CovertRussian's 05 LGT Build Thread

I have a similar situation with the 5EAT ATF. I had it rebuilt 3 years ago, and had a "wet spot" above the driver's fog light I noticed maybe a year later. I knew the oil filter for the ATF was there, but I never actually SAW any fresh drips, just "moist" (with lots of dirt) whenever I wiped - and no drips on the ground. Things finally got bad a month ago (it missed a gear a couple of times after some aggressive cornering), so I checked ATF, and it was down a quart. I've since confirmed the leak at the ATF filter visually, but, losing 1 quart over 3 years, and only planning to keep the car at most 2 more years, I'm just going to check every oil change and fill as necessary.. Or maybe ask my mechanic to change the filter - I don't want to have a mess on my hands.. Edited November 29, 2018 by hadvw
typo fix

Hrmm... this one has me thinking... I've had my subaru shop look for anything using oil, dripping... Nada. Had turbo rebuilt, helped some. PCV replaced... Of course I have forged pistons, so it will use more oil, but it's still around 1 qt / 600-800.

I have a similar situation with the 5EAT ATF. I had it rebuilt 3 years ago, and had a "wet spot" above the driver's fog light I noticed maybe a year later. I knew the oil filter for the ATF was there, but I never actually SAW any fresh drips, just "moist" (with lots of dirt) whenever I wiped - and no drips on the ground. Things finally got bad a month ago (it missed a gear a couple of times after some aggressive cornering), so I checked ATF, and it was down a quart. I've since confirmed the leak at the ATF filter visually, but, loosing 1 quart over 3 years, and only planning to keep the car at most 2 more years, I'm just going to check every oil change and fill as necessary.. Or maybe ask my mechanic to change the filter - I don't want to have a mess on my hands..

 

It's a cost/level of effort to benefit ratio. 1qt every 3 years is so trivial I wouldn't worry about it either, but if it does cause the transmission to fail, well then that is something. My car has been "consuming" oil for years, it's been 1qt every 2-3k miles, but I drive it hard so I ignored it. When it got to 1qt every 1k miles of EASY driving then it caught my attention.

 

 

Hrmm... this one has me thinking... I've had my subaru shop look for anything using oil, dripping... Nada. Had turbo rebuilt, helped some. PCV replaced... Of course I have forged pistons, so it will use more oil, but it's still around 1 qt / 600-800.

 

Did you replace the cam, crank, rear main and valve seals while you were in there? Also how's the turbo drain looking? What kind of oil are you running btw?

 

For me the first big oil consumer was the turbo oil drain, which had a small hole, it also made the underside of the heads be wet making it look like bad head gasket. I replaced the hose when I replaced the turbo and it was fine until the oil cooler started leaking about a year later.

all seals were replaced according to the build sheet. the straight down tube off the turbo? That's new, from when i upgraded to a VF52, and I just got a stronger clamp put on that one.

 

For oil, I'm just running Castrol GTX 10w-40, since I am running so much through it. 10w-40 is the builders requirement, although I am well out of his warranty period. Running Rotella in the Evo though.

It's a cost/level of effort to benefit ratio. 1qt every 3 years is so trivial I wouldn't worry about it either, but if it does cause the transmission to fail, well then that is something. My car has been "consuming" oil for years, it's been 1qt every 2-3k miles, but I drive it hard so I ignored it. When it got to 1qt every 1k miles of EASY driving then it caught my attention.

 

 

Yeah, makes sense. I also use ~1 quart per 3k, sometimes 1.5. If that jumped up significantly, I'd also get worried..

Man that sucks, best I can suggest is getting under the car and spraying it all down with brake parts cleaner, driving for about 100 miles and seeing whats wet again.

 

Also, I can't believe I missed your build thread, looks awesome and gonna have to go through it now! You Outback guys are hiding in you're own section, and have some awesome builds, but I just forget to browse that section .

 

IMO Legacy and Outbacks are so similar that there is no point in having them separated out .

you could get dye, or ultraviolet dye, and add it into the oil. then just scan the engine bay with a UV light every time you stop driving.

On the oil consumption bit. Not that this relates to the to the reality of the cooler leak.

 

Adding the GS AOS to my setup has stopped my occasional smokey startup.

 

Going to check my consumption again after 1500+ or so but I think it was no more than a few oz needed last time I checked.

Since I constantly use the OBD2 port and since it's by the clutch foot, that is attracted to anything plugged in, my OBD2 port has been losing connection lately. Best part would be during a WOT pull, where torque would cause the Tactrix cable to lose connection and stop logging data. It's even more fun while re-flashing, where I would hold my breath to avoid any extra movement

 

I figured it's the same situation as the MAF connector, but have been too lazy to take the connector apart and take a look, until this week.

 

First remove the OBD2 port from the bottom cover. You'll need to remove two clips up front, carefully remove the cover, which will then let you pop out the OBD2 port from the plastic cover.

 

Once you get to the actual OBD2 connector, the white retainer needs to be pried up and pulled out:

 

That will expose the wires, and let you pull them out.

 

On the inside of the plug there is a little ear that I stuck a paper clip into to release the wire, then was able to pull it out.

 

Once pulled out, on each wire there is a U indentation (red circle). I found that you just need to press it in that will close up (increase) the contact inside the connector it self. You can see the difference in the two right pics:

 

Doing that to the white wire (power) fixed my disconnection issue, but to be safe I did the same to the rest of the wires, if one went back rest are not far.

 

Reinstalled the white retainer and it's ready assemble everything back together.

 

After doing that, I haven't seen any disconnects, no matter how much tugged on the plugged in devices, easy 30 min fix and doesn't require to replace the whole port!

Edited December 1, 2018 by covertrussian

This is great! I've had pretty frequent disconnects during WOT when the power hits and/or shifts. I'm HOPING this will cure it. Although it'll probably take me more than 30 minutes :-)

 

The strange thing is, usually when that happens, my driver's side mirror also shifts a couple of notches of adjustment on its own. And lately, the infamous "ILL5" has been more frequent, and ILL6 is almost impossible to reach now. That whole section of my car seems a little wonky, almost like the torque triggers a bad ground or low voltage something. And the OBD2 (via VAG-COM / BtSSM) can take 5-10 minutes before it reconnects. I have no idea where to start.. I'd love to fix it, as I'm working on adding a Nexus 7 into the dash for full-time BtSSM logging, but I also can't spend forever on the car. I've lived with it for almost 14 years (did this when it was still 100% stock), so it'll probably do it until I get rid of it..

 

 

Just remembered - there was a whole thread on BtSSM about it including adding a cap or inductor to certain pins.. May have to revisit that..

Some people have found a lot of noise in the k-line pin as it branches to a lot of modules (especially in ‘05’s as it goes under the passenger side seat). The cap was between the k-line pin and ground to try and eat some of the noise.

 

Your issue sounds like a bad ground for sure. If you’re lucky the bolt just came loose, if not it may be breaking at the connector.

 

I added a second ODB connector up under the dash with an Openport perminatly attached. ODB connectors have a rated life of less than 1000 connections, and swapping thing around a lot tuning/flashing can quickly reach that. You can get a pack of posi-taps and a pigtailed port for less than $15

Edited December 1, 2018 by utc_pyro

I added a second ODB connector up under the dash with an Openport perminatly attached. ODB connectors have a rated life of less than 1000 connections, and swapping thing around a lot tuning/flashing can quickly reach that. You can get a pack of posi-taps and a pigtailed port for less than $15

 

That's it, I'm gonna do this, just to have the Openport be in a better location (where my foot can't damage it). Also being able to have the tactrix and scangauge hooked up at the same time would awesome.

 

I'm being lazy, do you have a link to the new port you used?

Some people have found a lot of noise in the k-line pin as it branches to a lot of modules (especially in ‘05’s as it goes under the passenger side seat). The cap was between the k-line pin and ground to try and eat some of the noise.

 

Your issue sounds like a bad ground for sure. If you’re lucky the bolt just came loose, if not it may be breaking at the connector.

 

I added a second ODB connector up under the dash with an Openport perminatly attached. ODB connectors have a rated life of less than 1000 connections, and swapping thing around a lot tuning/flashing can quickly reach that. You can get a pack of posi-taps and a pigtailed port for less than $15

 

 

Hopefully not derailing this - where do I look for the ground? Have half-heartedly tried to open up underneath there and couldn't even easily open it.. Which bolt? Under the dash for that cluster? Or the head/chassis ground for that side in the engine bay? I need to check those at some point.

 

 

I don't suppose you have a parts list handy, or exactly what to look for? Are these vampire taps you're talking about?

That's it, I'm gonna do this, just to have the Openport be in a better location (where my foot can't damage it). Also being able to have the tactrix and scangauge hooked up at the same time would awesome.

 

I'm being lazy, do you have a link to the new port you used?

 

 

Looks like we replied at the same time.. Yeah, been wanting to do this forever.

 

 

Which pin is the k-line? IIRC, people had to DISABLE it again to flash?

I found this: https://www.iwireservices.com/product-page/obd2-port

 

 

Seems a little steep at $34.99, but seems to have the right # of wires. All the others only seem to have 5 wires?

With Pigtail

 

Without pigtail (crimp) <- what I used

 

Amazingly good vampire taps

 

I put a switch inline to disconnect the data pin while the car is getting emissions checked. If you add a filter cap you can still flash with that hooked up.

 

You only need to extend three wires: power, ground, and k-line.

 

On finding the flakey ground, the service manual is your best bet. Trace the ground for the things that are failing on the wiring diagrams, then look at the grounding diagram. If they share a common lug, there is another diagram that roughly shows were they are located.

Edited December 1, 2018 by utc_pyro

Thanks so much. I have some electrical knowledge, but not enough to know what to actually do in practice. Was never good at wiring diagrams, but will give it a go..

 

 

 

Just re-read the threads about caps. Will try 0.01 and 0.1 uF, between pins 5 and 7. If that solves it, will leave well enough alone.

Ok, so, if I read the diagrams right - connectors i99/i100, which is GB-3, which seems to be on the passenger side of the center tunnel? They're listed as "non-colored", although in one diagram, it's B/BY (black-yellow, I think)?

 

 

 

So how do I get to it? I wonder if the problem is not so much GB-3, but rather, the connector going back from all the way over there to the left side of the car? Would there be a problem if I were to re-ground the tapped ground wire to the body locally?

 

 

 

I already have a ground-kit of sorts in the engine bay (connecting like 5 different locations) due to trouble-shooting a faulty coil a long time ago.

ODB connectors have a rated life of less than 1000 connections, and swapping thing around a lot tuning/flashing can quickly reach that.

 

I did not know this, but I have managed to minimize the wearing out of the OEM (see below comment) ...

 

 

That's it, I'm gonna do this, just to have the Openport be in a better location (where my foot can't damage it). Also being able to have the tactrix and scangauge hooked up at the same time would awesome.

 

I'm being lazy, do you have a link to the new port you used?

 

I am using one of these right angle connectors:

right angle obd 2 extension cable

 

I think I actually got the wrong angle, but the cable is so thin and flexible, it easily folds over itself. I never kick it, and when I switching from the Cobb AP connector to my VAG-COM I am not wearing out the OEM port.

Now if I could find a switch between them... or... hold on.

Low profile OBD2 Y splitter

Boom! That's exactly what I need! I can leave the AP port plugged in, but the AP itself unplugged, and run BTSSM for my daily monitoring, without switching cables!

edit: there's more than a few of these, so i am reading the reviews before buying one...

Edited December 6, 2018 by rebourne

It sounds like one needs to have the flashing cable wire disabled though. Which my scangauge might not even have so might not be a problem.

 

Let us know which one you decide on and I'll get it too.

What was that dash/front window/vent-mounted OBDII monitoring/logging device (non-AP) that was so prominent a few years ago, before BTSM? Is that still a thing?

Sounds like it.

 

https://www.scangauge.com/products/scangauge-ii/

It was something like that, but it was a larger format and had touch screen functionality AIR.

 

 

 

But think it was ScanGauge something or other.

I've had my scan gauge for about 15 years, it's exactly the same design... I wouldn't get one nowdays, it's just too simple, and only shows 4 gauges at one time.

 

Now Ultragauge might be a good alternative, but android with btsm sounds better overall.

I've been meaning to post an update to the trailing arm bushings replacement but forgot about the picture I took of it. Anyway after 200 miles my trailing arm bushing looked like this:

 

Here is how it looked like right after install (on the other side):

 

 

At first I was thinking about simply adding a washer to put pressure on the bushing to keep it against the arm, but now that I think about it I don't think it would help. It looks like the trailing arm goes through a twisting motion throughout the travel range, while this is expected and whiteline did add somewhat of voids, it's apparently not enough. Thus the bushing ends up staying stationary, while the arm is twisting on the outside of the bushing.

 

I wonder if a convex design bushing would be a better design for this location. Similar to the SuperPro/AVO front LCA rearward bushing that allows for twisting:

Edited December 10, 2018 by covertrussian