long travel Outbacks or making Subarus faster and more reliable offroad

[pontoontodd]

Wiring for fuel temp / pressure sensors, evaporative solenoid, etc.  Two of the wires at the ECU just need a resistor between them.  Two others had 12V with some resistance going to them.

 

 

There are a bunch of these green/black wires running around that are 12V with ignition on.  There were two we'd cut that went to the trans and timer relay, so I spliced into those for the above wiring to the ECU and to power the tach signal adapter.

 

 

With heat shrink.

 

 

Splice into VSS.  The 99 speedo still works with the 99 VSS, which is good.  I'm pretty sure I've spliced into the wires for the 2002 VSS1 but no MPH on the OBDII scanner.  This was the only one we had hooked up when we drove the 2002 donor car around and had MPH showing up at the speedo and OBDII.  If nothing else this will be required for the cruise, and it might be causing the engine not to run at full power.

 

 

Based on my GPS logs, the car accelerates no faster from 30 to 50 on level ground than it did with the EJ25.  Not the most accurate test, so I tried something different.

 

Drove the white 2002 Outback up an uphill bridge by my house.  Started at 10mph at the bottom, 40mph by the time I got to the first light pole maybe a hundred feet away, 70 by the time I got to the last light pole at the top and still pulling hard.

Next was the 96 Impreza, I started in second gear at 10mph, it hit about 30mph at the first pole, 60 at the top and running out of breath.

Last was the 99 with the H6.  Basically the same as the Impreza but louder.  So I don't think it's making full power.  Don't know if that's electrical or mechanical.

 

Wires for oil pressure idiot light and temp gauge spliced in.  DO NOT ground the wire going to the temp gauge to check that you have the right one.  It caused the gauge to instantly peg out straight up.  Have to fix that or swap it out.

 

 

Also got the check engine light working and hooked up the tach adapter and got the tach working.  So at this point the main wiring task I haven't done is getting the alternator to charge.

 

Trying to get various things to work, I've plugged everything back in.  I thought maybe the stock ECU had to be plugged in to turn some things on.  When I turn on the ignition, it didn't ground the MIL/CEL or run the fuel pump, so it doesn't seem to be working.  Horn relay clicks when I hit the horn button.  None of the wipers or power mirrors work.  Power locks, turn signals, and interior and exterior lights work.  Is there something that went to the engine that needs to be grounded?

[pontoontodd]

Fortunately I was able to pop the cover off the instrument panel and the needle for the temp gauge snapped back down when I pushed it.  Temp gauge seems to work perfectly.

 

This is how I routed the 2002 harness into the engine compartment.  Could have put this fuse block inside the car, but there's even less room there.  Figure we'll mount it between the master cylinders.

 

 

Hole sawed through the firewall and down into the car.  2" holesaw is the biggest I have, getting the relay strip through there was a pain, but it's all in now.

 

 

Wire out of the instrument panel that goes to the alternator is black/white, so I spliced into that...

 

 

And crimped some spade connectors on that and the wire from the 2002 that goes to the middle alternator pin (red tape).

 

 

Alternator charges now.  Works without the idiot light bulb installed too.  Looked at the wiring diagram again and there is a diode that connects that circuit to one of the others so the alternator will still charge with the bulb removed or burned out.

 

My friend also was looking at the interior fuse block on the 2002 harness. There were really only three fuses we were still using. So we checked all that, unplugged that fuse block, and spliced three fuses into a few wires, and everything still seems to work.  Except a few of the fan relays aren't working, but I think I see the fuse we missed that runs those, that should be a simple fix.

 

 

The accessories weren't working because I wasn't sure what the four wires to the ignition switch did after messing with it with the multimeter.  My friend found the wire colors for those in the 99 FSM.  I had spliced into the one that powers ignition, but there is a separate one that powers the accessories. So now the wipers and power mirrors work.

 

 

My friend rewired some 1000 ohm 10W resistors into the TCM with a terminal strip.  A little nicer than the breadboard setup, they run much cooler than the 47 ohm resistors, and still no codes.  Also pictured here is the tach adapter.  They probably sell a million of these, they're super easy to set up and seem to work perfectly.  Another thing I did was wire the fuel level wire that went to the 99 ECU to the 2002 ECU.  No fuel level code since I did that.

 

 

Horn didn't work because we connected the plug for the cruise set/resume switch at the column to the 2002 harness. The horn goes through that plug. So that's an easy fix.

Looked at the VSS diagrams some more. The 99 goes straight from the trans to the ECU and speedo. The 2002 has two VSS inputs to the TCM and a torque converter speed signal (TCSS), which should still be working, I left it on the engine. Then it sends a VSS signal to the speedo, cruise control module (CCM), and ECU. The VSS signal for the ECU/speedo is a 0/5V pulse, the ones for the auto trans are AC, possibly sub 5V. So we spliced the VSS signal from the manual trans into the 2002 ECU/CCM and it seems happy.

The cruise wasn't working because I had the 2002 brake switch plugged into the harness, but without the pedal pushing against it, that made the cruise module think the brake pedal was pushed down. So I jumped that for now and the cruise works. We were getting a code for cruise control set, I think I fixed that by cutting a wire from the TCM to the CCM.

 

Actually drove it a few times with no codes, no check engine light, cruise works. It did stall a few times.

 

Then the check engine light started flashing. Misfire on cylinder 1. Seems like pulling that fuel injector plug doesn't change the idle at all. If you unplug any of the others, the idle drops, plug them back in, idle picks back up. So it seemed to be running on five cylinders, which would explain the unimpressive power.

 

Couple things semi related to that.
This thing pumps out a decent amount of smoke from the breathers when you disconnect the valve cover hoses. I should try it sometime on the white 02.

The black stamped steel covers for the fuel rails are heavy. They're probably 14 gauge steel and part of it is doubled up. Is that so when you're in a horrible wreck the fuel rails don't get damaged?

Speaking of super heavy, the passenger airbag is like a solid brick of steel. I'm very tempted to take the cover off and put it on the car and leave the airbag out. I'm not going to hook them up regardless. Just not sure if it's worth risking death or serious injury to take ten pounds off the car.

 

We also watched the ignition timing at full throttle, the ECU only gives it about 20 degrees advance at full throttle. Test drove the white 02 wagon and that also only has about 20 degrees advance at full throttle. So I could see bumping that up with a tune would help considerably.

 

This morning I went back at it, trying to figure out if that injector or coil or spark plug was bad. So I pulled the coil off and jammed a spark plug in it. I could barely get the engine to start, and it was idling rough at maybe 600RPM. The spark plug was definitely sparking. Put that all back together and it still seems to idle rough and slow.

 

When I checked codes I had a MAP code and O2 heater code (I'd unplugged it to get at the #1 coil pack). Cleared those and it was back to idling smoothly at about 900RPM. #1 injector still seems to have no effect on idle speed, others do.  Wondering if #1 could be getting enough fuel from the other five cylinders from the intake manifold (if that injector isn't working) to sort of run with the ignition hooked up.  The injector is getting 12V with the ignition on.  I will probably replace the injector and the spark plug if I can get at it.  Any thoughts on that?

[pontoontodd]

Worked on cleaning up the wiring.

 

 

Got the passenger side basically all in wire loom.  Driver's side is still a mess.

 

 

Most of the engine compartment wiring is in loom now.  Ran out of 1/2", not too much left to go in engine compartment though.  That coil of wire loom near the washer fluid bottle is going to go.

 

 

Noticed this seam in the body is slightly buckled right by where the windshield is cracked.  There is probably some relationship between those two facts.

 

 

I was cleaning some of the dirt and rocks out from the base of the windshield and realized there are drains on both sides that were completely plugged up.  Probably why the carpeting would get wet when the car sat outside in the rain.

 

 

 

Got a fuel injector and spark plug for #1 cylinder.  Fuel injector didn't seem to help, idle was same with it plugged in or unplugged.  Replaced the spark plug.  Old one didn't look too bad, dirty but the tip was shiny.  Seemed to actually change the idle a little when you unplug and plug back in that injector now, not as dramatic as the others though.  I put the gauges back in and took it for a drive.  First thing I noticed is that it's smoking a little, with some coolant smell, but I'd just topped that off.  It definitely seems to pull harder now, maybe not what I hoped but more power than the four cylinder, but also smokes like mad when you hold the throttle open.  Doesn't look or smell like oil smoke.  Coolant is mostly water now so it's mainly steam.  So I'm assuming that cylinder has a bad head gasket leak or worse and the spark plug was fouled.  No trouble codes. 

 

Hazard light switch has to be plugged in for the turn signals to work.

Drove the Impreza and H6 99 Outback back to back up the uphill bridge.  When I went to add coolant to the Outback the pressurized overflow bottle definitely smelled like hydrocarbons.  Outback definitely feels faster and isn't noticeably smoking now but won't connect to OBDII scanner.

 

According to the GPS, the 99 OB H6 is definitely faster than the EJ22 96 Impreza.  The OB hits 70mph in 13 seconds while the Impreza hits 62mph in 15 seconds.  OB hits 57mph (top of second) in 9 seconds, Impreza takes 12.  The Outback basically averages 1 mph / s more acceleration the whole way up.

[pontoontodd]

Some flavors of electrical tape I used on the wiring.  The middle roll is thick and super gummy, so I covered it with the wide stuff.  Worked nice for making the loom a tight fit in the firewall hole and give it some padding.

 

 

This is what that whole mess looks like behind the heater boxes.

 

 

It took hours but I got the heater and AC boxes bolted in.  Hoping they settle in with some heat and vibration.

 

 

Hella fuse block I got to replace the one we removed, gives me a few extras to use for stuff we're adding (lights, jacks, tracker).  Have to clean this up, but you can see the crimp connectors that crimp the conductor and the insulation.  I looked for those for years before finally finding them.

 

 

Spliced the wires for the 99 clutch and brake pedal into the wires that went to the brake pedal on the 2002.  Pushing down on either pedal opens that circuit, so should cancel the cruise.

 

 

Wiring I've removed from the 2002 harness in the last couple weeks.

 

 

Had to get pusher fans since nothing I could find would fit between the radiator and engine.  These are 13" Spal fans, but they're closer to 14" on the outside of the housings.  Had to trim a few things to make them fit.

 

 

Lower mounting tabs.

 

 

Added one mounting tab, one threaded insert, and bolted the other ears into the condenser mounts.  Had to remove the headlights to install the fans and trim the headlights to bolt them back in.  I need to clean up the wiring, but I have both hot leads for each fan spliced into these fans.  The sub (passenger) fan relays are wired in parallel, so if either of them work the fan will run.  For some reason the main fan relays are wired in series, so if main 1 stops working, that fan won't run.  Thinking about changing that to parallel.  Fan relay is still wired up but I have them hard wired to ground also.

 

 

We also mounted the 2002 fuse block, air filter, power steering reservoir, and both coolant overflow bottles.

 

 

Working on coolant lines and exhaust.

[pontoontodd]

I fabricated a new exhaust from the cat back.  That big tube along the driveshaft is 2.5" x .095" 4130.  Hopefully that won't get crushed.  Bolts on at the muffler, so that flange is up out of the way.

 

 

Muffler is where the stock gas tank used to be.

 

 

Tube that goes between the crossmember and body is 2.25" and barely fits.  Have to lower the crossmember a bit to get it in and out.  Got a tab with bolt that attaches that to the muffler outlet.  All of these connections overlap 1-3" to minimize leakage and keep it from falling apart.

 

 

This is what the rear parts of the exhaust look like welded.  Had some silver high temp paint so I hit the welds and other bare metal parts with that.

 

 

All welded up and bolted together.  I need to add another hanger somewhere near the last cat, but this will be good for on road driving.

 

 

 

 

[jf1sf5]

Like it how you are hanging the exhaust higher ! But wow, all that rust...

 

Did some same sort of work last week. Frankensteined my Forester with a Legacy Outback BG exhaust manifold, up-pipe and down-pipe as the european specs make them take the same route as the turbo Subarus, above the front right cv axle.

 

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/unit?c=Subaru+Europe&ssd=%24HSUzdAJ2cgt_cnQ8IkkKCgEACk1ddllUS0xsdGNfY1MHWFcBdwJbFA%24&vid=212&cid=&uid=5410&q=jf1bg9lfbwgo89558

Edited March 24, 2017 by jf1sf5

[pontoontodd]

Like it how you are hanging the exhaust higher ! But wow, all that rust...

 

Did some same sort of work last week. Frankensteined my Forester with a Legacy Outback BG exhaust manifold, up-pipe and down-pipe as the european specs make them take the same route as the turbo Subarus, above the front right cv axle.

 

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/unit?c=Subaru+Europe&ssd=%24HSUzdAJ2cgt_cnQ8IkkKCgEACk1ddllUS0xsdGNfY1MHWFcBdwJbFA%24&vid=212&cid=&uid=5410&q=jf1bg9lfbwgo89558

 

Yes, the rust is bad, most of the northeastern US uses a lot of road salt.  A lot of that is just surface rust and will be cleaned off the first time we go out in sand or something though.

 

Interesting.  This is a BG Outback but the stock exhaust was nothing like that!  How much does a euro BG exhaust cost?  I did think about doing something like that with the EJ25, kinda doubt it would work with the EZ30.

[jf1sf5]

I got that exhaust for free but if I had to buy one, I'd buy a whole car. Here in Switzerland, you can find a BG Outback for 300/400 $ with 200Kkm.

[pontoontodd]

I got that exhaust for free but if I had to buy one, I'd buy a whole car. Here in Switzerland, you can find a BG Outback for 300/400 $ with 200Kkm.

 

Rub it in.  I've been thinking about moving...

[jf1sf5]

I don't understand the "rub it in" but sure must be funny  like you want me to send you a BG Outback...

[pontoontodd]

I don't understand the "rub it in" but sure must be funny  like you want me to send you a BG Outback...

 

Rub it in I think is short for rubbing salt in the wound, or adding insult to injury.

You got the exhaust for free and then tell me that you could get a whole BG Outback for $300-400.  In the US with that kind of mileage it would be worth $2000-$4000.  The last thing I need is another car though.

[jf1sf5]

Ah ok, sorry for rubbing salt in the wound, it was only an information.

[pontoontodd]

Ah ok, sorry for rubbing salt in the wound, it was only an information.

 

Just jealous and giving you crap, don't worry.

 

 

Got the skidplate almost done.  Needs paint, but it's cold and rainy today, plus I will probably add some tabs to the sides to mount some pieces to protect the exhaust.  Hoping I can re-use the sides of the one we made last year.

 

I've thought for years about making something out of 10 or 12" wide C channel that would cradle the oil pan for good bending strength but have about 1" more ground clearance than the rectangular tubes we've been using.  Something like a 10" x 2.5" x .24" C channel would have been about equivalent bending strength to the rectangular tubes we had under the car, but 2.5" tall sides would not have fit.  Then I figured if I made the whole thing out of 4130 I'd have twice the strength with similar weight, and 2" tall sides should be adequate.  Got a few pieces cut out of 1/4" 4130 while they were doing the new strut top mounts.  Here is the big rectangular piece bolted into the front crossmember.  In the first picture you can see the line where it will be bent.  This is how I fit the sides and the ribs.  Goal was to have about 1" clearance from this skidpan to the engine, especially since you probably can't get group N engine mounts for the EZ30.

 

 

 

I had the sides laser cut out of 1/4" 4130 also but had to do some clearancing.  This is after some milling on one of them.

 

 

Here is what it looked like tack welded together.  Added some 1/8" thick ribs near the middle and near the bend, again leaving about 1" clearance to the engine.  Figure this is the part of it that will really be taking a beating, like hitting big rocks with a 4000# car at 40mph.  Milled a slot across the rectangular plate to make it easy to bend.  Had to do a little more clearancing but fit pretty well.  You know you're making a heavy duty skid when you're milling it and the 1/8" thick ribs look thin.

 

 

Here it is with the mounting tabs tacked to the radiator support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe if I make another one of these down the road I'll recess the bolt heads, but this way they're easy to get at and cut off if required.  Welded some little strips on in front of them to keep rocks from completely smashing them.

 

 

Everything fully welded.  Added some strips to the sides where they're short.  Figured that's the mostly likely place it will bend, not that these fully compensate for cutting down the sides.

 

 

 

 

[Uberoo]

so have you reinforced where it mounts yet?But forget bulletproof,thats bombproof.

[pontoontodd]

so have you reinforced where it mounts yet?But forget bulletproof,thats bombproof.

 

Not really.  It has nine bolts holding it on.  The forward most one will probably be very difficult to rip through the tube it bolts to.  Mainly it will be pushing the car up, so the bolts and tabs won't see much load in that case.  I imagine we'll eventually bend the radiator support tube and/or the crossmember, but where do you stop?

[ferp420]

You stop when the body stops buckling tie that skid in to the role cage and rear framework or your gona be lookin for a new rig sooner than later

[pontoontodd]

Fit up a couple 1.5 x .065 6061 aluminum tubes and had them TIG welded for the upper radiator hose.

 

 

Used 1.5" silicone elbow for the radiator end and 1" x 1.5" for the engine ends.  Figured this way both sides should flow freely into the radiator.

The water neck on the passenger side is very close to the cam cover.  It's difficult to get the hose and hose clamp on at the same time.  When the other engine goes in I'll have to clearance that.

 

 

Two sets of strut housings tack welded.  One for my 99, the other we'll put on my friend's Forester.  If you look close you can see some of the part numbers laser marked, that was convenient.

 

 

Fully welded, going to the grinding shop today for ID grinding.

 

 

 

In a couple months I'll probably be making two more sets of fronts, one for my 2002 OB and another for a different guy's Baja.  Going to take at least one shock/spring off the parts car before it goes so I can look at getting more travel out of the multilink rear.

Edited March 31, 2017 by pontoontodd

[jf1sf5]

What oil are you going to use for the lubrication between housing and shaft (shock body) ?

 

I have tried different hydraulic oils (LHM, ATF Dexron 3, motor oil, fork oil...) and the one that really works great is Motorex Fork Oil 2,5W (you can mix with higher grades). Have'nt tried other makes though.

 

For the seals, I use PU (polyurethane) because they don't stick like the NBR do (Nitrile).

 

Hope it helps !

[pontoontodd]

What oil are you going to use for the lubrication between housing and shaft (shock body) ?

 

I have tried different hydraulic oils (LHM, ATF Dexron 3, motor oil, fork oil...) and the one that really works great is Motorex Fork Oil 2,5W (you can mix with higher grades). Have'nt tried other makes though.

 

For the seals, I use PU (polyurethane) because they don't stick like the NBR do (Nitrile).

 

Hope it helps !

 

Considered trying gear oil but I've always used waterproof grease.  Doesn't the oil leak/drain out?

 

Thanks for the tip on the seals.  I think the ones we've been using are NBR, not sure if they sell a different version.

[jf1sf5]

I have a monotube standard design (HotBits DT2), not an inverted like yours or the Proflex evo 2 I had before.

 

You probably fit seals above and under the plain bearings to keep them lubricated ? Do you have any drawings of your design ?

[pontoontodd]

I have a monotube standard design (HotBits DT2), not an inverted like yours or the Proflex evo 2 I had before.

 

You probably fit seals above and under the plain bearings to keep them lubricated ? Do you have any drawings of your design ?

 

Yes, plain bearings.  Seals above.  Hadn't thought of putting seals below, that might be a good idea.  Just use the Fox shock oil inside the shocks.

 

Here is a drawing I have online of the design.  Not current but shows the basic construction.

 

[jf1sf5]

Yes, you need to fit a seal under the upper and the lower plain bearings otherwise the oil will only lubricate the lower plain bearing.

 

High grade fork oil should be better against leaks for your application (no damping)

[pontoontodd]

Got an engine from a junkyard that supposedly had 80k miles on it.  We swapped it in yesterday. Only took an hour and a half to get the old one out, then we spent about three hours swapping stuff over and another few hours getting everything hooked back up.  On the engine we just got the oil pan was bashed in, some of the short coolant hoses at the bottom front seemed to be leaking, one of the coils was bad, we replaced all the spark plugs, the crank pulley was missing a chunk of rubber, idler pulley wouldn't turn, and we put on the flywheel/clutch.  For a few seconds when we first started it there was a clattering noise but ever since it's run smooth.  It had been drained of oil, power steering fluid, and probably had some air in the fuel lines.  At 1000RPM idle you can't see it running except that the belt is moving.  At 600RPM you can see it bobble a little bit.  There was some crap in the oil pan but didn't seem like anything metallic, so I'm just going to change the oil and filter a couple times before Texas.  Seems to pull a little harder than the old one even.  After we'd run it a bit (exhaust all new), no smoke, no obvious leaks, coolant doesn't seem to boil over.  It's pretty quiet with the new exhaust, intake hooked up, and no big holes in the firewall.  Cruise control worked, even shut off when I hit the clutch or brake pedal.  No turn signals or lights, didn't bother looking at that yet.  FWIW, I don't think the fans run unless you let it sit and idle for at least a few minutes.  I think it had to get to 199F, then they kicked on for less than a minute and it was under 190F.

Edited April 2, 2017 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

Here is the gunk that was in the oil pan of the "new" H6.  Soaked it in solvent and spread it out on the towel on the left and didn't see much metallic stuff, so hopefully not a big deal.  I've driven it a few more times and it seems good.

 

 

I messed with the turn signal wiring for a long time and they work now, but I don't think I really changed anything.  Maybe one of the connections wasn't tight or had a little corrosion on it.  Power windows need the keyless entry unit plugged in to work.  The FSM shows two wires jumped together without the keyless entry, tried that but they still didn't work.  So I'm leaving it plugged in for now.

 

Been meaning to look at the wiper mechanism for a while.  We have the wipers and the panel under them off to mess with the wiring, so I decided to do this while that was off.  The bushing at the motor was shot (right).  Good one on the left.  I'd hoped to use one from the 2002 sedan parts car (motor and layout is different but bushings appear to be the same).  Can't figure out how you'd reuse these, it seems like after you get them off the rods they don't snap together or anything.

 

 

After a lot of screwing around and reading other people's solutions online, I used a bushing with four tabs on the outside.  I've had an assortment package of wiper bushings lying around forever and didn't want to wait for a new rod from the dealer or get one from a junkyard, but I should have.  Soaked the bushing in hot water and then hammered it into the end of the rod with a big punch in the middle of the bushing.

 

 

It's far from pretty but I don't think it will come out.

 

 

The next trick was getting the ball snapped back in.  Managed to get the end of the rod over the edge of the hole in the firewall so I could really push on it and snapped it in.

 

 

Bolted everything back together and they seem to work slop free.  I would definitely recommend just getting the rod from the dealer even though it's $30 or $50.

[pontoontodd]

Here is where the bottom of the jack comes out the floor.  To mark the center on the plate, I turned a point on a screw and threaded that in.  Held the plate up and hit it with a hammer.

 

 

Here is the plate tacked and bolted in place.  Turned up a cup on the lathe so the bolt head would be recessed.

 

 

 

 

Welded that and some of the strut parts.  On the left are the front strut mounts and spring perches, in the middle are the rear spring perches/strut mounts.  This way I could weld a little on each to try to reduce warping.

 

 

 

Did a test run before I painted it.  On a hard surface it basically just lifts by the weld on the bottom of the cup.  Hopefully it won't bend too much on a soft surface.

 

 

 

Leading edge is behind the bolts for the cage so hopefully it won't catch on anything.

 

 

Warped a little when I welded it, so I had to bend it some before painting it to try to keep it from catching on things.