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The BattleWagon -- Mud's Outback

154486 Views 761 Replies 62 Participants Last post by  abacall
12
On the road again... lifted, loud, and angrier than ever.

Car: MY'00 Outback (Base) 4EAT w/premium sound + Rear limited-slip differential (oddball option on the car)
Purchase Date: 8/14/2000
Purchase Location: Bremerton, WA
Mileage: 176,000, and counting (updated 1/5/12)

Mods: Updated 1/5/12

**Engine and Trans**
-Full 3" intake setup w/torque box mod, snorkel coming soon
-Borla replica UEL header, ported/polished
-Gutted stock catpipe
-Custom stainless 2.25" catback tucked into trans tunnel, glasspack muffler
-Painted stock intake mani wrinkle black
-Valve covers and injector guards shot in gloss black
-Ported/Gasket matched intake manifold
-Gasket matched and shaved heads (higher C/R)
-Gates Racing Timing Belt
-FelPro PermaTorque MLS head gaskets
-NGK Iridium Plugs
-Injectors cleaned, tested to new condition
-STI GroupN engine mounts
-Fully rebuilt 4EAT w/mods
-Centre diff lock switch
-Radiator fan shutoff switch (coming w/snorkel)
-Prosport Oil Pressure Gauge
-Prosport Oil Temperature Gauge
-Prosport Water Temperature Gauge
-Scangauge II displaying TPS, Water Temp, IAT, and Bat. Voltage
-Air conditioning delete (including condenser, etc)
-Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 engine oil
-Wix 51365 Oil Filter
-Subaru ATF-HP auto trans fluid
-Subaru OEM 4EAT filter

**Suspension and Rolling Stock**
-KYB GR-2 Struts
-Subaru OEM Subaru Baja front springs and Subtle Solutions spacers (+2" lift)
-RalliTEK Heavy Duty Rear Springs (+2" lift)
-Custom Alignment
-Axxis Ultimate Ceramic brake pads
-225-60-16 General Alitmax HP's on stock 10-spoke alloys
-Full size spare, roof mounted

**Interior/Exterior and lighting**
-MY'04 FXT 4EAT leather shift knob
-Pioneer DEH-P6000UB Head Unit
-Custom single DIN toggle switch panel
-RoadBlockR sound deadening in the hatch
-All weather front floor mats
-Subaru A/W rear floor mats
-Custom aluminum front skid plate
-Thule crossbars
-cheap Swagman bike rack
-DRL delete + GE Tungsram Selective Yellow H1 lowbeams
-Trailer hitch + various balls/hooks for towing/offroading
-Front tow hook cover removed, hook painted red


TABLE OF CONTENTS:


-The story, and the first detail job (You are HERE *big red dot*)

-Hawkeye WRX rim's (just a photoshop...)

-'04 FXT 4EAT Leather Shift Knob

-Comparison with '09 Outback, and Foglight rockguards removed

-Mystery box arrives, and what's inside

-HomeDepot hybrid CAI (for MAP Subbies)

-First pic with the new suspension setup, I say good-bye to the car for a few months

-Adding some more parts to the MOD box!

-I'm not a parts-whore... I swear...

-It's BACK!

-Permatex Headlight Restoration

-Custom Lightbar installed

-'07 FSXT 6CD Changer

-Borla Replica header installed

-Link to my Hella wiring mess, and Bbottomley's helpful expertise

-Just some more pics!

-Magnaflow muffler painted, ready for catback install!

-Soundclip of new stainless catback

-Got some SNOW!

-RoadBlockR Sound Deadening

- Protection for the dangly bits...

-Bad news :(

-Axxis Ultimate Ceramic brake pads

-eBay Swagman Bike Rack installed

-Trip to Paris Landing State Park, BattleWagon turns 150k miles young

-Spring Cleaning, and undercoating! :smile:

-Finished up the Pioneer install, painted my shifter surround

-Got tint!

-Subtle Solutions front lift installed

-Couple pics from the alignment shop

-Ordered the new engine

-Scangauge II installed

-Starting the engine replacement!

-Finished pics!

-Murphy's law... I get torque bind and a failed transmission clutch pack, as well as a new throttle position sensor.

-The TuRD... my transportation while the Scooby is in the shop!

-All fixed up, showing off the new shoes!

-A loose wire leads to another trip to a different dealer, and a tow truck along the way.

-GE Tungsram Gold (Selective-Yellow) Low Beam Bulbs

- DIY Intake V2... 3 inch, modded airbox!

- Painted my 'new' spare set of wheels.








[story snipped to save space... shoot me PM for details... lol)



First mod... resonator deletes! Eventually I will get a different tube to replace the piece between the scoop and the airbox, but for now, it adds a little more growl. I neatly sealed off the holes with electrical tape. Ghetto-tastic.

Before:



After:




Next, I removed the silly piece of plastic that Subaru put in front of the intake scoop to deflect air away from it.





Now, for my first appearance mod. This may not seem like a mod, but it certainly made a difference in the way the car looks. The paint's clearcoat was contaminated with all sorts of stuff, from old wax buildup to waterspots to ground in road grime, you name it. It gave the car an odd grey-ish tint. :huh:

Today I was determined to remove the aforementioned 'tint', and make her shine again.

First step was removing the bug deflector, and doing a two-bucket wash. Here's what it looked like after that:


Then, I claybarred the entire car. The clay took out most of the surface stuff that was left behind, but the paint still felt rough to the touch. So I broke out the Griot's/Porter Cable buffer and Meguiar's Swirl X for a test spot. Here's a pic of the spot:


After verifying that the method worked, I started working my way across the hood. Here you can see that the right edge of the hood is whiter than the rest. :icon_razz: I love seeing progress being made.


After that, I added a coat of Meguiars Gold Class wax for protection. I'll follow up with another coat of NXT 2.0 Tech Wax once I get some at the store later. Then I moved on to the interior... sorry, no before pics, just an after:


I <3 big gauges...


After pics of the exterior (total time invested: 12 hours):










More to come, I have some fun stuff in mind. :biggrin:
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It sound like the front height is just about perfect. :cool: Do you have to get the wheels realigned, since you had the struts off? :confused:

BTW, neat place to place the Subtle decal! :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
It sound like the front height is just about perfect. :cool: Do you have to get the wheels realigned, since you had the struts off? :confused:

BTW, neat place to place the Subtle decal! :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
It goes in for a camber adjustment on Wednesday. :smile: That is all it really needs, but I'll get a full alignment done anyway.
It goes in for a camber adjustment on Wednesday. :smile: That is all it really needs, but I'll get a full alignment done anyway.
You survive the rain?! I almost need a boat here! Haha
Zach! I hope your ok there in the TN floods :|
The last I heard, he's okay. He doesn't have internet access, electricity or water! :icon_eek:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
^well... no drinkable water at least
Correct, unless you want to chance getting "Montezuma's revenge"! :icon_eek:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
ugh. Poor guy. :( At least they are safe.
He managed to get a generator rigged up to produce enough power to get running water again and some lights.
Yup, he is fine. I've gotten a few texts from him. They are without lots of stuff though. Had D3 tornado damage a mile from their house supposedly.
2
All the people, goats, and Subbies on the farm made it okay. :lol:

Here are a couple random pics from the alignment today. First one was after the rough adjustments. Ended up with -0.5deg camber in the front, 0 in the rear, and near zero toe in the rear. Due to the rear suspension design, 0 toe is not really possible, the amount of toe changes with the load on the suspension :N_poke:. I loaded the car with my usual stuff in the back, and half a tank of gas.



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Does the OB feel/drive any different after the alignment? :confused:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
Does the OB feel/drive any different after the alignment? :confused:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

Well, I was running about +1deg camber in the front to start, due to the lift. That caused the outsides of the tires to bite more instead of the insides, which creates some funny cornering/handling issues. Less stable, and more prone to over-steer or worst case scenario, the car flips. Of course, I drove it gently until I got it aligned. :smile:

It's back to its old, very planted, rides on rails, but smooth and and stable self. I think it will be perfect after a rear sway is added (maybe with some quick disconnects).

If you haven't had your Foz put on an alignment rack yet, I might recommend it. Duderotomty recommended -1.5-2deg all around for me (did not want any crazy tire wear), but unfortunately the Outback suspension isn't that adjustable with the lift. I got as much as I could out of it though, and it's great!

We finally had our '05 XS put on a rack a year ago, at 130k miles. It was night and day different. Amazing how some little tweaks can change the character of the car for the better.
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To tell you the truth, I stopped having alignments done to my vehicles after a bad alignment experience on a vehicle (nonSubaru) way back. :frown: Was the alignment shop local or a National chain? :confused:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
To tell you the truth, I stopped having alignments done to my vehicles after a bad alignment experience on a vehicle (nonSubaru) way back. :frown: Was the alignment shop local or a National chain? :confused:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
It's a local shop... the same shop that did the custom exhaust, and also did the exhaust on the Suburban a couple weeks ago.

If that alignment was on a GM truck... I wouldn't be scared about getting your Foz done. Both of our Chevy trucks are on Lifetime Alignment plans at Firestone Complete Auto Care, and they have to get done every 6mos or so, or they will scallop the tires to death. They are also somewhat of a pain to align.

On another note, I'm currently in Conover, NC on my way to Camp Lejeune for the summer. Within 30 mins of leaving the house this morning, my left front inner CV Joint boot tore, flinging grease and rubber all over the header and underside of the car. :mob: Guess I'll fix that while the engine's out. However, on I-40's twisty mountain section right after entering NC, the alignment really shined. Had a nice time, with an older ///M3 with an exhaust in front of me, and a C6 vette behind me, and I kept pace with them (not really fast) through the twisties. They weren't having as much fun as I was though, I don't think. :lol: You know what they say about driving a slow car fast.... it's more fun than driving a fast car slow. We were keeping it within 10mph of the speed limit though. :wink:

Surprised my bike is still on the roof. :icon_eek:
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^^ Not a good start on your trip! :icon_eek:

As to an alignment. The nightmare alignment I mentioned was done on a GMC. It took several trips back before they got the steering wheel straight... seems like that would be something they'd keep an eye on? :confused:

Okay... wheel alignment is on the list. :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
Lookie who I met today! Patrick (JustForFun). Ended up stopping for gas in Chapel Hill where he lives, and we met up for a few minutes after I filled up. My sister also snapped a few rolling shots of him while he followed us on I-40 for a bit, but I don't know how they turned out yet. She'd never shot a car before, let alone a rolling one. :smile:

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3
Patrick, make a Journal thread, Foo!

If you've got one, put these in it...





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Haha, nice pics :lol:


Fail really fast photochop I did because I hate not having blur on rolling shots haha. I'll do a better one later.
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