic carrier bearing/bushing failure on the highway.... not my best morning.

Have to do a little reading on this, but I suppose it means you would forever be cutting carrier bearings off of replacement propshafts? Have to take a look at a driveshaft again, and see if the bearing itself can be made removeable. That, combined with replaceable u-joints would be the best solution for long term maintenance. Of course, that all costs...

That's another reason why the one piece carbon fiber driveshaft from Driveshaft Shop Sounds appealing. It eliminates this failure point completely. 

[Enlight]

Continuing on my search to figure out my misfire/hard start issue, I spotted some corrosion in the coilpacks. One of the bolts holding in another coilpack was also loose. I cleaned them all up with Deoxit and a terminal cleaner (harness side too), then tightened down the plugs and coilpacks with a torque wrench.

I also went over my different subframe bolts and found quite a few that were loose (one that was finger loose). All things I overlooked when I was in a rush to get my car ready for the turner. Hopefully that will take care of the clunking.

Off to another car meet tomorrow to promote muFreight, it will be a food drive.

[Enlight]

3 hours ago, KZJonny said:

That, combined with replaceable u-joints would be the best solution for long term maintenance. Of course, that all costs...

I had a driveshaft shop install u joints with zerk fittings into mine. I wonder whether the "soft" option would increase or decrease NVH in my car...

[310Z]

Today 11-11-23 at Sonoma Race Way in General Parking Lot I saw and photographed a silver 05 LGT with 18 inches Enkei‘s . I also saw and photographed a 2.5 XT black with a bike rack on the back and a personal license plate. Mine was black LGT in the same parking lot that you probably walked by on your way down the hill. It still has Oregon plates on it .

[seanyb505]

16 hours ago, Febreze Mee said:

This is really disheartening to hear. I was going to order a new one from them soon. Now, I'm evaluating my options. 

I'm going to call them on Monday and see what's up. I hoping their's is still on the way, and this unit that showed up is either a) somehow the first rockauto Dorman (see my driveshaft noise thread) or b) advanced auto customer service went ahead and sent me a replacement even though I only inquired about returning the out of balance one. 

Anyway, I had an adventure yesterday on the way to the dump. Some krud kutter, dish soap and the pressure washer took care of most of it. 

 

I took the opportunity to also clean the other removable panels back there. Since I had those out, I figured it was time to try softening my kw coilovers. I'd installed them and half stiffness and combined with every single bushing being poly, the ride was quite... direct. Not rock hard harsh, but noticable. Backed them down to 25%. Didn't get a chance to try it out, so hopefully there's some improvement.

Edited November 12, 2023 by seanyb505

[xt2005bonbon]

On 11/10/2023 at 7:40 PM, seanyb505 said:

Been enjoying driving it lately in spite of driveshaft annoyances. Oem piece busted a u-joint and I replaced it with a dorman unit from advanced auto. Part number 936-955. A more quality piece from the driveshaft shop and parts thread above would have taken too long to arrive. 

Well the Dorman unit had an awful vibration above 32mph. 

I figured I'd order the driveshaft shop unit, and just return the Dorman to advanced auto. 

Well the driveshaft shop piece arrived today. Same box. Same Dorman part suffix. Same painted over scrapes. Same paint over unit labels. Same weights, everything. Pretty lol considering their website goes through great lengths to say beware of Chinese parts. 

At this point I've got nothing but two hours to lose to see if this driveshaft is correctly balanced. At least I enjoy wrenching and my brakes could use a bleeding... 

 

Upon closer inspection, both the Dorman unit and the driveshaft shop unit (brand "DuraShaft" ©) were shipped from the exact same warehouse in Reno.

I changed all my ujoints with Duralast parts from AutoZone  a few years back (65k miles+). I still do not suffer from vibrations. I'll post the part number when I find it.

 

Part number is 2-0430dl.

Edited November 12, 2023 by xt2005bonbon

[SoobyDoobyDoo]

20 hours ago, WRX USA said:

That’s interesting. I’m not sure if it would work on my car since it says it’s not compatible with Outback except I have SpecB bits there. It doesn’t say anything about 6MT compatibility.

 I’d say it’s worth inquiring about cause at this point I’m sure there’s OBXT ppl like yourself who have swapped stuff out so it’s no longer original. Could work…at this point with the age of our cars, $230 for something like this is a pretty good deal. Read a few places where dealer had quoted outrageous replacement cost ($1k +) when (according to these individuals) it’s like a 15 min job, plus cost of the parts. 

[seanyb505]

Yeah swapping driveshafts isn't hard for me at least, with a full invidia q300. Cutting up that center piece might take a few more moments. 

Re: softened KWs - ride is much more muted. Probably still a little firm to most, but softer to my behind. Haven't had a chance to push it under any kind of conditions that would impact the at the limit handling. I don't track or autox, so this is probably the right move for my overall build goal. 

[jaylew]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:03 AM, SubOperator said:

I call brave, labor is always the most expensive part of any project. If you can save some dough by doing the work yourself that's great. I personally love doing this kind of work and I have done a lot. When my sons help me then we really can get major projects complete (and we have).

I have the shed full of stuff that wold be in the garage otherwise so yes, a big shed is a blessing.

Big Shed is almost done... so braveness prevailed. I am sure there will end up being a bumper or something for the GT stored in the rafters of this shed all too soon!

[Lone_wolf_subie]

Sometimes it's the little things. Replaced orange rear indicator bulbs with the chrome ones. Subtle change but cool

[Ashtone]

I’ve been trying to replace worn drivers door weatherstrip. You’d think Subaru would have the right parts, but I’ve ordered two from the dealer and both have been way too small. PN 63571AG00BOR. This replaces the original number (63571AG00BJC) and is supposed to be the same, but nope…

I don’t believe it’s NOS parts that have shrunk; I think it’s made wrong. If it shrunk that much, the originals would be falling off the car

You can see how much smaller the new piece is compared to the old one in the photo. 
Frustrating

[SubOperator]

17 hours ago, Ashtone said:

I’ve been trying to replace worn drivers door weatherstrip. You’d think Subaru would have the right parts, but I’ve ordered two from the dealer and both have been way too small. PN 63571AG00BOR. This replaces the original number (63571AG00BJC) and is supposed to be the same, but nope…

I don’t believe it’s NOS parts that have shrunk; I think it’s made wrong. If it shrunk that much, the originals would be falling off the car

You can see how much smaller the new piece is compared to the old one in the photo. 
Frustrating

That sucks man. Based on shape it looks like the rear door weather strip to me.

Worst I ran into with OEM parts were wiper inserts that were 1.5" shorter than stated. Still have them...

[Ashtone]

2 hours ago, SubOperator said:

That sucks man. Based on shape it looks like the rear door weather strip to me.

I thought that might be the case, but it’s actually bigger than the rear one.

[Flaris]

Whilst waiting for the local Subaru dealership to get hat PCV tubing in stock for me I FINALLY received my spark plug cables, so I opted to give Subi her new plugs -- and promptly proceeded to get the socket STUCK on one of the plugs she currently has, slip out of the extension and give me a number of heart attacks before I realized I could just wrap paper around the extension for a tighter fit and backed it out. (Socket had a magnetic ring, which shattered and jammed everything up)

So...heart attack avoided. Subi's got no damage to her current plugs (I fished potential crap out with a collapsing magnet, to be safe.) and after an idle relearn to get somewhere to get a new plug socket I can safely say she's running MUCH better with new wires (NGK 55004) alone.

tl;dr: 50% tune up (wires, not plugs) at current.
To come: The other 50% (Plugs - NGK Iridium IX) + drilling out the broken bolt that prevents me from reinstalling the hood strut clip (and thusly prevents me from reinstalling her inlet duct)

[Max Capacity]

FWIW, when I do spark plugs, I have two plug sockets, one with the rubber insert and one without the rubber that holds the plug and sometimes stays on the plug as the extension is pulled out. Learned that working on the hemi style heads on the Honda civic many years ago, to fix the stuck socket on the plug, I had a socket welded to the extension. 

 

On these engines, I install the plug with the rubber insert socket, but before it's too far in, I switch to the socket without the rubber insert, then tighten the plug.

[seanyb505]

On 11/11/2023 at 1:50 PM, Febreze Mee said:

This is really disheartening to hear. I was going to order a new one from them soon. Now, I'm evaluating my options. 

It's confirmed, driveshaft store is shipping out cheap dorman units. Apparently they're working on driveshaft with a replaceable center bearing, but zero anticipated production date. 

They're allowing me to return the garbage they shipped me, but I'd shop elsewhere. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by seanyb505

[Max Capacity]

14 hours ago, seanyb505 said:

It's confirmed, driveshaft store is shipping out cheap dorman units. Apparently they're working on driveshaft with a replaceable center bearing, but zero anticipated production date. 

They're allowing me to return the garbage they shipped me, but I'd shop elsewhere. 

So sorry to hear that. 

[silverton]

18 hours ago, Max Capacity said:

FWIW, when I do spark plugs, I have two plug sockets, one with the rubber insert and one without the rubber that holds the plug and sometimes stays on the plug as the extension is pulled out. Learned that working on the hemi style heads on the Honda civic many years ago, to fix the stuck socket on the plug, I had a socket welded to the extension. 

 

On these engines, I install the plug with the rubber insert socket, but before it's too far in, I switch to the socket without the rubber insert, then tighten the plug.

Invest in one of these: https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/sp4928/5-8-x-6-swivel-spark-plug-socket

This allows you do spark plugs in the car with minimal disassembly. With this you no longer need to disconnect motor mounts to get a better angle. I can have the tool attached to a ratchet and still get it in 3 of the 4 holes

[Lone_wolf_subie]

Fitted my wing mirror indicators today. I love them, makes the car a little darker I feel 

[Flaris]

Swapped the spark plugs on Subi. She was running well when she had 3 out of 4 plugs, now she ran well but a new problem surfaced -- which given that I am a delivery driver is a touch rough.

She's rough-idling, dropping idle RPMs fast at start, dang near doing the stutter-and-die. She's also seemingly having trouble at low RPM shifts -- seems like she misses the mark, then retries half a second later and resumes accelerating. She's also struggling getting started from a full stop, similar stutter.

No lights, no codes (I suspect CANBUS is funked up from something -- it only sees the rear ABS sensor) so I'm going to need an OBD and pray I can sus out whats causing it before work tomorrow (or that I can at least borrow the company car for my shift). I did finally get the new PCV Hose, though, so I can at least check that out if nothing else.

So what I did for yesterday: Change the plugs. (woo!)
What I will be doing (because I posted after midnight its a double post all in one!): Replacing PCV Hose and cleaning the PCV Valve. Troubleshooting and making due without a floor jack or half the tools I probably need. If lucky (or unlucky, depending!) it's a bad plug.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Flaris
Additional information so I felt like I was actually contributing for both yesterday and today.