long travel Outbacks or making Subarus faster and more reliable offroad

[carfreak85]

On 12/20/2020 at 9:01 AM, pontoontodd said:

Regarding pictures, slammo tells me they don't show up on chrome mobile but they seem to show up on other browsers.

They show up if I right click and "open image in new tab," but who wants to do that every time, for every image...?  (Using Chrome browser, btw)

[pontoontodd]

Used photogrammetry to get the mockup rear knuckle on a computer.

I didn't do a good enough job to get a really clean model out of it but it gave me a decent starting point. 

Measured all the hole locations later to make them accurate.  Designed this in CAD to make it as boxed in / gusseted as possible but not super heavy.

Stock rear knuckle bare is nine pounds, this one should be about 14 pounds.  I think it will be a lot stronger.  The main point though is to get bolt on wheel bearings (same as front).  Also with some diff stub adapters we can use the big female front CV axles which are stronger and we won't have to carry as many spares.  It's also designed to use the same front rotors we normally use and a caliper with a lever for parking brake.  Z is going to 3D print a couple so we can test fit them before making them out of steel.

 

[pressingonward]

Interesting! I'm guessing that photogrammetry is where you take photos from multiple angles and some software program stitches them into a 3D model? I'd love to learn more about that process. We had a 3D scanner when I was in school that did similar, but it would be cool if this is now achievable without expensive hardware or software.

 

The new knuckle looks very stout...I'd be tempted to machine some cutouts to drop a couple pounds without sacrificing strength.

 

How do you plan on making the knuckles? That's a big block of stock and a lot of CNC hours and fixturing if you're going that route...a 5 axis mill would help 

[pontoontodd]

26 minutes ago, pressingonward said:

Interesting! I'm guessing that photogrammetry is where you take photos from multiple angles and some software program stitches them into a 3D model? I'd love to learn more about that process. We had a 3D scanner when I was in school that did similar, but it would be cool if this is now achievable without expensive hardware or software.

 

The new knuckle looks very stout...I'd be tempted to machine some cutouts to drop a couple pounds without sacrificing strength.

 

How do you plan on making the knuckles? That's a big block of stock and a lot of CNC hours and fixturing if you're going that route...a 5 axis mill would help 

Yes, photogrammetry takes a number of pictures or a short video and makes a 3D model.  Ideally the part is colorful and not shiny.  There is a special spray paint(?) that some people use.  I have used sidewalk chalk in the past, it works pretty well.  You also want the background to be uniform (white).  If the part is symmetrical you want to stick a magnet on one side or put various patches/stripes of color on it so the computer can figure out the orientation.  Under ideal circumstances it seems very accurate, I would say within .010" even on a part larger than this.  Autodesk had free software on their website years ago, no idea if they still do or what its limitations are.  I have been using 3DF Zephyr lite, it's not super expensive, there is a free version too, again I don't remember what its limitations were.

The real problem with photogrammetry or SLS (structured light scanning, another relatively cheap and accurate method of 3D scanning I've used) is that it's difficult to get a useable 3D model into CAD software.  I use Solidworks and maybe that's not the best at handling these types of files.  My current workflow is 3DF Zephyr - OBJ - cloud compare (free) - DXF - Rhino (free?) - IGS (point cloud).  This point cloud comes in as a 3D sketch in Solidworks.  I typically make copies of it in the same file and then you can delete portions of it to have sections of the part using a small portion of the point cloud.  There is probably a better way but it works.  In the case of the knuckle I probably would have been better off just accurately measuring the hole locations (which I did later) and starting with those to design the knuckle from scratch.

I'm pretty sure the current design is way overkill but I'd rather that and carry around a couple extra pounds than have it bend or break on me in the middle of some desert race.

Current plan on the knuckles is doing most of it with a 3 axis mill and then do the side holes on the four axis.  Five axis would be cool, I'll have to get one of those someday.  I think machining will be less time overall and much stronger than cutting/machining a bunch of pieces, building jigs, and fabricating them.  Plus once it's figured out you just put in a piece of steel, hit the green button, and do something else for an hour.

Edited January 1, 2021 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

B fixed and simplified the wiring on our winch, one of the connections had gone bad.  J wired in a towing light module on my black Outback.

The 99 has mostly been starting but a few weeks ago I drove it out of the garage to make room.  Went to drive it back in a few hours later and it wouldn't start with the key or the push button.  The next morning it started right up.  So I ran a heavier gauge wire (with an inline fuse) straight from the battery to the pushbutton.  Has been working since but who knows.

We worked on a few more things including a mockup panel for blocking off the car behind the seats for better AC performance while racing.

I finally got a video edited and uploaded from our Southern IL trip in July:

https://youtu.be/nGCZUqPPsTA

Plan on removing and disassembling the H6 in the 2002 OB today for head gasket replacement.

[Lizardfungus200]

Have fun on that head gasket job! Here’s something I learned recently: rack and pinions from legacy models have a quicker turn ratio than outbacks, something like 16:1 vs19:1. Ill definitely be putting one in mine since there’s nothing but sand trails where I live in Florida.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Lizardfungus200

[scalman]

You guys see here pics or video, im not, on android phone, chrome

[pontoontodd]

On 1/11/2021 at 7:18 AM, Lizardfungus200 said:

Have fun on that head gasket job! Here’s something I learned recently: rack and pinions from legacy models have a quicker turn ratio than outbacks, something like 16:1 vs19:1. Ill definitely be putting one in mine since there’s nothing but sand trails where I live in Florida.

Head gaskets in 2002 replaced and seem to work but we won't really know until this summer. 

Thanks for the tip on the rack and pinion.

99 has been starting consistently with push button.

We got all the new long travel parts tack welded.

Dropped it all off to get TIG welded a couple weeks ago, they're almost done now.  Have to figure out galvanize/plating/painting.

Finally heard back from Fox, most of the parts I ordered a few months ago should be here any day.  Still have a few parts to finish machining and a few other parts to order.

Test assembled the low range for the 6MT and it seems to work on the bench.  Might have the parts heat treated and finish ground for assembly this weekend, maybe even get it in the car?  Excited about getting that working.

Z is almost done printing a rear knuckle for us to test fit.

Might really need the front axles in the rear once the low range is working.

[Cyfun]

Hey Todd, how much would you want to ship a full long-travel kit to me out in Montucky? I'm finally getting around to giving my '04 Outtie H6 some love, as I've beaten the living spoob out of the stock suspension on my racetrack.

What do you recommend for tire sizes, anyway? From what I understand, 215/75R15 is the way to go, as it fits under the stock strut spring perch, and doesn't gear me too tall?

[pontoontodd]

17 hours ago, Cyfun said:

Hey Todd, how much would you want to ship a full long-travel kit to me out in Montucky? I'm finally getting around to giving my '04 Outtie H6 some love, as I've beaten the living spoob out of the stock suspension on my racetrack.

What do you recommend for tire sizes, anyway? From what I understand, 215/75R15 is the way to go, as it fits under the stock strut spring perch, and doesn't gear me too tall?

I'll PM you.

These struts are a lot of work though, I recently raised the price and don't really want to make any more unless I can get ridiculous money for them.  And since I'm not really selling any at the current price I don't see that happening.  Honestly I'd look into Hotbits or the Bilstein make your own inverted strut kits.  KYB AGX are fantastic for the price but can still be easily bent by driving hard.

215/75/15 seems like the biggest that will reasonably fit without silly offsets/spacers or a lower strut lift and is already really too tall for any standard Subaru gearing.  Even the 1.6 dual range isn't enough sometimes.  If only somebody made a real low range for a Subaru...

[Cyfun]

It turned out my 15" rims wouldn't fit over the calipers, so we went with 215/70R16s. No major rubbing problems to speak of, but there's like a quarter inch of clearance to the wheel well by the door. So I'm prolly gonna slap on a cheap 2" SJR lift just to give me some wiggle room.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the tires. Nicely aggressive tread, and the gearing hasn't hardly changed. At 70mph my GPS reads 71, and I had no problems climbing steep hills. Gotta find me some sand or mud to see if I can get it to bog down.

But to be honest, I saw a '04 Forester XT turbo on craigslist that would make a fantastic candidate for a lift, as it's already got the lower geared diffs and more wheel well clearance. It's a damn shame the only decent low range trans is off an EA82. I wonder how long one would last behind an H6...

[Lizardfungus200]

For your new knuckles, what kind of hub/stud set up are you gonna do? Are the stock studs strong enough to handle the abuse in your experience?

 

I had an idea on the topic of mcpherson struts. Since the obvious disadvantage being the shock shaft being the supporting member, you know what is really strong in that way? Dirtbike forks. Ive thought how to make them into a coilover strut.just a thought 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Lizardfungus200

[pontoontodd]

Got all the long travel parts TIG welded and most of them galvanized.  Waiting on ID grinding of struts, then need to get everything painted along with B's bumper.

Z did some assembly with the parts we've gotten so far, still waiting on Fox for pistons and reservoirs.

 

We went to Arkansas a couple weeks ago for a trail riding/camping/hiking weekend.

We got to Hector AR around 2PM Friday. Slammo and J had gotten there a couple hours earlier and done some prerunning in Slammo's Lexus. They led us to an ORV area.  I was impressed how fast Slammo could drive the Lexus over somewhat rough trails.  We went to a little rock step up/waterfall obstacle and all drove down and back up it. I took the hard line in the black Outback. By this point some guy in a silver Lexus had pulled up behind us.  The guy's ~4 year old daughter started yelling at him from the passenger seat to keep moving. When we all got out to a T intersection we went the opposite way he did. We eventually got to a “Jeep” trail Slammo had found on the map. There were a series of increasingly deeper/steeper mud puddles and Slammo nosed into one of them and got stuck.

I was behind him in the black Outback so I pulled him out. I think on the next one, one or two of us had already gone through but he nosed in and the engine died. It did restart and then B pulled him out. At this point we'd noticed a slow oil leak from somewhere fairly high on the engine. He also had a low oil pressure light at idle. We turned around and went to a campsite next to a reservoir. Slammo got it stuck at least one more time and the white Outback wasn't able to pull it out without using momentum on the strap. The auto would just hold at stall speed with no tires spinning. By this point it had started raining and a few people were worried about the stream coming up five feet and flooding the campsite.

The next morning it was still raining and we started working on Slammo's engine. We couldn't find any oil leaks in the morning but his low oil pressure light still came on at low idle. By this time it was noon and had rained all morning. We started driving and his oil pressure light started coming on even while cruising at 2000+RPM so he stopped at a small gravel turnout. We gave him a key to the white Outback and unloaded a few things out of B's car to leave in the woods next to a cow skeleton. We went trail riding for a couple hours while Slammo and J drove to town. They sent us a message saying they'd made it back with a U haul and trailer. By that point we'd gotten both cars stuck a few times and were in the process of turning around so we told him it might be a while.

We got back to them and they headed south, they made it back home OK that night I think. We started wandering north on different trails and kept hitting dead ends/loops. Late in the day we headed on to a gravel road to a ridge/high point in hopes of finding a campsite. A and I found a decent one on a side trail. Earlier that day the black Outback's RF wheel bearing had started getting sloppy so M and A and B worked on replacing that.

The next morning I finished the wheel bearing and we headed out for another day of wandering north towards Pedestal Rocks. We had a good day of trail riding UP style with a lot of tight trails.

Got a couple flat tires. We did some long rough up and down grades. On one of them they had to give the white Outback full throttle a significant portion of the time and it and the Forester were running hot. We tried cleaning out the radiators with B's bucket in a stream which seemed to help some. We got to some big river crossings. We did one but M and A weren't quite able to convince us to do the second one. I think by this point we'd gone about 100 miles on the odometer and about 5 miles by air from Hector. We drove up to a campground near Pedestal Rocks. It was luxurious staying in a place with a picnic table, steel fire ring, and outhouse within short walking distance.

We hiked Pedestal Rocks and then headed north.

 

It was about noon Monday by the time we got to a gas station and we were all almost empty. It was a good thing they'd filled up the white Outback (and towed it with the Uhaul) and B had a gas can in his Forester, we went almost 72 hours without seeing a gas station. We stopped at a parking lot a little farther north as they were running hot again and made PB&Js and let the cars cool down. On the way home they were running the heaters with the windows open. For the last leg they were able to run the AC in the white Outback but B had to run his heater. We got home around 10PM with no major issues aside from a couple flat tires and hopefully just muddy radiators.

After getting home B washed his radiator out and the water was brown for quite a while.  I took off the front skidplate on the white Outback and blasted it out at the carwash and it's been fine since.  Replaced the other front wheel bearing on the 99 Outback when we got home, it was a little sloppy.

 

[pontoontodd]

Finally test fitted the 3D printed knuckle.  Bottom part broke off the first couple times I tried.

Adding these longer wood screws finally did it.

Need to make some minor adjustments - a little more clearance in a couple spots, can add gusseting in some other spots.  The basic geometry seems good though.  Big front CV axle fits and is in roughly the middle of the plunge travel and doesn't use much plunge travel.  Looks like we can make the brake line and parking brake cable work.  Pushes wheel outboard a bit but should still tuck inside fender at full bump.

Planning on a trail riding weekend up north in about a month, message me if you want to join us.

Edited May 9, 2021 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

Before the trip the dual range in B's Forester had started making a slight ticking noise in first gear.  We weren't sure if it was the transmission or the engine since the frequency was about the same as engine speed.

Also the driveshaft bolts in the middle of the (2010 STI) driveshaft in the 99 OB have been making noise under load in first and sometimes second gear for a while now.  Seems the hanger bearing is just too flexible.  The white Outback started making a similar but much fainter noise.

On the way out of town we did a couple drag races between my 2002 white Outback and the 99 black Outback.  They accelerate about the same which is kinda sad considering the black one weighs about 1000# more and they have the same engine.  On the way north the white Outback was already running hot. We stopped in Escanaba to blast the radiator as best we could without disconnecting the radiator hoses at a car wash. We got to Rapid River and aired down and hit the super whoops. The black Outback didn't seem to take them as well as in previous years. I think I had been able to go 40-50 in the past over the more mild sections, this time 35 is about all I could do. It didn't kick the back end it just seemed overly bouncy. White Outback and Forester seemed better than before. By this point the white Outback needed to cool down. We pulled over in the shade and bypassed the trans cooler I'd installed in front of the radiator. That didn't seem to help much. We drove it with the heat on most of the weekend.  At some point I realized I'd turned the heat up and it was at 80 but it wasn't blowing hot. It actually goes up to 85 and then it blows hot. Later on we realized it was at 84 and not blowing hot. Automatic HVAC controls are the bane of my existence.

We wound up at the entrance to the big spring so we went there.

We hit a stunt area the next morning with fairly steep and tall sandy hills. Z got stuck at the top in the black Outback.  M tried pulling him out with the white Outback but it wasn't doing anything.

We set up the winch and it pulled the black Outback out with ease. I did let it sit for a minute in the middle of the pull but it never shut off by itself. Then we aired down and Z was able to drive out on his own. We hit the climbs a bunch of other times in all three cars. 

At that point we headed to the campsite on the bluff along Superior. We walked down and along the beach and back up to a different campsite we've never stayed at. A got back to the cars first and removed the hood from the white Outback. He and I took a test drive to see if it helped coolant temps. It made no difference and while we were driving around with no navigational technology we hoped nothing bad happened since no one else was with us and they didn't know where we went. We set up tents and cooked food so people would know the site was occupied.

Then we went back out for a few more hours of trail riding. After maybe ten minutes the black Outback completely shut off and I coasted to the side of the trail. The 100A fuse in the 2002 (H6 donor) fuse block had blown. We put in a fusible link and it fired back up and we kept driving. After maybe another ten minutes that blew. We checked many things and eventually I decided the only thing that could be otherwise unfused was the ignition switch. The start portion of the key switch has been working about half the time for the last couple years but I figured it was probably just old wiring. Also I've been able to take the key out while the car is running for years so it seemed believable that the switch was shorting out. We put the 100A fuse from the white car in the black car and just made a jumper wire for the fuse in the white car figuring the wiring in that seemed OK. I hotwired the ignition switch and it worked fine the rest of the weekend.

The next morning we took trails to Grand Marais.  At some point we stopped to reinstall the trans cooler in front of the LF tire in which did seem to help engine cooling a little. 

B and I headed down to the boat ramp to dunk the radiator in the white Outback after removing the fan fuses. He drove it in and out about a dozen times, didn't seem like a lot got washed out.

By this point A pulled up in the black Outback and thought we should do the same thing since we'd gotten it stuck in a mud hole earlier that day (and used two cars to pull it out). I agreed it was a good idea so I spotted him as he drove it in and out of the lake. Didn't get a lot of mud out. I must have told him to go a little too far in as he said all of a sudden water was pouring into the wheel wells. When he tried to back the car out it stalled and wouldn't restart. We pulled it out as quick as we could with the white Outback. Started pulling back carpeting and removing the ECU. The ECU did look like it had gotten some water in it but it was fairly clean. Actually looks like it's had water in it a few times. Dried it out with some isopropyl alchohol. Thankfully it started back up and ran fine all weekend. We headed to the bar, this time with me driving the black Outback and M navigating. We took many side trails since we  had plenty of time and not a lot of distance to cover. On one of the many side trails we picked up a vibration in the black Outback. A branch had broken one of the radiator fan housings and broke a blade off. We disabled that fan. Also noticed the ECU wasn't turning both fans on when the engine was hot. So we had to run the AC to keep the engine cool. Had to turn on the heat also for a little bit once.  M cut off the opposite blade on the radiator fan and we hooked it back up. Went back out trail riding for a couple hours. White Outback still running hot so we had to keep stopping for that to cool. At one point we got back out to the main gravel road that goes east to the bar. Z was navigating, we told the guys we could just take that back to the bar and then hopped on a cool looking side trail in about 100 feet and did a big loop. Took another side trail close to the bar. There were some decent sized downed trees across the trail but we cut and moved those and drove over the rest, eventually looping back out to the trail we came in on.

The next morning we mostly took main gravel roads/snowmobile trails to Pictured Rocks. Figured since the white Outback was still running hot and most of the guys hadn't seen them it would be a good idea. 

Hiked to Chapel Rock again, always amazing. 

On the way home we decided to hit one more snowmobile trail that was a pretty straight shot. It was fairly soft and washboard gravel so I had to run the black Outback in fifth gear just to maintain 55mph. White Outback was running hot again so we had to wait a while. Also on the way down there the black Outback picked up a pretty violent shaking under braking. The RF OB CV boot was badly torn, that axle had been making noise for a while. We drove down the road another ten miles or so to a shady parking lot and started swapping out the CV axle. Turned out one of the caliper bolts had fallen out and that was probably our main problem but we did replace the axle too. M reported being able to run the AC at 70+mph in the white OB on the way home but had to run the heat under 60mph. Fans both seemed to be working fine every time we checked them. A said the power steering was cutting out on him occasionally. White OB has much worse driveshaft noises now. Forester is definitely making noise in first gear, most of the weekend B tried to start in second gear low if he had to.  The code on the trans is 502685 / 4D-TY754XKBAA.  If anyone knows of a good source or even part # for a dual range (EJ) main shaft we could use some help.  VIN # for a car with similar trans would help too.

On Thursday I removed the radiator from the white OB and you can't see through the fins at all, they're basically folded over each other (and doesn't look like from pressure washing). Tubes might be ballooned out which might have buckled them? Ordered a new one from the dealer.

Edited June 12, 2021 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

Have done some repairs on the cars since the last trip. 

Been hotwiring the ignition on the 99 and that seems to be working fine, no more blown fuses.  Ordered an ignition key switch from the dealer but that's at least a few weeks out still, if anyone has one they want to sell please message me.  ECU still doesn't seem to be turning the fans on.  The only other ECU I could find is one digit different in the part number but basically looks the same inside and out.  We put it in and the car ran rougher so we swapped the old one back in.  I think for now I'll just put the fans and AC compressor on separate switches.  Will probably part it out after the Vegas to Reno so it doesn't have to last too long.  Speaking of which, if anyone wants to join us at the Vegas to Reno (it's not a very good spectator event) message me about that.  Got a few guys going this year I think.  Replaced some worn out bushings on the 99 too.

B ordered a main shaft for the dual range that we hope will fit.  If it does we might replace some other gears too.  Plan is to swap a stock trans in his car this weekend for now.

At one point we had the (probably original) radiator out of the white Outback and I noticed the plastic water necks had turned white.  Got a new aftermarket one (Denso) a few years ago which was fine for a while.  A few months ago in Arkansas we went through some deep mud puddles and it's been running hot on and off ever since.  Guessing it got hot down there and ballooned the tubes.    Got one from the dealer ($220) and just put that in.  So far so good.  There is an aftermarket one with 2" thick core that bolts in but it's for four cylinder so water necks are different.  Also it's Mishimoto and I have had to replace the mishimoto in my black Outback a couple times due to pinhole leaks (lifetime warranty but requires some fabrication to fit).  Z and I did an autopsy of the Denso radiator, you can clearly see the ballooned out tubes (they should look like the ones at the bottom):

I've always wondered what the ATF to coolant heat exchanger looks like and I was a little disappointed.  Maybe the stock one is fancier.

A little hard to tell from the pictures but just a hollow brass tube in the bottom tank.

 

[pontoontodd]

We confirmed that it was the driven first gear on the dual range trans that was missing a tooth.  B has a replacement on order.  He already got a replacement main shaft that looks like it should fit.  We did put the original (non dual range 5MT) back in his car for now.

Replaced the driveshaft on the 2002 Outback, kind of surprising it was still driving like this, it was certainly making a lot of noise.

Got all the new long travel parts galvanized a while back.  Grinding shop finally ID ground them all a couple weeks ago.  Hopefully we'll get them back from paint this week along with B's bumper.

We've continued to do shock assembly as parts come in.  We have almost everything now, just waiting on a few reservoirs.

B also replaced the driver's side mirror glass on the white Outback, what a giant PITA that is.

He also rewired the radiator fans and AC compressor to separate switches on the 99 OB.  Neither ECU I have seems to run the fans when the temps get high so for the time being I can just turn them on manually.  Rerouted some other cables while we he was at it.

[pontoontodd]

B got a few parts in for the dual range.  The first gear he got is at least 20% wider than the one that he broke so that's a huge plus.

I still wonder what that stamped gear with one less tooth than the first gear does.  This new wider one doesn't have that.

The mainshaft he got seems to fit too.  One shoulder was about a millimeter different in length so I relieved that a little bit in the lathe.  Also cut the snapring groove for the dual range synchro hub deeper like we did the last one.  The mainshaft that was in it seemed fine but while we have it apart we're going to replace a bunch of parts.  B has a whole list of parts he's going to try to get.  When we figure more of that out I'll probably make a specific topic for dual range info we've found.

 

Finally got all the long travel parts back from paint along with B's bumper, so we installed that.  Will eventually post better pictures of it when we go on a trip or something.  Not too heavy but it should protect the fenders and lights, provide a couple jacking/winching points, make for easier and more robust recovery strap wrapping, give him a spot to mount a few lights, and allow more airflow to the radiator.

[pontoontodd]

Also finally posted a video from our trip out west last year:

https://youtu.be/Ngav72n_WQA

[1990carenthu]

Thank you for taking us on this adventure. It seems like a pretty tough trail, which off-road tires do you have on this car? 

[pontoontodd]

5 minutes ago, 1990carenthu said:

Thank you for taking us on this adventure. It seems like a pretty tough trail, which off-road tires do you have on this car? 

I have Hankook and BFG mud terrains on my Outbacks.  B has BFG all terrains on his Forester.  All of them are 215/75/15.

Edited July 27, 2021 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

We've been getting the 99 Outback ready for the Vegas to Reno.  Replaced the rear wheel bearings and front brake pads and put on new tires and new (to the car) wheels.  Already shipped a set of spare tires out to the pit service.  Safety wired and cotter pinned all the suspension and brake bolts.

Welded up a few cracks too.  If I try to keep this car much longer that front crossmember will just be solid weld.

After pressing together one of the rear wheel bearings it initially wouldn't turn.  I had to put a bar on the wheel studs to break it loose but then it spun easily and smoothly.  I've never had that happen before, has anyone else experienced that?  Test drove the car for about an hour, at least half of that was at about 80mph.  Couldn't tell if the wheel bearings or tires were making noise but didn't seem much louder than usual.  Tire temps were all four the same and the rear wheels didn't feel hot when I got home.
We got more parts for the dual range too.  We need to assemble that and put it back in B's car but that will probably have to wait until after the V2R.  Ditto the new long travel struts.

If anyone wants to meet us at the Vegas to Reno let me know.
 

[6 Star]

If I ever end up with a "New" generation of Subaru again, would love to have one of your Long Travel sets for it.

Potholes, train tracks, etc. around the city are terrible... its like I'm off-roading on the regular commute.

[pontoontodd]

B and I drove my 99 Subaru Outback to Vegas last week. We entered and completed the Vegas to Reno, the longest off road race in the US, in 17 hours 40 minutes. It was great to see most people cheering us on before, during, and after the race. Coming around a corner in the dark to a broken down buggy and our lights lighting up the three hairy butts of the guys who mooned us was hilarious. We were guessing a lot of the course workers near the end of the race may have been cheering since they finally got to go home more than cheering us on. Only 165 of the 294 trucks and buggies that entered finished. One flat tire and a shifter cable issue were the only mechanical issues we had. The course was consistently rougher than when we tried it in 2016 and 2017. There were very few sections, I'd say 10-20%, where we could go 40+mph without worrying about breaking the car. We have averaged 35-40 in past desert races and could have done that for a while on this course but probably not for 500 miles. Our average with stops was 27mph. We switched driving and refueled about every third pit or 100 miles (which at our pace was 3-4 hours). Baja pits fueled us and had tires at those pits for us.  Thanks again to slammo for coming out and helping us.

We did replace a CV axle and hose clamped the loose end of the steering rack back in place for the ride home.

which wagon is more beat?

 

Then we did a little sightseeing and trail riding and drove it back home.

[Numbchux]

Well done!

https://www.thedrive.com/news/42017/homebuilt-subaru-outback-survives-500-mile-rally-that-killed-trophy-trucks