2004 Outback VDC

Discussion in 'Photo & Video Gallery' started by Chux, Apr 19, 2016.

  1. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    I bought this about a year and a half ago:
    [​IMG]NCM_0445 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    The good:
    [​IMG]NCM_0447 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    The bad....
    [​IMG]NCM_0448 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    But thanks to Oak Leaf Auto Salvage for this:
    [​IMG]NCM_0810 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    And UPull for much more:
    [​IMG]NCM_0802 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Cut most of the bad off:
    [​IMG]NCM_0839 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Pressed new bearings into the serp belt pullies:
    [​IMG]NCM_0854 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Added an auxiliary transmission cooler:
    [​IMG]20160326_155341 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    And got it patched back together:
    [​IMG]20160403_133400 by Numbchux, on Flickr


    Got it through the DMV inspection last friday so I could get plates for it, and put about 80 miles on it. Drives excellently. I deleted the On-star system, and replaced the button panel on the dash with a storage compartment. Added a Yatour Aux input unit for the stock radio (premium MacIntosh 6-disc, 11-speaker setup).

    Soon to come, trailer hitch, 2" SJR lift kit, and 235/65r17 Kumho Road Venture AT51s on stock 2007 17x7 +48 Outback 7 spokes.

    Then, to the UP to see if this or Martin's 2" lifted 2013 Forester does better....
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
  2. EricS
    Offline

    EricS Nooberator

    Likes Received:
    1,060
    Trophy Points:
    248
    Well done!
     
  3. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Got a ride down to my parents' place yesterday, and threw the trailer hitch on it before heading home. I took a few pictures at a rest stop next to our '03 4-cyl Outback:

    [​IMG]20160508_182200 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20160508_182216 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    More direct comparison shots of the Subaru vs Reese trailer hitch. The Reese one is the only one of the aftermarkets (that I saw...) that goes over the exhaust like the Subaru one, instead of under it. It's also rated higher (above the towing rating of the car), and is much cheaper.

    [​IMG]20160508_182229 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20160508_182245 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    I'm picking up a Receiver Drier, and renting a vacuum pump today so I can charge the A/C system tonight. Might run the trailer wiring connector, too. As soon as my '97 Legacy sells, I'm ordering the lift kit.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    phi11, Vector and Eazy_E_Rich like this.
  4. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    We took it to Headwaters Regional Rally this weekend over in Walker, MN. Swapped the Yakima rack over from our '03 (almost was a problem. With the hatch open, that sexy rear wing only clears the back tire on my 29er by about a 1/2" with the rack pushed as far forward as possible).
    [​IMG]20160522_130336 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Temperatures were about 80* all weekend, the A/C worked flawlessly. I love climate control. And even with the bikes on the roof, 89 octane and the A/C cranked, we got about 25 mpg (rural roads, cruising at about 60 most of the time).


    This week we re-pack for 4 days in the boundary waters next weekend
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    EricS and tangledupinblu like this.
  5. TMF
    Offline

    TMF Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,550
    Trophy Points:
    248
    Looks awesome and nice progress! You really did a lot to nurse that beater back to life.

    Top tip for rear hatch clearance...mount the bike racks in the opposite direction. I've had to do that on about every Subaru hatch/wagon that I've owned.
     
  6. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Another 320-some well-loaded miles on the clock:
    [​IMG]20160530_121745 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Load it down, set the cruise at 70+ mph, set the climate control to 68*, no problem. Spent 4 days in the BWCAW. and while we did get scattered showers most of the trip, it cleared up and we were rewarded with a fantastic sunset at a fantastic campsite. Many of us just rolled out our pads on the bedrock and slept under the stars the last night.
    [​IMG]2017-07-25_03-37-08 by Numbchux, on Flickr
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    DIRTY D and Ctracey218 like this.
  7. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    That is a sweet pic Chux! I'm digging the lifted Forester on rally wheels also! Who's is that?
     
  8. Ctracey218
    Offline

    Ctracey218 Playpen Wrangler Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    395
    Trophy Points:
    268
    Martin has the Foz... I forget what his handle is... Super jealous of the wheel/lift combo!
     
  9. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    Dynapar!? Nice upgrade Martin! Wierd that you're not in the Impreza anymore tho! :confused:

    And fwiw, I thought that he'd be rolling the Brat on excursions like these by now!?
     
  10. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Yep, that's him. We just put an ADF 2" lift and 235/75r15 General Grabber AT2s on 15x7+40 Team Dynamics on it this spring. He does still have the Impreza, needs the valves re-shimmed and a new clutch. Oh yea, and most of the sheet metal.


    Oh yea...and I have the Brat.


    Also, the Tacoma on Wrangler DuraTracs next to my car is Carl's. It was a mini-Ziptie Rally meet
     
    Ctracey218 and tangledupinblu like this.
  11. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    Oh, hott Carl! Hopefully you guys didn't partake in any scotch eggs while you were out there.

    what are the plans for the Brat numbchux?
     
  12. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Almost 650 miles on it this weekend....

    Martin was anxious to bring it up to the OHV recreation area in Gilbert, in northern Minnesota. Several members of the Ziptie Rally Team have some 4WD vehicles, with varying levels of experience, and eager to try it out, so we gathered a group of 5 vehicles and went up.

    I left straight from work Friday afternoon, and drove up to Hibbing and stayed at a friend's house. And we all left early Saturday morning to head over to the park.

    Our group:
    [​IMG]13418373_10100460104149457_7171720721831413890_o by Numbchux, on Flickr

    I was in the Outback (obviously), with by far the most experience up there. The the WJ Grand Cherokee (Tall Dan) has been there a few times. The other 3 drivers were completely new. Jeep had by far the most suspension travel, but open diffs. FJ Cruiser (Dan Drury) has rear locker, and Atrac traction control. Forester has a lot of ground clearance, and good tires, but is a manual transmission, so he had a serious gearing disadvantage. Obviously the Outback has a ground clearance disadvantage, but the VTD 4EAT did excellently. And the X5 (Jesse) was cranked up into it's highest ride height, which left a ton of ground clearance, but virtually zero travel, and low profile tires meant the AWD system was working hard, but it still did well.

    Being that I had the most experience and the least capable vehicle, it made sense for me to lead. So, I did:
    [​IMG]13413005_10107744258730360_6110313075677664850_n by Numbchux, on Flickr

    I dragged the exhaust and the trailer hitch over everything...
    [​IMG]13413773_10107744257996830_7770212468363781785_n by Numbchux, on Flickr

    I now have an exhaust leak, might be a good excuse to get that OBX Stainless, catless, manifold set.


    Then we drove to the Minneapolis area for a house warming party, picked up a set of 2003 Outback wheels, my cousin's college graduation party, and then home. Car never missed a beat.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    Krazylegz1485, tangledupinblu and TMF like this.
  13. TMF
    Offline

    TMF Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,550
    Trophy Points:
    248
    ^awesome! Jesse invite me to join, but I couldn't make it this time...wedding planning and autox consumed my weekend. I definitely want to join the next time around though!
     
  14. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Exhaust leaks identified:
    [​IMG]20160623_165837 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    And fixed:
    [​IMG]20160623_173614 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    If you look closely in that picture, you can see that the OBX header set doesn't have the mounting tabs to the transmission. So I made up a little metal bracket that bolted to the tab coming off the transmission, and then clamped to the exhaust:
    [​IMG]20160625_095144 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    45* Stainless oxygen sensor spacer required to prevent P0420 and keep the sensor off the driveshaft:
    [​IMG]20160625_095131 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20160625_095137 by Numbchux, on Flickr
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    Krazylegz1485 and tangledupinblu like this.
  15. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    Tall Dan and round Dan FTW!!

    Exhaust looks great Matt!
     
    Chux likes this.
  16. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Another 450ish miles on it this weekend. Loaded up the bikes, hooked up the jet ski, set the climate and cruise control....I love this thing.

    [​IMG]20160701_184051 by Numbchux, on Flickr


    I don't like how quick it is to downshift with the cruise control on. I'm thinking about doing what I did with my last Celica, which is sever communications between the cruise unit and TCU, and then adjust the cruise cable so it has far less travel.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    Mplstpaul likes this.
  17. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    +1 to that! I've always thought that it was ridiculous in our Outback as well. Downshifts way too often!
     
  18. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Just stopped in to replace my photobucket links...

    Not much to say. Something about having a 50 year old house and a 5 month old daughter seems to reduce the free time for car projects.

    But did a couple things over the winter.

    LED drop in bulbs in the headlights:
    [​IMG]20170106_194211 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    215/65r16 Hakka R2s on Forester alloys:
    [​IMG]20161126_131433 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Went wheeling this spring:
    [​IMG]20170520_142939 by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Towed the 4wheeler up to a buddy's farm for some irresponsible activity. I kept looking in the rear view mirror to see if the trailer was still there, it tows so smoothly I couldn't feel it.
    [​IMG]
    2017-07-21_04-11-32
    by Numbchux, on Flickr
     
  19. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Gearing up for a big trip this weekend, this should be a hint as to the type of trip:
    [​IMG]
    20180827_214432
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Borrowed the Primitive plate from Martin's '95 Impreza. Needed a spacer at the front, but otherwise bolted on.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2018
    tangledupinblu likes this.
  20. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Put about 700 miles on the car this weekend, about 50 of which was off-road. Nothing too crazy, but it was fun to get off the beaten path.

    Dan (FJ Cruiser), Jesse (BMW X5), and Martin (Lifted '13 Forester) left the cities Thursday evening and camped in the Cheq forest in Wisconsin, then Friday they drove on a section of Minimum Maintenance Road which turned out to be more of a No Maintenance Muddy Path. I left Duluth after work Friday evening and met them at the campsite at Agate Beach one the Western shore of the Keweenaw outside Toivola, MI. Our campsite was just up the hill from the beach, so cool.

    Here's our group at the site in the morning. It was a little foggy in the morning, but still way cool.
    [​IMG]
    20180901_090635
    by Numbchux, on Flickr


    The 2 Subarus in the group. Mine being exceedingly stock on highway tires, Martins with a lift and General Grabber A/Ts
    [​IMG]
    20180901_131259
    by Numbchux, on Flickr


    Saturday morning, we made our way north through Houghton, then taking the ORV route (rail road grade, not challenging, but good to get away from the traffic) up the hill from Hancock to Calumet. It had a few big puddles, and some good views.
    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360772879349834
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Then up to Copper Harbor, where we got some ice and firewood, and other Dan caught up with us after working an overnight up in Hibbing and hauling ass to catch up with us in his WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee.

    On the edge of Copper Harbor, the road turns to gravel, and there's a sign that says "Road Ends". Excellent!
    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360773684868233
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    We made it to High Rock Bay (the easternmost point on the Keweenaw) right about sunset. There were many other people camping, but we still got a spot right on the rocks near the water (so close, that we set up a few lanterns to mark the edge so nobody would accidentally fall off in the dark). Here's our campsite from inland looking out into the lake, Manitou Island appeared out of the fog for a little while.
    [​IMG]
    20180902_082907
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    And from the point looking back towards shore:
    [​IMG]
    20180902_085627
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    I love this picture, as the low-hanging fog over the bay makes it look like we're up in the clouds:
    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360779104587057
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    And a few pictures from the trail back from High Rock Bay. This trail wasn't super challenging, several puddles that were a foot or so deep, but nice solid ground at the bottom, so wasn't too tough. I had zero trouble with the stock Outback without even airing down tires, but I would have been on edge if I hadn't had other people in the group and plenty of recovery gear.

    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360772474750514
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360773809562716
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360773225444218
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    After driving up over Brockway Mountain (very rainy and foggy, so we didn't stop...still had to drive it, though), we stopped at Jacobs Falls:
    [​IMG]
    FB_IMG_15360773022671377
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Then down south of Bruce Crossing to Bond Falls for the night. This is a really cool park, the UP Power company dammed the river, and made a pretty cool little park around the lake/reservoir/flowage that ensued, including lots of pretty nice camp sites.

    After a hike around the park, and a picture of the falls, we headed our separate ways towards home.
    [​IMG]
    2018-09-05_01-23-41
    by Numbchux, on Flickr
     
    tangledupinblu and pleiades like this.
  21. tangledupinblu
    Online

    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

    Likes Received:
    8,820
    Trophy Points:
    573
    Looks awesome! Glad that you guys had an “uneventful” trip!
     
  22. JaloP
    Offline

    JaloP Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    209
    Trophy Points:
    128
    That looks way too fun. You're in Duluth?
     
  23. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Haven't done much with this car other than drive it.

    A few weeks ago, my wife was driving into work in the fresh snow. The plow had only made one pass, and when she moved into the unplowed section to leave room for an oncoming car, she misjudged where the edge of the pavement was, and got sucked into the ditch:
    [​IMG]
    2021-04-05_08-13-33
    by Numbchux, on Flickr

    Pretty minor hit, but tore up the front bumper cover. So I leaned in, and cut the bottom half off and finally got it put back together yesterday:
    [​IMG]
    2021-04-05_08-13-11
    by Numbchux, on Flickr
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2022
    Butthau5 and tangledupinblu like this.
  24. Chux
    Offline

    Chux Well-Known Member

    Likes Received:
    1,453
    Trophy Points:
    398
    This car has had a driveline vibration for years. It seemed to come and go randomly, so it was hard to tell if it was better or worse. I swapped driveshafts several times, replaced Ujoints, checked brakes, swapped wheels/tires.

    It finally got bad enough. LF inner axle joint was complete trash. The axle shaft was flopping around in the joint like a hot dog in a hallway.
    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jT47A8JD4ic

    Threw a new axle in, and it rides smoother, I think, then it ever has!