nepbug's 01 Outback - 1/22/17 Eff Me! Gut check time!

[nepbug]

LL Bean Steering Wheel and Variable Intermittent Wipers

I installed the mahogany and leather Momo LL Bean steering wheel, much nicer feel to it that my plastic wheel. I had an 02/03 WRX Momo airbag in the garage so I decided to use that, it fits pretty well, but the top spokes seem a little off, so I might go back to the LL Bean airbag.

Before:


After:


Edited to add:
I went back to the LL Bean wheel, and here is what it looks like. Slightly better fit than the Momo, so I'm not sure which way I'll go in the end just yet.


While I had the wheel off I went ahead and upgraded my wiper stalk. The base Outback model has the intermittent wiper function, but it is not adjustable, it just wipes every 5-6 seconds. The higher trims and 02-07 Impreza wagons use the same switch, but have variable intermittent speed available. It's a straight swap, no wires to run.



It is worth noting that the 03-08 Foresters have a similar wiper stalk as well, but it adds additional functionality to the rear wiper. The Forester stalk allows you to have the rear wiper in intermittent or constant on (the Outback's "On" position is actually intermittent). I've swapped this stalk into my Impreza, but to get the additional functionality you have to swap some pins and run an additional wire all the way from the trunk area to the wiper switch, kind of a pain, but worth it to some.

[nepbug]

Well, I had the seats out, so I decided to try and get some of the crud out of the carpet and at least make it slightly less embarassing.

Tools used:
Shampooer
Paper Towels
Scrub Brush
Lacquer Thinner

The shampooer alone barely touched it, so I had to up the ante and use some lacquer thinner and that was working pretty well. I didn't want to spend too much time on it, but I got it down to a better level of filthiness. Note that the lacquer thinner smell will take a little while to clear out, so drive with the windows down and leave them cracked/open when parked if possible.

Before:


After:

[nepbug]

My blower motor was louder than it should be, I figured the squirrel cage either had some dirt on it or a bent shaft making it out of balance.

When I got it out (which is a bit of a pain BTW) I discovered that somewhere along the line a mouse got in there, he was pretty well dehydrated now.

Needless to say after I buttoned it back up I also installed a cabin air filter from an LL Bean model.

[Muse]

Oh, dear... that couldn't have been making it smell terribly good...

[nepbug]

Oh, dear... that couldn't have been making it smell terribly good...

It got in there way before my ownership started, so any stink is long gone.

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[rougeben83]

the things that get inside a car...at least you figured it out?

[superu]

I'd say it's probably a Peromyscus corrugatus

[nepbug]

Speaker Upgrade

I swapped in some better speakers today. The fronts are Kenwood KFC-1652S and the rears are Sony XS-R1643.





I also swapped in the LL Bean airbag instead of the 02 WRX Momo bag. The gaps seem to be slightly better, so I'm not sure which way I'll actually go.

[Muse]

Those gaps still seem really wide. I don't mean to second-guess you, but are you 100% sure that's the right bag?

[nepbug]

Those gaps still seem really wide. I don't mean to second-guess you, but are you 100% sure that's the right bag?

yep, from the same 01 LL Bean.
I was surprised too.

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[nepbug]

I was able to score some good condition window trim pieces of an 03 LL Bean, so I swapped those in.

Mine had cracked, flaked and peeled to this level of ugliness. At least it was chromed underneath instead of rusting steel.



For anyone tackling this, to remove them you:
Pull out the window rubber
Remove 16 screws (each side) retaining trim piece in
Swap in new
Push window rubber back in the channel, making sure it is fully seated

Pretty simple and looks much better than the flaking off pieces that most 2nd gen Outbacks/3rd gen Legacies seem to have. I followed up the install with some 303 Aerospace Protectant to help it last.



Oh yeah, and I also put in new lift gate struts, that should lessen the head strikes in my household.

[superu]

While I had the wheel off ....

Is that an illuminated ignition ring upgrade i see happening back there too?

[superu]

I was able to score some good condition window trim pieces of an 03 LL Bean, so I swapped those in.

Mine had cracked, flaked and peeled to this level of ugliness. At least it was chromed underneath instead of rusting steel.



For anyone tackling this, to remove them you:
Pull out the window rubber
Remove 16 screws (each side) retaining trim piece in
Swap in new
Push window rubber back in the channel, making sure it is fully seated

Pretty simple and looks much better than the flaking off pieces that most 2nd gen Outbacks/3rd gen Legacies seem to have. I followed up the install with some 303 Aerospace Protectant to help it last.



Oh yeah, and I also put in new lift gate struts, that should lessen the head strikes in my household.

Way nice dude. It almost looks like it has a litle "rain geard" feature to it, like its a scosh wider material. Maybe adds with air flow a bit more?

[nepbug]

While I had the wheel off ....

Is that an illuminated ignition ring upgrade i see happening back there too?

Yep, it's coming...

[nepbug]

16mm Upgraded Rear Sway Bar

I swapped in a 16mm rear sway bar to replace the 14mm bar my 01 has. The 16mm bar was in the 03-04 Outbacks. This will be good until I get a good deal on a Baja Turbo RSB.

Here's the comparison, tough to see visually, but it's a measurable 2mm. The one with the school bus yellow brackets (I was playing around with the Harbour Freight yellow powder coat powder) is the 16mm bar.



And just for grins I compared the bar to an 02 Impreza and 06 STi bar to see if something there could be made to work. There are enough geometry differences that I don't think it will work for either of those varieties.



I had to cut off one of the old end links and chased all threads with dies/taps. This is a taste to come of what I get for having a car that spent a few winters in the salt belt. I reassembled everything with anti-seize (bolts) and Lucas Red and Sticky grease (bushings).

Here's a chart I made up for comparing stiffness of different sway bars. This comparison chart only is accurate for bars with the same lengths/bends and made of the same material.


So by my calcualtions this is an increase in RSB stiffness of 71%, not bad for a cheap mod.

[nepbug]

Little stuff today. Replaced the hazard light switch bulb (used a RadioShack part number 272-1092 bulb). Nice to have that working.

Also soldered up the wiring harness for my new head unit install.

[nepbug]

Another quick one this morning.

Fuel Filter Change 12/9/2014 ODO 180,747

Wanted to knock this out early before the trash company picked up our trash to get rid of the stinky old filter. Pretty sure that was the original fuel filter on there, it was the black one, all the replacements seem to be silver.

[nepbug]

Stereo Upgrade

I installed a Kenwood KDC-BT318U head unit that I picked up on Black Friday.

I extracted a radio-side 14-pin connector out of an old Subaru radio I had lying around and used that to make an adapter harness for a nice quick and clean install.

It has Pandora, Bluetooth, USB, Aux-in, etc. so it's a nice way to get better functionality in the car instead of the OEM unit. It's also single-din so I gained another cubby. Double-cubby FTW!

I routed the microphone to mount on the backside of the map light, works well there.



Edit 01/04/14:
I changed out one of the open cubbies for an enclosed one, I like that a little better.

[superu]

microphone?!




(wishing there was a thumbs down emoji)

[nepbug]

microphone?!




(wishing there was a thumbs down emoji)

Yeah, for making phone calls. No karaoke option on this radio.

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[dynonacht]

Wow 3g daah would be awesome for my crap. (head unit, cb radio, compass pack)

Definitely jealous!

[nepbug]

Wow 3g daah would be awesome for my crap. (head unit, cb radio, compass pack)

Definitely jealous!

I know, I've been thinking of what I could use all the space for. Tell me more of this compass pack, that sounds intriguing.

[nepbug]

H6 Axle-Back Installed

I installed an axle-back out of a 2001 LL Bean. This is the H6 axle-back with the extra mechanical valve on it that opens at higher pressures. So, more back pressure down low for better torque and then it opens up at higher pressure for more top end . Since I'm running it on a 2.5L instead of the 3.0L I figure I cause the valve to open 20-35% later than in the H6. That's fine since the H6 opens it pretty early, 2400 RPM (22 psi).

Everything mates up to the H4 system just fine. Same size pipe and same gasket. My flanges were a little warped so I had to take the grinder with a flapper disc on it to get them close to flat again, a little filing and then some Permatex Ultra Copper for good measure. I had to cut off the original exhaust bolts, so that means I have now officially replace every bolt/stud/nut on the exhaust.

Here's the comparison pic of the two, you can see the H6 bypass valve on the side of the muffler.


Here's a diagram showing what the bypass valve does.


The best part of this mod, I got rid of my phantom turbo whistle! Ah sweet silence, no more whistling above 3500 rpm.

I think I might cut open the old one to see if I can identify the culprit for the whistling. Donate its body to science.

[dynonacht]

Search oem compass pack on here. It came in imprezas and foresters as an option.

[thenines']

Those gaps still seem really wide. I don't mean to second-guess you, but are you 100% sure that's the right bag?

yep, from the same 01 LL Bean.
I was surprised too.

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I've got the same gap on my MOMO-it sucks-it also seems bent

[Yamazaki]

Search oem compass pack on here. It came in imprezas and foresters as an option.

If you are just looking for a compass, I have a spare autodimming rear view mirror with a compass in it. Actually, you should have the same mirror... since mine is from my H6.

[superu]

Ooh i think it's a dash pod of the forester/impreza cubby.

[rkrenicki]

Since it looks like it is used, did you check to see if the bypass valve on that H6 muffler actually works? They have a tendency to rust open or shut after 50-60k miles.

[nepbug]

Since it looks like it is used, did you check to see if the bypass valve on that H6 muffler actually works? They have a tendency to rust open or shut after 50-60k miles.

No idea if it is functional. It would be a challenge to seal it up to pressurize it to test.

Not a big deal really, it got rid of my phantom turbo whistle, which is nice enough.

[nepbug]

02-04 WRX Wheels with Winter Tires

Swapped on the winter tires/wheels today. Bring on tomorrow's snow storm!