Yet another new guy 05 OBXT build

[Max Capacity]

The early 05' didn't come with a cabin air filter. My 2005 built on May 28 2004 didn't have the filter installed. There is a retrofit kit to make it easier to install the filter. I never had a filter in my 05 for the 18 years I owned it.

In my 09, I just put a piece of blue/white furnace filter in there many years ago, I have not checked it since.

I'm 68 y/o, cars never had them until recent times.

[KZJonny]

Somewhere around here or maybe on SubaruOutback.org (or both) is a diagram of where to cut the '05-06 inner liner around/below the glove box to make the removal process a hundred times easier.

It's pretty intuituve one you've even changed the filter once, your just clearancing some plastic so the tabs on the fitler houseing clear and it can all come out more easily.

Either way, it isn't a thing that demands changing all that often. I do find them useful tho, especially since I often go for long periods without using any climate control. It's nice when the first use in a weeks or months doesn't spew leaves and pollen all over the place.

[subisubisu]

44 minutes ago, Max Capacity said:

The early 05' didn't come with a cabin air filter. My 2005 built on May 28 2004 didn't have the filter installed. There is a retrofit kit to make it easier to install the filter. I never had a filter in my 05 for the 18 years I owned it.

In my 09, I just put a piece of blue/white furnace filter in there many years ago, I have not checked it since.

I'm 68 y/o, cars never had them until recent times.

Wow, I was just acknowledging the possibility of not having it from the factory for completeness.  I had no expectation that was as likely as this.  I'm going to install what FedEx brings me before putting everything back into place, regardless.  This car is dusty, like it was driven in the desert with its windows down for a year.

[subisubisu]

Half the gauge wires snaked across the firewall, the half with gauge-side connectors small enough to fit through the firewall access hole.  Not sure I can do the other half as-is; might have to depin a sensor-side connector to manage it, and repin it on the engine bay side.  It's nice to be able to make progress in bite-sized chunks again.

[subisubisu]

The rest of the wires are snaked through the firewall.  All the sensors are in the engine bay, and all the power wires and gauge connections are in the console.  There is too much still unplugged for me to feel good about connecting the battery and turning the key to ACC just yet, but I am planning to get power from the cigarette lighter connection, since the ashtray is gone in favor of the new Ortiz 3-gauge mount.  Another nice little chunk of progress.  I left the string I used to pull wires in place - that was a lot of trouble to put in place and while I don't expect to need to pull anything over that route again, I certainly don't want to establish a pulling string again.  Just wound it up, taped it and hid it behind whatever was nearby.

Edited April 20, 2023 by subisubisu

[subisubisu]

Gauges in, far enough at least to await power up.

Ortiz Custom pod was a little tight and rough to jam the gauge cylinders in at first.  I used a flapper wheel with a drill to open them up some, and then some silicone spray made it possible.  I only dropped one trim screw into the 4th dimension in the whole process.

Yes, it's filthy.  The dash is a disaster.  I understand what "sleeper" means.  That's why the gauges are down low.

[subisubisu]

Got the new JMP turbo mounted today.  Connected below, but not above because (among other things) directions are to fill it before first start, before connecting oil and water supplies.

Lots of other stuff too.  Two steps forward and one step back most of the time.  If there are two ways to install something, I will install it wrong the first time and have to go back and correct it later.  I like how the Mighty Car Mods guys have called something "Instagram done" when it's plopped in place.  There is always a lot more connecting and reinstalling to be done before you can drive again.

And if there were frequent flyer miles for round trips to the creeper under the car and back up for another tool or light or towel or something, I would be approaching elite status.  VERY much envying those Youtubers with the lifts.

So, with the turbo and the fuel pump, those are the main mods.  Well, injectors too - coming soon!  Those are the real mods, along with the tune - more air, more fuel, kept in balance.  Everything else is just to handle what I hope will be substantially increased power.

[subisubisu]

Front axles seated, and transmission and rear differentials filled, with plugs torqued.  I have a fear of getting so excited to eventually start it up that I forget to fill fluids.  I left a pan under the transmission tonight, just in case, and engine oil on top of the engine to fill it tomorrow.  Still all the intake and fuel stuff to put on on top, plus downpipe and exhaust, but that stuff might go fast once I start rolling.  I'll have to knock off this weekend for Mothers' Day, but I anticipate progress.

[Febreze Mee]

I have a couple of drives scheduled this weekend, and a Cars & Coffee at Griot's Garage the morning of Mother's Day. I certainly hope, one day, to understand canceling all plans and reserving the entire weekend for the Sunday of Mother's day. 
 

In other news, I too, get scared of being excited and forgetting things. I went through the same thought process during my engine replacement. 

[subisubisu]

Well, I guess the turbo installation was "Instagram done" instead of really done before.  And there is still some hooking up of vacuum and the coolant and oil drains (fluids go up through the turbo, apparently) to do, but now the brackets are in place.  I certainly would do things in a different order next time - that attachment of the inboard bracket to the block is a royal pain to do in the car with the up pipe installed.  I was scrambling for low-profile ratcheting (or anything) ways to drive that bolt in, and that was after some trouble in getting it started in the first place - my fingers are stubby and my arm doesn't bend that way.  Finally I loosened up the up pipe and brackets so that I could tilt everything outboard to give me some room, without disconnecting the oil or coolant supply hoses (which were no treat to install in the first place), to install it from underneath.

Anyway, now everything is bolted down and I took the new Cobb catted downpipe out of its cocoon and trial fitted it.  I have the gasket coated with the Permatex Copper gasket spray (3 light coats per JMP's instruction) but I need to install the studs on the turbo so that I can attach the downpipe at the turbo outlet.  AND, it looks like I will have to be firm about bending the bracket that attaches to the transmission, but careful about where I use as a fulcrum.  At least it is in very nearly the right place, I just need to bend it a bit, and it looks like it is designed to bend.

I also finally got the AVO rear sway bar reinforcements in place.  I just had to order one of the last available pairs of the JDM-spaced ones from Australia since I had mistakenly bought the USDM-spaced ones a couple of years ago, and get a Legacy rear support bracket since the Outback one doesn't have nearly the bend it needs once you remove the spacers.  But I'm not bitter.

Still need to link up the front suspension pieces pending ride height (i.e., not drooped) tightening and eventual alignment, and all the intake and fuel stuff on top of the engine, plus the belt-driven accessories on the front of the engine, the new radiator, and make all the hose and electrical connections.

[subisubisu]

Wow, that downpipe install was a chore.  I had to quit and go to bed defeated, which I hate to do.  Cobb's opinion of where the hanger should be was not quite in line with Subaru's JDM Spec B opinion, but in the end Subaru bent.  Tried lots of options about what to leave loose and what to tighten first, and most of the time I was on my back underneath.  Don't talk to me about flying in from the coast, working over your head all the time will make your arms tired.  On a lift would still be over your head, but there is a lot more room for getting angles and leverage that way, which I didn't have.

Still, it's on and tight.  Cobb's pipe takes the place of a couple of Subaru pipes, which contributes to the inflexibility.  I hung the catback exhaust (original to the car, or at least the one that was there when I bought it, and it does not look new in any way).  The rearmost 4 rubber hangers went on pretty easily, but the fifth one, near the differential, looks a good inch or more away when the forward section of pipe hits something.  These are new replacement hangers; maybe I ordered the wrong one, and the right one looks like a banana.  I will have to check Opposed Forces.

Now I just have to mate the new catted downpipe to the old catback.  I have a couple of gaskets and the adapter that came with the Cobb and the old springbolt setup that I took off (in 2020!), so it's just a matter of gritting my teeth and getting back on the creeper.  I will have a big smile on my face when I put that creeper into long-term storage.

Well, that's not all I have to do, but that will finish the exhaust system from engine block to tailpipe for now.  A new exhaust would be a nice future project, but a man's got to know his limitations.  Next up are front suspension trial assembly, intake and fuel, hose and electrical connections, belt-driven accessories and radiator.  I didn't expect to have spent 6 hours on the downpipe.  I would starve as a shop technician.

[subisubisu]

It wasn't just me on the creeper, as it turns out.  I pressed the wife into service and put her at the rear of the car to simultaneously grab the tow frame and press with her feet on the exhaust piping, pushing it forward so that I could start the springbolts in the nuts at the join of the downpipe and catback at the middle of the car.  It was an adventure for her, as she only spent about two minutes on it.

I also got the fuel injectors changed out.  The driver's side retainer rings look newer than the passenger side, and the screws' T25 interfaces were a bit chewed up.  I ended up stripping one, and had to use an extractor to get it out.  Maybe someone used threadlocker before?  Anyway, those are some expensive little screws for what they are.

[silverton]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:04 PM, subisubisu said:

Not yet 2 whole years gone by, and I hope the lull is over.  Waiting on parts now, but have made some progress recently.  I now have a short block built, for instance.

Why don't I see people advising pressing the rear main seal in?  No amount of hammering, even with extra added profanity, seemed to be leading to success, but scrounging up a few washers did the trick immediately.

I really hope this is not where you ended up leaving the rear main seal, because that is not even close to being installed.

https://www.company23.com/subarutools/551

no need to improvise when the right tools are cheap enough.  if you absolutely need to improvise i have used the end of a 3/8's extension

Edited May 21, 2023 by silverton

[subisubisu]

I'm getting closer every day to finding out!  I recall that picture as being "before", and I further seated the seal, but now it's behind the flywheel with the transmission installed.  Unfortunately I have experience of a mis-installed RMS from previous work on the Audi, so I will recognize the symptoms if they appear.

I have some of the Company 23 special tools for manipulating the cam gears and harmonic balancer, but I think everyone who works on cars is frequently deciding when to buy a special tool and when to adapt others.  There are special tools for all of the rotating shaft seals on the engine and transmission - cams, axles and driveshaft in addition to the front and rear crankshaft seals.  There are also Schedule 40 PVC pipe end caps, sockets, and other ways to attempt to apply even pressure around the circumference so that the seal goes on straight.

Job 1 for me at the first engine start will be to check for leaks of every liquid and gas.  And I will have no one else to blame for any leaks but myself and the decisions I made all along the way.

[subisubisu]

AFR wideband probe installed in the new downpipe at the factory-provided bung.

Ball joints connected - finally a job for these hammers I have lying around.  Actually, hanging on pegboard.

However, the front sway bar arrived on the pallet pulled from the JDM car with the driver's side uplink popped off, for whatever reason.  I am starting to despair of popping it back on in situ.  I will have to consult the google to see if there are any helpful suggestions.  That is one wriggly son of a gun to try to keep lined up to be pressed back into place.

[silverton]

The symptoms of oil just pouring out of the back of the engine?  If you can't remember for certain you'll save yourself a shit ton of time by double checking now.  Ahhh, it's already in the engine bay, well alright

Edited May 22, 2023 by silverton

[subisubisu]

Starting to decipher the rat's nest of electrical wires and hoses that sit on top of the engine.  TGVs mounted, air intake mated to the turbo - that was the easy part.  I left a lot of the hoses connected at least at one end, thank goodness.  And there is no way that this eBay package of silicone hoses replaces every one.  Not sure if I got my money's worth out of that decision yet.  It would be nice to replace everything, and the hardest of the old hoses are gone, but some of these are still flexible, and if I can't make a match out of the remaining silicone set, I am putting them back on, ready to monitor for leaks.  I bypassed the throttle body coolant connection, for whatever it's worth - probably nothing, but one fewer hose to be a potential leak source.  Down south here we don't need Blizzaks and I doubt I'll miss heating my compressed air a bit more.

I thought about my separated front swaybar endlink and I have just about talked myself into just replacing them.  Lots of people do, and why struggle to put on a compromised 60k mile part (they say, on average) when I can put on new and forget about it?  People seem to like Kartboy, but there are other options.  And Memorial Day is this weekend, maybe there will be a sale.

[Febreze Mee]

I've gotten some good use out of a few sets of Moogs on a couple different Outbacks now. 

[subisubisu]

New endlinks on front swaybar.  All the front (and rear) suspension torqued, although I know some torque-breaking and adjustment is coming soon, because... toe plates and camber gauge on hand.  Not sure who 'round these here parts does a good job on aligning modified cars, so I will rely on myself to get it close, and maybe even good to hook.

MOST of the electrical connections are made, and I don't think there are any mysteries left in that respect, although the front O2 sensor doesn't seem to connect anywhere obvious.  I might get power on it tomorrow, since I bought a new battery today.  Interestingly (to me), the battery it came with is not the right one for the car, according Walmart's magic computer.  I'm not a big Walmart shopper, but their Johnson Controls batteries get good reviews, and I use them in my other vehicles.

I still have a couple of mysteries in vacuum and coolant lines to hook up, and good Lord willing I won't mix them up.  Once I solve one of those mysteries I can install the alternator and torque the power steering pump and refrigerant pump and put the belts on.  And once those are in place, I can replace the radiator and put the fans in.  The power steering pump supply hose from the reservoir has been leaking, but I think it was just that I tweaked it when moving it around, since the leak was right at the join to the short pipe near the reservoir.  I don't see any further leaking once I reseated the hose and clamp, but I left a shop towel under it tonight to see if there is any further leaking.

It seems my clutch reservoir is done - the lid won't clamp, and the plastic ears appear to be chewed up.  Another parts order going in, I expect.  Won't affect start-up, but will affect driving.

Speaking of start-up, I got my order in before the holiday weekend with the tuner but I don't have a start-up map yet, so that is still to come.  If I can get power on it in the next couple of days I intend to verify what I can, codes and lights and operation-wise, with just accessory power, and then hopefully de-power the fuel pump and crank the motor to move the oil around.

And if I don't waste a lot of time making those final engine connections, I expect I can put it on the ground and work on the alignment, at least.  I removed and replaced almost every part, either with JDM Spec B parts or aftermarket parts (mainly Whiteline), so I expect there is a lot to do to prevent me crabbing and scrubbing my way down the street.

Edited May 28, 2023 by subisubisu

[Infosecdad]

Great progress, nice work.

How are you doing the alignment?  It's been on my list of capabilities that I want to add.

[subisubisu]

2 hours ago, Infosecdad said:

How are you doing the alignment?  It's been on my list of capabilities that I want to add.

Toe plates will give me the sum of toe, front and back, with mechanical measurement of two tape measures in flat plates flat against the wheels.  The camber gauge has an electronic inclinometer to measure the tilting in or out of the wheel.  You can calculate caster by measuring camber with the wheel turned in and out, but I don't plan to try to adjust it, at least not first thing.  I bought these:  https://wheelalignmenttools.com/instructions/

However, since I changed so much, the sum of toe won't tell me that I am symmetrical along the thrust line, so I plan to use the PVC pipe and fishing line method from this video to get it centered from side to side:

I shouldn't need to do that very often, once it is centered.

[subisubisu]

Car is on the ground.  It's not cartoonishly out of alignment, but I've only started measuring and have not yet started adjusting.  This is one of those instances where you burn a lot of time going back and forth from side to side of the car if you don't have an alert and motivated helper, which I do not this weekend.

All the belt-driven accessories are installed, as are the belts and the new radiator, although I see the old one came out with some foam tape that somewhat seals the air coming through the grill, pulled by the fans across the radiator.  New Koyorad did not come with such tape, so I might see about getting some and sealing that up before placing the fans.

New clutch master cylinder assembly ordered.  I did not see a way to get just the reservoir, although I would also have gotten a seal and maybe a cap, too.  I checked on any easy upgrades and didn't see any, but I did see talk that the stock one is fine until you are getting VERY heavy in the clutch department.  It does appear that you can use WRX parts in the clutch slave cylinder and brake master, if those need replacing.  Mine don't seem to, but I have made a note.

Power not on yet.  Only a very few connections not yet made, on the backside of the intake manifold.  I have figured out that the new PCV needs part of the old PCV removed before I can install it, and I should have done that before putting the intake manifold on.  Noted for next build, but now I need to get creative about how to go about this chore.  I still have a few hose connections to make, but I RTFF some more and found some handy-dandy diagrams that I think will give me the guidance I need.  Then it's mainly the new TMIC and the upper reservoir to be put on and connected, and that will get me very close.

Now I'm leaning over and reaching down into the engine compartment instead of standing on a stool.  I had the car way up in the air to make dealing with the transmission easier, among other things. but it was a little dicey working with the floor jack up at the limits of its extension, and some, ahem, additional extension.  All's well that ends well, and I won't be appearing on the local news this weekend.  Don't try this at home, kids.

[subisubisu]

Sometimes praise for golf courses includes the statement that "you'll use every club in your bag" to meet the challenges of the course.

I wanted a challenge when I set out on this OBXT project, and I think I am using every tool in the chest.  That sounds cool and the gang, but it includes using shorty wrenches and bit ratchets.  I was happy to make those purchases in my ignorant past, thinking they might save my bacon on some hazy future day, but now I know that if you're reaching for the shorty wrenches and bit ratchets, you are hating life because you are working with your fingertips in some very tight spaces.  I even tied some fishing line to a shorty wrench because I already dropped it once and had to use an extendable magnet to fish it out.  Maybe on my second such project I will be able to recall these instances and do some preparatory work before making installations and reduce the need for hand cramps and profanity.

[subisubisu]

I had to tie another leash to another shorty wrench, and pull and reinstall the transmission again to correct a throwout bearing installation mistake, but as of this weekend everything is pretty much together.  All fluids in it except for coolant and windshield washer, clutch and brakes bled and firm.  I was racing the tuner to have it together before the start-up map arrived, and I won because I didn't receive a map before the weekend.

Which may be just as well, because the coolant system will hold pressure in the short run (minutes) if I plug the overflow hose at the driver's side of the radiator, but not in the long run (hours).  I don't hear air escaping, and since everything is either new (including my pressure test tools) or freshly reassembled I have nowhere to suspect over anywhere else.  So, I expect to be filling with distilled water and seeing if a leak shows itself.

I also expect to be disabling the fuel pump and cranking the engine over for a while to build oil pressure and distribute oil prior to first start.

Everything fought me, taking advantage of my naive rookie status, but at last I think it's ready to at least start it up, once I have the ROM to account for the changes.  BTW, one of the changes was a VF39 turbo, which was not just-bolt-it-up compatible with the new Grimmspeed TMIC (Legacy GT version), since the VF40 ejects its pressured air toward the hood, vertically, and the VF39 ejects its pressured air toward the driver's side front wheel, horizontally.  I needed some additional 2" ID silicone hose in a U-turn configuration and a barbed hose coupler plus modification (i.e. cutting) of the hose Grimmspeed supplied to connect the turbo to the intercooler.

The biggest pain with the intercooler install, of several, was connecting the intercooler to the hose leading to the throttle body.  Grimmspeed's directions say to connect the throttle body end first and leave the intercooler end with the hole facing upward ready to sit the intercooler on, but it was a tight fit and tight quarters and I just could not get that hose over the lip and seated that way.  I ended up removing the hose from the throttle body and the intercooler from the car, mating them with the aid of some silicone spray, and then snaking the hose back to the throttle body and using an extension to reach the hose clamp to tighten it.  The BPV hose had to be loosened from the intake manifold to open up access to make that happen.  FYI.

 

[Max Capacity]

I think I posted the tip years ago after mounting my first GS tmic, put the hose on the tmic outlet overnight, the day before you install it. It opens that hose to the right and easy fit. Then install on ATB like you did, first.