Leaderboard

Last weekend we did some work on B's Forester. His carpeting has been getting wet on the driver's side so he pulled off the fender, wipers, carpeting, etc to investigate. Eventually noticed part of the floor had some small cracks in it. After a little tar removal and poking he discovered about a 2-3" square section was basically rusted to nothing. So he cleaned up the sheet metal around that and welded in a fresh piece. Meanwhile I went through his front struts. Main task was replacing the bushings in the strut bodies. This pair of struts may have been on the black Outback, regardless they have seen a lot of abuse and the bushings were badly worn. Replaced the shock oil in one and replaced a few shims that were maybe slightly cracked. Verified our notes on the valving were accurate. Replaced some other boots/seals, repacked steering bearings with grease, etc. He says it's noticeably more solid now. Yesterday we worked on my Impreza. Still seemed like the radiator and condenser were pretty dirty so I got a long nozzle air gun and tried a few different modifications, this seemed to work the best. Plugged the end (M6x1) and drilled a .15" hole in the side. Then you can get that between the radiator and condenser and blast out one or the other. We got quite a bit more debris out. Replaced the steering rack. It was leaking badly from the driver's side. This would then quickly degrade the boot which would split open. I was refilling the reservoir about once a week by the end of the summer. Fortunately M had put a rebuilt rack in his (my old) blue Impreza a couple years before we parted it out so that one is (hopefully) still pretty fresh. We pulled the skidplate and replaced the rack. In the course of swapping that out I discovered that the bottom U joint on the steering shaft is nearly locked up in one direction. After putting everything back together, you can feel the tight spots in the U joint when turning the steering wheel with the front end off the ground. So I'll have to replace that. A bit disappointed, it's only been in there a couple years, new from Subaru (and extended by me). We had a bit more time and the front end was already off the ground and wheels and tires were off so we decided to go through my front struts. Didn't take too long, verified the valving mainly, added a bit of oil, replaced a wiper, regreased the steering bearings. We intend to go through our rear struts sometime this winter too. Still working on getting material for all the 6MT low range parts so we have a couple complete assemblies (including one for B). We should really tear down the one that was in the black Outback sometime and confirm the failure mode there. I think I have all the plumbing bits I need for the extra fuel tank. Need to get some electrical bits for that and the fan rewiring. We did take a peek at the ABS sensor wires and they're not super small, maybe 20 gauge, we think two of those will be adequate to power a fuel pump.

I got a 2009 Outback special edition instead. Only 95,000 miles on it. It spent 2016-2025 in Arizona and before that in Colorado. Pretty much rust free. I drove it home to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Busy workweek this week - but I got some really wonderful weather today and took the opportunity to get the next notable step dealt with - making the threaded mounting points for the impreza diff subframe. Also before I get too far into it, a protip/safety tip: if someone finds themselves recreating this, or if I decide to do it again - make sure you're using plain, non-galvanized tubing. I'm sure someone has spotted that already and was kind enough to keep their yap shut about it 😅 I used what I have on hand and looking back at it the prep work involved to safely weld this stuff with my setup quickly wiped out any minor cash savings I made by not just going to buy another stick of tubing. I'm sure I don't have to go into details about the dangers of working with galvanized material, but it's worth repeating that Zinc is bad for you in gaseous form and if you're gonna encounter it to take the proper safety precautions. With that out of the way - the photo essay goods: After everything was tacked up and nominally square - I clamped the new frame in its place on top of the bushings, and marked the first hole location for the threaded inserts ( M16 nuts I'm welding in), then center punched and drilled out the hole. I had access to weld the outer half of the nut since it's pretty close to the end of the tube and I used a technique i learned involving some clever placement of smaller access holes to get the inside faces of the nuts fused in. Like the other channels, this will all get boxed in and closed up when i'm happy with the fitment. After this I continued marking and drilling one hole at a time, using the Impreza subframe as a jig to make sure things ended up where they needed to be. I also drilled these holes slightly oversize so that I have a little wiggle room in their placement. Their final positions were dictated with tacks on the welder and then fully welded off of the impreza subframe so as not to melt or damage the bushings. After the new weldment and sheet metal subframe were temporarily assembled together, I put the diff back in it, put it on the transmission jack and then bolted the diff to the front mounts under the car. The original holes and features made for a really handy reference mark and wouldn't you know it, things came out super even. So even in fact, I couldn't help but loosely bolt the lateral links in, prop the trailing arm up, and lean the coilovers (not pictured) up in there without any bolts to get an idea of how things are going to sit. I can almost see it on the ground again! (It'll still be a while). I don't know if I'll be able to narrow the rear wheelbase quite as much as I'd have originally liked, though with a quick google having a slightly wider rear track isn't uncommon and can actually help with certain handling characteristics. I might have to flare my rear fenders, as I do not think I'm going to be able to reduce the rear width the full 9" (4.5" on each side) or so I originally measured without some pretty significant clearancing wizardry beween subframe and coil. I'll have a better plan of attack here once I've got everything semi-permanently affixed to the frame but either way what this is telling me is that I'll probably need to refrain from fully welding in this frame modification until I've got the suspension completely located. I'm also eyeballing putting in a set of rear discs rather than these drums, as I'm not a huge fan of drum brakes and well... I'm already really in the weeds so why not just do it from the ground up? Might get a little more in on this over the weekend, but I'll be playing that by ear. Until the next one! -M

Thanks for all the advice on this. Good to have someone else looking over my shoulder making sure to at least warn me when I'm doing something I shouldn't. Yes, we're just using these as transfer pumps. One for each direction since they all seem to have a check valve built in, the only reversible ones I can find are pretty expensive. 14ga seems overkill for 5A. I use 16ga for almost everything. Will take a closer look at the ABS wires for sure, I like the idea of just using them for power and then grounding the other terminal of the pumps. Will probably see what other wires are running back there we're no longer using too. On the topic of wiring, any suggestions on a relay/fuse good for 80+ amps? Want to put both the pusher fans on the secondary fan circuit. Figure I'll switch the big relay I add with the stock wiring/relay. Those fans pull almost 30A each (over 30A when submerged in water apparently). Planning on putting both the puller fans on the primary fan circuit, they are small and don't draw as much so I should be good there. Currently have one of each on each circuit on 30A fuses.

Join the two together in the engine bay. If you have both out you can bolt them together as a test run to ensure your clutch is aligned. If you have a clutch alignment tool this bit isn’t necessary. IF you decide to do engine and gearbox together, drop the front end out, mount the engine and box to this and raise the front end into the engine bay OR lower the body over the engine and box. I’ve done the bolt in job in the engine bay a number of times; in the L series and Liberty I drop the gearbox out the back and I’ve done the engine, gearbox and front end up into the engine bay twice - L series (EJ22) and the brumby (stock). L series I raised the drivetrain up to the body; brumby I lowered the body over the drivetrain with my engine crane. If you have a hoist it’s so much easier!

I've always done gearbox first, then engine. I haven't tried doing them together. You'd need to lower them in pretty much vertical with the car way up in the air, I'd think.

Yes except I have mine plumbed the opposite from your example. It sort of works as a locker but mainly it's used as a steering brake. It's my favorite kind of steering brake. This shows how we ran the lines and how close the brake is to the center console compartment. Center console reinstalled, handle lines up perfectly with one of the coin holders. Mirror adjustment switch doesn't go all the way back in. Ran the lines under the carpet and through the stock grommet under the back seat. Connected them to the bulkhead under the seat. I tried a different bleeding procedure which ultimately didn't seem to be an improvement.

I don’t see anything for A/C in what I do have. Hang in there. If you’ve got a local dealer with an older technician ask that guy.

It was a code 34. I inspected the wiring harness terminals to the EGR solenoid and they were corroded. I replaced the terminals and no more CEL. Note to self, if an issue is intermittent check the wiring and terminals.

I vaguely recall sohc single port EJ22 is an oddball thing somewhere around 97 when they went from phase 1 to phase 2. Are the valve covers on the heads the old school ones that have "16 VALVES" imprinted on them? \ If it's an 99 ecu, it's probably not really meant for those heads, probably why performance is poor. Good and bad is ecu is fairly simple and doesn't care which block is in there. Swap in the 2000 block, it's what the 99' ecu wants over all. Or if your state emissions doesn't care, drop in an 97-98 ecu and it might fix everything; if the current block has good compression and no mechanical issues.

Did a little more weekend deathwheel work today - took about an hour to get some access panels cut into the bed floor so I can more easily add some gussets to the subframe while it's bolted to the assembly. The idea here is that I'm going to use them both to reinforce the subframe and it will give me a locating feature when I go to tack this piece into the car so everything lines back up. The idea here is that I'm going to use them both to reinforce the subframe and it will give me a locating feature when I go to tack this piece into the car so everything lines back up. I've still got to take things in and out a couple times before this becomes a more permanent part of the vehicle. I'll probably weld the panels back in once I'm satisfied with the subframe and suspension towers, as some of these welds I'm planning on leaving only semi-permanent till I've got all the clearances worked out with the coilovers, so I'll be leaving access until I'm sure I don't need it anymore. This last photo looks real scary but in reality it's just me adding four tack welds to the gussets only on the subframe. I'll be removing it one last time to box everything in and hit it with a bit of weld-through primer. Folks with a real professional background in automotive engineering would probably cringe at some parts of my approach, but I got everything measured up as even and straight as a mallet and tape measure would allow. I'm honestly pretty impressed with myself at how evenly I was able to get everything to line up with a couple symmetrical features I used as reference points (a couple bolt holes and a few key bends/seams. I find myself repeating the mantra "perfection is the enemy of progress" a lot on this build, and so far (knock on wood) it's working out pretty good. Next up I have a fairly short punchlist to get this subframe on the car in a meaningful way, and then I'm planning on attacking the lateral links, trailing arms, and locating the strut towers. The more I think on it the more likely it is that I'll probably be scrapping more of the Impreza tower than I'd intended. The rust is pretty deep in the driver side tower and the more I stare at the mockup as it sits the more dislike the way it looks. One way or the other I'll figure out something good. Main goal is to have it back on its own four wheels (again) around the new year. We'll see if I make that goal or if I blow past it for some unforeseen reason. Hopefully I'll have at least one more update before the New Year, but if you don't hear from me beforehand, have a good last few weeks of the year, everybody! -M

Found some

A leaky injector will leak regardless of being plugging in electrically or not from what I understand. It’s worn injector components or grit that holds the injector open allowing the residual fuel pressure to leak out. You could bench test this easily enough. Build up pressure with an external efi pump, shut it off and watch for leaks with a cup under the injector to catch any fuel (this will give you an idea of how much is leaking too). Also check the injector wires to ensure there’s no current keeping the injector open after engine shut down. That would be a long shot but anything is possible.

Great choice, the turbo's with age are highly problematic. Gas turbo's in general are be design more complex and don't age well. The turbo's fail, replacement turbo's often aren't good quality, any overheating or low oil situation quickly plants the seeds for catastrophic block failure. And by this age it's not uncommon for one to see oil or overheating issues at somepoint in the past.

Your biggest potential (though unlikey on a car this new) issue will be trying to get the ball joint out of the knuckle. It will all depend on how much rust/salt that thing has seen. The guys out west and down south don't have to worry about that and can pop ball joints all day long. The ball joint just pops out. Up here....sometimes they pop out, sometimes they don't. I've ripped t(metal shards and all) the ball joint shaft right through the actual ball itself which was left rust welded into the knuckle, then you're spending a lot of time chiseling/drilling to get the remnant of the ball joint outer casing separated from the knuckle housing and you'll need to replace the ball joint. Good chance a 2018 isn't that bad and comes right out...but if you ever do experience a rusty ball joint you will curse everyone who says "oh just pop the ball joint out" and realize they often live down south/west or are dealer guys only working on new cars under warranty. Are the current axles bad, these newer axles often run a lot of miles without issues and almost never fail. An aftermarket axle may very well fail before the originals with 200,000 miles. In rust prone areas many of us avoid the ball joint and just undo the lower strut mount bolts to replace an axle. The top bolt impacts camber, so you mark the HEAD (not the nut) of the bolt relative to the knuckle housing and make sure you install it exactly where it was before you did the work. EA81, EA82, ER27's are all front parking brakes, so yeah nothing newer than 1994!

I used Lemforder 3015501 boots. I just replaced them a month ago so I cannot attest to their durability. They did feel and appear to be of OEM quality. They withstood my manhandling when installing (IYKYK) without cracking or tearing.

Sweet! Little at a time. My first thought on the brakes was wondering if anyone has done inboard disks somehow. That would probably take too much money but I am thinking if axles are cut down maybe they could be adapted at the inner ends to accept a disk. Or an existing setup like from a Lotus etc. as an example. Pardon my freaky thought in the middle of your hard work. Inboard brakes at the diff, big bash plate to shield it all. Anyways , cool to see as usual and who knows I could maybe copy you or use the knowledge to take a different approach etc. 73 Coupe over the Impreza and just bump out the fenders and quarters with obnoxious looking flares. We’ll see. I’m years away from that project more than likely. But I’d want to keep it thrifty too.

If that device on the dryer is good it sounds like you have a bad contact - or not the correct amount of refrigerant in the system. You should have two electrical devices in the system - a low pressure switch and and high pressure switch. Either of these will disable the system to protect it from damage when the gas pressures aren’t correct/within an operational range.

I've been looking at the rally Leones and their brush guards and I was thinking something inspired by that. Something that mounts to the bumper and wraps around the side to cover the running lights. I'm buying a spare bumper from my parts guy so I don't have to modify my factory bumper. I plan on using industrial rubber vibration dampeners (originally designed to be placed between heavy machinery and a concrete pad to absorb vibrations). Hopefully these will act as a bushing to absorb impact. Otherwise I'd have to figure out some sort of suspension system for it. The rubber dampeners seemed to be the simplest solution. Otherwise I could make the mount out of aluminum tubing and bolt that to the chrome moly guard. The aluminum would act as a sacrificial absorber.

I believe not all SPFI cars here in the US came with an O2 sensor. California has more strict emissions regulations than the rest of the nation. The California cars got O2 sensors, the cars sold in all other states do not have O2 sensors. I believe. Regardless, not all SPFI cars have O2 sensors from factory. I have found it interesting that despite my car originally being sold in California, it doesn't have California-spec emissions equipment. It has the national standard emissions equipment. I believe the national standard is just an EGR setup and a charcoal canister. No O2 sensor and no EGR temp sensor.

In case you hadn't noticed we have a lot more options for vehicle modifications than Australia. These pumps are 255lph. Assuming this extra tank is 10 gallons that would take about nine minutes. Could have it going before you even start filling the main tank. Worst case you fill up the main tank, pull off to the side for ten minutes, then go back to the pump. Guess I'll find out. I think this will be the simplest way. One hose connecting the tops of the tanks for venting. One hose connecting the bottom of the secondary tank going down through one of the access panels and down to the bottom of the main tank. Have two fuel pumps side by side teed into that bottom hose one pointing each direction. One of those pumps could run the engine in a pinch. Definitely looking forward to the magically increased range.

Yeah righto. That’s against our Australian Design Rules (ADRs) over here. Can’t pump fuel between tanks when refilling. Not saying it isn’t done, just that if you’re found out or cause a fire somehow you’ll be raked over the coals for it. And a Fawcett pump would be bloody slow - about 2L per minute transfer rate. Would be better off plumbing in a fill tube between the main tank and auxiliary tank with a one way valve towards the aux tank. There would need to be a vent line to the filler neck to help with the transfer. Or just have a secondary fill pipe off the filler neck to the aux tank so it fills after the main tank is full. Many ways to do it without over complicating things. Our Pajero (Shogun/Montero) sports a dual filler neck behind the filler cap so we can choose to fill the main tank or the auxiliary tank. This secondary filler pipe follows the main tank until it needs to head to the aux tank. Its pretty awesome the first few times being empty on the fuel gauge, then hitting the aux pump switch and watching (from time to time) the main tank gauge go from empty to full without pulling over

"One for each direction" I remember him saying he doesn't want to have to separately fill the aux tank. He'd like to flip a switch while filling the main tank to transfer it up to the aux tank. And then activate the second pump to transfer it in the other direction when needed.

B and I worked on the secondary fuel tank for the Impreza. I pressure tested it and flushed it out, seems like it doesn't have any leaks even at 30psi. I got the mounting flaps carved up so it fits and matched up the bumper mount holes. We had to do a little more hammering in the spare tire well. We came up with a plan on how we want to mount the fuel pumps and run the hoses. I need to get another pump, some hoses and fittings. Going to try to get wire connectors for the ABS wires so we can use those for the fuel pumps since they're already running front to back and will never be used for ABS again. B replaced the cabin air filter and cleaned out the airbox and blower fan, they were all loaded with debris. He also traced the brake lines under the hood and we came up with a plan on eliminating the ABS module and plumbing the left/right steering brake from the black Outback.

I added the charcoal canister between the gas tank and vapor intake on the 2.2, plumbing the vacuum valve per Bushytail’s advice. Viola, all is well. No more excessive tank pressure, no more bucking. An aside to the main topic: The shift mechanism on the old 4mt was fixed with tapping threads clean through the sleeve, and shift rod. Really is the ‘gold standard’ to fix this. For anyone still using the four speed. I sure took the long way around to get this fixed. Just couldn’t let go of the fact that the 2.2 ran fine with no canister in GL wagon. But many thanks to all here who helped me to get this Brat running right!

Took an hour today to tack everything up and get started boxing stuff in. Small steps but I'm excited to get this part done.

I have not seen anything officially saying one way or the other. But I would also bet interference. Even the 2.2 went interference in '97ish. That said, I see the FSM has a specific note to use caution installing the timing belt on a 2.5, as incorrect timing could cause piston to valve contact, and there is no such note in the 3.0 timing chain section.... I don't think I've seen or known of one break a chain. I've heard timing chain noise several times before due to damaged/worn guides and/or tensioners. Not that it isn't possible, but I'd be highly skeptical that it just broke without making a bunch of noise. What Cam sensor code? P0340 is for cam sensor circuit, indicating a wiring issue or failed sensor, P0341 indicates good signal but out of time. I've had engines attempting to start with bad sensor data sound strange while cranking. If it broke on the highway, the valves are already bent. It'll turn over nicely now. Before you touch those cover bolts, definitely do a compression test. If it fails that, I would drop the exhaust and look up the ports at the valves you can see (IIRC the front valves are hard to see through the single exhaust ports), and then crank it again to see if you can hear the compression blowing out the exhaust. If you have cylinders with no compression, but the offending valve cover and check to see if the buckets move freely and smoothly. While a stuck valve won't prevent a bucket from moving all the way out, there won't be any spring pressure on it. I believe you can see the bank 2 chain through the oil filler cap. Drop the oil into a clean pan and look for debris. Cut open the filter for the same. I would expect to see considerable metal in the oil if the chain has been failing. Maybe even drop the lower pan and look for bigger pieces of debris. I have an 01 H6 with no compression on cylinder 3. It all blows out the exhaust. I removed the valve cover and can move the valve buckets/springs freely with a prybar, resistance and movement feels identical on all 6 exhaust valves on that side (I believe if the valve wasn't closing all the way, the spring/bucket would not return all the way). It will still run, just super rough. I believe it to be a burned valve. And I will almost certainly swap in a used engine before I bother pulling everything apart enough to replace a valve. I have a couple known good high mileage engines. Or maybe try to get a JDM, although those are a lot less common/cheap than they used to be.

Pre-holiday update - went a little further with what I'm jokingly calling the subsubframeframe. I'm building up a small weld-in subframe/frame extension to locate and mount the impreza sheet metal number to. Fairly straightforward for the most part - to keep the parts somewhat simple I've had to clearance cut parts of the tubing to be able to maintain the ability to construct it out of straight tubes and right angles. Bends may be a slightly more robust approach with less material, but my fixturing capabilites are somewhat limited. Sometimes I think I'd give a kingdom for a good welding fixture table, but then again my brain works pretty well designing and fabricating this way so for now I'll use what I've got. This assembly looks to me like it will end up fairly robust. A couple more brace pieces to guard against torque / shearing are in process, and all open ends and channels I've cut are all going to get boxed in prior to final assembly and welding. I'll also be adding a few more pieces on the top to both provide more footprint for welding to the truck and to center everything between the original frame rails. I gotta go dig out my box of fasteners from the disassembly process and see if I still have the bolts from the impreza suspension and subframe, because next up is getting some threads welded in. I think I labeled everything but things got hectic in the last few days before its removal so I'm going to have to see what's still around.

Thats nuts Jeszek! I miss my wagons! -Justin

40+ together. Wow, what an amazing achievement! Here's to another 40+!!

Already surpassed the 40 years milestone of being with my "BumbleBeast" in continous ownership and, despite that this SportsWagon is looking smaller as new cars around tend to get bigger; I preffer this Yellow noisy fellow over any other car, everyday in any weather condition. Lousy cellphone photo Kind Regards.

I owned an 1100 FF-1 from '77-81, and did all the repairs and maintenance myself. Mine was completely stock and everything worked perfectly. i can verify a few things from personal experience... The brake system was A-OK with DOT-3 brake fluid as was the Star and 360 models before. The dual radiator system worked great, and that was in Southern Lousiana and Central Arkansas in the Summer. At speed (above 30 or so), the fan would never have to run even on the hottest days. On cold days, there were times when it took a long time for the cabin to warm up though. The stock wheels were narrower (by 1/2 inch) than the later Leone models after '74. I currently have a '73 wagon that came with those same narrow wheels, but later models were 1/2" wider. The narrow wheels are very light, and combined with the in-board brake drums, the front torsion bar suspension, and the steering geometry, the FF-1 was the most fun car to drive of all the cars I've ever owned (and I'm not kidding). There is so little unsprung weight on a stock FF-1 that it literally "floats" over obstacles, and it was almost effortless to steer the car as well. The turning radius never failed to impress me. I could turn completely around in spaces that would be challenging for a large motorcycle! Great looking FF-1 Jamie! I'll keep my eye open for parts in the event you want to return more things back to stock. Subaru had nothing to be embarassed about the design of that car!