pontoontodd

Below follows the saga of purchasing an H6 donor car. The only nearby junkyard I could find on car-part that had a decent engine and it was still in the car wanted $1500 for the front clip. Not sure how we'd get it home or what we'd do with it once it was here. Seemed like just buying a running car wouldn't cost much more. I've been watching co part, and even bid on one car a while back. I haven't found a good way to see what cars actually sell for, but it seems like anything that runs and drives is at least $1500. There were two listed on craigslist in Milwaukee with 6cyl, so I arranged a time to meet the guy with the cheaper car and we drove up there. Address he gave us turned out to be a Wells Fargo branch. I called and he said he'd just sold it, then had some story about how he just sold a 2006 but was coming to meet us in the 2001. He pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and said there were a few other guys who had called him. They'd been waiting in other cars in the lot. My friend quickly noticed it was a four cylinder. We drove over to a McDonalds so we could use the bathroom and I looked up the other Milwaukee ad. Different price, pictures, and wording, but same phone number. Not sure what kind of scam was going down there, but he did change the listings to four cylinder. Texted a guy in south bend Indiana who had one for sale for $1200 and he texted me back quickly that it was still for sale. I sent him a few more questions and have never heard back. Ad was gone the next day so I assume he sold it. There is another one in Chicago that we have not been able to get a reply from all week, so we went back home. There was a 2002 OB H6 sedan on co part for $550 buy it now. Runs and drives, 187k miles, dent in hood and fender. Called the M97 broker and it's about $1100 with fees. So I had them buy it now. Wired the money over in the afternoon. Confirmed with the yard that I could just drive it out (I've read online that some make you tow it out even if it runs). I had called a tow service in Rockford a shop I deal with recommended. They go in and out of Chicago all the time so they'd tow the car to Rockford for $110. We drove into the auction in Wheeling the next afternoon. Got the paperwork pretty quickly, had to give them the buyer number (make sure you have the buyer number if you buy a car at auction through a broker), probably waited a half hour or so for them to bring the car out. They have a ton of cars which they move around with two giant forked wheel loaders (whether or not the cars run) that are in constant motion. The guy who dropped it off asked me what our car's license plate number was. I didn't have mine memorized, not sure if that's really what he was asking, but he eventually just decided to ignore it and left the car. I hopped in, found the key, and it fired right up. Drove it back and forth a few times, it made some clunking and scraping noises, but seemed to be mostly functional. We drove it out of the bullpen and out into their visitor lot. The trans clearly wasn't working well but seemed like it would be good enough. Coolant was definitely bubbling into the overflow, so probably bad head gaskets. Popped the radiator cap off before it was warm and it was full. Idled rough, check engine light on. Engine oil, PS, brake fluid were all good, even had ¾ tank of gas. Could not remove auto trans dipstick. My friend followed me in the 2002 OB wagon and I headed west. Only made it a few miles until the trans in the sedan started acting like it was in neutral. Pulled into a parking lot, got the dipstick out with a vice grips, and put in a quart of ATF. May have been slightly low. Added ATF didn't help. Basically you can drive it up to about 35mph normally, if you try to go 40+ it's like the final drive disengages or something, but it doesn't make any noise. The speedo and tach swing around freely when you hit the gas. Between that and the likely bad head gaskets, we figured we wouldn't make it back to Rockford. Spent a bunch of time calling various tow companies near there that wanted $300-400 to tow it to Rockford. The tow company from Rockford wasn't able to pick it up on short notice though. Eventually we left the car at my friend's parents' house, which was about ten miles away. By the time we got there the temp gauge had gone all the way up a couple of times. Left the floormats under the front end to catch the coolant and went home. Tow place picked it up the next day and towed it to Rockford for $150. I was barely able to drive it halfway in the garage since the trans was mostly not engaging. Had to push it the rest of the way in. Here are pictures from the auction site: So if anyone wants parts, PM me, I'm definitely keeping the engine and associated wiring and computers. My friend wants the radiator and fan assembly. I plan on keeping the wheels and tires for summer use on the 02 wagon. Other than that, I will probably scrap the rest by the end of the month. I will try to see if I can use parts from this seat to fix the 02 wagon, but this one moves back and not forward.

I think that's also what car-part said about the airbags, not at all concerned about that. That power seat I saw listed for $160 was on car-part.com. There was at least one that was cheaper but in C condition, seems like a waste of time to swap in a worn out seat. I should call some of them and see if they'd just sell the fore/aft mechanism.

This is going in the 2002, which we don't plan on racing. Have to use a race seat for desert racing anyhow. The other seats are tan leather so I'd like to get something to match that. Looks like they didn't offer manual leather driver's seats though. After looking at it, I kind of doubt you'd be able to put the manual slide rails under this seat.

Pretty exciting stuff here, trying to fix the power driver's seat in the 2002 OB. When we first got it, it would move forward but only sometimes backward. All the other adjustments work fine. Now it will only move forward. Fortunately, since it is from CA, I was able to easily unbolt the seat. The plug going to the fore/aft motor was getting +/- 12VDC when I pushed the switch both ways. Took the seat completely out and put it on the workbench for disassembly. When I hotwired the fore/aft motor with 12V either way, it would occasionally twitch or hum, and one time moved about an inch, but usually did nothing. So I don't think it's a switch/wiring/fuse problem. Removed the whole fore/aft mechanism The bearing blocks spin freely on the screws. The screws don't seem to turn, so I assume the right angle gearbox(es) or motor are locked up. One side slid freely, the other was sticky but not terrible. For the meantime I just threaded the bearing block things most of the way up the screws to give me more legroom. The bearing blocks have to bolt to the rails before you slide the whole thing in and bolt in the gearboxes. Anybody know of a place to get that mechanism without buying a whole seat? Only nearby junkyard with a good seat wants $160, and it's still about an hour drive. Don't see anybody on the forums parting one out with a seat at the moment. As much as I love AC and cruise control, I really don't understand power seats. Just seems like they're slower, heavier, more expensive, and less reliable. The super adjustable cushion on this one is kind of nice, but not worth it. Maybe I should just look for a leather manual seat.

Second the small hose clamp or zip ties on the overflow hose, that seems to help. You could check with an OBDII scanner that the ECU is getting a proper temperature reading. The gauge and ECU use different sensors. You should be able to hear if the fans are running if the car is just ignition on, especially with the window rolled down. I think the easiest and most definite way to check for head gasket leaks is to look in the overflow bottle when the engine is warmed up and running. If you see any air bubbles coming out of the overflow hose, even small ones every few seconds, you probably have bad head gasket(s). You can also get a head gasket leak check kit that you put special fluid in, warm up the engine, stick it in place of the radiator cap, pump a squeeze bulb, and if the fluid changes color from the air going through it you have hydrocarbons in the coolant. Hate to say it but if you have to add coolant but don't see any leaking onto the ground you probably have bad head gaskets. Maybe you're lucky and the fans aren't coming on when they should and then the engine boils some coolant out. How high does the gauge get? Does it rise rapidly or slowly creep up?

I thought about polyurethane but those can be noisy also if not regularly greased. I'll look around a little more. Good point about being able to use some non stock sized bushings though, since we're making the links. One of our friends recently put an EZ30 in his four seat street legal buggy. He is just running a bus transaxle, but it does have some aftermarket gears in it. He also runs fairly small tires to help the transaxle live. Between the small tires and it being a four seater, I don't think it wheelies, but he said it will chirp the tires if you're too aggressive shifting into fourth gear. He really likes the H6 and that's one reason we're planning on swapping one in my 99 OB. There are a lot of people who've put Subaru engines in air cooled VWs, so adapters and clutches are readily available.

We're planning on making lateral links since we've bent them repeatedly on the Outback and at least one on the Forester. Not a big deal when it happens, and fairly easy to straighten out, just figure if we actually finish the V2R they're sure to all be bent. Figure we just make them fit the stock bushings but make the main tube 1" .095" or .120" 4130 or something stronger than stock. So I was looking at bushings and the dealer wants a silly amount for them, $10-$24 each. I did find this place that sells them for $6 each: http://www.fastwrx.com/products/subaru-oem-lateral-link-to-knuckle-bushing Anybody know if they're any good? Couldn't find any mention of them online. These Group N lateral link bushings are cheaper than the standard ones from the dealer: http://www.rallispec.com/mou_bush_rstbk1.html Am I missing something? We've discussed making them tie rod style, heim joints / rod ends at both ends and a threaded tube in the middle. My experience with rod ends is that they would get sloppy pretty fast on a street car. The stock bushings seem to last almost forever.

02 Outback didn't start again the other day but we were able to jump start it. Battery showed 12.5V on the multimeter but wouldn't even try to start the engine. It is from 2013 and lived in the 99 Outback for most of that time. Got an AGM battery at O Reillys (35PLT I think) and it's been fine since. My friend stopped by yesterday and we did some more test fitting of the long travel parts on his Forester. His cruise had stopped working a little while before the engine rebuild. Seems like it's getting vacuum and the fuse is good, light comes on when he pushes the cruise button, but it doesn't work. What else should we check? We measured a few more things on the 99 OB long travel before we make more parts. I'm going to order the shocks, tubing, and machined parts this week. I plugged the coolant temp sensor back in and put new vent hoses from the dealer on in place of the ones I tore up. Seems to run OK when cold again at least. New electric jack mount: We managed to get the dash out. That was a pain with the rollcage in the way, but we eventually pulled it past the tube on the passenger side and then it came out fairly easily. Hopefully I can get an H6 and a crapload of wiring and black boxes this week.

Picture of the double slotted retainer for the spare tire mount. Replaced the inner tie rods and rack boots in the 02 Outback. Both tie rods were sloppy and both boots torn. The boot/tie rod package deal from Rock Auto is definitely the way to go. I also noticed the left front outboard CV boot was torn, so I pulled the axle too. It's almost a pleasure to work on a car that has almost no rust. While I was at it, I completely removed both lower ball joints and covered them with anti seize before putting everything back together. They were set firmly in the taper in the control arms, but I've never removed ball joints from spindles so easily before. Even the CV axle splines, which were completely dry, slid right out of the hub. I think someone had replaced the outer tie rod ends, they were still stiff and had small cotter pins holding them in place. While I had the axle out, I greased both ends and replaced both boots, the inner one was dry rotted. I still haven't tried to disable the alarm on the 02 Outback yet. The power driver's seat no longer moves back. It worked intermittently when we first bought the car. Moves in every other direction. There's still wind noise coming from the driver's mirror. It's still consuming coolant too, but I doubt it's used a gallon since I got back from California. So overall not too bad considering it just rolled over 230,000 miles. Can't wait to have an H6 in the 99, I definitely put my foot to the floor much less often in the 02 just driving around town. Part of that is that it is eager to downshift, but it definitely gets up to speed quickly. Getting started on new long travel struts too - upgraded parts for the 99, a new set for my friend's Forester, and some extra parts while we're at it.

Did some work on our Subarus on Sunday. Impreza trans is still working well. A little hard to get it in first gear when cold. One time a couple weeks ago it wouldn't start, no clicking, no cranking, couldn't jump start it, wound up pull starting it with another car. Started the next day, then I sanded the spade terminal on the starter, no problems since. Alternator is putting out 14.5V. I noticed when we did the trans swap that the sleeve over the long heater hose was very rotten. Since that heater hose burst on the Outback recently, probably because the sleeve holds water around the hose and lets it rot, I figured I should replace them on the Impreza too since they're probably original. Got that done. Forester is still running well with fewer codes than before. Rebuild definitely solved the coolant consumption problem, not sure if there's any change in oil or fuel consumption. We straightened out one of the rear links that was bent on that and replaced the accessory belts. 99 Outback is barely running now with the coolant temp sensor unplugged. Plan is to get an EZ30, harness, ECU, TCM, etc soon and just swap it out. Junkyard not too far from here has one with 140k miles, they'll sell me all that for $1050. Changed the mount for the electric jack a bit, and used that to work on the car again. Replaced the rear brake shoes and caliper pin boots. Replaced the left front inboard CV boot that had a little tear in it. Also changed the quick release fasteners for the spare tire to use a C washer instead of the keyslots. Seems to work a little better but I think we'll wind up just threading them into the jack. 02 Outback has General Altimax Arctic snow tires now, they can stay on the car year round. We've used them on one of our other cars for a few years now and they seem to work well. Sold the old summer tires, which were still in good shape. After the car sat for a week or two, the battery was completely dead. Couldn't even charge it. Put the three year old battery from the 99 OB in it. Alternator seems to be charging to 14.5V, but one time my wife said it cranked really slow but did start. This was the day after we drove it about 400 miles on the highway. Been starting fine before and since then. Rear pads were getting thin so I replaced those. The front rack boots are both shot and at least one of the tie rods is sloppy. I noticed on Rockauto you can get a boot and tie rod kit for not much more than buying either separately, so I got a pair of those. I'll probably put them on sometime this week.

I forgot to check the voltage again, and now it's cooled off. After a lot of cussing and tearing apart the crankcase vent hoses, I was able to unplug the coolant temp sensor for the ECU. For some reason the fans still run, even when cold. After it warmed up it started running rough again. So I'm starting to think it's some kind of head gasket or mechanical issue. Except that it's done this before and I've fixed it by replacing the MAF or O2 sensor.

I keep forgetting to try this. Might try it tomorrow. It did have good voltage when cold (12.5V off, 14.5V running). One of my friends suggested unplugging the temp sensor. Much easier said than done, but I'll probably try that. If it cures the problem, then it's probably an electrical problem. If it keeps running rough, then it might be the head gaskets or something, but I haven't seen any white smoke out the exhaust, it doesn't seem to be using much coolant, and haven't seen any bubbles in the overflow. This week I tried a different ECU and a new O2 sensor, no change. I sprayed ether around the intake when it warmed up and didn't seem like there were any vacuum leaks. So far I've tried: MAF sensor (and unplugging) O2 sensor (and unplugging) ECU coil cam position sensor fuel pump This is on the 99 OB EJ25. It always runs great when it's cold. As soon as the temp gauge gets to the normal operating spot in the middle, it will gradually run rougher and rougher. It's still barely driveable, but hesitates, sometimes makes no power, and bucks. But sometimes runs fairly smooth and steady. Sometimes it seems like a fuel delivery issue, but not always.

I started editing the first post as a sort of guide since this thread has gotten really long. Let me know what you think. Also, still haven't figured out why the 99 OB runs rough when warm yet, any more tips on that would be appreciated.

Converted the tire mount to quick release. First thing was to key slot the holes for the jack base. That will hopefully just stay bolted in the car most of the time, so I added a small bolt hole to hold the top in place while the tire is going in and out. next step was to do the same to the spare tire mount jack bolted back in Got these cam lock handles from Grainger. Cut down some long 8mm bolts and welded collars on them. Then turned them to a point and loctited them into the handles. I'd like to make the heads on these bigger but they barely fit through the lug holes on the wheels as it is. Tire locked in place It is definitely fast to remove and no tools are required. It's a little tricky to get it clamped in right. It doesn't clamp super tight either, if you push hard you can shift the tire around a bit. Figure I'll see if it stays in place driving around town and try to think of something a little better.

You can get a 110V MIG welder fairly cheap. They are easy to use and indispensable. I think after you have a socket set and a vice grips, that's the next most important tool. The hidden winch is cool, how is the cable going to come out? I'd definitely recommend some kind of protection for your oil pan and radiator support. Something like 1" x 2" tubing running the width of the radiator support with another one under the oil pan going back to the front crossmember. If you've already started hitting hidden obstacles, it's a short matter of time before you bash in the oil pan and/or radiator support. If you're going over a lot of rocks, something to protect the gas tank should be next. Since you like to go fast (judging by your Miata use), your best entertainment per dollar would be a set of rally struts/shocks/springs. They will make the car much more fun. Also, consider mud tires instead of all terrains. They're not much more expensive or noisier than all terrains. They will definitely save you from getting stuck in the mud and should be harder to puncture, and will work about the same as the all terrains in all other conditions.

A quick look on car-part.com shows you can get an engine for about $1000 in decent running condition, should probably do at least timing belt and idlers while it's out, maybe the clutch too. A mechanic that works on Subarus often should be able to swap the engine in an afternoon.

Here is the b pillar electric jack: It's hard to get good pictures of it inside the car. It lifts the rear tire off the ground in about a minute, takes another thirty seconds to get the front tire off the ground, another thirty seconds to go all the way up (another 6" or so). Takes about a minute to go all the way back down. I'd tilt it more upright but then it would be even farther back and might not even lift the front tire off the ground, especially after we put in the H6. I'd move it forward but there's really not room alongside the seat. It does seem pretty stable when up, I shook the car as hard as I could with the roof rack and it didn't move much. Definitely plan on making a bigger pad for the bottom. This is the jack we used: https://www.amazon.com/Barker-32455-Black-Power-Jack/dp/B00B2AUWC8/

99 OB is back to running rough when warmed up. I plugged the O2 sensor back in and drove around some with the scan tool. It seems to be running rich when it's warmed up and rough, the front O2 sensor stays around .8V. When it's cold and occasionally when warmed up and running well, it fluctuates between .1 and .8V. So that seems directly related to how well it's running. The short term fuel trim reads -30% often, seemed like it was always close to 0 before, maybe it's trying to lean out since the O2 sensor is reading rich. But it can sometimes read 0 and run rough. The mass air flow and throttle position seem smooth and solid at all times. I always have a code for fuel temp sensor circuit A high, but have for years, so I don't think that's the problem. It keeps giving me codes for #2 and #3 misfire, and occasionally #1, when it runs rough. Often a pending code for cam position sensor voltage range. The coil pack in the car at the moment is one I bought about a year ago but hasn't been on the car the whole time. I have tried two different coil packs with the same results. It would make sense if it's not getting ignition on all four that the exhaust would be rich. For a while I suspected a fuel pump but it definitely doesn't drive like it's starving for fuel, it's just as likely to run rough at low speeds and RPM as at high speed. I also suspect the cam sensor, but again I've tried two of those with the same results. Should I try another coil pack or cam sensor?

Asked the junkyard if the shifter bushing/u joint on the trans was any good, they thought it was. Bushing was non existent. Pin in the original one was sloppy. Made up a bushing to fix the one from the newer trans and put it back together. Wish I would have known so I could have just gotten one from the dealer for $30. We got the trans back in and did a little test drive. I'm sure this sounds stupid but it's like a whole new car with the tighter shifter, five functional forward gears, and minimal exhaust leaks. Also I forgot how good snow tires are on hard packed snow. Significantly better than the mud tires. The parking brake in the Impreza is definitely not as good as the steering brake in the OB though. Then we decided to do some troubleshooting on the 99 OB. First thing we did was unplug the O2 sensor. I would have tried this earlier but it's a real pain. Often I just can't do it and have to get my friend to unplug it, which was the case today. With the O2 sensor unplugged it ran smoothly even after it warmed up, so I guess I'll replace that again. The ECU was reading .31V on the front O2 sensor the whole time, the rear fluctuated (still plugged in). We started on the brackets and wiring for the electric jack, I'll post up some pictures of that when it's done.

My wife got the 2002 OB stuck in the snow, someone pulled out in front of her and she couldn't stop, so fortunately she swerved into someones yard and no one was hurt. I pulled her out with the 99 OB and on the way home pulled out two other people who were stuck. By that time the car had warmed up and started running rough again. When I got home I put the other coil on, it looks much better than the one that was on there, but it still runs rough. Planning on putting the junkyard trans in the Impreza this afternoon. So far the only thing I ran into was the 96 Impreza has a mechanical speedo but that trans is from a 96 Legacy. The cable from the Impreza trans seemed to fit right in place of the sensor, so hopefully that works. The plastic nut on the speedo cable is very soft, had to pull the rubber boot off and slide a box end wrench over it to remove it. If we have time we'll hook up the OBDII to the 99 OB and see if we can figure out the problem.

I have a couple. I do have one that has a USB cable for laptop, but my laptop battery keeps dying so I have to have it plugged in, so can't drive the car with that. I have a bluetooth OBD2 that I can use with the tablet. That seems to work about half the time. I'll try that again, anything in particular to look for? I guess I could try to see what the TPS, MAF, O2 sensor say when it's cold and then see if any of them changes drastically when it's warm. Is it possible both cam sensors or MAF sensors read bad when the engine warms up??

I tried a different cam position sensor and the car still started running rough when it warmed up. I tried unplugging the TPS this time after it had warmed up which made basically no difference. Aside from trying to unplug the O2 sensor, which seemed to be reading pretty normally, I don't know what to try at this point. This is basically what the car used to do when I first bought it, but back then it would usually go away if I turned the ignition off and restarted it. Hasn't done this in a year or so until just recently. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Got the trans for the Impreza. Plan on putting that in over the weekend. The 99 Outback has been acting up recently. Last week it started running rough. Pulled over and unplugged the MAF sensor, which didn't help much, so I just limped it home. I replaced the MAF sensor and drove it later and it seemed fine. Drove it again a couple days ago and once it warmed up it started running rough again. This morning I drove it around a little and it was running fine. I tested it with all three MAF sensors I have, two of them seem good, the Delphi one is definitely bad. I drove it quite a bit around town this morning and it seems to run fine until it warms up, then it sometimes stalls and runs rough. The only trouble codes were for: fuel temp sensor circuit A (this has been coming up for years) cam sensor range misfire #2 and #3 So this afternoon I'll probably dig out my other cam sensor and try that. Also talked to some people about the Hotbits struts and they said they only usually last through a couple of rally weekends before they're shot, so back to planning on making more of our own. I did find a spring company that appears to have springs off the shelf that should work for the rear at least, maybe the front.

The short term plan is to replace the Impreza trans so I have something else reliable to drive. Just ordered one, 158k miles, $300 shipped. 96 Legacy and Impreza were both 3.90 final drive, right? Then get an H6 donor car (01-04 OB EZ30) and start paring down the wiring. Install that in the 99 Outback. Bunch of other things we want to do to the 99 Outback. The only other major thing is a six speed trans and possibly R180. Depending on how that drives, perhaps some kind of gear reduction. Also electric jacks, rear view camera, tire pressure monitoring system, quick release tire and recovery ramp mounting. We are also planning on making a few sets of the long travel struts for our cars. Need to get started on that soon, at least getting the custom springs and some of the machined parts on order. I'm trying to find out more about the Hot Bits long travel struts first, if those are cheaper and strong enough, might just get those. Next project is doing bumpers, skidplates, and long travel on a 01-04 H6 Outback for trail riding/expedition, not racing. Might be the one I just bought, I will probably try to find a nicer one for the wife. At that point I might sell the Impreza.

After looking at it again, the engine/trans tilting doesn't seem like it would be worth the hassle. The trans mount probably isn't twice as far behind the axles as the engine mounts are in front though. My friend's Forester seems to be running well with the rebuilt engine, still no check engine light. Just in time for our first snow yesterday. The 2002 H6 OB doesn't seem to be consuming much coolant with the little hose clamp on the overflow hose. Gets about 18 or 19mpg city and 23 or 24 highway. We decided to pull the trans out of the Impreza yesterday. Basically figured I'll need a car to drive while doing the H6 swap in the Outback, and this was the cheapest and easiest way to accomplish that. Only took two or three hours. Half of that time was spent cutting rusty exhaust bolts and that sort of thing. Refabbed one exhaust flange that was rotted to nothing, tapped a couple of holes that were tight, and replaced a CV boot, so hopefully the replacement goes smoothly. I found a couple within a few hundred miles that have under 150k miles on them for $200-300 bucks, so I'll probably get one of those coming today. The pin in the shifter u joint type coupler is super sloppy, so I might order one of those from the dealer. We could probably rebuild the trans, but at least one chunk of a bearing race fell out when we drained it, so I'm guessing it would need a couple hundred bucks worth of parts anyhow, and if we put it back together wrong it'd be a big waste of time.