Noname 08 OBXT Rebuild Thread

I think the light pattern is an inherent issue with led design. I'm pulling numbers from my head so they might be off but the maximum light dispersment from an led is something like 270* from special chips. So I think the led and their locations are hitting certain points on the reflector and not others so it just happens to make that pattern. I'd guess you have a different pattern based on the hp36 being a very different bulb layout.

 

There is a 35w erd bulb for slide projectors that people claim provides good results. I might try those out as they are inexpensive.

 

Some things to note. In that photo my car is about 10m from the wall. That fence is a little taller than 6'. And the led throw a huge ground light which I think would be helpful with a back up camera to see pets, kids, bikes if you have that concern. However there is no near field visibility out the back without one anyway.

 

More testing to come. Although the answer is, if you want to use your reverse lights to see, you'll likely just want auxiliary led pods. For how infrequently I'm backing up, it doesn't seem worth the trouble

 

 

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I put some LED reverse lights in my OBXT that have a chip facing directly aft as well as the rest of them in the “normal” position. I don’t have those bands.

 

EDIT: these guys - JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright 2000 Lumens 360-Degree Shine 921 912 90-EX Chipsets LED Bulbs For Backup Reverse Lights, Xenon White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GGK6QDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mhGjEbTPS073N

Edited January 20, 2020 by CamTom12

That is similar to what febreze has. Mine have more space between the bulbs around the outside but also a much stronger led that likely has a better side dispersion.

 

The jdm edm lights get quite expensive. I'm debating on the amount of effort to custom make a light. I'll likely pull one out the junk yard when I go to get the wire for my rear defroster.

 

 

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I didn't even consider the bulb layout. They are a bit different, so I see why I would have a different light coverage. I will try to get some pictures up next week for comparison.

 

It is as you said though, "for how infrequently I'm backing up, it doesn't seem worth the trouble."

 

I suppose I'm keeping my HP36s for now.

 

Do keep the information coming and let us know your thoughts about the 35w erd bulb.

Well today was not a great day for the outback. Ran into a lot of struggles. First was the oil pressure gauge that came in was the wrong one. Got with the vendor and they are working to get it sorted.

 

Next was finding out I had no access to the driveway today so no rear sway bar install. No biggie I have stuff to do under the hood. Go pick up some hoses I ordered from the dealer and get to work. Turns out I mangled the threads on my turbo on the rear intercooler bolt. The first 4 or so are gone and I don't think a tap will do. It wasn't even holding pressure but noticed it seemed short as well and maybe a longer bolt would get pressure on all the threads remaining.

 

Next I get the intercooler off and there is oil all over.

That's a literal pool of oil in the throttle body hose. I'm 3500 into the rebuild with new pcv and hoses and a rebuilt jmp turbo so I'm not sure what's going on there. I probably drove 30+ miles today before working on the car and I always let it warm up so any thoughts would be helpful.

 

Drop the two bolts that hold the intercooler bracket onto the head. Manage to get one of them back after a struggle. A trip to storage for more tools and to home depot for various bolts and I finally have everything reassembled. Bust out the torque wrench to snug everything down to spec and feel the rear turbo bolt slip. I think it'll need a helicoil or something. It'd also be nice to not have weird bolt heads so hopefully McMaster will help. Turbo to intercooler is now a 13mm for me.

 

 

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Good news is I don't think the turbo is causing a leakage problem. I had to pull the negative on my battery last week and I checked my lv and they looked great. Nothing above a 2% and no learned knock.

 

Got a new oe air filter in and replaced the maf with one that I thought was new but I think I misread the for sale. I noticed what looks like a date stamp on them (future date though). Is there any way to tell age on them? The stamp is definitely in date format.

 

Also put on a new bpv to manifold hose. I tapped the fuel pressure reference into it and then put the sensor for my boost gauge on the fpr port.

 

One step at a time.

 

 

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if you boogered the threads on the turbo to intercooler, just use longer bolts and a nut, flanged is best. Oil is supposed to be in the intake system, i duno if its poor design or what, but its normal, not sure how much is normal but it being there isn't strange. Its why a lot of guys run aos, air oil separators.

I hadn't considered a bolt and nut. That's a good idea. I currently have a bolt and washer up top because home depot only had serrated flanged bolts.

 

 

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for flange bolts go to auto parts store, its a common size i believe. Home depots near me don't usually have the flange sizes we need, serrated? Pep boys if you have it, has a nice amount of bolts. Any auto store should have what you need, if not the first one, the 2nd surely.

That's how my IC is currently attached. Thru bolt with nut on the aft bolt, anyway. The forward one is tapped up a size.

 

 

I generally agree with what tehnation said - I've always seen a little bit of oil in the intake tract whenever I've pulled apart turbo Subarus. I don't entirely agree with the absolute need for an AOS on a fresh, tight motor that doesn't yet have a bunch of blowby, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to have one either.

 

The amount shown wouldn't be immediately concerning to me. I saw similar oil at the IC flange when I pulled it off during my break-in, though that was around 1k. The amount tapered off gradually enough that I don't really know when I stopped noticing it, and now there's nothing at the flange whenever I pull the IC off. Nothing in the TB coupler, though I have a silicone one which seems like it might be less likely to pool oil. I've also had a little oil in the inlet both times I've pulled it off since my build, the last time being around 8k on the motor when I replaced the OEM one with a Perrin after tearing the former with the turbo clamp.

 

I guess if I were to check anything in your case it'd be whether the car is eating any oil, and whether there's any signs of excessive blowby on the plugs.

A big part of this process for me has been learning to temper my propensity to assume the worst - I've put more into this wagon than any car I've owned before so I think it's a lot easier to go off the rails over details. Maybe you're the same way. Either way, I'd just keep an eye on it going forward but take what you see in the context of other engine health indicators.

Yes definitely the same way. My parents bought my a $4k Honda civic (I went out of my way to find something reliable and that got good mpg even though a number of people kept trying to get an Integra) in high school. It still runs and I've never had a car payment until now.

 

Luckily I'm only 12kish into the outback which is about 12k more than I've ever been (parents more than doubled that and when the engine tanked that's where it went instead of the loan) and I get worried about blowing something up again. I'd likely need to get rid of it if that happens.

 

 

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OK good to know. Everything I've ever seen is only a light sheen of oil and that's what it was the first time I took off the intercooler from the old engine. It's currently 2900 miles into this oil change and at maybe half a quart of used oil which sounds good from what I know. I'll keep an eye on it and if that's more common on a new build I won't panic yet. (Which I did last night convinced my turbo was busted already.)

 

Next weekend I should have some time. I'll pull one of the spark plugs and see how it looks.

 

Glad to have the community to help. This thing never would have left Kansas without you all.

 

 

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Out of curiosity - what are you running for oil, and what was your break-in procedure? I'm sure viscosity and how you go about break-in make a difference in how long it takes for things to go steady state.

Running rotella t6 5w-40 for the first oil change.

 

I did a basic break in as it was a stock build. Sae 30 rotella t1 for the first twenty minutes, change, did something like 80ish miles with sae30 and redline break in, then to 500 miles sae30 and redline break in, 500 to 1k the same. At 1k I moved to rotella t6.

 

Basically followed the cobb engine break in set up and followed their restrictions on rpm at the various points including a couple runs to full boost after 1k.

 

Nothing super crazy but did a lot of reading and kinda took a mix of cobb and iag guides. The machine shop that did my heads and assembled them onto the block didn't say anything. Stock tune still.

 

 

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Sounds like more or less what I did, minus using Motul versus Rotella. I assume plenty of varied driving and engine braking during that 1k. I also began doing power pulls immediately out of break-in, not sure if you've gotten into tuning yet. Maybe there's some final seating of rings that occurs then, who knows. Edited January 27, 2020 by awfulwaffle

Yep lots of varied driving. I did it over a week and a half. Drove a few hours each day. Lots of varied driving since then to, although more highway and still a decent amount of engine braking.

 

So is the idea that, if the rings are not fully seated (or in an older engine the ringland is cracked) it allows combustion gasses past them into the crankcase and the pcv pulls vacuum into the turbo inlet?

 

 

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Yup that's always been my understanding. Increased crankcase pressure due to blowby (for whatever reason) pushes more into the intake tract. I've helped pull apart an FXT that lost rings - the car burned a quart every 100-200 miles, and we drained like a cup of oil out of the IC. Sort of put the whole residue I'd seen till then into perspective.

This is interesting talk..

 

 

 

I am about to swap my SB because I believe my ringlands are bad possibly on 4 and 2. I am going through a quart of oil every 800 miles or so. I can see some smoke at night when I go into full boost (that is if there are cars behind me with bright headlights).

 

Having said all of that, my intake track has never had more than a little track of oil. IC looks real good too. A bit .

I still haven't torn down my old short block to see what the problem was. At this rate that won't happen until summer. But it was using about a quart every 1500 or so and there was next to nothing in the intake tract that I could see.

 

I know it's a question that gets asked a lot so I thought maybe there was something there. Like an issue with the turbo. Maybe I just got into it on a day that it looks worse than it normally is. It had sat probably two weeks when I pulled the intercooler from the old build.

 

 

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For additional info, just read this bit from the IAG website:

"One of the most common reasons for burning oil in an older engine can be worn valve guides. Guides with a lot of wear allow the valve to move contributing to breakage."

source: https://www.iagperformance.com/IAG-Subaru-Valve-Guide-Replacement-Service-p/iag-mss-2900.htm

Interesting. My heads were rebuilt with new +1 exhaust valves and new guides. I believe everything on the intake side was left alone as they felt it looked fine.

 

Maybe I'm just not driving hard enough and everyone else pulls that oil in to be burned and mine doesn't make it past the throttle body. That must be it. Needs moar power.

 

 

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I wouldn't use expensive or synthetic oil during breakin... just cheap ol dino oil. Rotella T6 is synthetic, I was under the impression that you shouldn't break in a motor with synthetic???

I wouldn't use expensive or synthetic oil during breakin... just cheap ol dino oil. Rotella T6 is synthetic, I was under the impression that you shouldn't break in a motor with synthetic???

 

 

 

Break in is all done. Ran straight weight conventional with break in additive for that time frame. I just mentioned that I ran shell rotella t1 (sae30 conventional) and that was only because oil gets tedious and the shell brand seems to have a good reputation.

 

If I'd been doing a more intensive build I would have used one of those crazy expensive break in oils from motul or royal purple and the like. Can't find that stuff local though.

 

 

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As far as break in procedures. Well. Idk I gave up and went traditional with a long slow steady varying break in using conventional.

 

Some vehicles come new with synthetic. Supposedly it doesn't matter. Supposedly the increased friction of conventional is better for ring seating. Supposedly one gnarly hard run is better for ring seating. Supposedly zppd is better for ring seating but it's also going to instantly make your cat explode.

 

:¯\_(ツ)_/¯: stock builds are easy. Anything else I'd just do what the builder says for warranty sake.

 

 

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