subydrift Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Hey guys, I just picked up another 97' Outback and figured I'd start a little journal on it. I have some good future plans for it aside from keeping it a reliable DD but I want it to be a good vehicle for camping and back roads stuff. It's a 97' Outback, 137k miles, EJ25, 5MT, with the usual options. It is in great shape for the year and miles and drives great. Plans for it are a bunch of maintenance first off (all new synthetic blend fluids, windoweld rear diff bushings, new shifter joint, fuel filter, plugs & wires) to keep it running smooth (timing belt, front seal, etc. in the Spring). I'm probably gonna have to replace the clutch soon too as it was slipping up hill in 5th gear the other day. It's not too bad yet though. For upgrades I'm gonna do 04+ Forester struts & springs, rear diff guard, new headlight bulbs (silverstars?), new driver foglight and bulbs, K&N air filter, intake silencer mod, WRX or STI axleback, new F&R sway endlinks, window tint, and grounding mod. So far I've done a Panasonic headunit, factory underseat sub, 04 WRX front speakers, cleaned and polished the headlights, and painted my rims Gunmetal. Looks alot better I think. It sets it apart from the rest of the Outbacks around Salt Lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 Here are some pics of the rim painting... Took the usual route. Scuffed the rims with a scotchbrite pad, used 320 grit on the oxidized areas, cleaned, I used 3x5 note cards to keep overspray down and then hit it with 3 or 4 coats of Duplicolor () Gunmetal wheel paint. The paint is nice cause it has some metal flake in it but is a little harder to spray smooth. They look pretty good but could have been better with better weather, more time, etc. I like the finished result though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 And here is a before and after of the headlights. They were so foggy and yellowed that I could barely see the road at night! So I taped them off, hit them with some 600 grit sanding pads, cleaned them up with Meguiars Plastix polish and then hit them with some Clear Coat paint to keep the shine. Not sure about the clear coat as thats the first time I've done it for this. My buddy did it and his turned out great so i thought I'd give it a try. Looks very clean and clear! We used a clear coat for plastics and found one that was UV protected so it should last a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Looks good, keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Not much for updates right now except rebuilding the whole motor. Lol... The clutch was slipping sometimes when I first got it so I had intended on replacing that but not this soon. I have always been weary of the head gaskets on this car since the PO didn't think they had been replaced yet. I checked the coolant every day and watched the temp gauge all the time. Then one day I got a small glimpse of the temp gauge higher than usual (although not overheating) and it dropped right back down. I got home a checked the radiator, I couldn't even see coolant in it. So I opened up the overflow and gas fumes came floating out and it was full. BAM! Head gaskets are blown. So I spent the 10 days I had off over the holidays getting her all fixed. I ordered the complete gasket kit, new clutch kit, water pump, timing belt, idler pulley, spark plugs and wires, seperator plate, new rad hoses, and some other little things. After reading every post online about head gaskets I was convinced I could do it myself. I got the motor out pulled the IM off, then the valve covers, and immediately decided this wasn't something I wanted to tackle. My buddies knew a subaru mechanic who opened his own Subaru only shop and I dropped the longblock off with him and all the gaskets, t-belt, pulley, seperator plate, and water pump and $300 and one day later I had a fresh longblock to put back in. Well worth the money IMHO. So the car runs great now! Good power, and smooth running all through the RPMs. The gas mileage isn't too great though so I'm gonna look into that. Replace the fuel filter and see if that helps. Maybe its just the crappy winter gas though. But for an update on future mods. I designed some 1" lift spacers that I had CNC'd here at work out of HDPE so those will be going in once the weather warms up. Also, an intake is in order. I haven't decide which style I'm going to go with yet but I have a few ideas. I'm gonna find a stock STI axleback and have it mated to my mid pipe for a little more rumble. Then some window tint and new GR2's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Here are some updated pics I took at my work's warehouse. I like the one with the airplane flying overhead most. Kind of a cool little picture spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 And here are some pics of the spacers I designed. I sat down with an extra top hat and some calipers and got all the dimensions and then modeled them up in Solidworks. These are for 93-01 Imprezas. I made a few sets of these for the guys over on DirtyImpreza. The fronts are the same for the OB's but the rears are different. Once the weather isn't 10 degrees I'll pull one of my rear struts out and get the rest of the dimensions for the OB rears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amorgan93 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 do plan on selling any of these spacers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Ha ha I actually have quite few sets for sale a couple of weeks ago but have since sold them all. I may make a few more sets in the spring and if I do I'll let you know! *Update: I got an intake pipe for the hybrid intake setup but over the weekend decided not to go with it. I also have a catch can waiting for installation along with all 4 new sway bar end links to get rid of the clunks. I put in a K&N panel filter to help with the MPG's too. Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amorgan93 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 do you have any pics of the OB with the spacers installed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 I don't have mine installed yet because I'm waiting on new GR-2 struts. I don't want to have to dis-assemble the strut assemblies twice so I'm just waiting until I can get the struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soloz2 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Any pics of the OB with the spacers yet? Current: 16 Crosstrek Premium w/ Eyesight & 05 Outback XT 5MT Past Subies: 14 FXT Premium, 14 WRX hatch, 06 Legacy 2.5i SE 5MT, 98 Outback wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subydrift Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 I actually forgot about this thread! I will take some pics today after work and get them up here! Edit: Found one hiding on my work computer. I'll take some more from further away and different angles so you can see it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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