Among Us Project (Lookin a little SUS)

Nice. An Outback bumper actually looks pretty cool. How are you going to figure out the exhaust tips with the Outback bumper? Are you just going to put a turn down tip on them or actually cut out holes in the bumper?

 

How hard was the valve body swap? I am at 210k on my 3.6R and I am starting to suspect my Turbine Speed Sensor going. When coming to a stop I often feel a jerk, like the transmission just fell out of the car. It feels like something isn't disengaging.

I have yet to actually decide how to go about the exhaust.

One idea was to cut and use those universal bumper heatshields.

Another was to make a custom exhaust entirely(My car was rear ended under previous ownership, and it damaged my midpipe, causing the rh pipe to sit further down than usual, so my tips aren't perfectly lined up right now).

The valve body wasn't horrible. I highly recommend using a lift instead of doing it on the ground. And make sure you remove the magnet from the pan, clean everything and REMEMBER TO PUT THE MAGNET BACK IN BEFORE YOU RESEAL.

I've resealed my trans pan three times now because of it.

When you get to it, and you need assistance, PM me, I have all the diagrams and torque specs.

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of presence. Been super busy with life lately. As of June, I was promoted to a management position and I've been down one employee since so I'm always on the move.

Just a few updates!

Let's start with cargo and rear end stuff. I got some Rotopax fuel cans, a Mishimoto Oil Cooler(more on that soon) and a Grimmspeed license plate relocator kit from a buddy.

I welded the relocator to my Smittybilt Atlas swingarm for a clean finish on a plate mount for the rear end.

I also found some stuff local that was too good to pass up.

Yakima Offgrid with extension

2x Rotopax storage

2x Rotopax 2gal water

6 sets of single and four double stack mounts

Here's kind of what my exploring setup is looking like.

As you might have caught in that first picture, my first rendition of the Outback rear bumper has been put on.

I cut out way too much off this bumper and now that I know where to cut to make it fit better, the second version should look exceptionally clean in comparison to this one.

Lighting!

My old curved 42" light bar was okay for the money, but as we know, the appearance with the custom bracketry I had was not so aesthetically pleasing.

I found a guy who had a huge bulk stash of Piaa RF modular LED bars.

I bought four 10" bars and a single 18" bar, all in a driving pattern. I mounted two individual 10's on my brush guard and bolted the other 10's on each side of the 18 for a full bar under the basket. Boy do these lights throw light FAR and BRIGHT.

I got rid of all the ridiculous wiring I had and am now running a clean single switch activated, relayed and fused system, along with a KC Hilites windshield wire hider.

Back to back old vs new for comparison.

I have entertained a snorkel idea in the past. I found one for a Land Cruiser and it seems to fit okay. Will probably modify this one heavily in the later stages to have it form better with this fender, plus it needs a smaller diameter inlet. This pipe is about a 4" inlet to the intake. Peep the triple gauge pod A pillar(I'll get back to explaining this one later), and Xbull recovery boards on the basket too.

My best friend found an Outback in a local yard that had a complete set of lower mouldings/cladding. I HAD to get this ASAP to complete the SUS look.

You can see the KC Hilites Wire hider on the windshield next to the A pillar in this shot.

Thats it for now, lots more to come. Raptor headers just came in, I just placed my order for Flatout long travel coilovers with an ETA of two months and I think I've finalized my render for a livery. Ya'll ain't ready for this lol

Welp, my suspension came in a while back, but it was time to fix that rake...

Flatout GR Lite with overload rear springs.

Comparison to the legacy suspension with 1 3/4" tophat spacers

Up in the air with a hint of what's coming...

I thought my wheel bearings were going out, so I bought a set and was about to replace them. Until I saw the front pads... so I ordered a set of front rotors and pads to get me by (these will eventually go onto the racecar instead anyway)

Added the Rallitek rear subframe spacer kit as well.

This was my initial mockup of the front height. However, the rears are preload dependent for height adjustment. I set the preload and will let it settle in for a little bit before cranking it up a little higher in the back. Another quarter inch or so and I'd say I'm golden.

This is after dropping the front 3/4 inch to level it out better.

Lots more to come!

Need to put it up in the air so you can all see the suspension components I replaced with this long travel coilover kit.

Moog adjustable lateral links

Moog adjustable lower control arms

Moog Outback upper control arms

Rallitek rear subframe spacers

Falken Wildpeak AT3W all terrains 235/65R17x8+42 Method MR501 in titanium gunmetal

Damping is set to zero on all four corners

I can set the preload on the back about another inch worth or so, and the front has barely any preload, still capable of another two and a half inches of height before maxing out. We can go full baja truck if need be

Things coming up:

LGT hood

CMOD Outback grille

Jeep rock sliders

Fifth Method and Falken full size spare

Torq Locker

Torque Solutions steering damper

Luis Special Master Cylinder brace

I spotted a BE/BH H6 radiator on Ebay a while back, and when their on hand quantity came down to 1, I decided it was time for the gamble.

She wasn't due until March, but she came in on Christmas

This was my initial measurements to see if it was plausible before attempting. As you may notice, the top hose ports are in different spots. Not to worry, the one closest to the center is bang on with the car. The one closer to the driver's side can be worked around by clocking the factory hose about ten degrees towards the headlight. All port sizes, including ATF lines are the same.

I knew I couldn't clear the engine with the stock fan shroud... So I was on the hunt for a shroud with slim fans. Luckily I spotted this Mishimoto for a hell of a deal.

The mounts were not perfectly lined up but they were there enough to hold it together so I modified it a little bit.

Had to know if the stock coolant reservoir would fit on this shroud and she does, however you may notice that the outlet where the cap sits on the BE is facing the wrong direction. The solution is to use a BE H6 hose to your standard reservoir. Will definitely get one of these to make this cleaner.

The fans were an interesting one. The BM uses a Fan Control Unit at the passenger top corner of the factory shroud. There was no spot for this on the radiator so I temporarily bolted it to one of the unused spots until I cut open the shroud for it. Yes, the fins on the back of the FCU will clear the radiator even after being placed in the shroud. The depth is perfect clearance.

The fans themselves did not have the correct harness connectors. My solution was to cut the pigtails off the BM harness and solder to the new fans.

BM:

GE/GH/GV/GR:

This radiator came with a flare fitting, kind of like AN style.

The issue I had with this is that the rad was supplied with two straight outlets, facing the engine.

Well, on the BM, the passenger side outlet needs to be an elbow.

Can't use the BE hoses, the outlets on the hardlines between the two cars coming off the frame are also different angles.

Top BM, Bottom BE:

Finding an adapter that would work on this in the time had was impossible.

So I improvised and will show you later.

You might be thinking, "Why can't you take the nut off the rad and switch the fitting style?" Can't. When you release the nut, the threaded portion and the backside of it is welded within the cavity it sits in. It's loose, but can't be removed without cutting the rad.

Driver side ATF hose from underneath. You can see the lower rad fan harness plug just above the lower coolant outlet.

Passenger side ATF hose and the temporary solution I came up with, use an elbow off a spare ATF hose and an I joint connector to put it all together.

Here she is in all her glory, installed and ready to go. I used the factory BM upper rad brackets, but used two of the inner clip mounts for now(and nut and bolted straight through with a half inch spacer sandwiched between) until I make custom brackets. I had to shave the air dam bumper bracket at the top of the core support to clear the brackets.

I also couldn't use the triangle shaped snorkus due to both the larger rad and the FCU in the way. I planned to block off the opening in the bay and sync up my actual snorkel anyway.

Excuse the mess in my engine bay. She's due for a lot of other things coming soon.

Last but not least, I removed the triple pillar pod by Ortiz, as I was only using one for now and I kinda broke some of the fiberglass work on it.

Switched to Ortiz's single pod off the HVAC vent instead and rigged my trans temp sensor into the ATF outlet line just off the transmission. I wanted to keep an eye on temps when I'm out in the sticks. The last thing I need is for the trans to give up before the engine does.

And for shits, here's how heavy she is without a full sized spare on the back and 3/4 tank.

They're far from perfect, but finally had the chance to make some custom upper mounts along with replacing the upper core support cover.

Torque locker has arrived and so has my second diff, shouts to Cleanmanhands!

Oh yeah. I finally have a turbo hood. Shouts to S2baru!