Andrew's DiySB Rebuild

Currently I'm using a slightly modified MickyD's stage 2 tune. I dont have a catless DP so I know Im not "really" stage 2, but who cares.

Running stage 2 tune on stage 1 hardware is a no-no. You need either a downpipe or a stage 1 tune. This mismatch will cause knock and other damage.

The rebuild has a little over 8k miles on it and all is well.

Tuning is fun, boost is fun, and 18 mpg is not fun. The car has been surprisingly uneventful lately. Even the oil leak seems to have stopped.

Oil consumption is a thing, but after 2k miles on this oil change the level just now dropped below the full hole on the dipstick. I check the oil every time I get gas... I'm pretty sure that's going to be a lifelong habit.

I keep BtSsm open 99% of the time, and I never (ever?) see knock events in situations that would be concerning. I do occasionally see knock between shifts, but I think that could be related to the exhaust hanger near the transmission that my exhaust isn't hanging from anymore. I bent the hanger for a reason I can't remember now, and I never bent it back. I know I should fix it, but I've really been enjoying my time spent anywhere other than under the car.

It looks like I may have found my gas leak. I drove around for a few days earlier this week with my rear bench out and the tank access cover off. WARNING: Only drive with that cover off for a few days if you really want to get paranoid about your car. Man alive, you can hear every bump, squeak, and groan the car makes. And you freak out whenever you're next to a semi on the highway because of all the scary noises you think are coming from your car because you don't fully trust the guy who rebuilt the motor. Anyways... fuel is definitely leaking out from the top of the tank. The gasket is relatively new so maybe there's something else going on. It looks like fuel is either leaking out past (in spite of) the gasket, or it's coming out of the top around the the little plastic do-hickey that the fuel line connects to (the bottom fuel line in the pic). In my misfire thread I've been exploring the relationship between my lower-than-spec fuel pressure and my misfires, so dealing with my fuel leak could have something to do with the misfires. I like throwing two stones at one bird, so solving the fuel leak is at the top of my list of things to do when my wife isn't home.

Went for a spin at lunch and lost 3rd gear. Such is the woes of a Subaru owner...

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What does losing a gear feel like?

Since the mood in here has already been set to "negative"... My friend's turbo blew a few days ago and now he's facing the evil YNANSB monster. Is there anything special I need to know about rebuilding a post-facelift 4th gen?

What does losing a gear feel like?

Like a suddenly free revving engine and crunchy grinding noises. Limped back to work in first gear with more terrible noises.

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Time for the STi 6MT upgrade...

Gee, a broken 5mt....why I never heard of such a thing....LOL

Welcome to the club.

Sorry to hear that. If you keep the 5mt, have Moore Performance Blast Plates put on it.

9,500 miles on the rebuild and I'm extremely happy to report that all is well.

Oil consumption is minimal.

I'll know exactly how much it's using in a week or two at my next oil change.

The minor oil leak appears to have stopped on it's own. It doesn't leave spots on the ground anymore so I guess it just stopped.

On my last tank of gas I got 17.7286781 mpg.

This summer there's major construction both ways on my commute, and I'm surprised my mileage is as high as it is. Creeping along at 5mph for 20 minutes and then boosting the rest of the way home at 80-90mph for 10 minutes hasn't hurt as bad as I was expecting.

A few weeks ago I replaced my OEM fuel pump with a DW65c, a new sock, and a new filter, and that didn't solve my misfire issue. I also glued the cracked part of the pump housing back together, and since then I haven't smelled gas in the cabin or seen any fuel on the ground.

My on-board-computer-thingy consistently calculates about 0.6 mpg lower than actual. My injectors are stock, and it was like that before my new fuel pump, so I wonder if somehow that's connected to whatever is causing my misfire.

The fuel pump should not effect a misfire. You don't need a tune for just a fuel pump.

Make sure the coil packs are all tight and well connected.

both my cars read .6 to .8 above true mpg.

I have a hard time getting that low mpg. It will be if I fill the tank and then have fun on the way home, but after a DD to work at 62-65mph for 30 miles it comes back up to around 24mpg. This current tanks is at 220 miles on the tank and the dash is reading 25.2mpg.

My fuel pressure is consistently lower than spec by an inconsistent amount (psi). I replaced the fuel pump attempting to fix the pressure issue... hoping that's what's causing my misses.

The coil packs are tight. If there was a connection issue somewhere, as many times as I've taken them off I imagine I'd have accidentally have wiggled them on correctly at least once.

This weekend I drove about 260 miles to/from a camping event (Red River Gorge, Ky), with 3 passengers and all of our gear, and got 23.10 mpg. Most of that was cruising at 80-85 mph.

Yeah, when it's almost entirely highway miles.

The car knows how to accelerate, and I know how to tell it to do that, and that's where most of my mpg problem is.

10,000 miles and all is well.

I'll figure out my oil consumption rate this next Saturday when I change my oil.

On my way home today, coasting in 2nd gear, I slowly rolled up to a stop light. I was two or three car-lengths away when the light turned green. I already knew what I was going to do because I was ready. I was in the mood and it was game time. I gently tapped on the throttle and shifted smoothly down into 1st gear. 4000 RPM quickly went up to 5500 as my baby (the LGT) joyfully screamed forward. My shift into 2nd was perfect and my view through the windshield blurred as I approached light speed. THIS is why I rebuilt my motor!

I very rarely downshift into 1st because I have a hard time getting the rev-match right, so this was a special day for me. Amen, hallelujah, and God bless America!

Good on you.

Yep, that's why we do this...

Amen+1

Next weekend is the single car event I try to go to each year, and it's my annual motivator to give my car a majorly thorough cleaning and wrap up all of the loose ends that I've been putting off. So today I finally put on my BP TMIC stuff, restored my cloudy headlight, and detailed most of the engine bay. Tomorrow I'm going to touchup a few chips and deal with a couple rusty spots that have been irritating me for quite a while, then I'll wash and wax the car next Saturday morning before the meet.

This morning I also washed and waxed the new-to-us 12 passenger beast lurking in the background. It's huge but not very difficult because it's pretty much just a gigantic box.

Look'in pretty good. when you do'in a custom grill ?

I love mine on the wagon.

Until the misfire goes away all car money is spoken for.

It's on the list though.

I like the look of the crown vic grill mod, but I really like the idea of making one out of perforated sheet metal (similar to a custom speaker grill). I also have occasional access to scrap honeycomb (the real-deal metal stuff), so that's a possibility too. I made and installed one in my RSX-s about 10 years ago and it looked better than any other grill I've ever seen. Of course I'm a little biased

I probably have some pics somewhere around here...

I kind of like this grill, it has the wire mesh from Home Depot.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x40/92Si/DSCN5333_zpsa10312c3.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x40/92Si/DSCN5313_zps89b9ac64.jpg

The GT emblem came from ebay.

Eventually I'll do something like that, to both the upper and lower openings, but I want it to be more flush like the grills below.

The blue car is what I made in the past, and the red car shows the fit and finish I want this time around.

After it's done I'll slap on my 3d printed STI-style LGT emblem and call it a day.