pontoontodd

We did some mockup for more travel with the rear multilink suspension. The limitation in droop is the inner CV bottoming out since most of the lateral links are much shorter than the axle. Made some slightly longer than stock links to get a little more droop. Here you can see it's a couple inches more droop than we had before (old on left, new on right). Full droop: Full bump: This is 11-12" of wheel travel. I need to get longer shafts and bodies for the shocks and make the longer links. I'll also need to stick the top of the shock inside the car. Thought about making a drop mount at the spindle but it's already the lowest point of the suspension. Got a complete multilink rear crossmember/suspension/axles which helps to look at. What's really limiting the rear travel (even with the struts) are the inner CV joints bottoming out since the links are shorter than the axles, the wheel pulls inward at droop. Even if the CV had more travel, the links are getting pretty vertical at full droop and really pulling the tire in. Thought about making longer links, which would probably require making a new rear subframe. Some of the axles we've gotten have 30 degrees of angle capacity at the inboard CV. If you had links about as long as the axles and plenty of body clearance, 22" of wheel travel should be possible. I think the easiest way to do that would be a body lift. For every inch of up travel you wanted to add, you'd have to add 2" of body lift with the same strut top mounts though, the compressed length of the spring/strut is going to be about 1" longer for every extra inch of travel. Also at full bump the bottom of the wheel is about even with the bottom of the body now. The tires get fairly compressed when landing so at some point you'd just start bottoming out on the crossmembers. I already hit the front skidplate on the 1999 Outback occasionally on the face of a jump.

Video from our July trip to the UP. https://youtu.be/i7CXTijNXYI

Yes, if we hadn't put the cage, fuel cell, etc. in it, I would have swapped the parts from the 99 Outback on to a rust free car by now.

Yes, the planetary will be just before the center diff so that and the AWD system will operate normally in high or low. Some of my other ideas eliminated the center diff to provide a high front wheel drive / low four wheel drive but I think it would be best to have a center diff, if for no other reason so the steering brake still works. I haven't decided for sure but I will probably get an aftermarket DCCD controller, some aren't too expensive. Might wire up a toggle to give it 6V to lock initially but it will probably start with no electricity.

CNC mill

Going to put a 2.9:1 planetary before the center diff. Sketched up a half dozen different ways to do it and that seems like it will be the simplest/cheapest/best. Will add a ~3.5" long spacer to the case. I'd like to do something like that to a 5MT but there's not much space and the center diff in those is already so weak I think you'd have to replace or eliminate that too. R160 would probably be the next thing to go in a normal Subaru, I'm putting an R180 in when I install the 6MT. Of course I took pictures. We made a few while the machine was set up. Stock one on the right. Installed on the shaft.

I assembled the dual range with some bronze blocker rings I had made. I could no longer get stock replacements. These have male keys so we don't need the separate keys and spring clips that may have caused the last failure. We put it in my friend's Forester yesterday. Seems to work and shift alright. It does seem noisier than I remember, but maybe I'm used to the 52 mile trans in my Outback, and we did have some interior out of the Forester. There's a rattling noise at times and a gear whine when it's in low range. I do remember it making some noise before even when it was working fine. The 1.6 is definitely better than nothing but not exceptional. It wouldn't start when he first got to my house so while we had things apart we sanded the various battery cable ends and now it seems to start consistently. I'm pretty far along on drawings for the low range for the 6MT, definitely need to get that going.

After the head gasket replacement I drove the car around the block and it seemed to run fine with no noticeable leaks. It would usually not start unless I used a jump starter on the battery. The battery was an Odyssey PC1230 with top and side posts that's four years old (just out of warranty). So I got a Duracell AGM with dual posts and that also wouldn't start the car even after getting recharged. I'd get a loud click out of the solenoid and the dash lights seemed pretty bright but no cranking. I sanded the various connections, still wouldn't start. Turned the crank and seemed like a normal amount of resistance. I have had solenoid contacts corrode and stop working after being submerged in water and sitting for a couple weeks on a different starter (non Subaru), so I decided to check that. Took the cover off and noticed the contact connected to the top stud wasn't sitting flat, hard to see in the picture below. When I removed the starter for the head gasket job that stud had turned and I'd just tightened the jam nut back down. Now I see that you have to make sure that contact is flat when you tighten that nut. It was probably holding the plunger out far enough that it wasn't touching the bottom contact. While it was apart I sanded the contacts, pushed the plunger down to hold the top contact square, and tightened the top nut. Put it back on the car and started it a few times, seems to work fine now.

Video from our trip to the UP in June: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5hFvz4Rwx8

Here is what I would recommend modifying or replacing if you're removing an EZ30 for any reason: Cut down the bosses on the timing chain cover and use shorter bolts, gives you a lot more clearance at the lower radiator hose. (see above) Clearance the timing cover around the upper water necks so you can fit any hose and hose clamp on there. Check the coolant fittings under the thermostat. (see above) Check the oil pressure idiot light wire, I think it's above the oil cooler. Mine was hard and insulation was starting to come off so I replaced it. Might be something you can get from the dealer at a reasonable price. Replace the valve cover gaskets and oil cooler o-ring (orange), these seem to always leak. Inspect all hoses, many of them will be rock hard and break when you remove them. (see list below) If you have a manual trans inspect the fork for cracks, check the release bearing, pilot bearing, and clutch disc. The FSM has a spec for wear on the clutch disc. If you don't expect to have your engine or trans back out for a long time at least replace the release bearing, pilot bearing, and clutch disc. All the parts I ordered from the dealer for the H6 head gasket job are listed below. They do have a gasket kit but it includes a lot of things you don't need or won't be disassembling and it's $271. 1 10944AA003 head gasket 2002 OB driver H6 1 11044AA603 head gasket 2002 OB passenger H6 1 806931070 o ring rear cover plate 2002 OB H6 - did not use this, didn't seem to be leaking. 1 806786040 rear main seal 2002 OB H6 - did not use this, thought it would be more hassle than it's worth trying to get it out without splitting the block. 2 14035AA410 intake gasket 2002 OB H6 (head to intake) 1 14075AA132 intake gasket 2002 OB H6 (gasket for flapper under intake, probably didn't need to replace) 1 807611060 pass side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 oil cooler 1 99078AA110 pass side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 oil cooler 1 807611071 driver side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 oil cooler 1 21328AA053 steel coolant pipe lower 2002 OB H6 - this was kinda beat up from my skidplate 1 21370KA001 oil cooler o ring 2002 OB H6 1 807607251 Top rear pass side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 - this was the only hose I replaced that was still in good shape 1 99078AA090 Top front pass side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 1 99078AA120 Top front driver side coolant hose 2002 OB H6 1 807615030 oil pan front driver side hose 2002 OB H6 1 806970030 o ring water pump 2002 OB H6 (inner, included with new water pump) 1 806982030 o ring water pump 2002 OB H6 (outer) 1 21110AA360 water pump 2002 OB H6 1 21200AA072 thermostat 2002 OB H6 1 21236AA010 thermostat gasket 2002 OB H6 - still the part shown on the dealer parts site but the part I got ends in 050, seemed to fit fine 1 21114AA063 water pump gasket 2002 OB H6 8 806914120 o ring 14.2mm dia 2002 OB H6 timing cover 2 806919120 o ring 19.2mm dia 2002 OB H6 timing cover 4 806925100 o ring 25mm dia 2002 OB H6 timing cover - only shows four of these on the dealer parts site but there are five on the engine, reused one of them 1 806738200 front main seal 2002 OB H6 2 10982AA000 Washer 2002 OB H6 (timing cover) - these were really stuck to the cover, I just put silicone around them 1 15208AA031 H6 oil filter 5 800406020 oil pump bolts 2 800406030 16mm outer cover bolt 1 16102AA260 solenoid valve - the one I broke the fitting on 2 44011AE040 ex gaskets 2002 OB H6 1 807506131 hose pass front intake/head 1 22310AC000 hose driver front intake/head 1 99071AB280 hose vacuum Also probably should have ordered that oil pressure relief gasket shown above. There was at least one more hose near the front of the intake that was rock hard and broke when we removed it that I couldn't find on the dealer parts site so I just cut a piece of hose to fit. I also got idler pulleys, a serpentine belt, spark plugs, and a pilot bearing from Rock Auto and replaced those while it was apart. Even if you didn't replace the water pump and a few other things and don't break that solenoid, it's still $400-500 in parts with shipping, and you have to machine the heads. So almost definitely better to just buy a JDM EZ30. It takes a long time to disassemble and reassemble one of these engines, and we didn't even split the block. Really should have just swapped in an EZ36 and standalone from the start. Next time.

This is one of the only gaskets I did not replace, just didn't see it on the parts breakdown I guess. Seemed like it was still in good shape though. I also replaced the u-jointed steering shaft while the engine was out. I had already replaced it and we've had to replace them on our other cars that we've taken off pavement for any length of time, so this time I bought one from the dealer ($117). Hopefully it will last the rest of the life of the car. If not I might have to make one with 1310 u-joints or something.

My brother thinks an EZ30 with the front cover off and the timing chain up with a glass top on it would make a cool coffee table. After getting the engine more assembled I realized that upper weep hole might be because that whole section of the engine can collect water and that probably acts as a drain. The chain tensioners are clever. That weird spiral part threads in the piston with the little spring and pin pushing it out. The big spring goes between the piston and the body. Spring (and probably oil) pressure cause it to extend, and the screw can unthread that way, but the way it's cut when you push on it straight it doesn't compress. You have to twist it and push in to compress it. When installed that means it only adds tension to the chain as everything wears. The service manual recommends pushing and threading it together and then inserting a tiny pin in that tiny hole. Maybe that would have been easier but I was able to just hold them compressed and get the bolts started. Each chain has a few colored links which come in handy for making sure you have everything lined up properly. This gold link lines up with the divot on this cam sprocket. This gold link lines up with the divot on the crank sprocket. Also in this picture you can see the oil pump bolts I replaced. I had to use a vice grips to remove almost all of these oil pump bolts, and most of them were damaged. Only had a problem with one other bolt out of the 100+. This gray link lines up with this divot on another cam sprocket. These gray links line up with each other on the idler. The last guide you install is supposed to be a certain width from another guide. I put a .024" feeler gauge between the chain and the guide to get the right width, helped keep them parallel and tightened down the bolts. The water hose fitting near the thermostat that comes from the oil cooler had come loose a year or so ago. I had JB welded it and seemed to stop the slow leak. After we took the engine out I was able to pull it out of the block by hand with some wiggling. I tapped it 1/4" NPT at a slight angle. I threaded in this pipe fitting, need to get a hose barb to finish that. Back in July when the engine mounts came apart the lower radiator hose was rubbing on this part of the timing chain cover. I had just cut the bolts and bosses at an angle for the time being. While it was apart I cut them square and put in shorter bolts. This is about what it looked like ready for the intake to go on. I think the only thing I changed was to take off that little hose left of center and put it on the solenoid under the intake. This is the vacuum actuated flapper that either divides the intake manifold halves or lets them cross over. Replaced the gasket for that. This is the solenoid under the intake I broke the little neck off while trying to remove the hose. This is it installed with the hose I mentioned. A friend stopped by and we got the intake on and hooked up, installed the engine, and hooked up most things. Need to connect and install a few more things and get the new radiator back from the welding shop and put that in.

Got the heads, cams, and valve covers on, nothing too unusual there. I think you could remove the heads without removing the cams but it sounds like they always have to be milled, so the cams and caps should be removed. Torque procedure is pretty complicated as usual. One thing I can't figure out is why there is a top and bottom weep hole for the water pump. I'm not sure how much of this crap came in the top, but I sealed that hole with silicone before putting this cover back on the engine. All that mud made it difficult to remove the water pump. I did get a new water pump while it's all apart, but at $105 from the dealer it's probably not necessary to replace, they seem to last forever. There are two big orings for the water pump though and I would definitely recommend replacing those. The big one was rock hard as you can see. Engine ready for the inner/rear cover to go on. Inner/rear cover installed. One thing they did that is fantastic is casting the torque pattern in the cover next to the bolts. I already see why most people recommend just buying a $700 low mileage Japanese engine. I've spent that much in parts and machining on this one. I am replacing a lot of hoses and gaskets to be safe that might need replacement on a 15 year old engine regardless of mileage though.

While the engine is out I did some welding on the body. The seam at the base of the front strut towers spread open on both sides. I don't remember how many years it's been like this, can't hurt to weld it up. I also welded the inner sides of those tubes I used to replace the subframe spacers. Painted it all too.

If your ports are restrictive you might actually want more duration. Have you contacted anyone with experience grinding cams for EA engines? I think Delta cams specializes in grinding Subaru cams, they might have a good idea what you want. Also, if you can drive it so you can at least keep the RPMs over 3000 (preferably 4000) while climbing, it doesn't matter much what it does at low RPM.

I have a couple unlisted videos on youtube. I will send you the links in a message. Trying to get feedback on what people like or don't like about the videos.

I have videos from both UP trips this summer edited down to about 16 minutes each. If you want to check them out and let me know what you think please send me a message. One of the reasons I've been editing them is to post them on this forum for your entertainment so I'd like some feedback.

Normally I would agree 100% but this is a race car, right? Are you planning on running it hard or just cruising around the track? If the transmission is geared properly you should be able to keep the RPM up in even the slowest corner. Are there any experts on this engine you can consult for what these two different cam profiles would do for your engine? It seems like a big change, I would think 240-250 might be best. Do you have adjustable cam gears? Unfortunately you can't adjust intake relative to exhaust, it looks like your lobe separation angle (intake to exhaust) is similar on both cams, you might want to change that too (less for lower RPM use I think). Also I don't know if it affects the grinding cost but on most pushrod engines I'm aware of you want about ten degrees more exhaust than intake duration (so maybe 240 intake / 250 exhaust). Are you planning on running it on an engine or wheel dyno to tune it? I can tell you cam timing will make a huge difference on how much power you make and at what RPM it peaks, easily +/- 10% with say 20 degrees change. How do the cast pistons limit your RPM? I'm familiar with rod and bearing failure with excessive RPM, are the forged pistons just that much lighter that it's easier on the rods? Just hoping you get the most out of this build, I think it will be awesome when finished. Take this all with a huge grain of salt, I don't know anything about EA engines and this is all very engine dependent. For instance if your ports flow very well I think you can get away with less duration.

Took the radiator out of the 99 Outback to replace it. Have to get some fittings welded on the new one. While that's out and we're down for the winter I decided to replace the head gaskets. I read a lot of horror stories doing these so I've been hesitant but it's really not bad. Take the timing cover off and you find this piece of machinery: Probably the biggest problem we had were the oil pump bolts, I had to grind flats on a few of them and use vise grips to get them loose. For future reference for someone else doing this job, you only have to remove the five socket head bolts that stick out around the oil pump, you don't have to remove the flat heads. For that matter you don't have to remove the water pump but I'm going to replace that and the gasket. Also a couple of the hoses near the front of the intake were rock hard and broke. This is what the heads and gaskets look like, can anyone tell if they were bad? Steering slop in the 99 Outback turned out to be the u joints in the steering shaft, that will be easy to replace with the engine out. I'm also going to weld up some cracks and the inner sides of the subframe spacers while the engine is out.

Yes, the Forester jumps about as well. Doesn't ride quite as well, not sure how much of that is shock tuning and how much is just the weight difference. The jump at the top of the hill it was not able to do, it could climb the hill but didn't have enough power to go fast enough to get much air. Same with the 2002 Outback. Talked to one of my friends who drove both and he also thought if anything the Forester with EJ25 and 5MT was better at hillclimbing than the Outback with EZ30 and 4EAT. The front end noise in the 2002 Outback turned out to be a ripped inner front CV boot, that CV was completely dry. The Forester was doing some scary wandering around at certain speeds after our Badlands trip. We tightened a few suspension bolts, replaced the inner tie rods and a control arm bushing. None of those things seemed too bad but it fixed the problem. I have thought about some kind of active lifting system like you're describing. I don't think I would use it enough to be worth the trouble but would like to see what you come up with.

Haven't found any really good jumps this year, and I think our shocks still need some tuning. I have many hours of video to edit down this winter, I'll post them as I get them done. Here are some video stills for you though. From New Mexico: From Badlands off road park: From our friend's place outside of town yesterday. Jumps are shaped more for dirt bikes and ATVs than full size but my brother was in town so we wanted to see what he thought of our shock tuning. Yes, we jumped the white 2002 Outback a little too but it just doesn't have enough travel in the rear yet.

Why don't you marry it?

We drove down to Badlands off road park yesterday. I had the Outbacks hooked up to tow but we disconnected them since it was snowing and decided to drive separate. B and Z met us there in the Forester. Set up the flags, aired down, and secured cargo. We drove in and immediately found a figure eight we'd never seen before. Larger than the one we usually go to, we were easily able to run three cars in it at the same time with relative safety. C was driving the black Outback, he told me later he wasn't pushing it 100% but running a steady fast pace. I was driving the white Outback as fast as I was comfortable with and he was slowly pulling away. Then I shifted from D to 1 and was able to slowly catch up to him, so we used 1 the rest of the day. When driving through some big whoops in the white Outback near the lower parking lot I realized the ABS was keeping the brakes from doing their job. We hit the whoops faster than I wanted and the back end was kicking up bad. Guys behind me said they saw the rear tires completely off the ground a few times. Definitely need to get more travel in the rear. Stopped and pulled out the airbag and ABS fuses. Then we drove to the small figure eight. Checked out the tubes on the way, water was fairly low with not too much of a drop off the south tube. Took turns in the small figure eight. Drove up to the end of the stream and dropped in. First half is pretty rocky but not bad with the long travel. Water level was fairly low. Went through the tubes and drove the rest of the stream. It smooths out a little ways after the tubes and we were going fast. There was so much water spraying off the tires that if you were steering at all you could hardly see where you were going from the solid pillars of water thrown up by the tires. We got to the end of the stream in a very short time and went up a big hillclimb with a couple large rocks embedded in it. I didn't think we were going to clear in the black Outback but we made it up without hitting them. The white Outback scraped a little. We stopped at the top because someone decided it was a decent spot to make sandwiches. While we were eating C and I walked down to look at the climb and he noticed the rock was covered in undercoating, there were even a few chunks that had been scraped off the car(s). We made a little plan to mess with the guys driving it so he went back up first and tried to convince them I was pissed that they had scraped some undercoating off but they didn't buy it at all. The trail down from there back to the tailings had a nice little downhill jump on it I thought but it was not straight and slippery with mud so it was hard enough to stay on the trail, there was no way to get any speed to get air. Drove back up and we hopped in different cars and went down. We went back to the spot where we were doing the uphill jump last year and hit one of the ones next to it. Doesn't have a nice lip at the top for big air but has a much larger and smoother landing area so we could hit it faster. At about 45mph I was able to get decent air. Forester got a little air, couldn't really get it or the white Outback going fast enough by the top to get good air. From there we dropped down to the railroad grade and followed that back to the parking lot. J likes the dragon tail so we went through that. We tried a bunch of hillclimbs. There was one that Z tried twice in the white Outback and just couldn't make it up. Seemed like a combination of the engine getting bogged down and then some wheelspin and then it would just dig in. I thought he had enough momentum and throttle to make it up too. Then we decided to head to the north end of the park. On the way we decided to try a long rocky trail we've wanted to test out for years. C only got about 30' in with the black Outback and got two wheels light and couldn't go anywhere, even with some tipping and pushing. We pulled him back out of it and headed north on an easier trail. Did a few hillclimbs and some were pretty easy. C tried one that was a little steeper and made it to the top fine but there were big trees on both sides so he slowed cresting the top and got high centered. The trail was so narrow he couldn't open the driver's door. R drove around in the black Outback and easily pulled him forward. We dropped back down to the main trail. Went to the end of that at the north end of the park where it's closed off for the concrete plant. Went down a little rough concrete grade we'd never seen before but then the only options seemed to be a 2' shelf we'd have to drive up or a giant swamp. So we drove back up the rough concrete grade, which went smoother than expected. B cut through the woods and we went back in the bowl near the parking lot. Drove around there some, there were a lot of other people at that time so we decided to leave that area. Visibility cresting hills in the Subarus is terrible so it's unsafe to drive around a bunch of other people in a spot like that with lots of hill climbs. Cut down through the woods to the concrete hillclimb near the entrance. This time we were able to get up fairly easily. Last up was the white Outback, I told Z to try to just slush it up from a dead stop at the bottom. Made it about halfway and it just stalled. Engine running, no tires spinning, just not going uphill. Backed down, got a run at it, and drove to the top fairly easy. Then we dropped down a rocky trail with some concrete steps. It was probably a little rougher than the last time we did it, but we made it through fine, should have gotten video. Drove along the little stream bed, went up a big hillclimb we've done before, then dropped back down and followed the stream back out to the bowl. At this point the white Outback was making a high pitched scraping noise, at first we thought it was just gravel in the dust shields but then C figured out it was the exhaust rubbing on the driveshaft. Jacked it up a bit and bent the exhaust down. Exhaust is cracked a bit so it's not super quiet anymore but not horrible. Black Outback with the Dynomax super turbo and cats sounds much better than white Outback with stock exhaust (both have EZ30). We decided to wander around a little more and try to find some decent jumps. Most of the really good ones there have been leveled out or messed up. Hit some banked turns along one of the main trails and followed a narrow trail until we got back to where we'd jumped the cars at the start of the day. Where that narrow trail drops into the bowl we were jumping out of before is a nice berm I thought would make a good jump. It was decent, couldn't get a real clean run at it since it's not a perfectly straight shot, so I could only hit it at about 35mph, but maybe the best jump of the day we found. After that we wandered a bit more and J decided to try the dragon's tail again. He was driving the white Outback and dropped into one of the banked turns from the outside (it's a bit smoother to go around the whoops on the main line) and got it stuck in the soft tailings. I was right behind in the black Outback and did something similar, got stuck since I had to stop for him. Fortunately the Forester was not stuck, R was eventually able to pull him out. I was able to drive the black Outback back and forth a little bit but then just had R pull me out. By this time J had driven into the next turn and stopped, getting the white Outback stuck again. I figured I'd just pull him back out since I was kind of lined up and had more power and weight than the Forester. Z was worried we'd back into the hole we'd just created when we were stuck but I thought we would be fine. I was able to pull J out but then almost got stuck in the hole Z was worried about. I was just able to drive out of it though. At this point the park was about to close so we left. The right front wheel bearing in the white Outback had the seals pushed out of it when I put the long travel on. I pushed them back in and the grease looked good but it did seem to be making noise. I wasn't sure though since I had also just put a set of old mud tires on it. Didn't seem sloppy before we left but on the way home it was sloppy and making various clicking and popping noises, especially when changing speed. At a steady 80mph on the highway it was silent. I do have a knuckle for that corner with a bolt on wheel bearing. Since I'm not planning on using the ABS anymore I'm just going to put that on. We all had a good time, got stuck about half a dozen times, no real mechanical failures, and hit some decent jumps. I was kind of disappointed with the automatic, I would say it's comparable to the four cylinder five speed off road, you really need momentum and to keep the RPMs up for any kind of hillclimb. The current setup for the multilink rear definitely needs more travel. It was the worst riding of the three (not surprisingly) but still better than stock. The new Forester really runs well, I drove it for a while and was impressed with the hills we could climb at quarter or half throttle. The black Outback was definitely the best, steering brake, manual trans, and six cylinder definitely make it more entertaining and it definitely rode the best of the three.

Figured the stock shocks were coilover, pretty easy to fit real coilover shocks. 500#/in, I had them laying around and it's close. In the long run I will probably wind up with longer shocks with the top mount and reservoir inside the car.

Are you talking front or rear CV axles now? We've been using these on the front and they seem to hold up well, definitely have more plunge travel than most Subaru CV axles: https://autoshafts.com/i-23374251-cv-axle-shaft.html I have a connection and bought ten for about half that price. The CV joints are much larger than most Subaru axles too, probably why they seem to last a while even with torn boots. What I am looking for is something like that for the rear. Did you use SVX rear axles on your Forester?