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Hawk296's Old Green L

28K views 90 replies 15 participants last post by  Hawk296 
#1 · (Edited)
I have not been on these forums since 2004 or so. I have had my 1995 AWD ej18 Impreza L since 2001. I'm the second owner. It was purchased as an economical awd car to get through college with plans of of swapping an elusive Jdm turbo engine later on (remember this was 2001 and we were just getting the bugeye Wrx). I started gathering parts and soon had an almost new EJ20k from a V4 STI RA.

As a poor college student, when my EJ18 started leaking oil from every possible seal, I decided just to swap the entire engine out. Unfortunately I didn't have the funds or time to swap in the ej20 yet, but I obtained a like new ej25. As far as I can recall I was one of the first few to swap in a SOHC EJ25 and run it off the 1.8 ECU. that swap has been absolutely bulletproof for over a decade with several track days a year.



15 years later, with a lightly modded Baja turbo as a daily driver an established career and home of my own I finally decided to finish the Impreza which was long ago banished to the depths of the garage only to see daylight 2 or 3 times a year for the occasional track flogging.

As it sits today, it's almost where I wanted it over a decade ago.


Engine:
1997 Ej20k (STI type RA)
Factory forged Pistons
Honed for new factory OEM piston rings
EJ257 rods polished for stress relief and balanced
ARP2000 rod bolts
King XPG rod bearings
Polished OEM crank (center thrust)
ACL race main bearings
OEM multilayer steel headgasketa
All new OEM seals.
ARP head studs.
Replaced two damaged intake valves
rebuilt heads and replaced all seals.
Converted to EZ30r shimless buckets.
OEM 11mm oil pump.
Late model EJ25 oil pan
Killer b oil pickup and baffle
STI timing belt.
Act lightweight flywheel
Group N engine mounts
Custom 3" turboback exhaust

JDM Legacy turbo 5mt trans (4.111)
Ver.3-4 Type RA DCCD gearbox (4.44)
Ver.5-6 type RA front LSD
R160 JDM rear LSD
Comp clutch stage 2
02' Wrx hydraulic clutch setup
Goodridge clutch line.
SPT/STI short throw shifter
04' USDM STI pedal box
RS 3 piece trans mount
Group N trans mount
Group N pitch stop
DCCD Pro Spider

Suspension:
KYB AGX
STI pink springs
Forester rear lateral links (no rear sway bar originally)
STI pink lateral links
Spo motorsports heavy duty rear swaybar mounts and adjustable swaybar.
Whiteline adjustable front sway bar
Whiteline adjustable front end links
GC8 aluminum front control arms.
Noltec camber plates (Broken)
Group N Strut tops
Cusco rear strut brace
STI front strut brace

Brakes:
2006 WRX all around
Goodridge lines
Carbotech pads
ATE type 200 fluid

Prodrive P7s with Falken Azeni RT615K (street)
RS 6 spokes with BFG Rivals (track)

Exterior.
Dents
Scratches
Body color grill
2.5RS Grill
OEM JDM aluminum hood
JDM lightweight bumper beam
JDM V1-4 front bumper
JDM Red/clear taillights
Clear corners
Clear markers
OEM JDM V1-4 turn signals
Custom LED Sidemarkers (before you could easily buy them)
JDM mudguards with cooling duct and associated S-ducts.

Interior:
Half of it removed.
Corbeau Forza drivers seat
5 point harness
STI pedal covers
Clarion auto PC (the best 1998 had to offer!)
Kenwood head unit
DIY 3d printed gauge pack with three 45mm pro sport gauges.
JDM 9k tach and DCCD indicators in stock cluster.


More to come....
 

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#29 ·
Good point. I had always just planned on it replacing the tape deck that was there so that’s what I designed around. Plus that’s how I have it in my Baja so I’m used to it there. But it’s easy enough to swap the two since they are each just held in by 4 screws in the stock radio rack. Next time I’m in there I’ll swap them and see how they fit/look.

The 3d printer is awesome. I’m still learning it. I’m not an engineer and havn’t touched any CAD software since AutoCad2000 so I kept it pretty simple with Sketchup. I’m pretty happy with the results though. It was good practice for future projects.
 
#32 ·
More of the same.
Took the center stack out again to clean up and re-run some wires and finalize the DCCDPro install. While in there I tapped into the radio harness for gauge power and illumination.


The DCCDPro, switches and indicators seem to be working as they should. Now I wait for the transmission rebuild to be completed.

 
#34 · (Edited)
Not much new. Just picked up the type RA DCCD transmission from getting torn down, inspected and rebuilt/sealed.



In addition to having it refreshed and inspected, a Ver.5-6 STI helical front diff was swapped in place of the original open front differential.

I’ll work on degreasing the case some more and getting it ready for install in the spring. It’s going to be really hard to wait. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it performs with three new differentials in it!

On a negative note, when I got home with the trans, the Baja was pouring gear oil all over the driveway. Looks like an axle seal blew out :facepalm: Just can’t win sometimes.
 
#36 ·
I know it's a PIA, but you're really going to want that IAT sensor in the intake manifold somewhere...Runner or plenum. My 20K didn't have a great spot in the plenum, so I ended up drilling and tapping one of the runners.

Keep it up though man! I love this car.
 
#38 ·
on the back of almost all the usdm mani's ive seen, there is a blank spot on either the driver's side runner by the brake booster port, and then another on the pass side where the small port for the fpr ties into. neither.. of which i see in looking in the pics of the back side of your mani. however, the bolt hole that is just down a little to the side of the iacv..can you use that for the drillytappy instead of whatever bolts there?
 
#40 ·
In fact, my EJ20G intake mani already had a 1/8" NPT hole in it with a bolt/plug. I just pulled that out, screwed the sensor in, done. The 20K on the other-hand was not so easy. Really not a great spot for it where you can also reach it to plug it in.
 
#41 ·
I’ll just have to find and open spot with enough meat on it to drill/tap when the time comes. Nothing happens quick with this car :lol::lol:

With temperatures in the 40’s I did venture out to do alittle work to the car, but nothing performance oriented. Turns out the body shop partially cut the antenna wire and as a result the radio reception has been poor. Also it was cracked really bad. So I took an hour and put a new one on. It’s a small detail but looks and works much better.



 
#42 ·
Well it’s been sitting quietly all winter. Still snow in the forecast and 30 degree temps mean I don’t want to be in the cold garage. The few reasonable days this year were spent fixing the Baja and putting the GT350 bits on the Mustang. I couldn’t wait any longer and toughed it out today and started to wrap up where I left off last year. Remote mounted the oil press sender as it wouldn’t fit under the alternator, connected the lines for the boost gauge and ran all the wires through the firewall and into the gauges. The oil temp sensor is still waiting for the oil change which will happen soon hopefully.

The last of the parts should arrive tomorrow to rebuild the JDM axles and if everything goes according to plan, the RA trans and LSD R160 will get installed this weekend!

Until then, glamour shots from a happier, warmer time... last summer.
 
#45 ·
Lots of little stuff done in the last few days. Had a small leak at the line for the oil pressure sensor so I had to redo that. Changed the oil and added the temperature probe to the drain plug and ran the wires to the gauge inside.

Then I went to finish up this stupid rear diff. If I could do it all over again I would throw it in the trash and just spend the money on a new, modern, better rear LSD. I was trying to save money since I already had the early JDM R160 LSD sitting in storage with both special axles. That was a dumb move

The rear diff has been sitting assembled since Nov/Dec. I pulled the axles out recently to get them ready and when I unwrapped them (they were wrapped in shrink wrap) one has a ripped boot and and some spline damage.

I bought some aftermarket boot kits and after fighting with them for 45 minutes and being unhappy with the results I ordered the OEM ones from the dealer. Since I had them apart anyway and was waiting for the correct boots, I decided to refurbish them the best I could. I found the super hard to find dual spline DOJ on Amazon for $28 and installed that.




Then I checked the spline damage on the short side. It was pretty bad and wouldnt engage with the Diff. The splines at the tip were twisted and half missing.


Of course the internet is full of misinformation and there were a ton of old threads claiming the USDM 2.5rs axle fits in the short side so I went and bought one. Although very similar, the USDM axle has an extra bit of taper at the end of the shaft (the USDM diff is not tapered) to help engage the diff. Also the USDM axle doesnt have a very deep circlip groove because the clip stays in the diff.

The JDM axle has no extended tapered part to the shaft as the diff has the taper. Also the groove is deeper as the axle holds the circlip not the diff. The USDM axle fully engages until the opposites shaft is inserted, then it interferes. It also will obviously not stay in place without a proper circlip.

I could remove the damaged section of splines from the JDM axle and run only 2/3 the normal spline engagement or modilfy the USDM axle so I chose to modify the USDM axle. My cousin is a machinist for and OEM supplier so he helped me machine the axle to the correct dimesnsions to mimick the JDM one.

Before and after machining is below.




The worst part is, this is one that I bought back in the mid 2000’s from someone who said it was a “mechanical LSD” Which everyone thought the same thing back then. I think it was proven to actually be an early Viscous unit. All this headache for a VLSD..... But at this point, it’s all ready to go and I’m just going to install it and drive the crap out of the car. I can always swap in something better down the road. This was genuinely a bad decision trying and save a few bucks instead of just spending the money on a proper rear diff.
 
#46 ·
Well, it’s done. It took ALL day yesterday but the RA trans is in along with a new rear end. Went over to a buddies garage and he let me use his lift and helped me out. Got it done in a single day with very little snags. And it’s now very, very, awesome!




Had some extra bolts and lateral links on hand in case the right side wanted to be as difficult as the left side was this past fall. They were actually easier to remove. Replaced the bolt and links anyway since we were there. Just need to get the proper swaybar to fit with the new links now.



This trip back and forth put 2 more hours on the car. Found a few more issues I have to address. The oil temp gauge works fine while stationary. Once I start moving over the course of about a minute it slowly drops to zero. Then when I stop it slowly comes back up to where I would expect. Wiring checks out so I’ll have to figure that out :facepalm: pressure is good the whole time. Temp probe is in the drain plug in the pan.

Super glad to have this giant hurdle behind me and start really enjoying the car.
 
#47 ·
Weather was amazing yesterday so I finally got the opportunity to wash this filthy thing.



Took it out for dinner with my wife for some more shake down. The parking lot at Qdoba isn’t in the best shape so I was taking it really slow. Encountered some uneven pavement followed by a small scrape noise and then things got really loud.



Stupid parking lot grabbed onto the exhaust clamp bolt and ripped it right off along with the tang it grabs onto! A new one should be here tomorrow or the next day. At least it’s a cheap and easy fix!
 
#48 ·
New exhaust clamp came earlier this week, so that is repaired.

Because the old adjustable swaybar isn’t compatible with the new lateral links/endlinks, I went OEM. Pulled off all the aftermarket mounts and bars and links and put new OEM in it’s place. Going to go back to a 20mm bar for now for an 02-03 WRX sedan. Maybe I’ll kick it up again in a year or so if I redo the struts/springs but it’s nice to have new stuff on there. I am surprised I got the swaybar mount bolts out of the chassis without catastrophe!





Now I can focus on cleaning stuff up and prepare to swap to the Link G4+ and start the tuning process (still trying to find someone local to do it for me).
 
#53 ·
What I thought was going to be an awesome car filled summer has not been. Too much work getting in the way. Zero track days an the car has barely been touched.

I also blame this little lady that we picked up five weeks ago or so.


She has been taking my free time. Putting some more miles on the car around town recently and found the permatex thread sealant on the oil pressure gauge line was leaking so I fixed that. Got two check engine lights, one for IAC and one for Pressure Sensor. Hooked the LINK G4 up so I could read sensor voltages to troubleshoot and didn’t really see a problem but the IAT sensor I had installed wasn’t reading. After an hour and a half of tweaking settings and recalibrating sensors, I realized the JDM STI wiring diagram I have shows a different pin than the “plug and play” link does. Swapped pins and everything is good.

I REALLY want to get it on a dyno for tuning this summer but it’s been pretty hard to find the time.
 
#55 ·
Finally got the wideband 02 installed! I ended up using a Spartan 2 Lambda from 14Point7. It was really affordable and I was curious how it would work. Last time I did this on the Baja I used an Innovate LC1. Didn’t have good luck with that company... I purchased a new 02 sensor connector from iwire, and wired in the wideband just like the OEM one. This will also enable me to swap between the factory narrow band and the wideband if I decide to use the OEM ECU again. I added a 4th wire to the connector on the harness side and ran a separate ground. I did not use the narrowband simulator or status LED wires at this time. Plugged it all in, changed the input in the ECU from narrowband to wideband and plugged the calibration numbers into the Link software and so far so good!





Now only if I had a clue as to what I was doing. Still hoping to get it on a dyno for tuning this season, but I’ll be messing around with it until then and hopefully learn something.
 
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