Bessie II - Enlight's '05 6mt Matte Blacke Wagon

Welp, dropped off the driveshaft yesterday and the guys said they didn't see any major problems with it, so it looks like I may have to crack the transmission after all. Since I was already there I had them replace the U-joint going into the transmission so it has a grease fitting now. It's improved now where the joint won't hold itself up against gravity. I guess this isn't so bad since I would have had to remove the driveshaft anyway.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=259803&stc=1&d=1513899047

 

In case you missed it in my other thread, here's the noise I'm trying to isolate:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GATgsh521Jo]05 Legacy GT Noise - YouTube[/ame]

 

This means I might also be in the market for a new clutch and I'm looking at the South Bend Stage 2 Daily Driver with a SMFW(I live in NYC).

 

I figure I'll also post up pictures from another little project from this summer.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=259804&stc=1&d=1513900666

 

I made the mistake of letting my cat in my car and he scratched up the surface of my dash. I figured I'd take the opportunity to swap in an '08 dash which has the silver accents emanating from the center console trim to the dash. What you see above is a dash I picked up from a junkyard that I found out was tacky.

 

After finding out that the tackiness wasn't something that could be cleaned off, I did some research and settled on the SEM system of products. This was my first time painting/spraying and I was pretty pleased with the results. T

 

The shopping list included:

 

• 400 and 800 grit sandpaper
  
• SEM Soap
  
• SEM Vinyl Prep
  
• SEM Satin Vinyl Coat
  
• SEM Tac Free and
  
• SEM Sand Free
  
• 3M Respirator
  

 

I didn't intend on doing a walkthrough so I didn't take many pictures, but there are many YouTube

out there detailing the process.

 

I started by sanding the dashboard down, followed by the Soap, then Vinyl Prep. These steps are pretty important to ensure adhesion. Then, I put on a few light coats of the Satin Vinyl Coat. The Satin finish is important for reducing glare from the sun. Tac free is a product they use for marine applications for sticky vinyl. When I called SEM the rep said it wouldn't work for my application but I went against his advice anyway - I didn't see why it wouldn't work if vinyl is vinyl. The Tac Free leaves this sheen that looks like dust that can't be wiped off, so I followed it with another coat of Satin Black. Time will tell whether this has solved the tackiness problem but as of today the (uninstalled) dash still looks and feels great.

 

I also took the opportunity to repaint the door handles since the paint was peeling off. This is where the SEM Sand-Free comes in. Sand Free is an adhesion promotor for the type of plastic the door handles are made out of. Determining the plastic involved using acetone to see whether it melts (it did).

 

I'll post up the pictures of the dashboard once it's all installed. First, I need to take care of the other bigger issues. What looks like dust on the photo below is actually just the sunlight hitting the dash.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=259805&stc=1&d=1513900666

Edited December 22, 2017 by Enlight

I haven't read through all other posts or that one (I'm sorry), but you did isolate it down to the transmission and not the CV shafts correct? Also, try putting the car on a lift and try replicating it by running through the gears.

That's a good point, I can ask a buddy to run through some gears while I'm under the car, though I have a sneaking suspicion that the car won't replicate the sound without a load. And no worries, it's a lot to sort through. I actually replaced the CV axles (from raxles.com) because the boots were torn and spewing grease onto my downpipe.

Sound only came on when engaging/disnegaging clutch and was it specific to one or the other (engage or disengage)?

Sound only came on when engaging/disnegaging clutch and was it specific to one or the other (engage or disengage)?

 

Only when engaging... not when engaged, disengaged, or disengaging.

Ah...

Replace slave cylinder and clutch/flywheel. Yup, you're right.

Welp, the weather was clear yesterday so I got under Bessie and attempted to remove the two bolts I sheared removing the center carrier bearing. I proceeded to break an extractor inside one of the bolts so now I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do. The bolts were sheared off inside the threads.

 

I think the proper solution is to cut it all out and weld in a new nut/sheet metal, but I don't have the proper tools or skill to fabricate and weld, but I don't mind learning. With the driveshaft out, I also can't drive her to a shop to fix it.

 

What are my options?

One piece srive shaft. HAMMERDOWN had one made and has the thread here about it.

 

Check the sticky up top about ... it's in here

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/idea-web-links-saved-various-parts-219238.html

 

 

see post 32 and 35,

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/snapped-my-drive-shaft-80176.html

Edited January 14, 2018 by Max Capacity

Also, the geometry of a two-piece set up will probably be better if I ever go the air suspension route. I would have to ask the driveshaft shop whether this is the case or not.

 

These cars shouldn't be affected by air ride like you are thinking. Having independent rear and front suspension means the driveshaft doesn't move with the suspension like it would on a live axle car. The longer run might require a larger diameter tube or thicker wall like you mentioned.

 

Those extractors are hardened and can't be drilled out unfortunately. I've broken a couple of them too and have never actually extracted anything with them. Can you pull the interior carpet and access the bolts from that end?

MaxCapacity: One piece is looking pretty attractive right now but I'm also feeling a bit stubborn and don't want to be defeated by these bolts. The way this is going, I'm probably going to cut it out, attempt to transplant those pieces from another car, fail, and go one piece anyway.

 

(Edit: looks like he still went the two piece route (http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1672702, though I think I can still investigate aluminum shaft prices. He also chimes in a good amount on this thread )http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152308

 

Spacemanspiff: Unfortunately, the nut is not accessible under carpet, it's actually beneath the floor plan itself in a nearly inaccessible cavity. Thanks, I didn't know that about independent suspension.

 

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

Edited January 15, 2018 by Enlight

That dash cane out great. I'd love to see how it looks/feels over time

That dash cane out great. I'd love to see how it looks/feels over time

 

+1 here. It looks perfect! Subaru dealership tore up my dash in the airbag recall and ended up installing a brand new one. Before they tore it up I was trying to figure out how to re dye it.

 

Great job refinishing yours! It looks brand new!

Finally removed the captive nuts holding the center carrier bearing today. Because I lost hardened bits in the old bolts I was unable to use the pilot in the hole saw. To keep the hole saw from walking everywhere I used a steel template that I tack welded over the nut locations. I also marked intersecting lines so that I'll know where to place the new nuts - it should be ok if they are a little off since the bolts are held bu rubber bushing. The sheet metal looks like it's just 1 mil.

 

 

I might have to look into better welding protection as I caught a spark in the palm of my Mechanix glove and it was less than pleasant.

Edited June 17, 2018 by Enlight

That dash cane out great. I'd love to see how it looks/feels over time

 

+1 here. It looks perfect! Subaru dealership tore up my dash in the airbag recall and ended up installing a brand new one. Before they tore it up I was trying to figure out how to re dye it.

 

Great job refinishing yours! It looks brand new!

 

OP, how is your 'new' dash holding up? Do you have a recent pic of it? I might try what you have done to restore it.

My car has been on jack stands since last October (yeesh, that sounds like a long time) and the dash has yet to be installed. The true test is how it handles the sun and unfortunately I can't report on that yet. The dash is still in my porch. It's holding up fine with the summer temps but it doesn't get any direct sunlight in there.

 

 

I've been stuck on the third turbo nut on the underside of the downpipe and have given up and gonna take a cold chisel to it. This is to drop the transmission so I can replace the clutch and flywheel. Eyeing the South Bend stuff and moving away from LWFW. No fun for city driving.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Enlight

Gotcha. In the meantime, that would be lovely if you could place that dash in direct sunlight inside your house somewhere and see how it performs. Although to be honest, I wonder if the melting issue is a combination of direct sunlight and high heat. Cause in your house, it'll see direct sunlight but not necessarily high heat, I would think..

 

 

Both of my cars are suffering from this melting issue. So annoying.

Here's a guy from the IS forum I originally got this idea from, 5 years later his is still holding up.

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

Finally, finally, finally removed the bottom DP bolt.

 

 

This bolt has taken me 5 afternoons to remove. I threw my entire hand-tool arsenal at it and finally borrowed an oscillating multi-tool from my contractor which loosened the bolt enough that I was able to remove it with the nut still attached. I wanted to avoid having to tap the turbo which I thankfully achieved.

 

 

Now on to dropping the transmission.

1. Dropped the transmission after much struggling, only to find out that I had to remove the clutch fork on an STi transmission (thanks to msprank. Having to explain that to my helping hand after an afternoon of endless kicking... As you can see the clutch was toast and the flywheel was warped - I chalk it up to my experience with manual transmissions.
    
   Instead of getting the LWFW resurfaced, I opted to go with a new South Bend flywheel and their Stage 2 Daily clutch. The new flywheel is 18lbs. Stock STi flywheel is 18.9. I believe this will improve the city driveability and perhaps preserve the life of the clutch from not having to slip so much.
    
   I wore the old clutch down to the pegs which explained the bucking.
    
   
   
2. Installed the Killer B Oil Pan which accompanies the pickup and baffle I purchased earlier. The old pan was leaking. Picked up new header gaskets from Permaseal that hopefully won't leak. I know gaskets are only supposed to be used once, but I had to remove the headers because of an engine mount mishap. Also used new fasteners and copper anti-seize.
    
   I installed two new engine mounts I had lying around. The reason I decided not to go Group N is that I intend for this car to be driven on road trips. The performance:NVH just isn't worth having hardened mounts. I'm switching out my Group N transmission mount for stock as well for this reason.
    
   I installed the driver side engine mount backwards which ended up cracking it, so I had to purchase a new one (thus removing the headers).
    
   
   
3. Installed new flywheel and POR-15's rusty pipes I saw. Not a Renoir of a job but light was failing me and it's good enough. I'll remember to make a point of Fluid Filming this area in the future too.
    
   
    
   
   
4. I seem to be having trouble getting the dipstick into the new oil pan. I wonder whether it would've been smarter to install the dipstick into the pan first, before gasketing the oil pan back onto the block. There's about an inch between the dipstick bracket and the block and I can't seem to get the dipstick any farther into the pan.
    
   
    
   
5. Last, I realized I never posted a picture of the DP bolt I struggled so much with in my last post. Yes, the nut is still attached to the stud. The stud decided to remove itself before the nut did.
    
   
    
   

Edited December 22, 2018 by Enlight

Started putting in the new clutch and pressure plate today. Service manual indicates that '08 STi nuts should be torqued to 16 Nm but parts of the pressure plate housing kept the sockets from seating on the nuts properly. These are new 13mm nuts that came with the clutch. Having a torx nut would've been preferable here. I'll have to wait until next weekend before I can continue tinkering.

Wrapped my uppipe and headers yesterday with DEI Titanium. Although they advertise the wrap as not being fiberglass I still inhaled enough fibers to give me a sore throat. My own fault, really, as the packaging does say not to inhale the fibers - I wore a mask on the latter part of the wrapping. Glad I wore my gloves from the beginning. I have enough left over to wrap my downpipe as well, just need to wait on more steel ties.

 

 

The previous ceramic coating was not enough to keep my oil press./temp. wires from melting.

I picked up a set of Ohlins from Yahoo! Auctions Japan, sent them into service at ANZE Suspension (30 min drive ) and was happy to find out that they are in good mechanical shape. Cosmetically, they are a bit beat up. On one of the locking nuts it looks like they had tightened it without the proper wrench and use a hammer and screwdriver instead. The front boots were replaced and I will need to order the rear boots at some point as well. Installed all of them onto Bessie this afternoon.

 

 

With the shipping so expensive from Japan, it got my thinking whether people would be interested in an ocean freight service with cheaper shipping, but longer wait times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Enlight

I am interested to see what you think of the ride quality

This will be more of a reflection post than an update. When I bought her I promised myself that I would learn to wrench on it myself, knowing that the maintenance needs would only grow with a car that was already 12 years old (when I first bought it).

 

First things I did were relatively simple, like the timing belt and removing the banjo filters. Eventually the time came for when the clutch had to be replaced. This has taken much longer than it needed to at about two years, due to a combination of wanting to socialize on weekends, hangovers, and having to rely on natural light and weather conditions. Also, this was mostly a solo endeavor and I learned as I went. I didn't inherit any tools or experience, just relying mostly on this forum, YouTube videos, and the vacation pics. As projects go, I did other upgrades and fixes "while I'm at it" and the laundry list grew.

 

I drove the car again for the first time a couple weeks ago and brought her in for an alignment, only to find new issues that resulted from it sitting for so long. The rotors have rusted over and aren't worth resurfacing, I heard what sounded like the engine block rocking upon lifting off the gas, and there's a springing sound coming from the shifter. The coil packs are on their way out as well.

 

I was hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel where I could enjoy the car for a bit and remember why I bought her in the first place, but it seemed that there was just more to this ever growing list - no satisfaction to be had.

 

This car has been a metaphor of sorts. I've often thought about the message from the Bhagavad Gita as a result of it, that we are entitled to work, to undertake efforts, and negotiate our way through this world, but we are not entitled to its rewards. So I taught myself to just put in the time. Just put in the time. Especially when I was removing the bottom nut from the downpipe.

 

It's been awfully tempting to fall into frustration with this car, but the reality is I've actually made progress and cleared a significant milestone, and that the issues that lie ahead can be broken down into discrete steps, and the problems isolated.

 

Getting this car back into driving shape is just part of a larger project I've been working on that I hope to share at some point. Just one step at a time.