Well, got the motor mounts done. Mildly terrifying sticking my hands under the engine only supported by a single floor jack. Don't feel like doing that too much.

Both original and STi mounts are stiff enough that I cannot actually tell the difference by feel. The rubber does have different markings.


Also, oops. :iono:

I believe there is either more, or a different filler material in the plastic as well. I want to say it was 50%cf by weight. I can't remember, should be a marking on them. "PA6..."

Both plastic parts have the same part number though.

I could be mistaken. It's been a while since I had both those parts side by side.

Spark Plugs
 

I replaced the spark plugs this past week. Wound up tilting the engine to one side then the other. Even then I wound up needing to swap out my ratchets to be able to use the right length extensions/adaptors. It did make access better though.

Old plugs looked fine to me. Installed new Subaru branded Denso plugs. Did not set gap or use antiseize. Visually the gap between the old plugs and new plugs was exactly the same. The old plugs seemed to have some sort of lubricant on them though so maybe I did that wrong. Oh well, they are in now lol.

Interesting discovery while tilting the engine is that there are flat squares on the block about 3 inches in front of the engine mounts. You can't see these with stock headers on, but spanning a 3.5" piece of 2x2 between the engine mount bolt and the square made for a pretty stable jacking point. The drivers side square is on a plane 1-2mm above the bolt head (my 2x2 just lifted at the bolt head). The passengers side square is on a plane 1-2mm below the bolt head.

This has been my experience with every single properly running fuel injected engine I've touched. I only replace plugs if I'm replacing a set of igniters. I've never seen one with the iridium chips burned so even then, it has probably been unnecessary.


The brown stuff in the threads is just varnish and oil.

Oh, now you tell me! ;)

For my next trick, I will be removing the steering rack bushings and replacing them with Whiteline poly bushings. I also have the STi diff bushings that I was thinking of installing to complete the drive line set.

The debate I am having with myself is whether to rig something up to pull/press bushings or just get the right tools. I've got a big C-clamp and a ball joint puller thing (great for wheel studs) that I apparently just need to find the right size tubing for. I don't think that will really work for the diff bushings though?

Hmmm.....

Haha... Can't go wrong with fresh plugs but yeah, IMO, there are more important places to spend $$$.

I had a guy until a friend surprised me with a hydraulic press. Presses, like cherry pickers, take up quite a bit of valuable space for such infrequent use.

Note to self: Remember this page if you actually did mess up the subframe bolt threads...

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49596

I'd recommend a press. Those things are in there pretty tight.

I just decided to order the Cusco tool for pulling the steering rack bushings. I just don't have the right stuff lying around to get at it and for some reason I can't get enough clearance for a c-clamp. Yeah it's $40+ for a tool I will use once but I'd easily spend that in time and materials to make it.

I'm just not going to do the sti bushings at this time. Too much other stuff going on and I'm running out of time.

Moved on to the rear for the moment. Halfway through the subframe inserts.

I guess I should have specified, I ment for the diff bushings :bonk: I've done those twice and they are really in there. The steering rack bushings should be no big deal. Could probably get them out with a deep socket, a long bolt with nut and washers.

Yeah, that is essentially what the steering rack bushing tool is, just an actual sleeve vs a socket. Unfortunately I don't have the right socket or a long enough bolt.

... ok wtf happened here?

One bolt came out wet an moldy. Other than being gross and needing to be cleaned both the bolt and sleeve look fine. :iono:

Edit:. On further inspection, the bolt is actually pitted a bit. Probably should get a new one. The bushings will probably be fine... Maybe...

Hey, I searched for "all metal lock nut" and there seem to be a few types. Could you post a pic or link just to make sure I'm looking for the right thing? Does type/material matter?

It's usually referred to as a "top lock." I use regular zinc plated fasteners. If you need a bolt and nut for the over pipe connection, you can use 3/8's instead of 10mm since it's a bit easier to find.

https://www.mcmaster.com/product/93795A333

I could be crazy, but running around the forum for the last week figuring out my (hopefully) last orders of stuff, I saw a post indicating these might also be useful on endlinks?

Any other hardware tricks you know of that would help here? Knowing fasteners has never been my strength.

Yes, I run them on my fronts. Rear's don't seem to loosen up.

Ok, so just to confirm these should work right? Went looking for the same thing with a flange.

https://belmetric.com/m10x1-25-14mm-...NTLH10X1.25CLZ

For endlinks or front pipe?

Sorry, headers. And front pipe, over pipe(with bolts I have to get...), And endlinks?

Header is 10mm x 1.25(just checked on a block I have here at work), I am 99% sure I am using the same nut on the endlinks, mine are whiteline, not sure if they are all the same. For the FP/OP I am using 3/8-16 bolt and nut since I have them on hand at work. You could also use 10mm X 1.25 there and keep things uniform.

Steering Rack Bushings
 

Ok so next thing I did was the steering rack bushings. Getting the stock ones out was easy once I had the Cusco tool. If you don't have steel tubing readily available or some really big/long sockets, just get the tool when you get the bushing set, especially if you get a free shipping deal. It cost me more in time trying to figure out how to use what I had in the garage than it would have if I just bought the tool in the first place. I was not able to get the steering rack into a position where I could use the C-clamp method.

The tool consists of a 1.5" pipe, a bolt, and 2 nuts. One could use a 1.25" pipe if the rubber collar on the bushing were trimmed down.

The white line bushings feel more flexible until you try to compress them. Then it becomes obvious they are going to be stiffer when installed.

Install was pretty easy. Hardest part was determining what to grease if at all. I greased the whole bushing to prevent squeaks.

Some pics on using the tool. Instructions were in Japanese, but it's easy to figure out. I learned the hard way to turn the nut with the box wrench and not the bolt with the ratchet. Turning the bolt backs out the nut on the other side and now you have to get the nut back on and tighten up again. Hole is pretty clever for clearance on driver's side. I apparently didn't take pics after it was done, but there isn't much to see.

Next I did all the bushing inserts at the rear. Installed Whiteline diff and subframe inserts. Both came with good paper instructions in the bag which I followed.

Install surprise #1 was the wet/moldy bolt in the pic a few posts back. It seems water was getting trapped inside the bushing sleeve, resulting in some pretty bad pitting on the bolt. Sleeve seems fine. Surprise #2 was that the driver's side of the subframe was not well-aligned when putting the bolts (both front and rear) back in. Not sure if that is a product of the subframe shifting or just that it was not great to begin with. Surprise #3 is the valve on my new floor jack likes to stick and release suddenly.

Solution for #1: I may have STI subframe bolts coming. Or maybe not. We will see what shows up.

Solution for #2: When I get new bolts, I will support and loosen the front just a bit before replacing the bolts at the rear so I can shift the subframe around a bit. Then I will go back to the fronts with the rear loose, then make sure everything lines up before torquing.

Solution for #3, I remember reading about this and there is a solution but I can't remember what it is now. Should probably get that fixed before it is time to lower the car.

Some pics of my support points since they were not directly stated in the instructions. I kind of wish the inserts still came in yellow...

The real hero of this build. Not only does it provide diffused lighting under the car, but it doubles as a space heater on the colder days.

Then I finished up the transmission and differential oil changes. I decided to go with Amsoil again. I really liked my last fill in the transmission at least, and I had a bottle and a half of the diff oil from the last time so figured I'd give it another shot. I also had half a bottle of the transmission oil from last time. Original review here:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127620

It's pretty straightforward to do. I discovered my long lost bulk pack of crush washers for the diff, and just reused the flat washers that the transmission came with (why does the shop manual say to replace these again?).

The most annoying part is making thick fluid flow upwards. I'm pretty sure last time I had some little funnel/tube attachment for the old bottles that I lost. This time I had a one-way valved hand pump I originally got to siphon fuel. It was slow but it worked.

Diff went fine and I still had a 20mL left over. Transmission on the other hand wash a bit more stressful. I lost about 10-20 ml because the crush bags were difficult to angle properly. Made getting fluid into position easy, but we're kind of unwieldy and some dripped out. there was about 10-20mL in each that I couldn't squeeze out. Then I got down to the last 10mL in the bottle with no seepage from the fill hole and was getting worried. Wound up emptying the bags into the bottle with some help from good old gravity, and was able to get it topped off.

Been thinking about tuning solutions today. My options are:
A. Update the tune using the OFT I have, make my usual minor tweaks and and call it a day.
B. Try to optimize the OFT tune to the header by one method or another.
C. Get ecutek and pay someone to take care of it for me and don't think too hard about running a tune I know nothing about.
D. Get ecutek and start from scratch.

The smart thing to do, considering schedule, would probably be A or C. But I kind of want to try B or D. Why do I always want to do things the hard way?

How much farther are you planning to go mod wise? If this is it I would just tweak your existing, or have a custom OFT tune done. I think I paid 240-250 for my FF tune. If you think you may go deeper then ecutek for sure.

Yeah, that's part of the question. I don't think I'm going to go FI. If I move somewhere where e85 is an option (or it comes to me), I might go FF. All things being the same, if I want more power in the distant future I would probably be looking at a swap of some sort (coughFA24cough), which who knows what that looks like.

I'd just tweak your existing OFT tune for now until you fully decide what you want to do.

sorry to hijack, @Spuds, but is this custom FF tune on OFT? Who'd you have do it?

Yes, steve99 did it. It can only be done on 13-16 cars and must be evap reference. That being said, you can use a rear 02 reference FF kit and rewire it to evap reference which is what I did. From there you just need to know the voltage range of the sensor for ethanol content scaling. Most are 0-5v.

Quick update on the above, I decided to reuse the bolts with some blue Loctite. I was able to align the subframe holes a bit better in the process which making running the bolts up the threads way easier.

Also got the driveshaft back on. Yes this was AFTER I filled the transmission (:bonk:). Oil did not leak out the back thankfully.

And fixed my airbox. This is actually held in place mote firmly than it was originally, all for the cost of two holes and a zip tie. Highly recommend this mod. :D

legit

Exhaust is hung/supported, but I am having second thoughts about these top locks. They are the elliptical kind and I tested one on a bolt and the nut was getting hot just trying to run it up the bolt. Feels a lot like cross threading and I'm a bit concerned about using them on studs in the head that would be real hard for me to fix.

Thinking of just getting new stock bolts from Subaru.

You definitely don't want hot nuts. At least with the OEM option you know they are the right hardware for the job/task.

That is odd, they will get a bit warm from friction but mine didn't get hot. I also usually hand tool those, I don't like to use an impact as you risk tearing up threads.

Yeah I was also using just a ratchet. The weird thing is I tested it again this weekend and it felt a lot easier than I remember. Then again I spent a lot of time trying to get the top nut tight on the new struts immediately before that so maybe my expectation was skewed? (More on that in a bit lol)

Anyway, nuts and a few other not-necessary-but-nice-to-have parts are already on order so I'll try those. If it becomes a problem... well I'll threaten it first lol