Opie & Dave-RoR's Rebuilds

[Opie]

OK, so since Nate has decided he wants to test #18 out at Sebring on November 4th & 5th, I've been pushing a bit to make sure it is ready....

Car had a strange low idle at startup, after a test drive I noticed a CEL and the traction contol light came on and stayed on. Steering wheel was way off center to the right. And it was difficult to get into 1st & 2nd gears. Pulled the current codes:
Engine:
P0011 - A camshaft postion timing, bank 1
P050A - Cold Start idle air control system
P0103 - Mass air flow A circuit high
P0420 - Catalyst below efficiency
VDC/ABS:
C1231 - Steering Angle Sensor Abnormal
Air Conditioner:
B14A1 - Open in Solar Sensor Circuit
Combination Meter
U0151 - Lost Communication with Restraints Control Module

Diagnosed the steering angle sensor code first, EGI fuse was good, getting proper voltage and resistance to the sensor. Tried to recalibrate, calibrated ok, cleared code but triggered the code again when driven. A new steering rack had been installed so I checked the rotations and centered the rack, wheel was again off center to the right. Removed and recentered steering wheel and re-clocked the clockspring. Reassembled, re-calibrated sensor, cleared code and road tested. All good.

Moved on the the engine codes, not concerened about the P0420 as the car is now cat-less. But checked all 4 camshaft position sensor and MAF sensor harnesses, cleaned and made sure they were secured. Cleared codes and road tested. P0103, P050A & P0420 (no surprise) were back. P050A says to ensure mass air flow is good as it can trigger that code, checked voltage and resistance at MAF, all good, removed sensor....found the bottom half broken off. Replaced sensor, cleared codes and road tested. Only P0420 code was current. P0103, P050A show as permanent, but that is normal as the car must go through a few drive cycles before the permanent codes will clear.

The U0151 code is of no concern as all the airbags and airbag controller have been removed. The B14A1 code I ignored as the AC works fine, and it really isn't important for the solar sensor to work in a track car....also, the front windshield is currently tinted very dark (it will be removed eventually) so that may be messing with this sensor (its on the dash).

Checked shifter, found the reverse lockout plate way out of adjustment, re-adjusted. Now shifts perfectly.

Washed the car up, Dave & Nate will be picking it up next Saturday to get it corner balanced, aligned, nut & bolted and a few minor details completed before it heads to Sebring.

Once it is successfully tested at the track, it'll get a custom EcuTek tune. Then off for a cage, seats & harnesses....and hopefully a new steering wheel...lol I do like the WRB w/gold wheels!

[Opie]

2014 Subaru BRZ #18 TLMotorsports build parts installed list:
JRZ RS Coilovers Camber plates (F) and solid upper mounts (R)
Essex AP Racing Sprint front brake kit
Enkei RPF1 17"x9" with Hankook RS4 245/40R17 tires
Verus Rear LCA with Sperical Bushings
Tomei UEL Cat-less header & overpipe
Invidia Catless Front Pipe
Invidia N1 Cat-back Exhaust
Cusco Solid Motor Mounts
Solid transmission mount
Koyo Aluminum Radiator
Mishimoto Oil Cooler
2015 complete engine assembly 71k
New OEM spark plugs
New OEM drive belt
Exedy Clutch kit
New OEM release bearing, clutch fork & springs
New OEM steering rack (complete)
New SKF wheel bearings (all) w/ARP extended lugs
Muteki lug nuts
New OEM rear knuckles

[Opie]

#18 had a very successful test at Sebring over the 4/5 weekend. Nate is pleased with the car. Next up, ECUtek tune, then full cage.

More non-86 content:
Picked this up on October 30th, clean title mechanical issue. Got it for the sole reason of having to get deeper into an F series engine to keep my skills up to date. The mechanical issue was oil in the coolant. I know what you are all thinking...head gaskets right? On these new F series engines (FA & FB included) the head gaskets are very rarely the issue when oil mixes with the coolant.

Believe it or not, ever since the EJ head gasket issues, Subaru has over engineered the head gaskets in the F series motor and they are very rarely the issue when this occurs. What is the issue you ask? Well there are a few places where this mixture can occur.
1. Most common is from failed coolant o-rings where the upper oil pan assembly meets the block.
2. PVC Inlet (drivers side of block, under A/C compressor.
3. Transmission cooler
Watch this video to see what I mean:

So for this 2014, 145k Forester here's what was done to fix it. Pressure tested cooling system, confirmed losing pressure. Removed engine, removed front timing cover, removed upper oil pan assembly. Confirmed coolant o-rings were deformed and could visually see where oil was getting by. Cleaned off all RTV, replaced all coolant & oil o-rings and resealed upper oil pan assembly with new RTV. Cleaned off all RTV, replaced all oil o-rings, front crank seal and resealed front timing cover with new RTV. Let both cure for 24 hours. Then flushed radiator and cooling system 3 times to remove oil contamination, filled with new oil & a new filter. Pressure tested cooling system again, now no pressure loss. Re-filled and burped cooling system with new coolant. Been driving quite a bit and coolant is still clean, re-performed pressure test today, no pressure loss. I'd call this repair complete.

Had time to detail the interior a bit as well.

This partial engine teardown and sucessful repair was practice before I do a full FA20 rebuild on a valve spring recall victim engine...will post once I get into that.

[bcj]

Is this another one of those "First remove the timing cover" repairs, or was that for practice?

[Opie]

Originally Posted by bcj

Is this another one of those "First remove the timing cover" repairs, or was that for practice?

Gotta remove the timing cover to get the upper oil pan off...so it was practice, but was required to complete the repair.

I must say,the more I dig into these F series motors the more impressed I am. They certainly are a little more tedious to work on than the old EJ's but still fairly easy.

[Opie]

Ok, as promised. I am about 80% complete with a full FA20 engine rebuild that I am documenting here:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154357


But I swear, if I drive around with an empty trailer these things follow me home.

#19 - 2013 Limited w/42k
Listed as Mechanical/Flood. No accidents, no body damage. This car still smells new inside. Updates coming as I dive into this one.

[Opie]

Almost forgot, #18 is getting its cage...

[Opie]

So yesterday evening I got a chance to do a little diag on white #19 and to be honest...I'm confused as to it's issue(s). First thing I checked was the fluids, coolant full & clean, oil...hmmm, no oil on the dipstick, that is oddity #1. I look under the car and the aluminum engine undercover is missing, the center of the subframe is shiney and covered in oil and...the oil pan drain plug is missing. That's oddity #2...had a spare drain plug so I installed it.

Battery is stone cold dead, keyfob is also dead. Put battery on charger, got new remote battery. Picked up 5 quarts of cheap synthetic 0W-20 for testing purposes.

Since the auction notes say it was a flood hydrolock I removed the plastic intake bits, find a bunch of oily foam in intake bits and running out of the throttle body...that's oddity #3. Put a big wrench on the crank bolt, nothing, feels locked up good. Glanced at the coil packs and they were still in place...oddity #4 because normally shops remove the plugs to confirm hydrolock when a car drives in water and has hydrolock symptoms. Insurance usually requires this before they make an assesment. So I went ahead and removed the coil packs and plugs, put the big wrench back on the crank pulley bolt and viola, the engine turns over. No water comes out of the cylinders so I go ahead and turn it over a few more times to make sure it doesn't get hung up on something, sounds normal...no hang ups.

Next I put that 5 quarts of oil in it that I bought, check the dipstick, it shows just under full. Hook up the jump pack, and hit the start button to see if the starter will spin it, sure enough, it does and I hear compression being forced out the empty spark plug holes. Nice! This looks promising. Stopped for the night because it was getting too dark and figured I'd let the battery get charged up, then do a compression test in the morning.

This morning I go out and check the battery...charged says faulty battery...well damn...figure I'll go ahead and use the jump pack to do the compression test but figured I'd check the oil before I did to see if there was evidence of water in the engine (milky oil). Hmmmm....oddity #5...dipstick now shows almost dry again, I double check, same thing....look under car and find a decent sized puddle of fresh oil. My brain says well there must be a rod through the block somewhere causing the oil to leak out. Seems odd that the engine would turn over so easily...but that must be it. So I grab a flashlight and look all around, under the intake manifold, no cracks, no holes, no oil...weird, usually find an obvious exit stage right for the rod there...

Look under car, now it's difficult to see the bottm of the block with the exhaust manifold on, but everywhere I can see is dry and no obvious damage to the block...the only thing that is wet with oil is the exhaust manifold (at the front under the pan) the lower oil pan and the little flywheel cover...WTF??? I grab my phone camera and video up in all the spots I can't really see and find nothing, no wetness, no broken parts....just oil in the places I mentioned.

So I am going through my head trying to figure this out....

1. crank turns over and compression can be felt out all 4 cylinders, this would indicate there was not a broken connecting rod issue....
2. Dipstick is now almost dry indicating that there is no oil in the pan...where did it go? If there was a leak further up, the pan would still have some oil in it right?
3. Oil pan is oily and wet, didn't see any holes in the pan itself, maybe there is a puncture that I missed? That would explain the leak.
4. I wonder, if water did get in the oil...could that have caused the oil to foam up, increase the crankcase pressure and possibly push the rear main seal out?
5. Even if that were the case...the rear main seal is higher than the pan...I only cranked it over 3 or 4 times last night, does the oil pump draw that much oil that the pan would be dry???

Any guesses? I stopped looking at it today because the rod bearings arrived for the other motor I'm working on (that may go in this car if needed)....I'm going to pull the exhaust manifold next so I can see more as to what may be going on, maybe pull the oil pan as well....but can't until next week due to work stuff.

Couple other notes on this car...it is the cleanest one I've ever bought, no accidents, all the VIN stickers are present, interior is mint, no dings, still smells new inside and the original window sticker was in the glove box....also has those decent TSW wheels...I'm still holding on to a slight bit of hope that it doesn't have a chronic engine issue....

[Wally86]

Originally Posted by Opie

So yesterday evening I got a chance to do a little diag on white #19 and to be honest...I'm confused as to it's issue(s). First thing I checked was the fluids, coolant full & clean, oil...hmmm, no oil on the dipstick, that is oddity #1. I look under the car and the aluminum engine undercover is missing, the center of the subframe is shiney and covered in oil and...the oil pan drain plug is missing. That's oddity #2...had a spare drain plug so I installed it.

Battery is stone cold dead, keyfob is also dead. Put battery on charger, got new remote battery. Picked up 5 quarts of cheap synthetic 0W-20 for testing purposes.

Since the auction notes say it was a flood hydrolock I removed the plastic intake bits, find a bunch of oily foam in intake bits and running out of the throttle body...that's oddity #3. Put a big wrench on the crank bolt, nothing, feels locked up good. Glanced at the coil packs and they were still in place...oddity #4 because normally shops remove the plugs to confirm hydrolock when a car drives in water and has hydrolock symptoms. Insurance usually requires this before they make an assesment. So I went ahead and removed the coil packs and plugs, put the big wrench back on the crank pulley bolt and viola, the engine turns over. No water comes out of the cylinders so I go ahead and turn it over a few more times to make sure it doesn't get hung up on something, sounds normal...no hang ups.

Next I put that 5 quarts of oil in it that I bought, check the dipstick, it shows just under full. Hook up the jump pack, and hit the start button to see if the starter will spin it, sure enough, it does and I hear compression being forced out the empty spark plug holes. Nice! This looks promising. Stopped for the night because it was getting too dark and figured I'd let the battery get charged up, then do a compression test in the morning.

This morning I go out and check the battery...charged says faulty battery...well damn...figure I'll go ahead and use the jump pack to do the compression test but figured I'd check the oil before I did to see if there was evidence of water in the engine (milky oil). Hmmmm....oddity #5...dipstick now shows almost dry again, I double check, same thing....look under car and find a decent sized puddle of fresh oil. My brain says well there must be a rod through the block somewhere causing the oil to leak out. Seems odd that the engine would turn over so easily...but that must be it. So I grab a flashlight and look all around, under the intake manifold, no cracks, no holes, no oil...weird, usually find an obvious exit stage right for the rod there...

Look under car, now it's difficult to see the bottm of the block with the exhaust manifold on, but everywhere I can see is dry and no obvious damage to the block...the only thing that is wet with oil is the exhaust manifold (at the front under the pan) the lower oil pan and the little flywheel cover...WTF??? I grab my phone camera and video up in all the spots I can't really see and find nothing, no wetness, no broken parts....just oil in the places I mentioned.

So I am going through my head trying to figure this out....

1. crank turns over and compression can be felt out all 4 cylinders, this would indicate there was not a broken connecting rod issue....
2. Dipstick is now almost dry indicating that there is no oil in the pan...where did it go? If there was a leak further up, the pan would still have some oil in it right?
3. Oil pan is oily and wet, didn't see any holes in the pan itself, maybe there is a puncture that I missed? That would explain the leak.
4. I wonder, if water did get in the oil...could that have caused the oil to foam up, increase the crankcase pressure and possibly push the rear main seal out?
5. Even if that were the case...the rear main seal is higher than the pan...I only cranked it over 3 or 4 times last night, does the oil pump draw that much oil that the pan would be dry???

Any guesses? I stopped looking at it today because the rod bearings arrived for the other motor I'm working on (that may go in this car if needed)....I'm going to pull the exhaust manifold next so I can see more as to what may be going on, maybe pull the oil pan as well....but can't until next week due to work stuff.

Couple other notes on this car...it is the cleanest one I've ever bought, no accidents, all the VIN stickers are present, interior is mint, no dings, still smells new inside and the original window sticker was in the glove box....also has those decent TSW wheels...I'm still holding on to a slight bit of hope that it doesn't have a chronic engine issue....

Hopefully you figure it out cus that is WEIRD.

[Opie]

OK, so spent some diag time on #19 today, here is what I found.

I went ahead and removed the exhaust manifold and found why the oil was all leaking out...the oil pan had been removed previously and was now just bolted on with no sealant so it was just leaking out the gap left. This tells me someone else was here diagnosing previously...

I went ahead and drained the remaining oil out of the pan...then removed the pan. Found a big hunk of metal that seems like bearing material in the pan along with a bunch of very small pieces. With the windage tray in the upper oil pan it is difficult to see rod & cap for cylinder #2, I can see the #4 clearly and with the help of a flashlight and mirror I can see most of #3 & #4. All look straight and I can see the piston moving back and forth in the cylinder when the crank is rotated. #2 I can just barely see a portion of, it seems to be moving back and forth ok, and the rod looks straight, but boy there is a super shiny part on the connecting rod, I'm guessing this is where a part of the connecting rod sheared off and that is what I found in the pan. This would explain why there was no rod knock when the engine is spun. I'm guessing that rod is tweaked but still straight enough to clear the cylinder walls.

So, the spare engine I am building will definitly go into this car, then I'll tear down this engine to see if it can be rebuilt, or if it needs to be scrapped.

[Opie]

Motor rebuild is complete, #19 will get that motor installed this weekend!

[Opie]

Rebuilt engine was installed on Sunday...#19 now just needs a detailing.

[Opie]

#19 is clean, this car looks unmolested...

[Opie]

Hard to believe that is a 11 year old car....