Dan's $600 dollar 2002 Legacy GT Limited Sedan

[2point5GT_Dan]

Gold sedan sold. I felt a little sad, but then I wiped my tears with 100 dollar bills.

 

Starting the wagon build this week.

[2point5GT_Dan]

Update....

 

Is it bad that I bought a skidplate before I had my registration done?

 

 

First time home.

 

 

 

 

Saw some fluid on the crossmember when I got to my apartment.

 

Has a CEL.

 

Has some rust.

 

Initial impressions:

 

Drivetrain flops so god damn hard around everywhere. It has the stupid fluid filled motor mounts. I need to redo the rear toe bolts, do the whiteline rear camber bolts, probably struts, probably a timing set for a piece of mind. Trans mount and shifter bushings. Etc etc. At least this one runs and drives....

 

Drove the car some more. It needs headgaskets. They're leaking onto the crossmember.

 

Also went through the paperwork in the glovebox. The cam and crank seals has been done. Clutch has been done. 6k worth of receipts I counted. Not bad.

 

Ordered the JDM roof rails, because I'm going to try and make this thing look less dorky.

 

Trying to fix the evap code CEL, pretty easy to diag:

 

 

Ground wire broken. Replaced the connector and still has a CEL.

 

Debadged the dented to shit hatch, going to try and find another.

 

Then I answered the biggest question I had:

 

 

Aww yiss. Gravels fit thanks to the car being an L and not a GT.

 

And finally, why I bought a wagon:

 

[2point5GT_Dan]

Drove the RS to Herb Chambers cars and coffee saturday:

 

 

Was a little out of place considering my car costs pennies compared to some of the stuff there.

 

 

Sunday I loaded up the wagon with a friends H6 EZ30D to deliver to a friend for his forester swap.

 

Meet up at the friends.

 

 

Drove to the junkyard and got a ton of shit.

 

Kickin rad tsudo cat back:

 

 

Drove back to maine.

 

 

Washed the wagon, started cleaning the rims:

 

 

Drove to my friends to drop stuff off.

 

The motor makes a knocking sound at idle. Goes away when rev'd up. Doesn't sound like rod knock. I'm hoping its a bad timing pulley or tensioner. I drove it back to my folks and parked it, tearing the timing cover off tonight and draining the oil.

 

I haven't been able to find a youtube video replicating this sound.

 

If not I have a spare junkyard EJ25 in the shed. If that doesn't work I have a free EJ22 I'll head swap and slam in.

[2point5GT_Dan]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mVlYBdSLWM]10-15-13 Subaru Legacy 03 Wagon motor sound idle knock - YouTube[/ame]

[2point5GT_Dan]

1.5 hours

 

 

STUPID MOTOR HAS FRIGGIN EGR

 

 

Replacement motor

 

 

From a junkyard outback in a front end collision. Banged up enough to bust the timing covers but the whole assembly spins and has compression! So we know the motor ran before and after the accident but the car was old enough to be written off.

 

 

Too much shit:

 

 

Heads off the replacement shortblock:

 

 

All done with STi MLS headgaskets with the torque dance. That torque dance is so ridiculous and makes no sense to me at all.

 

intake is on. My new timing kit is still in the mail. Thanks rock auto for taking two days to process my order.

 

Also have Group N motor mounts to put in, along with a Group N trans mount. Got all the dealer only crap I wanted in one order.

[2point5GT_Dan]

And that finally brings us to tonight.

 

This went away:

 

 

And then this happened:

 

 

 

Runs and drives. No knocks. Took a video but my stupid phone crashes every time I try to upload it.

 

I thought I saw some fluid run down the crossmember after taking it down the road, but I wont know until I drive it more.

 

Oh yeah and this also showed up....

 

[derp]

I like this thread.

[lockmedic]

Dan. . . .

 

STOP BUYING YANKEELAND RUSTBUCKETS! Come south, we have lots of worn-out pieces of shit that you won't have to do tons of rust/corrosion repairs to. You can still have all the fun you want replacing boots, bushings, belts, and blocks, tho.

 

Nice SE wagon. I have a grille from one on my 00 OBW.

[scoobydoo73]

Dan. . . .

 

STOP BUYING YANKEELAND RUSTBUCKETS! Come south, we have lots of worn-out pieces of shit that you won't have to do tons of rust/corrosion repairs to. You can still have all the fun you want replacing boots, bushings, belts, and blocks, tho.

 

Nice SE wagon. I have a grille from one on my 00 OBW.

 

He speaks the truth, i'm always coming across rust free first/second gen legacies, imprezas, and foresters at pick and pull down here.

[2point5GT_Dan]

So this past weekend sucked a million dongs.

 

Friends car which blew up finally got its stuff.

 

Built longblock from Larry's power showed up friday afternoon and I was almost crushed to death unloading it from the 18 wheeler.

 

We waste all day saturday dressing the thing.

 

 

So many little "while we're in there upgrade" things which meant undressing and redressing an intake twice, making the TGV deletes fit, etc etc.

 

We had trouble getting the twinscroll manifold on. That was great.

 

Finally got everything in the car sunday.

 

 

Toot toot

 

 

Turbo doesnt fit. The downpipe flange wants to enter the glovebox.

 

The deal was he gets a motor out motor in. I delivered that. Trailered the car back to his folks while he gets to order more parts.

 

Dead mustang shell and dead WRX have left the compound.

 

New shortblock in the wagon seems okay. My asshole nearly ate the drivers seat the first time I redlined it, but it didn't explode. Every time I turn left that side howls. When I test drove the wagon Friday it sounded like a bad front wheel bearing in the front right. Steering wheel doesn't shake. Next weekend I'll throw a new knuckle on from the rally spares bucket.

 

Still need to:

-no reverse lights

-no high beam indicator on dash

-install STi group N trans mount + kartboy shifter bushings

 

[2point5GT_Dan]

And as to the get a southern car to start with, but where is the fun in that? I am certified looney I guess. I'm just going to smash into things on dirt roads with it anyway.

[2point5GT_Dan]

 

Shit ton of mini turds in the intake box too.

 

 

 

 

Shift bushing kit is in. I can actually feel the gears now. Still needs the Ujoint done.

 

The front end hum when I turn left isn’t a wheel bearing. I took the axle out and the brake disk off and there is no play in the hub. The spindles I took off the RS went down the road fine and they had more play then the one on the wagon, I'm thinking its just a dorked alignment or something at this point.

 

I also the ******* exhaust leaks now. It's either the headers or the wacky ass fix a flange thing after the cat section. I have no idea. I got new head studs + gaskets + weld on flange + helicoil kit just in case.

 

ALSO THE HATCH LEAKS SO SICK. opened it up and water started pouring out of the tail light section. I got a tube of clear RTV to reseal the center garnish on the tailgate.

 

Also fixed the CEL from the evap wiring thing.

 

Blowing some vacation time near thanksgiving to do the body work. Already have patch panels cut out. I kind of want this car to just be "done" and not have to **** with it.

 

[AAPOQ]

That's quite the fluff ball:lol:

[2point5GT_Dan]

From last night:

 

 

Ripped this out right away.

 

 

The cat back is BRAND NEW. Header is good. Cats function. But the flange on the cat section is jacked up and has this:

 

 

I have a replacement flange. Not sure if I'm going to throw it on or not. I think my exhaust leak was at the headers because ALL 6 studs came out with the nuts. So I put the new stud kit in tonight.

 

 

Also. I took thanksgiving week off. Teaser of what is in store:

 

 

[2point5GT_Dan]

Did more stuff today. Since the exhaust was off it was easier to get the cross member off. I figured out what the knocking from the trans was. One of the front crossmember bolts had the captive nut broken off in the past SO SOME CHUNDER**** TOOK A GOD DAMN ******* HOLE SAW TO THE BODY TO PUT A THROUGH BOLT IN. I didn't take a picture because I was so angry but holy ******* dongs it sucked.

 

 

Friend cleaned up and painted the crossmember for me while I put the Group N trans mount in and fixed a broken off crossmember bolt:

 

 

Also resealed the rear center garnish:

 

 

Then threw it all back together and took it for a ride. The exhaust was ******* louder.

 

 

Good thing I foresaw one of the threads being fucked up so I already ordered a permacoil kit.

 

 

In other non-poop wagon news:

 

 

Plow was removed from old goldie and traded for this:

 

 

Figuring out how to mount the damn thing:

 

 

I tackled the control box install:

 

 

And found this:

 

 

WTF:

 

 

Truck was an old construction truck with a GPS tracker. Ripped that POS out.

 

Going back to the folks tomorrow to permacoil the wagon header stud.

[2point5GT_Dan]

 

Drilled into the cylinder head. Tapped it. Permacoil in. New stud in. Bolt it all in. Still leaks. CEL p0032 front O2 high voltage.

 

Crank the bolts down more. Still leaks

 

Take them off. Clean area again. Still leaks.

 

TAKE WHOLE EXHAUST SYSTEM OFF. Machine header flange flat. Replace donut gasket and fix the spring bolts because they were on the outside of the flange instead of inside. RTV the ******* hell out of the header gasket on both sides. Bolt it all back together. Still leaks. Was quieter got bad again as soon as I got back pressure going on decel.

 

So the O2 sensor is throwing a fit and it still leaks. At least all my head studs are in.

 

Game plan is to buy a new O2 and pick up ebay headers from a friend, along with get new cylinder head gaskets. I will either weld on a new proper flange to the cat section or I might just buy a whole new damn cat section because I don't care at this point.

 

 

Shot of the mystery hole for the trans crossmember. Also the group N trans mount fixed nearly all of my driveline slack. It doesn't feel like the driveline is crashing around anymore. I can still feel the rear move, but it will be fine until spring.

[2point5GT_Dan]

I should probably update this:

 

rust repair

 

 

 

Cut ALL this crap out.

 

 

 

And weld your junkyard patch panels in.

 

WELDS CAME OUT AWESOME, not boogery on the outside. I still have to do the back section and inside the fender well tomorrow but it should be ready to be sealed up soon.

 

 

 

Skim coat of bondo to level and finally painting the damn thing.

 

 

 

Also blasted the inside of the car with frame coating while the interior was off.

 

 

I instantly got cancer.

 

Borla knockoff header and new cat section:

 

 

Tires:

 

 

 

 

Just been using it to hoon in the snow and haul lots of crap.

[Sludgeroo]

I like it. Working a lot on it!

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[2point5GT_Dan]

 

 

 

The metal flexes too much so the lights aren't in at the moment, I need to add more cross bracing next weekend and wire them up. Hope they don't get too hot.

 

Also need to figure out how I can black out the AC condenser.

 

I've got new struts, whiteline control arms, bushings, all on order. Getting ready for vermont winter challenge.

[2point5GT_Dan]

Did more work today. New front right axle to replace the one with the nuked boot. Swapped it so quick I forgot to take a pic.

 

 

Getting the forward diff mount ready for new bushings.

 

 

Awwww yeahhhhhh. Throttle response is getting better. Will be ace once I get the trailing arm bushings. Rear diff inserts are on order.

 

While I was under there I cleaned out the rust/dirt from the rear subframe with a vacuum and air compressor. Then sprayed the whole outside with rust converter and the inside with eastwood internal frame sealant. Should help keep the thing together for a few more years, I'll order a new one eventually from subaru and do poly bushings all around but for now this is great.

 

Picked up some SICKSPEED hella knock offs for a stooper cheap deal. Going to get a relay and wire them up with my junkyard hellas to have an array of 4 loud horns.

 

 

 

Got the mounting braced and the lights installed. Just need to wire them next weekend.

 

 

Red maplight LED installed for codriver at vermont winter:

 

[2point5GT_Dan]

Did the rear diff bushing inserts today. The driveline is now locked down from front to back with either group N or aftermarket poly bushings.

 

It of course wasn't without issue.

 

 

Sometimes you just have to get creative.

 

 

Also fed the switch wiring for the aux lights through the fire wall, welded back on the gas tank exhaust heat shield, and plastidipped my front bumper cover lower section black since the paint was cracking off of it and I wanted to see how it looks with a black accent thing.

 

All that is left before vermont winter is trailing arm bushings when they show up, outback strut/spring install, center diff swap, and fluid change.

[2point5GT_Dan]

Workin' on a wagon today. Not mine though.

 

 

Broken exhaust on coworkers outback:

 

 

All fixed with some booger welds and high temp paint:

 

 

Now on to stuff for MY wagon. H6 outback suspension and new sensen struts. I wanted to try sensen to see how fast they blow up and to see how bad "cheap" struts are.

 

 

 

Smells like underpaid workers and melted down fieros.

 

 

One.

 

 

Done.

[2point5GT_Dan]

Today was center diff day...

 

Getting the donor:

 

 

The original gearbox from my RS.

 

 

Blurry service position:

 

 

Donor transfer case apart.

 

 

 

Working on getting to the rear plate. Of course the punch is stuck in the linkage after punching out the inner pinch pin.

 

 

After using my punch + lady foot prybar + 5lb sledge to get the dowel pins out, I got the old chunk out:

 

 

 

Donor going in:

 

 

The case is on and the black RTV is drying. Gear oil is purchased and going in tomorrow. After testing and verifying OK I'll work on suspension.

 

I also started working on the ujoint for the shifter. 3 out of 4 of the plastic bushings were gone. I had two in my spare bin and picked up some plastic to fit for the last one.

 

 

Hopefully it moves and is happy.

[2point5GT_Dan]

Today I buttoned up everything.

 

Fixed shifter Ujoint:

 

 

Shifter is MUCH tighter now.

 

Then moved on to upper control arms when a friend showed up to help.

 

 

 

Two things I'd like to note. The whiteline bushings for the stock piece cost more than just buying a spec B aluminum one. Also, the bushings blow out and **** up the camber in the rear. My wheel looks perfect now alignment wise. Also in the third gens I've ridden in, the back end likes to hop over bumps, I'm thinking it's these bushings that cause it, wont know until I test more. The inners were clearly GONE.

 

 

Installing new Spec B arms:

 

 

Once that was done we moved on to the new strut install. The rear ends are a pain in the ass without two people. You put the strut in the top and bolt the top down, then you use a jack on the bottom to move the strut forward/back + up/down until you can line the eyes of the strut and knuckle up.

 

Outback setup is about an inch taller hardware wise.

 

 

 

 

 

The thing is now two inches shorter than my moms ford escape. Definitely taller.

 

Good news:

 

Drove it to my apartment. Suspension actually suspensions. Car moves and doesn't bind up.

 

Bad news:

 

Grinding sound when I stomp on it hard in first and second. I'm guessing it's the exhaust hitting the driveshaft because I went back to spring bolts on the donut gasket flange and forgot the cat hanger mount. I'm hoping it's something stupid regarding the exhaust or lift and not the actual gearbox.

[JohnnyT]

Thanks for the update. I really enjoy reading about the work your doing on this 3rd Gen. I can't get over all the rust though! Keep up the good work.