Febreze Mee's Wagon Build Thread (Heiress)

[Febreze Mee]

As the fall season begins, we enter a time of maintenance. Transmission/Diff flush, exhaust hanger bushings, PS pump rebuild, STi rack rebuild, and new wheels. I'm prepping the car for next year's AutoX season. The last major things before it's ready is a KB oil pick-up tube and baffle, and tires.

Rebuilt OEM PS pump.

2017 STi steering rack rebuild. 

There are a few items ordered/used not pictured below. I only replaced hard lines, the small high pressure line, and most oil control valve assembly components.

I ended up having to do the job twice, because once assembled and driven after the first time, the steering was super heavy, and very wonky. Since the rack began it's like in my car it's had a small leak. Rebuilding it at the time was a daunting task for me that I didn't think I could do until a couple weeks ago when I rebuilt the PS pump for $20 and 1hr of my time. I didn't want to spring $650 for a new rack, so I bought $150 in parts and spent more time than I care to admit between both rebuild jobs. I drove ckwaters' Outback around with his fresh STi swap for a baseline feel, only to confirm that something was very wrong after this first rebuild. After a few more visual inspections, it was decided I would have to yank it out again to see what happened internally.

This washer was my issue.

This what it is supposed to look like all the way around. It's not perfectly flat by design, and that is to make room for the bearing rollers directly beneath it  

It was smashed and deformed when capping the oil control valve assembly. This makes sense because it was notably difficult to put the cap back on and I immediately see why.

Let me preface this next part by saying that this is my only running and driving car right now. So it needs to be up and running for each day. I walked into the second rebuild with much less spare parts than I did the first time, and not knowing what I'd come to find out, I understood I might have to improvise. This isn't the right answer, but it works as it should and I'm content with the results. 
 

Solution: I ended up flattening the washer in a vice and grinding the lip down to match the original dimensions. 
 

Lessons learned: If parts do not go on as easily as they came off, don't force them. Also, this washer directly affected how heavy the steering was. Theoretically, if you wanted to adjust the steering feel on a scale between heavy steering and lighter steering, playing around with the OD of this washer and the clearance of the oil control valve assembly cap could allow for whatever you may be looking for in steering feel. 
 

 

For a cherry on top, I ordered a new lower engine cover/windage tray and all hardware. I also ordered new washer fluid hosing/hardware for the front half of the car, and a new rear hood/cowl panel seal. Ordering a new cowl panel soon.

I also picked up five and a half Prodrive PFF7s from John for a dedicated HPDE wheel. 

[Febreze Mee]

Another big update - yay! Starting back from the New Year, here are a few other Advent Calendar related photos for the family project I was working on in January. If you don't remember, reference the link below:

A friend was no longer needed his EJ253 as it was no longer good. So I stopped by to pick it up from him for $100, for spare parts. SPOILER ALERT: It had a broken camshaft, and coolant in Cylinder #3 (also known as blown head gaskets). Somehow, he managed to drive it to our buddies house where it had another used motor installed to replace this one. While most of it was useless, I got my money's worth out of sensors, solenoids, a good left head, and intake components for future R&D. 

I also made a late night run to my dealership for some fun, and a few last minute parts for the Driver Skills car control clinic/AutoX I had signed up for. 

[Febreze Mee]

Sadly, I would not make it to the AutoX, as I had a misfire come down on me in Cyl #3 at 178K miles, and I could not figure out the cause in time. It wouldn't be until a week later, and lots of hours spent diagnosing/testing that I would come to pronounce my current engine FUBAR due to the low compression in Cylinder #3. Inconvenient for me, as I had a two-week vacation coming up in a month at the end of February, and wanted to drive home. I decided to stay and focus my efforts towards getting the car back up to snuff in between a couple months of work trips. I was hoping to have it done and broken in right as the driving season hit, so I could enjoy my last summer here, and get out for some long-awaited HPDE.

 

And so it began! I kicked off my vacation with putting together a parts list and plan. I also took the time to correct the paint one very cold day. It had been 1.5yrs since the last time I did, and I was already feeling guilty for being 6mos past due. The results came out phenomenal!

The month of March began with me ordering a brand new long block, Killer B and other oiling modifications, Defi DIN triple gauge cluster, and other new OEM supporting hardware. I left for Hawaii for a few weeks, and came back first week of April to new long block waiting to be assembled.

[Febreze Mee]

Everything is so clean! A washed car, fresh metal all around, a degreased the engine bay, and new rubber hoses everywhere. We had to get creative with a clutch alignment tool, as I totally left mine with a friend. We replaced the inner pilot bearing on the FW as I had a couple extra on hand from the PS pump rebuild. I installed the Defi oil pressure switch at the front, just above the oil pump. I then relocated the factory oil pressure switch to the rear of the block  next to the PCV valve, for redundancy. I installed the the Defi oil temp sensor right in front of where the OEM oil pressure switch was just relocated, above Cyl #3, right behind the coolant crossover. I installed the Defi water temp sensor in the back of the coolant cross over pipe. We drilled and tapped into a section of the crossover pipe that looked intentionally designed for doing just this. Easy-peasy lemon coolant-y! I left the factor water temp sensor for redundancy as well.

[Febreze Mee]

I took the entire next day to make sure my intake turned out the way I wanted. I stripped it down to just the aluminum, and started painting it in wrinkle black. I didn't take any pictures of the finished product (I will soon), but as of today it's currently back off and won't be back on any time soon... 

 

After buttoning up everything the next day, and completing Easter weekend. I set out to break in the motor, before having to leave it for another three weeks while traveling down to California. A couple drives later to Mayfield Lake, Spada Lake, and a drive or two through Green Valley. I began to set my sights on the next Auto X events, and marked the calendar for mid-June to have a minimum of 5000 miles, the first synthetic oil change, and all kinks worked out before signing up for the next event.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Febreze Mee

[Febreze Mee]

About 10 days ago a slight knock began. At this point, what ever damage was done, was done. I figured the motor was coming back out and torn down for inspection. I parked the car, and we stared investigating. Bad TB tensioner? Nah. Bad catalytic converter? Nope. I wanted to drop the oil pan, but started in chronological order and drained the pan first. This oil looked more sparkly than my recently corrected paint! And it looked to be separated with the coolant I had put in the day before whilst diagnosing a TB tensioner. Initial thoughts were improperly torqued heads, or a defective head gasket. Either way, there was a breach between the heads and block. I believe the lack of lubrication to the rod bearings encouraged some agitation down there which is where I believe the metal to be coming from. We couldn't possibly see an error in installation causing this issue, and suspected something went awry during assembly process under the care of the engine builder.

 

After a few phone calls back and forth with the engine builder discussing our next steps, we were instructed that to not remove the oil pan, and to let them be the first in there for the investigation. In good faith, we listened, but formulated a plan last Wednesday to expedite getting the motor back across the state to the shop. Despite them offering to ship it at no expense, we wasted no time and immediately began pulling the new motor from the car after I got home from work. From rolling the car into the garage to rolling it out, cleaning everything up, and palletizing/loading the motor up in the truck it had taken both of us 3hrs from start to finish. We went to bed early in anticipation for beginning our 5-hr drive to the East side at 4am Friday morning. The shop being pleasantly surprised at our arrival, welcomed us with open arms, and was very accommodating, assuring us they too would expedite their next courses of action. We left in confidence, knowing that either way we would be taken care of, and ate breakfast at the local diner before heading home.

[KZJonny]

Bummer dude. So sorry to hear that right on the cusp of summer driving season.

Hope that the results aren’t disastrous, but that ¿oil? doesn’t look great, does it…

Fingers crossed that much is salvageable.

[Febreze Mee]

52 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

Bummer dude. So sorry to hear that right on the cusp of summer driving season.

Hope that the results aren’t disastrous, but that ¿oil? doesn’t look great, does it…

Fingers crossed that much is salvageable.

Thanks for your condolences! The shop called today. A bearing was spun. Thankfully, they will be taking care of everything under warranty, I'm hoping it will be assembled by the end of this week, so that I can go over and pick it up. Otherwise, I will for sure be going to get it no later than Thursday, June 8th.

I'm calling it now, I will have 500mi on it by the end of that very weekend. And 2000mi on it by the end of June.

[Febreze Mee]

Round 2! Car fires up later today. I was supplied with the wrong valve cover gaskets, so I went to pick up my own OEM gaskets. I'll call Sunwest Monday in hopes to be compensated for this little error.

Additionally, I'm trying to figure out if putting in the TS solid shifter linkage is worth the potential damage I may cause to the rod fork just attempting to remove the factory linkage via removal of the roll pin. That's the only way I know to remove the linkage, but is the shock from tapping the roll pin out something to worry about?

 

[rhino6303]

Install the shift linkage. You won't damage the transmission tapping the roll pin out. You'll be surprised at the play in the oem link.

[Febreze Mee]

22 hours ago, rhino6303 said:

Install the shift linkage. You won't damage the transmission tapping the roll pin out. You'll be surprised at the play in the oem link.

None of the dealers had a roll pin in stock. They also said they no longer carry/sell them which is weird to me considering cars not even 6yrs old use this pin. I'll be ordering one online now. 

[Febreze Mee]

Round 2 complete! Had a bunch of scares upon start-up! All is resolved. My hormone levels are still stabilizing from the situation. All is well. 20mi and counting!

 

[Pleides]

On 6/11/2023 at 9:06 AM, Febreze Mee said:

Round 2 complete! Had a bunch of scares upon start-up! All is resolved. My hormone levels are still stabilizing from the situation. All is well. 20mi and counting!

 

See ya in Portland in a few hundred miles!

[Febreze Mee]

3 hours ago, Pleides said:

See ya in Portland in a few hundred miles!

Yessir! I'm coming down to Deer Island, hopefully tomorrow, to grab a custom exhaust manifold I had. I was going to reach out tomorrow once it's confirmed I'm coming down, to see if you wanted to grab something to eat. I'll keep you posted!

[Pleides]

36 minutes ago, Febreze Mee said:

Yessir! I'm coming down to Deer Island, hopefully tomorrow, to grab a custom exhaust manifold I had. I was going to reach out tomorrow once it's confirmed I'm coming down, to see if you wanted to grab something to eat. I'll keep you posted!

I work tomorrow, so as long as it's after 6 PM we should be good!

[Febreze Mee]

I went out for a late night drive yesterday and took a few photos outside of Black Diamond just over Green River. I changed the oil at lunch today. I had swapped in regular ole conventional oil in place of the break-in oil after just cresting 500mi on the new motor. I also went down to Deer Island, OR to pick up my brand new Inferno Fabrications headers. I'll have them ceramic coated inside and out by Performance Coatings over in Auburn, WA.

As of now the car has exactly 182,500mi on the chassis, and just over 800mi on the brand new EJ253 that we installed on Saturday. It's my hope to get another 200mi on it by Saturday morning's drive so that I can unlock the rest of the of the RPM range. So far, so torque-y!

[RumblyXT]

Man.. you guys have the best scenery in that side of the country.

I always said, the ej251/253 all it needs is a MLS H/Gs, then that motor becomes bullet proof.

I thought you had a DOHC installed since I saw the hood scoop at first. Regardless, your Car/build looks great.

Edited July 2, 2023 by RumblyXT

[Pleides]

5 hours ago, RumblyXT said:

Man.. you guys have the best scenery in that side of the country.

I always said, the ej251/253 all it needs is a MLS H/Gs, then that motor becomes bullet proof.

I thought you had a DOHC installed since I saw the hood scoop at first. Regardless, your Car/build looks great.

His car may not be fast but his driving skill is way better than me and he outruns me in my 320 WHP turbo'd car. Ask me how I know

[Febreze Mee]

6 hours ago, RumblyXT said:

Man.. you guys have the best scenery in that side of the country.

I always said, the ej251/253 all it needs is a MLS H/Gs, then that motor becomes bullet proof.

I thought you had a DOHC installed since I saw the hood scoop at first. Regardless, your Car/build looks great.

It's absolutely beautiful here! However, you have Georgia just above you. And northern GA is very beautiful —significantly closer too!

I have LOVED how low-maintenance and low-cost my EJ253 motors have been. And I am NOT nice to them. I take care of them, but I USE them.

I usually try to lead with the "NA w/ a scoop" part. Thanks so much for the compliments! It means a lot.

[Febreze Mee]

30 minutes ago, Pleides said:

His car may not be fast but his driving skill is way better than me and he outruns me in my 320 WHP turbo'd car. Ask me how I know

Thanks brother! @boxkita was shitting on me this weekend when we took the cars for a lap around Crescent Lake We had fun, I just really need some seat time in a closed course environment, and some coaching for the basics. I can get by, but I need some work. 

[Febreze Mee]

This weekend's adventures with a couple good friends:

Made a trip around Crescent Lake. Went to Quillbilly's Taproom for wonderful pizza and blackberry cider. 
 

Last weekend's photo, just so it's posted here:

[RumblyXT]

Great looking cars.. I’m digging the mud-flaps.

Be safe out there with the driving skills and.. watch out for Bigfoot!

I hear Oregon/Washington are their favorite territory lol

Edited July 3, 2023 by RumblyXT

[boxkita]

@Febreze Mee that was such a fun trip. When the road dropped out, that was hilarious. My front end got light, Mrs Boxkitty yelled at me, and I wanted to go back and try for a higher speed.

Its been a couple decades since I did that road, guess things changed a bit. Definitely a do again with no passngers

[Febreze Mee]

2 hours ago, RumblyXT said:

Great looking cars.. I’m digging the mud-flaps.

Be safe out there with the driving skills and.. watch out for Bigfoot!

I hear Oregon/Washington are their favorite territory lol

Looking at the car from some angles, I like the flaps. But from other angles, I consider ripping them off. The theme was supposed to be my spin on a tarmac rally aesthetic. I'm tempted more and more to put the factor mudguards back on.

Absolutely will do!

[Febreze Mee]

7 minutes ago, boxkita said:

@Febreze Mee that was such a fun trip. When the road dropped out, that was hilarious. My front end got light, Mrs Boxkitty yelled at me, and I wanted to go back and try for a higher speed.

Its been a couple decades since I did that road, guess things changed a bit. Definitely a do again with no passngers

It was a blast! We'll get some more in once I get back from vacation driving the Dragon with @Infosecdad . Meanwhile, you and I have Dash Point Park to drive an evening this week.
 

No passengers, as lovely as they can be, unlocks a different kind of enjoyment.