pontoontodd

I think I finally figured out my main hatch opening problem. This is a picture I took of a parts hatch I have showing how the latch and lock works. I'd already taken the power lock actuator out of this one, that is normally in the bracket on the right. The lock works by lifting the slotted mechanism at the bottom. When it is up it is locked and when you pull on the handle for the hatch it just slides past the little L shaped arm at the bottom and the hatch won't open. When it is unlocked the little tab at the lower right pushes on that L arm and opens the hatch. The top of that opening rod where it attaches to the hatch handle is threaded. A while back on my friend's Forester we had to lengthen that a bit since it was not opening fully. So I tried that on mine. Seemed to work for a while but this morning I could not get it open despite a lot of wiggling, pushing, pulling, and cussing. It's hard to see on a good hatch, especially closed, but once I pulled open the interior panel inside the car it looked like the slotted arm at the bottom was too far to the right. That makes it sit on top of that L shaped arm. Then when you try to unlock it, it can't swing down into place. So I shortened the threaded rod and it seems to work fine now, I locked and unlocked it and opened and closed it a bunch of times with no issues. It seems like the root of the problem is that the handle doesn't have a lot of extra throw so that adjustment is very important. Maybe someday I'll make a handle with a longer arm on it. If you're having this problem and your hatch won't open the best thing to do would be to pull the interior panel out and then remove that threaded rod from the handle. Then pull up on the rod, unlock the hatch with key or power lock, and then push down on the rod and open the hatch.

did that chart help at all?

I would skip the 5 speed DR if you're going to run a real tcase, just makes life even harder on the poor 5MT in my experience, but if you already have one and think it will work go for it. I'd go EZ30/36 since you're already swapping in something with different wiring than the chassis. A non dual range 5MT should hold up pretty well with a tcase behind it. Are the toyota axles really that hard to find? Just did a quick search on car-part, looks like $400-600 for an early 80s Toyota front axle and you'd have to travel a few hundred miles. Maybe that's too expensive and too far to go. This might help your D44 front axle length quandary (scroll down to chart): https://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/449462-info-dana-44-front-axle-shaft-lengths-all-spicer-1967-02-a.html

After all that engine work you should really get it on a dyno sometime to fine tune the jetting and timing. Might as well get it running as best you can by feel first. If it's just a matter of not being able to post it on the forum, I'd put it on youtube. Then you only have to upload it once and can share it anywhere. If it's too big to upload in general you can edit it shorter and/or reduce the resolution.

Got the windshield in the 99 Outback replaced over the weekend. It was very cracked by the end of last year. While it was out I welded up most of the cracks in the cowl and hammered/ground down the high spots that looked like they were hitting the windshield. Hopefully it will last a while without cracking but I doubt it. I've wanted to upgrade the lighting on my Outbacks for a while. There are so many options now, the best modern solution seems to be projectors and I'd read that The Retrofit Source is the best place to get them. They sell 70mm LED projectors for $80 per pair so I figured I'd try to fit a pair in each stock headlight housing. I have some extras so if this didn't work out I could just go back to stock. The first one took me a long time. I may have spent an hour or two prying it apart. By the time I was done it looked like a racoon had chewed it open. Before I did the second one I read online that you just put it in an oven at 200-250F for twenty minutes and it pulls right apart. Here is the first one cut to fit two projectors. Not pretty but no one will really see it behind the plastic cover. The one on the right in this picture doesn't stick far enough out the back to hold it on with a nut so I cut some slots in the bottom of the housing and used a hose clamp. The pictures below are with HID bulbs in the stock location on both sides for high and low. On the passenger side are the two projectors. On the driver's side is a KC 2"x4" spot with an HID bulb. Here are just the low beams. The pattern without the plastic cover is pretty crazy. Ignore the aiming, I did that later. High beams, cover on left, no cover on right. You can see the cover really spreads out the light. We did polish the covers we put on in the end and that reduced the spread some. Projectors on the right with no cover. You can see the pattern is pretty tight. Now with the cover on the right (pre polishing). Clearly far more light output than the two HIDs on the left. Now some pictures with two projectors in each housing and HIDs for the stock high/low beams. Old KC is unplugged (used the plug for projectors). Pictures are blurry but you can get the idea. Notice the utility pole and trees you can barely see in the first pictures show up with the projectors. Also you can see much farther down the road. Low beams High beams - hard to tell from these pictures but the high beams do aim up a bit and shine farther down the road. High beams with projectors. Also even with all these lights on, the AC, and the defroster, voltage was steady at 14V. Still planning on getting a pair of 10 or 12" light bars to fit under the headlights on the 2002 white Outback. If I like those I'll probably put a pair on the 99 too, can't have too much light for desert racing.

Looks great! Did you fire it up? How do you get the engine and fuel cell in? Slide in fuel cell and then engine from the side and then put on the carb, etc? Are the rear CV axles at a huge angle? You should weigh it when it's all assembled and running.

yes We did make them all the same amount longer. I see what you mean now about having the ones farther from the trailing arm pivot longer than the ones closer to the pivot. Thanks for bringing that up, hadn't thought about it. It's not that extreme though, the fowardmost link is about 70% of the way back, the middle one is about 80% of the way back. So even if you made them all an inch longer you're only talking a quarter inch or so error, the bushings flex that much. These links are not much longer than stock, just enough that we can get more droop before we bottom out the inner CVs but the axles don't pull out of the diff at ride height. At the moment it doesn't seem to matter with all the flex in the various bushings but I'll probably experiment with at least making the link closest to the trailing arm pivot shorter when I start on the longer shocks. Will probably just pull one bolt out of that one and cycle it and see if it should be longer or shorter. Fabbed up, painted, assembled, and installed another set on the driver's side last week but haven't really driven the car since then. I'm a little temped to just remove that forwardmost lateral link, it really shouldn't be needed except as others have pointed out the trailing arm bushing is super soft and it would be the only thing controlling toe.

About 2" IIRC. Now I can mock up a longer shock and different shock mount and figure out exactly.

Built some slightly longer lateral links for the 2002 Outback. This will allow more droop before we bottom out the inner CVs. These are the mockup links we made to determine length. One end of each was welded to a bolt that threaded into a nut that was welded in the tube. That let us change the lengths and allowed the ends to pivot since we didn't have bushings or ball joints. Also shows the various link ends. This is one set of links tack welded in the jig. One set of links fully welded. Had to bend the tube for the upper link to clear the bump stop part of the frame. Could have notched the frame but wanted to make this as bolt on as possible. Bushings pressed in. The outer bushing for the upper link is offset so I cut it off and made a spacer. This will allow me to eventually make a spare that will fit either side. Used that same bushing cut down for the front lower lateral link since you can't buy those bushings separate. Compared to stock links. Installed. Had to use a longer bolt for that long link since I made the little bushings on the end so the holes don't get wallered out. Had to put a big point on that bolt to get it started. Then had to pry down on the suspension to bolt the shock back in. Not sure how that's going to go with a longer shock with more droop. I've driven this a little and the axle doesn't pull out of the diff so I think it's good. Made another set for the other side and painted them, just have to press in bushings and put them on the car. I have the shafts and bodies I need now to make the shocks longer. Might be a while before I get to that. Need to make new upper shock mounts and put big holes in the floor to run the shocks through. While they're apart I want to change the valving too.

One of our friends got a 2004 Forester XT recently. We built strut spacers and oil pan and gas tank protection for it. Same as we've done the last few times, I don't think I took any pictures. Will be interesting to see how it works on the trail. One thing it has that we've never seen before is bracing under the front control arms. Looks like it would be a little harder to work on the suspension and might limit lift or travel but that could be fixed. My 99 Outback could really use something like that. If my windshield keeps cracking maybe I'll build something like it.

I have considered a turbo, an STI would really be ideal with the stronger drivetrain. The biggest downside is they're still expensive. Also you can't fit 15" wheels over their giant brakes and I'm not sure our long travel struts would bolt up. They're almost all sedans too. I've thought about a WRX, that might be the best bang for the buck. The low end torque is still terrible though, that's where the EZ36 with variable valve timing would be great, even better supercharged. At that point you'd probably need a 6MT and R180 even in a light car though. Aside from being light but still having decent cargo capacity, I like the first gen Impreza since it has manual climate controls, seats, etc. Fewer things to go wrong even though that stuff holds up better on a Subaru than most other cars. Yes, the white Outback has a 4EAT and EZ30. I think if you're just nicking your rockers occasionally you're probably sitting about right. The more you lift it the worse the cornering will get, you'll start to lose weight on the front end in hill climbs, and just put more stress on everything.

I can just unbolt that plate if I need to use the tow points or winch mount. Since it's an automatic it really shouldn't be flat towed. We've only had to flat tow a car three times I can think of in the five years we've been doing this so it's pretty rare. Most likely if we're going somewhere on the highway this would be towing a lighter car like my Impreza. Winch has also been used rarely, maybe a half dozen times, and a few of those times we should have just used a snatch strap instead. Haven't tested the lift points yet, need to make a 1.25" square post for my high lift and test that out, probably this week. I thought about removing the air box like I did on my Impreza. That seems to be working but I figure the more intake length and twists and turns are in the system the less likely I'll get water in the engine.

I used to do that with my 99 but it doesn't stick out far enough from the lights and fenders to really protect them. I drive in town and trial ride them both and my Impreza. Didn't do any races last year, would like to at least do one in Texas this year. The 99 is much more fun and consistent to drive with the 5MT and steering brake, so it's still my first choice trail riding. It won't last forever though and the cage makes it less comfortable. Keep thinking about what I'd replace the 99 and/or the Impreza with. Leaning towards a first gen Impreza with H6, maybe 3.6 supercharged, long travel struts, and some kind of steering brake. Might be 1000# lighter than the 99 and 50% more power. Main purpose of the bumper is pushing over / rubbing around small trees when necessary. I have a similar plate below the bumper on my 99 and it doesn't make the car run any hotter at highway speeds (tested with gutted thermostat). I have full skidplates on the 99 but at this point I think that would just be extra weight and hassle on this car, trying not to make it super heavy. Even if the airbox gets a hole or crack from a well placed branch, no big deal, just don't want it to be completely smashed. After hitting a stump while blinded by glare one time I've been building these engine skids pretty heavy duty. Like you say it's really handy in the woods to be able to just pull up or back up to a tree without damaging the car. Have done that while winching someone out before too so the car doesn't move. Definitely want to see how your King springs and AGX struts work in Arkansas.

Built a front bumper for my 2002 Outback. 4" square I used on my 99 seems overkill and blocks a lot of the radiator. Went with 2" x 4" tubing for the main beam of this one. The one on my 99 is a little lacking in protection for the fenders and lights since I built it to fit under the plastic bumper cover. I'm not planning on putting the plastic back on this one so I used 2" x 4" by the lights and made it stick out a little wider. Wanted to make the main beam out of one piece of tubing for strength and appearance so I got a little creative on this end clearing the airbox. Used CAD (cardboard aided design) for the layout. Blocked up the beam to get it level with the headlights. Left about 4" between the lights and beam to allow room for a short light bar on each side Also exposes a lot more radiator to direct airflow than my 99. Built some mounting plates. I had to knock out the mounting studs to get the bumper on and off with some other tubes I added later. That was a real pain. Passenger side of beam closed up and tack welded. Bottom of the beam showing lift, towing, and winch points. By my calculations those receivers on the sides should easily be able to support the weight of the car. Tubes to allow sliding over obstacles, support a steel sheet, and brace the radiator support. Diagonal tube will hopefully keep branches and saplings from hooking on the end of the bumper and wrecking the fender when backing up in the woods. Built some tubes on the other side for the same reason and to protect the airbox. Slotted the top mounts to allow the bumper/supports to get pushed back. This is how it looks painted and installed. Blockoff sheet didn't hurt cooling on my 99 and keeps the radiator much cleaner. Would have to remove it for winching or towing, not cutting any holes in it for now. Tried to build it to stick out about 2" from the fenders and lights.

Yes, I think the main limitation to lifting these cars is you start to wear out the CVs very fast.

I'll take another look at the HVAC. The handle rusted out and fell apart a few years ago, during the Vegas to Reno as a matter of fact. So I got a new one from the dealer. And yes that was a huge improvement. It's not tight or high effort, it's like it's still latched shut. Sometimes if I pull up on one corner of the hatch it will pop open. I think on my friend's Forester we had to lengthen one of the control rods, I should probably check those. The key lock hasn't worked for a while but the power lock does, might be related to that.

I think you could just clearance that part of the subframe if you want it to go down more. A little bit will go a long ways. I like the old recovery tracks.

Does anyone have a good alternative to the stock 1st gen Outback (2nd gen Legacy) HVAC control? I think I've had two or three of them go bad now. I tried opening up one of them to clean the contacts and it's now in a million pieces. The hot/cold cable has always worked perfectly, I wish it had something like that to control which vents the air comes from. Also my 99 OB hatch is a real pain to open. Any advice on making that open more easily would be great too. The good news is that I did some shock tuning and got the 99 jumping better. Going to see how it works like this and then probably try a few more things when it's warm and dry.

If those are roads you're cutting the ruts in, you should wait until summer so you're not ruining them. If it's private property and they don't mind, you should straddle the ruts so you don't just make one deep set. Nice pictures, sort of reminds me of the UP. Do they log those woods often?

Went through the front struts on both Outbacks, wanted to change a few things and check them over. Replaced the one steel reservoir with an aluminum one and changed the valving. Made some chromoly steel front control arm brackets for the 99 OB. If they hold up well this year we'll probably make more next winter. Made the jig using a stock bracket that was in good shape. Not the strongest jig but seemed to work fine. One change I wanted to make was having longer slots than the stock brackets. The control arm and front crossmember is pushed back on the 99 on the driver's side so it's difficult to get a stock bracket bolted in even after elongating the slots. When you do get it in the arm is rubbing on it and I think that contributed to the failure last year. Welded. Painted and assembled. Had some group N bushings lying around, I had bought them not realizing those are brackets to fit an Impreza. It seems like many of the normal bushings are grease filled or something, maybe these will last longer. Also replaced the bolt on front wheel bearings while it was apart. They seemed fine. In the future I'll probably just keep a good spare in one of the cars. We've never had one fail and they're easy to replace. Replaced some CV boots, a ball joint, and an inner tie rod. They were all just a little loose or leaky. Replaced a brake disc that was pretty worn with another used one that is pretty thick.

I think the combination of sand blasting and salt is pretty hard to completely guard against. It's basically how accelerated corrosion testing used to take place at GM. I've been amazed how nicely painted and plated everything is on the cars we've bought from out west, some of them look like new even though they're 15+ years old with 200k+ miles on them. I'm going to give the etching primer a try. I plan on finishing fabricating those lateral links soon.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that.

Yes, shims or valving washers. Once you have the shaft out you just have to take the nut off, restack the shims, and put it all back together.

Went through the rear end of the 99 Outback to fix a few issues and do some preventative maintenance. Put aluminum reservoirs on the struts hoping they'll run a little cooler. Changed the valving, put in new oil, and replaced a boot and the top bearings. I had a wheel bearing fail last year and I've been putting 20k miles a year on this car so I thought it'd be best to just replace the wheel bearings, seals, and hubs over the winter. Will probably do this every winter if I keep driving the car that much and it keeps them from failing on the road. That one parking brake shoe was really bad so I replaced all of them. I don't use it much but I think mud and sand get inside the drum and just eat the shoes. One CV boot was leaking, another one might have been leaking slightly, they were all at least a little cracked, and this one was worn over halfway through, so I replaced them all and repacked the CVs. I think I've already swapped out the trailing arm on the driver's side but this one on the passenger side was getting bad so I replaced that with a used one. They're $76 from the dealer so I'm thinking about getting a couple of them. While I had everything apart I figured I should do some body repair. It hadn't really failed completely but was starting to crack again, haven't done anything on this corner for about five years I think. Hard to see from this picture but the seam on the left is separated and the seam at the bottom where the floor meets the strut tower is pulling apart. Also that shiny piece laying on the floor was barely attached to the strut tower so I pulled it off and cleaned up all the rust and sealer. Welded those two seams and welded that extra sheet back on. Also added a piece of sheet metal to the bottom of that seam by the door (lower left). Painted to slow the rust. This is what it looked like in the wheel well after a little cleanup. Welded some of the seams, then added that big patch. You can see where I welded the extra sheet on the inside penetrating through. Burned/scraped more undercoating off. That big rusty crack on the right is welded on the inside of the car. Hammered for some strut and tire clearance. Painted. I've noticed a gasoline smell when I filled up the last couple times. Pretty sure this is the source. I've made these gaskets a couple times now, I think originally from cork and the last time from Buna N which is supposed to stand up to gasoline and alchohol. They're just shredded. I suppose some of the breakdown may be mechanical but I assume it's mainly chemical. Whatever they made that flap out of on the inside is still holding up great. Got some flourosilicone from McMaster, expensive but hopefully it'll last more than a couple years.

The off road shocks I've worked on you don't have to drain the oil to change shims. I've always charged all the ones I work on to 200psi, I think you can go to 250 or 300 on most. Ours have a floating piston in the reservoir.