382 replies to this topic

[JDWhiteWRX]

Swap the ends of the shafts over if its possible.
Im running the shorter cv joints with the extea track. Been okay last 4000kms and my cvs are pretty worn already

Gc8 sti steering rack will fit and is 2.7turns lock to lock same as your rexy i think?

Why dont you wanna use the foz box?

 

I will take some measurements of the arms and shafts when both cars are apart then go from there. I should have enough parts to get it all going which is my main goal at first, later on I can upgrade the rack if needed.

 

My wrx has 10mm spacers and the black pin flipped to add caster by pushing the control arms out and I have had no drive shaft issues. It also has a spec c steering rack.

 

I'm keeping the foz box as a spare for my wrx and the dual range box is nice to have in the Outback for what I use the car for, plus I already rebuilt that box so I know its in good condition.

[JDWhiteWRX]

This afternoon I finished pulling the wiring harness out of the Foz, the tool required to remove the air bag control module is a Torx Security bit T40 which I borrowed from a mate at work. I have heard people say the wiring harness is big but wow its not until you pull one out that you can really appreciate the size of this thing!

I laid it out next to the car so you get an idea of the size. It weighed 11kg.



To get the car up and running I am going to try use this RS Legacy water to air intercooler donated by a mate. It should be adequate with the stock turbo and tune but I will most likely get a FMIC once I move to a bigger turbo.

[Liberty]

Progress is awesome mate, well done. You never really know how big or complicated something is until you can physically see it on its own...

[JDWhiteWRX]

Just picked up a complete exhaust system off a 06 wrx on ebay for $50. After reading a bunch of forum posts I worked out you can fit this exhaust to a Lib or Outback by turning a couple of the hangers 90 degrees and adding about 6" to the mid pipe which I will get done at an exhaust shop.

[Liberty]

You paid way too much there.

 

[JDWhiteWRX]

$50 is too much? it was only on the car 1 year, looks immaculate, plus the 06 muffler is single tip so it will look standard.

[Liberty]

I was being sarcastic.

 

It's an awesome price to pay for a full exhaust system.

[JDWhiteWRX]

Just picked up the exhaust, looks brand new still.

 

 

[Beckers]

Mmm, I'm liking where this thread is going.

 

Looks like you are making good progress.

[JDWhiteWRX]

Just managed to get the dash out of the Outback this afternoon, it was a prick of a job compared to the Foz as the wires were all wrapped through the A/C ducting. The wiring harness is booked in with AM Auto for the 13th so I will be posting it on the 6th.

[Barbbachello]

How long had this taken so far? Seems to be moving along nicely

[JDWhiteWRX]

About 7 hours to remove motor, box and front crossmember from the Foz and split the box from the motor. About 4 hours to remove the dash and harness from the Foz and about 2 hours to remove the dash from the Outback.

 

Got to visit relos over the next couple of days for Christmas but after that I will be getting stuck right into it as I don't have to be back at work until the 6th. Car will be back on the road well before the end of January if all goes to plan.

[Adam]

Nice!!

[JDWhiteWRX]

The dash support bar and heater core came out today and then out came the wiring harness. I don't look forward to re-installing the harness and dash, its going to be a lot more difficult than removing it.

Here is the interior


Removed the LHS fender so I could get the harness out easier.


Its not as big as the XT Fox harness but still pretty big.


I drained the coolant and removed the radiator, also drained the engine oil. The motor will be coming out tomorrow.

 

All up I spent about 3 hours working on it today.

[Liberty]

The dash is looking so naked. Keep the updates coming man, great work so far!

[JDWhiteWRX]

Some big progress today, I had a mate come over and help me remove the old motor out of the Outback. First thing was to disconnect all electricals from the motor, Fluids were already drained yesterday. Then we put the front end up on stands and I got under and removed the entire exhaust system. The we brought the engine crane over and wrapped a chain around the intake manifold, I then got under and removed all the bolts securing the gearbox to the motor and the steering joint off the column. Then the front wheels came off and the lower strut bolts and drive shafts were removed.

Once the rear control arms were undone and the 4 main bolts holding up the front crossmember we were able to lower the engine onto the feet of the crane.



The ABS sensors were removed and placed out of the way and also the brake callipers were unbolted and tied up out of the way.



Getting the motor free of the gearbox was the hardest part, the long studs at the bottom of the box made it hard to separate. Eventually we decided to lower the gearbox a little on its crossmember which gave us the room to pull the whole lot forward including the front crossmember and then it came apart.

Empty bay which will be getting some cleaning tomorrow before the new motor goes in.



Old motor and front crossmember on the floor.



Tomorrow I will also have a go at mounting the radiator for my water to air intercooler, will be easier with the front end up in the air. Looks like I may be able to use the Foz steering rack if I use the Foz steering knuckle. The Outback has a coarse spline on the steering rack but not the steering column. The Foz is fine spline at both ends. I will also attempt to swap the inner ends of the drive shafts from the Outback onto the Foz drive shafts so I have the longer shafts to suit the alloy control arms with compatible ends for my dual range gearbox. It will make more sense with photos.

[Barbbachello]

This is almost a DIY on an engine conversion. Amazing info

[Scuba-Roo]

Msr makes an adaptor for the steering rack. Or you can buy them from america. hope the cv shafts work as i have spare foz drive Shafts

[JDWhiteWRX]

Some more progress today, started by attacking the drive shaft and control arm issues. The control arms add an extra 10mm of track per side which I confirmed today by measuring the alloy Foz arms against the steel Outback arms, I figure I can live with this, just need to dial the camber back a little when it gets aligned. The drive shafts should be a little longer on the Foz but its hard to measure since the Foz shafts are male and the Outback shafts are female, I need to use the female ends to suit my dual range gearbox.

So I had a go at swapping the Outback female cans onto the presumably longer Foz shafts. The problem was the Foz shafts are not original Subaru and the machining of the splines was slightly different.



So I put them back together and luckily I was able to rattle the 32mm axle nuts off all four drive shafts. So I will be using the Outback shafts and hoping they are long enough to accommodate the extra 10mm, time will tell.



Next issue to tackle was the steering knuckle which joins the steering column to the steering rack. I want to use the Foz rack because its already bolted in and ready to go and also it is about 200k km's newer. The Outback and Foz knuckles are the same length but the splines are different at each end, I need to use the Foz knuckle as it matches the Foz rack.

The end of the Foz knuckle which joins the Outback steering column is the problem, you see here on the Outback steering column there is a larger raised spline



On the Foz knuckle that part is also raised, not recessed like it is on the Outback knuckle. So I got my Dremel out and removed the raised spline.



Its flat at the back where the bolt clamps it tight so there is no chance of it spinning anyway.



Great Success!



Next I started work mounting my water to air intercooler radiator behind the front bumper. First thing was to remove the bumper and remove the horns and what I think is the air temp sensor.



Then I slid the radiator into position to see how well it fits. Luckily one of the mounts lines up perfect with an existing hole, the other will just need a short bracket made up from some flat bar. It sits just high enough that it wont bottom out before my radiator support does which has the skid plate below it.



I then had to trim a little of the bumper away with my Dremel so it would clear the radiator



Here it is all fitted up with the bumper back on.

[Liberty]

Damn man. You're definitely going ahead perfectly well with this. I can't wait to see the finished product to be honest!