Hope it goes well for ya! These engines really aren't that bad to wire up, just gotta look at everything and see how it wants to lay out. Good luck!
Well the wiring was very easy, once you get the harness on, you really can't mess it up. Last night it breathed its first breath! The oil pressure light turned off, which was all that I wanted to see! Now I just have to figure out the vacuum lines and its ready to go!
You can also get zip-ties with label flags on them for cheap at Harbor Freight. I'm doing that with everything on the Outback I just bought and am doing the classic Phase 1 head gasket (+timing belt & water pump) repair on.
Got to put only about 250ish miles on it this weekend. So far my only problem was a pretty simple one, the car would intermittently start, and stall. I was initially thinking a loose ground. Then I pulled up to a stop sign and I had smoke pouring out of the hood... never ever a good sign. Turns out the bottom copper crush washer for the power steering pump had a small scratch in it. So when enough pressure built up it would spray fluid onto the crank sensor directly, and other places as well. Apparently power steering fluid and crank sensors don't get along well at all... Once the copper crush washer was fixed the intermittent starting issue went away. So far I'm seeing better gas mileage, first tank was about 23mpg's, which is pretty decent because it was mainly stop and go city driving. Nuke's base map is A+ in my book. So how common is a little gear box rattle at idle? And my clutch is a little chattery at this point. Nothing Mich to complain about though!
Some hybrids have this. I never really looked into it. Just blip it as soon as you fire it up lol, seems to work for some of the guys.
Well I have just shy of 700 miles and it has yet to throw a code (knock on wood). The only thing that concerns me now is the rattle that I have. It comes from the transmission, kinda a rattle, but goes away when I push the clutch in ( throw out bearing?). It will also go away if you are idling with the clutch out and you push gently on 3rd... Is this common? Its not very loud but loud enough to make me nervous.
It's running awesome! I haven't had any issues other than a maf sensor code in the monsoon rain we had. Nuke finished up my tune about two weeks ago, and I'm running 17psi. I don't have any hybrid knock issues. Still have a little throw out bearing rattle.
I'm going to pick up some "Grimmspeed Cocktail" for the transmission today, I have heard really good things so I think its worth a try. I'm getting close to 2000 miles on the new motor, I have been running 15W40 Rotella T. Right now the only concern that I have is my tire wheel combo. I'm running 17x7 front and 17x7.5 rear with falken 215/50/17's all the way around. I don't think that the extra .5" of wheel width on the rear is going to change my overall tire diameter enough to cause any center diff problems. What do you guys think?
I got yelled at by the guys on the forum for my idea of replacing 1 blown tire with a new one, for a net 1/16" difference in tread wear, I was supposed have it shaved. I ended up buying 4 new ones instead. I think it's in the owners manual even.
Umm, upon further review of the question, I have no idea. however, that's bizarre, right? IMO make it the same on all 4 corners.
Every one that I have talked to so far has said the extra .5" of rim width isn't going to change the diameter enough to even measure. When I drained my gear oil last night it was still clear, and didn't reek like it had been getting hot. However the car really likes the uncle Scotty's cocktail! Gear changes feel much better! So I still have the 2.0 short block. I have it in the crate my new motor came in. PM me any questions or offers!
I'm going to be adding an oil pressure gauge, I want to do a steering column mount could I just use the stock boost gauge location? Is there any place to add a sensor besides putting on a sandwich plate?
Might want to re-think the Scotty's cocktail situation - there is a lot of controversy on that mix, and usually not for the better. (causes corrosion, etc.) Subaru extraS or Motul is usually a good pick. Anyway, enjoy the build! keep us updated!
I did a bunch of searching on the cocktail and never heard anything negative until just now. Not saying it isn't true or it doesn't have negative effects. I just think if it was that bad a lot of people would of complained? Edit: did some more searching and there have been a couple complaints. Seems the synchromesh has a high sulfur content? It may be a good idea to go another route.
Scotty's is for when you have syncho problems. At least that was his intent (if you can figure out his intentions.) If your transmission is fine use regular gear oil. I had a slight grind going into 4th if you were getting on it. Extra S made it go away so far. With the MNsubaru price at Morrie's or Burnsville the price should be close to the Mobil 1 gear oil I was using. Don't try White Bear or Bloomington to source it since they didn't have a clue what it was when I called and of course - no discount if they did.
I can't see how it would have corrosion issues. I never heard any bad things about it anywhere. From Grimmspeed I got the cocktail, and a T70 for $40. The reason I'm giving it a try is I have a grinding noise on decel. The cocktail didn't fix it, but it seems to go into gear easier. So right now I'm up north, and on the way up I opened it up a couple times. It pulls great, but my egts started creeping up to 15k, I have heard this is the upper limit. My bung is on the passenger side right before the up pipe if I remember right. What do you guys think? At cruise I'm between 12k and 13,500.
nice, thanks for the pics! I hear ya on the concerns about all the little noises and nuances...I'm always over-protective of my car too and want to make sure everything is running right!
No problem! The biggest note to take is the combustion chambers, I didn't do anything radical as my goals didn't involve running lots of boost. Basically I just smoothed the sharp edges of the combustion chambers where the new 2.5L cylinders exposed what used to be the mating surface of the head. All this does is prevents hot spots from forming and causing detonation. 20/20 Hindsight I would have gone with forged pistons so I wouldn't have had to worry about ring land issues with the stock STi short block. Also I highly recommend having oil temp, and pressure gauges. With the smaller oil capacity of these motors, its a great idea to keep close watch. Also I would have gone with a stock clutch and flywheel, IMO the Fidanza was far to light and made the car hard to drive in traffic, and difficult to maneuver in tight quarters with out slipping the clutch. You also have to remember that with the little mass that the clutch will over heat very quick! All said and done I don't have any regrets going the route that I did.
