SubaruAlliance

the brand of paint was NASON, apparently it's like dupont's sister company, kinda like mercury is to ford, or saturn is to gm. anyways, it was painted with some budget set up spray guns at 40PSI. it was like 100 bucks for two guns, one with a 2.0 tip, and the with a 1.2 tip or something like that. the guy who painted it said the guns wern't bad but not good either, he is just gonna use them for primer guns now, but he said the smaller one of the two is perfect for door jams. the base coat is called NASON Ful-Base B/C. the pearl is a custom mix that is named MAD DOCTOR WHITE PEARL, and the clear is NASON High-Image HS (High Solids) Clear. and anyways, i liked the two tone look for a minute, but as i got used to it, I started noticing the factory black on top had a bit of red flake in it, like a small amount of red pearl, and the silver on bottom was to light for the black so i decided to paint it, and i am glad i did. I can get the code off the can for the pearl, it's a white pearl, and a crystal pearl. The guy at Finish Masters showed me some 4 or 5 different white pearls and i picked out the one i liked and then he showed me the crystal pearl, which like a prism, it shows you all the colors of the rainbow depending on the angle of the light hitting it so i had him add a pinch of that and it turned out real nice and subtle, if you are right on top of the car you can see some greens, and purples and what not, but it's subtle enough to not really show up in the photos.

the reason i left all the body cladding on was i didn't want the two tone look. I tried to take some of the cladding to paint it separately but that would've been twice the work, and then twice the masking. Looking at the finished product you can see there is so much pearl in it, that if the light hits it right it will look more white in certain areas, especially around the doors. It's all in how the light hits it, looks more black on the bottom, and more white when the light hits it strait on. if you are right on it you can see some greens, and purples in it, from the crystal pearl that is mixed in with the white pearl. anyways that's the finished product, 3 coats of black base, 6 coats of white pearl, and then 3 coats of high solids clear.

Here are photos of the finished product.

i originally did the exhaust first, and once i did that, anything over half throttle causing a mean ole whistling sound, come to find out that once i did the exhaust the engine wanted more air, but couldn't get it with the factory restrictions in all that intake piping, but since doing the air box mod, she no longer whistles at any throttle, and seems to be more responsive, even if it is warmer air:-\ i will post a pic. i would like to keep it obdII but i am shooting for between 320-380WHP, and that is why the 2.2 sounds so good, being the "bulletproof engine" and all.

alright i have an 03 baja with the 2.5 non-turbo, 5 SPD i think she is boasting somewhere in 170 hp range factory tuned. the mods i have done to it as of now are: chopped out the airbox, so the air filter is exposed on top of the throttle body. I chopped the factory exhaust right behind the cat, and have a 2.5 inch cherry bomb, and 2.5 inch exhaust that dumps in front of the passenger back tire. my goal is to build it up to make power, leaving the exterior of the vehicle completely stock so it's a sleeper. I want to start off with a factory turbo set up and build from there, meaning turbo engine, harness, and turbo ECU. My question is this. Do I use an EJ2.2T with harness and ECU, or use EJ2.5T harness and ECU? I don't want to just turbo my factory set up and only run like 6-8PSI, so that is why i am looking for a FACTORY TURBO set-up to build on. I have also heard of ppl using the EJ2.2T with the EJ2.0G heads. If the best route to go is using my block I can always get some boost friendly pistons. Money is not gonna be much of an issue since this build is gonna take some time anyways, (getting parts ones and twos at a time) it's not something i can start doing this weekend or anything, but i want to start getting some parts around and want to weigh the best options before i start making purchases. I plan on buying a turbo ECU, and Harness here in the near future. Thanks guys

time to start looking for a short. i would start with the charge circuit since that was the last thing replaced, and now it's starting to drain the battery. the radio light being on isn't gonna drain a brand new battery in a week. the radio light staying on, the charge light, and the brake light being on are indications of the circuits being affected by the short, so while they may be getting annoying, there are signs showing you where to look. simply unplugging the radio won't fix the problem, it will only fix one of the symptoms of the problem. (unless of course the radio is the source of the problem lol) i would jump start the car, while it is running put a volt meter on the battery terminals and see what the voltage is. if it's 12.6 or lower that means the alternator isn't doing anything. ideally you wanna be in the 14.25-14.75 range. at least that will tell you if the alt is working. if it is working, then you know a short is draining the battery. I might have mis read it, but i assumed the battery and brake light came on after the battery and alternator swap? i would start with the newest symptom first. in my experience 80% of shorts are ground issues, not power. look for a power wire that is grounding out. also if the short is in the radio circuit, it must be BEFORE the ignition circuit, otherwise turning off the key would kill the power to whatever is causing the short. (correct me if i'm wrong guys, but it seems if it is something that is normally off with the key then turning off the ignition would stop the short? or something that is hot all the time.) also the brake light being on should refer to the e-brake being set, and if it's off, it should be signaling low brake fluid level, not the wear of the pads.

yeah as these other guys stated something seems bent. sounds as tho the rear end got tweaked a little bit, and if the the steering wheel is off that tells me she seems to be dog-tracking a little bit, that is most likely why its swervy in slick conditions. dog tracking is when the rear end of the vehicle isn't directly behind the front, like it's off to one side or the other. it wouldn't take much to throw it out of alignment, even as little as a quarter to a half inch may not "feel" noticeable, but the car would notice it in regards to handling. (not trying to insult your intelligence, just some ppl may not know the term dog-tracking) best bet is to park it, and see what damage has been done and how easy a fix it will be, especially if your considering buying it back and using it as a daily driver.

this is after all the pearl and before the clear coat it looks yellowish but it's the light in the booth i assure you a front view before the clear coat

I decided on a black base coat, 6 coats of white and crystal pearl mixed, and then 3 coats of high solids clear. this was after 3 coats of black base, and this is the 2 coat of the pearl. you can see it all floating around in the air. i think this is the last two coats of pearl

more bodywork. you can see when it was wet, you couldn't tell it had been sanded down, pretty cool. in the booth, masking and papering everything off. a front view

It had the bug deflector on it when i bought it, you can see what it did to the factory paint in these pics. These are sanding it down, and doing minor body work. this pics is filling the holes where the decals where at and prepping the area to leave them off. more minor bodywork

started out as an ordinary run of the mill, black on silver two tone baja.

appreciate it guys. yeah the whole 18psi on cheap fuel thing, i am all about low compression, whereas some guys may stay in 8.5-8.8:1 i would love to find some 7:1 pistons but that will never happen. anyways i appreciate the info.

the stock 2.5 is fine. just want more power. looking to build EJ2.2T with EJ2.0G heads on it. i am looking for the info on the bore and stroke so i can start looking for some aftermarket pistons. i would like to find something around the 8:1 range so i can cram the boost in. maybe something like 18PSI on cheap fuel. it's gonna be a long process, but the ultimate goal is gonna be a STI driveline swap (tranny and rear diff) build the 2.2 and shoot for 320-380 WHP. i wanna leave the exterior of the baja alone and have it sleeper status. i can find 2.2T engines all day for around 500-600 from early 90's legacy. if anyone else looking for reasonable soobie parts check out http://www.car-part.com

i got this from an old post searching around. EJ18 Bore 92mm Stroke 67mm EJ22 Bore 96.9 Stroke 79mm EJ25 Bore 99.6 Stroke 79mm anyone know the bore, stroke, of EJ2.2T? I am looking around trying to get things together for a swap into my 03 baja. any help would be appreciated. anyone know the compression ratio also?

No I haven't heard of any type of test like that. i usually keep an eye on, like i said i check it monthly, no leaks and doesn't burn any oil. some food for thought, the army uses some family dollar type oil, and we send samples to be tested and we only change it when they tell us it's due. (annually on average) they can even tell us to keep an eye on engine, tranny, or hydraulic's parts that are getting ready to fail based on the test results. pretty cool.

very nice, very nice. thanks for the tire calculator. according to that the 225/60 r16 is a 26.6 inch tire. i could look for a 225/70 r16 and that would give me a 28.4 inch tire, and the speedo would be 10% slow speedo says 60mph, actual would be 66mph. thanks alot

are you running stock rims and tires? i hear about bearing failure when people use different size rims and tires, apparently it stresses the bearing in a different way than factory tires and rims, i.e. the off set rims to make it set "bow legged" i personally haven't had issues, but just something to think about.

good call rooster2. if you have the wheel in the air try to move it to check for play. if you can move it with your hands on the "12 and 6 o'clock" pushing away from you at the 12 and pulling towards you at the 6, and alternating, that would also indicate a bad ball joint. If your hands are at the "3 and 9 'clock" and the process repeated that would indicate a bad tie rod end. movement in one or both of these tests can also indicate a bad wheel bearing, but like rooster said it's a whining type sound. if it goes away when you turn one way, but not the other that would indicate a wheel bearing, i.e. whining changes pitch or stays the same when turning left but goes away when you turn right, it would indicate a bearing on the right side.

it's interesting that there is no slam when you manually put it into second, regardless of how much throttle your giving it. that to me would indicate that the kick down side of the tranny is making it shift improperly, and not so much an issue with the tranny itself. seems as though it shifts properly when YOU shift it, but not when the car tells it to shift from your pushing on the throttle and making it kick down. probably wouldn't hurt to double check fluids, wires, and resistors, in my experience, most of the tough problems are caused by something fairly simple, or something easily overlooked.

almost sounds like it could be some sort of driveline bind, something like a 4x4 truck turning on dry pavement while the 4wd is engaged. does it do it when you are acceleration and turning sharp and slow? try coasting in a sharp turn and see if it goes away. does it make a clicking sound when you turn sharp in either direction? that would indicate a cv axle on the side the noise is heard from, i.e. clicks loud when turning left, indicates left cv joint. if the ball joints are going, you will hear a clicking sound only when you hit bumps. if you hear clicking or clunking only when you hit bumps, then it would indicate the ball joints are ready to be swapped. if the struts are blown out it would effect the handling of the vehicle, not so much an audible indication.

i have an 03 baja, and my current tires are fine, but i want to get some off road tires. i have seen some 29's but i am sure those will rub. i would like to get a tire like a 28 or a 27. I am looking for the tallest tire i can get on factory 16 inch rims, and on factory ride height. the smallest i have seen is a 29, and i don't know any type of conversion for something like say a 215/70/R16 but basically the tallest tire i can go with a factory set up.

have you checked for continuity at the clutch switch? you should have continuity there when the switch is pressed. i just saw on your post you checked the clutch pedal ignition and got nothing. if it is the clutch switch you could jump it, or wire up a momentary contact push button to the starter solenoid. when you tested the ignition were you looking for resistance / continuity? doesn't seem to me that the ignition is the fault if you were able to jump it and it ran, and if your accessories work with the key in the acc position. also do your dash lights come on when in the run position? low oil light, check engine light, etc. etc. ?

well you know how i am milesfox, i had to drill the bolts out, and in the process i am having an ANTI-SEIZE orgy with myself and all the bolts on the truck. anyways, i haven't started troubleshooting the misfire, getting her back on the road is priority, but i will keep everyone updated. should be back on the road sometime tomorrow.

UPDATE: the front brake pads and rotors have been changed, i know it's not engine related maintenance, but trying to change out the ball joints luckily i snapped both the pinch bolts on the bottom of the knuckle that hold the ball joints in, so now she is sitting on jack stands with rotated tires, and the fronts are still off it. i will commence with drilling the bolts out today. the good thing is that they are tight and rusty it makes me think they were welded in place. ha ha that's awesome.