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Baron's '05 STi journal - **Car is gone, now have R34 GT-R :)**

152K views 1K replies 41 participants last post by  BaronOBeefdip 
#1 · (Edited)
Greetings IWSTI! I am finally creating my journal after reading through so many awesome ones and being on here since early 2012. Long time coming...

I've been obsessed with cars as far back as I can remember, so I can't really get enough of 'em actually. I've also been a longtime follower of motorsports, including WRC, which is where the love for Subaru began. Watching the GCs dominate in the late 90's and GCs/GDs in the early 00's was so memorable. Then when I saw that the STi was coming to U.S. shores for the '04 model year, it was desire right there. Maybe that's why I'm so fond of the GDB chassis. I just knew I had to have one some day. I never gave up that dream and finally, in May of 2012, I was able to get one after an extensive search. I knew what I wanted, so I was on a two year hunt for an untouched, low mileage, one owner car with a clear history/title, and it had to be a fair price to boot!

I found the car the same day that Subaru of Gainesville had listed it on the internet and somehow, I was the first one to call about it. It had just over 28k on the odo, one owner, and was bone-stock. It wasn't listed more than 24hrs and after talking it over with the salesman, my mind was made up: I had to jump on this one because the price was remarkably fair compared to what the rest of the market was doing at the time. After working out a fair deal, it was shipped to me up in Nebraska, and it's been a joy to own ever since.....

Only problems were one wheel had some minor curbage and there were many bug marks permanently in the paint all over the front clip, because the owner did not like to clean I guess. After the flurry of getting things done right after the first month of ownership(it really needed a deep clean, since the previous owner did not care much, and the dealer's "detail" department was less than optimal in their work on it), I decided to fix the major cosmetic issues rather than put money into performance mods. I had the front bumper, hood, hood scoop, and trunk lid repainted. Also had some surfaces buffed and small dents removed. The rest of the car could use a good buff and there are a few small rock chips here and there that I will be touching up myself, but other than that, the paint and clear coat is in good shape and it's a damn perfect car. I am very particular and detail-oriented, so this translates to my car.

As for my plans with it, it's a nice weather toy only. My goals are pretty modest and not attention-grabbing, so to some of you my journal may be somewhat boring and the upgrades may be rather slow since I won't be dumping all my money into it(read: not abusing it and racing irresponsibly).

I have a pretty well-thought out mod path and I know most of the parts that I want to put into it(but suggestions are welcome), so whatever the best power gains from the best possible tuning, I will be happy with. When I'm done upgrading, I'm shooting for somewhere between 330-380whp, but it won't be the easiest to obtain 320 on the 39. I will NOT be going rotated or FMIC probably ever. I want to retain responsiveness and drivability, so I will be staying with the stock turbo as long as I can, as well as the TMIC orientation. I know there's really not that much lag involved, but everyone goes rotated and FMIC around here and I'm not really looking for huge power. I want to be a bit different. Who knows, I may eventually consider an 18 or 20G though; would love to have a ball-bearing turbo. Too bad VF34's don't pop up very often! Most everything else is fair game. I do plan on replacing or upgrading much of the chassis and suspension components relatively soon.

Whew! As I said my journal may be boring to some and it will take some time for parts to go on it, but I welcome discussions on anything and like to talk technical, so have at it! I'm over on that OTHER Subaru forum(NASIOC) with the same name.



More to come!!
 

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#585 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor back and the build begins!**

Yeah, I was also experiencing some issues with thread notifications as well for a few days about a month ago. I was not getting instant notifications that threads were being replied to, but when I would go into the control panel I'd see all sorts of threads had been updated. It was odd.

Read on!
 
#586 · (Edited)
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

"Lower, lower....stop!"

"Ok, jerk and jiggle it around a bit!"

"Don't force it!"

"Oooh, that fits nicely!"

....I know what you're thinking. ;) No, that's not sexy tiemz goin' on, that's the sounds of a motor goin' back in a car!



Yes, finally on Saturday I had two friends come over in the morning and we got the engine back in it's home! Can't believe I'm almost there and that it's taken this long!

We had a couple snags during the process, but overcame them. All in all it took about 4 hours I think. I know, kinda slow, but one of my friends was late showing up and we also had to verify and redo a couple things. We also deliberated about the direction the motor mounts need to be bolted onto the motor(I was right, hehe), and for some weird reason the plastic alignment tool that South Bend included with the clutch kit was too big to put into the pilot bearing, so we had to sand that down carefully.

So just a few more things to install....and then we wait....again! For a starting and break-in map. Beeeecause Cobb are "fixing" ATR. Uh huh, we'll see about that.

So the GF snuck some pics while we were working. That's yours truly standing on the passenger side(ya can't see my ugly mug!), my friend Rick on the driver, and my other buddy Ryan on the ground. Big thanks to them for taking the time to come out and assist.


 
#588 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Indeed!

Yeah, it wasn't too bad, but like a said some annoyances for sure. I hate going back and redoing work. I'm a do-it-right-the-first-time and think things out kinda guy. I like to have a gameplan when doing major things so that nothing is overlooked. And trust me, there were plenty of sighs, grumbling, and cursing coming from me! Ryan and Rick weren't nearly as peeved as me since they've done this before(and it wasn't their car!)
 
#589 · (Edited)
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Not too much to update since I haven't had much time to wrap things up. But I got some more things installed a few days ago and have some pics. No big deal.











Fitting the downpipe and mating it to the cat-back was a pain in the ass since things didn't want to line up at first, so I had to bend the DP a little towards the passenger side. You can see the flanges don't completely line up, but that is because they are slightly different sizes. Since the DP is two-piece, you can move things around a bit, so I was able to clock the flange to the CB flange as best I could. What matters though is that I could get a nice tight seal on the gasket and the bolts are tightened down pretty well.

I don't like that the resonator sits so low though. The last pic doesn't show it so well, but it hangs low from the bottom line of the car by about 1-1.5". So I'll need to be a little careful when I lower the car slightly and avoid going over sharp bumps. I could go with shorter hangers I suppose, but I'm not certain you can shorten it much more.

The side-effect is that in bending the DP to the right, it twisted the outer wall of the bellmouth towards the right-most DP nut ever so slightly, which made the clearance to the flange on the nut a hair tighter. So removing the nut when needed takes a little more effort since it gets tighter as the the nut travels backwards off the stud.

And then hurry up and wait after I finish putting it all back together since Cobb locked out ATR. If the rumors are true, I may have to go to a different tuning platform.
 
#590 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

I read your post in the ATR thread on the other site, that sucks man. I've always wanted to learn to tune and this may be the push that some people need to make the jump to opensource software.

At least the manual labor is coming along.

I had a hell of a timing lining up my downpipe correctly too, but it's a v-band on both ends, so I didn't have much wiggle room.
 
#591 · (Edited)
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

I read your post in the ATR thread on the other site, that sucks man. I've always wanted to learn to tune and this may be the push that some people need to make the jump to opensource software.

At least the manual labor is coming along.

I had a hell of a timing lining up my downpipe correctly too, but it's a v-band on both ends, so I didn't have much wiggle room.
Indeed, it does suck. Cobb wants more $$$. We'll see how it pans out though...

Slow goings, but almost there.

V-bands, yeah....that requires pretty precise positioning to work. Yikes.

Here's what I was talking about with the nut. You can see that the edge of the nut flange runs into the curve where the bellmouth meets the flange:


Can't tighten any more than that.

Got things plumbed yesterday for the EWG/MBC/EBCS, using this diagram:










By recommendation from Jason, I'm leaving the top port of the EWG open to VTA just like the last pic above, then just capped the side port. I capped 2 of the 3 bottom ports and running the third to the EBCS/MBC. I also capped port 1 on the EBCS as recommended :)

I oriented the tees exactly like the diagram showed too just in case it has any effect. I'm not sure on if that matters, but was giving it some thought; someone chime in? Does it matter how pressure flows through the tees? I was reading some forums where they were explaining flow through tees with maths, but no one really was clear about it.

Affixed the heatshield over the turbo, deleted the washer fluid tank, and ran more lines for the AOS.
 
#592 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Damn that engine bay is clean. How do you keep it like that?

What's the advantage of a dual boost controller setup like that? I've only seen manual OR electronic, never both.

And I never knew I was supposed to have a bunch of brackets on the passenger side that hold all those connectors and PS lines. All my connectors just lie underneath my SRI :p

Instead of the OEM flanged nut, you can TRY a grade 8 14mm nut + lock-washer. There's a small chance the OD of the lock washer is smaller than the nut flange. That's the only solution I can think of that isn't grinding the nut/downpipe.
 
#593 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Damn that engine bay is clean. How do you keep it like that?
It's just been entirely rebuilt.

What's the advantage of a dual boost controller setup like that? I've only seen manual OR electronic, never both.
It gives you the best of both worlds... Additionally, I keeps you from listening to a flatulent EWG like when you use an EBCS only.
 
#595 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Thanks for the compliment. What Jason said though. With the motor out of the car, I wiped down a whole lot of stuff by hand. Going back in I'm making sure to tidy up lines so it's not just a mess of wires and tubing, keeping runs as short as possible, blah blah. Oh, I don't drive the car unless it's nice out, that makes a huge difference.

The hybrid boost method allows the benefits of both types like Jason also said. I would say if on a setup like mine, there's really no reason not to do hybrid, albeit the extra cost of having two controllers to buy. At the cost of this project though? Big woop, buy it.

As far as the brackets and all that jazz, if you're not the first owner and you didn't change/break anything, then it's likely someone dicked with this stuff before you got it. With the passenger side brackets, it was a tight fit to put the olive green bracket back on with the wiring harness underneath it being raised up slightly by the top-feed injection system below it. Trust me, I spent a while making sure everything cleared and was routed nicely. I also had to trim a leg off the bracket with a Dremel because I lost that mount point to the stock TGV since I am using AM TGV deletes.

Hmm, I may try the nut you suggested. Thanks for the tip.<Insert innuendo here>
 
#596 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

If the lock washer/non-flanged nut method doesn't work, you could bring down the OD of the nut a bit with a sanding drum on a dremel or some quality time with a file.

I had my 38mm tial set up with the top port VTA last year. I've heard of people doing hybrid boost control setups on the forums but I thought that was a thing people didn't really mess with anymore. Sounds like it's the ideal setup though. I've been talking with my tuner about trying out a 4 port EBCS. We're sticking to the 3 port on 93 but may mess with the 4 port later on derpthanol.
 
#597 · (Edited)
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

That's true. Like I said though, there's really no reason not to do it if on a similar setup to mine. Ha, derpthanol.

Finally sold the S203 wheels, so there's some money back in my pocket and sending them out today. I really wanted to keep them, but I didn't see myself fitting them for a while. The full S203 pursuit is mostly not in my sights anymore, but I am still considering the wing/trunk from the guy on the other site. Now I just need to sell the Advans and I'll have most of the new wheels I plan to get paid for.

What are the new wheel plans you ask? Well, I just found out that last month RAY'S announced that they're making a new edition of the CE28 called the CE28SL. And FINALLY offering it again in a wider 17" 5x114.3 size that can fit on a GD without fenderwork - 17x9 +45!! It's been years!! Or, they're also making 17x8.5 +45 as well. Fuck yeah.



It's coming out this summer very soon! I really love the ZE40, but the CE28 is so classic and one of my all-time faves. The only "problem" is they're only offering one color at this time - pressed graphite, which is a beautiful finish, but my dream is to own a set in bronze. They may release other colors, but that's not guaranteed. So I contacted KamiSpeed and they agreed to put up a groupbuy next month for bronze with graphite stickers/valvestems. I really hope 4 other guys want the same as I do.

Two nights ago I finally got the intercooler on, although that was a hassle too. Seems like a lot of stuff I've installed are a hassle, go figure. So the AOS drain line is supposed to go through the hole on the passenger intercooler support bracket where it meets with the crank vent line into the block. The problem with this is because the tubing itself is so thick on a 1/2" ID, it is so close to the compressor outlet, I couldn't get the intercooler y-pipe coupler onto the outlet. No amount of wiggling or pushing would work. Tried to compress the hose but couldn't do it enough.

So I had to pull the hose off which was annoying, then routed the whole drain line around to the driver's side of the trans, then it travels upwards a bit over the join of the engine/trans and finally to the block port. I really hope oil doesn't pool in that line since it travels upwards a little. I called IAG about it and they said that since the can is mounted higher, that won't likely happen. However, to me it looks like it needs to be mounted higher; I have it as high it can go.

Last night I installed the Cobb BPV and found a good spot for the Autometer MAP sensor for the boost gauge and plumbed that nicely. Also mounted the Autometer oil pressure sender.

With the intercooler finally on, it's really starting to sink in though that I'm almost there. Pretty good feeling. All that's left are the radiator bits, alternator, A/C compressor, fill the car with oil and coolant and I'm ready mechanically to start! After that, it's just the suspension mods! I'll get some pics soon.
 
#598 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Over the weekend I got everything bolted back on that I could, sans the radiator and CAI. I went ahead and ordered a CSF radiator and it should be here in a couple days. So it's just those two things left to install!

I filled the car with oil for the first time in...2 years maybe? It was a weird feeling and something that's been a long time coming.

And then spent some time wiping off the layer of dirt and dust that accumulated over the past year almost, it's good to see that shine again :)
 
#599 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Over the weekend I got everything bolted back on that I could, sans the radiator and CAI. I went ahead and ordered a CSF radiator and it should be here in a couple days. So it's just those two things left to install!

I filled the car with oil for the first time in...2 years maybe? It was a weird feeling and something that's been a long time coming.

And then spent some time wiping off the layer of dirt and dust that accumulated over the past year almost, it's good to see that shine again :)
Nice! Which CSF did you go with? The standard or the one with the integrated oil cooler?
 
#600 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

I went with the standard one. I know, I know....I said I was going to get the one with the oil cooler, but at this point I just wanted to keep it simple, rather than remove the factory oil cooler I just put back on. I'll just get a standalone oil cooler down the road sometime.

Also, I'd rather have the two units separate in case something breaks; it just made more sense to me. Don't get me wrong, the 3076O is nice and it's definitely been proven to work by several people who collaborated in testing it with CSF, but I wanted to keep things separate.
 
#601 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

I dropped the new CSF radiator into the car last night and got the hoses on. Everything fits just like stock. Seriously, I was surprised how little hassle it was. Compared to a lot of other parts' fit, this was welcomed. The only thing I had to do was trim the upper rad hose a bit on the engine side since the hose was like 1.5mm from the passenger fan blades. Then I fit the Subtle Solutions rad plate and the Torque Solution upper rad mounts. Looks so nice and clean. I'll get pics later.
 
#602 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Last night I filled the car with coolant and I'll definitely need more than normal since the radiator is larger and the motor was completely dry. It took the full 2 gallons of coolant/distilled water and still can take more, so I'll need to add more as the car is warmed up during first start.

I didn't have a mixing container so I tried a couple stores for regular plastic pouring jugs, but that was going nowhere. I just settled for a couple new gas cans since I didn't want to wait for something ordered on the internet. One for coolant and the other 5 gal for fuel, which I also put into the tank last night since I was mighty low and it's really old fuel. Hopefully the newly added mixture offsets the old's properties since there's more of it in the tank now.

Can I just say how annoying new gas cans are with their BS safety nozzles and shit? Why can't I just get an old-fashioned can with a decent filler neck that doesn't fucking leak?

Also, here's what it looks like:
 
#603 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

That looks great!

I like that rad plate and the rad mounts. I need to get something like that for mine.

And i've spilled more gas and released more hydrocarbons with those "spill-free" cans than any fumes that would have been vented from the old-style fillers.

I've heard good things about these:
EZ Pour Replacement Spout Kit Universal Fuel Water Jug 10050 | eBay

I'm thinking about getting some for my "water" storage cans.
 
#605 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Those nozzles suck. I found a couple of nozzle replacements over in my Pops garage, so will be deleting that crap ASAP!
 
#607 · (Edited)
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

I got really bad news. I have a coolant leak on both head gaskets. It seems to be coming from the middle layer on both. I also have a leak at the water pump gasket. I honestly don't know what to do. I'm gutted and I barely slept last night. The very issue I originally set out to prevent has happened and I haven't even turned it over yet.
 
#608 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Sorry to hear.
 
#611 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

Did they say anything about additional torque on those gaskets? Those done seem to have any rubber on them like the OEM, so either stuff is not flat, or there is not enough tight.
 
#612 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

The motor hasn't even been fired up yet, right? A tight but undertorqed head gasket would still seal coolant from leaking just from filling, unless it wasn't even remotely close to spec.

Where are you seeing the coolant? Top side of the engine or bottom side? Can you physically see it leaking from between the layers, or is it just collecting there?

If it's top side, double check the cast aluminum water crossover, the O-rings will leak if they get pinched during installation. I had a small leak from mine the first time I put the engine in, although it only seeped once the engine had been run.

The gasket should not influence torque specs at all. Head stud manufacturers and engines builders will recommend different torque specs but that should be based on the fasteners being used and what the fasteners were torqued to during machining. A properly designed gasket will seal best at the fastener's recommended torque specification. Overtorquing the head gaskets, especially ones like the JE's that use a folded-over stopper layer that can be "smashed," can overcompress the sealing embossments and result in leaks. A final torque spec between 90-100 ft lbs is probably what was recommended for an 11mm stud which I believe is what you're using? Larger diameter studs get torqued to higher specs and the gaskets are fine but that is due to the fastener size itself changing and the way the sealing load is distributed.
 
#613 ·
Re: Baron's '05 STi journal - **Motor FINALLY back in the car - almost there!**

IAG has not yet responded to my email asking about issues with these gaskets. Before doing all this, they did not specify any special torque values.

In regards to things not being flat - I checked the closed-deck for flatness and it was spot on. IAG's computer-aided machinery is pretty accurate it seems. The ONLY thing I can think of is that I didn't have the heads milled, so they're not uber smooth. Both myself and Daly's checked the heads for flatness and they were within spec. After bead blasting, they're smooth to the touch, but maybe they're not smooth on a microscopic scale? But then, the gaskets have the rubber layer....

No it hasn't been fired yet. I'm seeing the coolant collect on the edges of the gasket on both sides on the bottom of the motor. I can get pictures later. For the crossover I used new o-rings and cleaned out those areas of old crusty stuff. I will look at the top tonight. I used ARP's torque values in 3 stages - 100ft-lbs for the center ones and 90 for the outers.
 
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