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The BattleWagon -- Mud's Outback

154425 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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Zach, I can feel your pain..seriously. With my fleet here in Atlanta, I can tell you that you should actually be pretty happy with the service you have received as far as mileage. Recent examples of my fleet transmissions include transmission replacements at:
2006 Equinox AWD (same as below) - 68K full replacement
2006 Equinox AWD - 18K Full rebuild under warranty
2006 Equinox AWD (different vehicle) - 28K full rebuild
2003 Explorer AWD - 72K full rebuild
2002 Explorer AWD - 68K full rebuild
2000 GMC JImmy 2WD - 121K full rebuild
2000 Blazer 2WD - 110K replacement (too bad to rebuild)
1998 E-250 van - 98K trans & rear end rebuild

That is just within the past two years and only within the vehicles at my main office.
Yes, it is a slow day at work and I looked these up to appear to be working. LOL
The Subaru 4EAT is a transmission that was released in 1988. 1988. Twenty-Two years ago.

I'm aware that all automatics can be prone to failure, after all, they run on witchcraft and money, and when the witches get angry they want more money. Which is why I'll never buy another. I'm just tired of it, is all. I understand that some people love them, and I enjoy their ease of use at times, but the failure rate is unacceptable. This is the third 4EAT that has failed us out of three MY'00+ Subarus, all properly maintained and not beaten on. All at the same mileage. It's just unacceptable to me. :frown:

Hopefully they can get this thing patched up and it will hold together for more than 1700 miles.
Well, Subaru decided to rock my socks today and call me. They're going to send me a rebate check for 50% of the cost of this repair.

All I did was complain on their website about Parkway's failure to fix it (they left a ground strap loose somewhere... I'm picking up the car tomorrow). Did not ask for any compensation, or mention my appt with Darrell Waltrip Subaru in Franklin. They looked up the VIN and found the open invoice there, called them, and then called me.

It is not a lot of money, but I do appreciate it. :smile:
As we know, poor grounding can cause some strange problems... even worse if it's intermitten, as I suspect it was in your situation. I'd be interested in all the details! :wink:

Remember, the "squeaky wheel" gets the oil! Be polite, but let them know that you expect better from a Subaru dealership repair! Who knows, they may offer even more than they gave you. :cool:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
Basically, the ground wire was supposed to be attached to the intake mani right next to the TPS, and DW Subaru said that they would normally remove it for the TPS replacement, which Parkway may or may not have done. The attachment screw was resting below it on the block.

So, whether Parkway failed to reattach/tighten properly and it came off, or I missed it during the engine swap (wouldn't make sense since it ran fine the whole way home), they still missed that problem.

Anyway, I picked up my baby this afternoon and drove her home in the rain. Ran/shifted like a top! :smile:
Basically, the ground wire was supposed to be attached to the intake mani right next to the TPS, and DW Subaru said that they would normally remove it for the TPS replacement, which Parkway may or may not have done. The attachment screw was resting below it on the block.

So, whether Parkway failed to reattach/tighten properly and it came off, or I missed it during the engine swap (wouldn't make sense since it ran fine the whole way home), they still missed that problem.
If a ground is missing or is failing another path will be used, but it may not work as well as the designed grounding point. :frown: I'm a stickler on wiring & I check every ground connection... clean, grease & reattach. I usually add a lock washer to keep it from coming loose. :wink:

Anyway, I picked up my baby this afternoon and drove her home in the rain. Ran/shifted like a top! :smile:
Does that mean the OB is back on your "good side" & you're not going to be all doom & gloom? :icon_eek:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
^ LOL. No more doom and gloom.

I still don't like 4EAT's :p
So not so much witchcraft as good electrical connections, eh?
It's still witchcraft. And money. :p
I do agree with the money part.
+1 new fan of the BattleWagon. Glad to hear it's back in business!
^Woot! Thank you good sir.
Had a little fun tearing down some gravel roads today. :smile: Then proceeded to get lunch... which was good. I had to give them crap about how clean their trucks were though. The guy who owns the red one says that his could flex about as much as a 4x4 piece of lumber. :lol:

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Hmmm... OB looked cleaner when it was on the flatbed. :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
It was. :biggrin:

A friend left me a present while I was in the store today. She knows better than to write on the paint. :wink: I had to re-write it since the dust on the way home sort of erased it. lol

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looks way better than "Wash Me"! :cool:

BTW, that a great spot for the Subtle decal! :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
Just another BattleWagon fan (and KSU alum) checking in.

Good luck in Salina -- EMAW!
2
^ Sweet! :biggrin:

Got some new low beam headlight bulbs in today, ordered from Candlepower.com. Awesome customer service as usual, and quick shipping. :smile:

Ordered a set of GE Tungsram Gold Selective Yellow 55W H1 bulbs, and we are currently in the midst of some severe weather! So, naturally... I went for a drive. The way these bulbs work is interesting... they are not visibly yellow when you look at the car, but they definitely reflect it off objects when driving. The main beam pattern appears white-ish, but the fringes fade to yellow. Much easier on the eyes at night, and much better in foul weather!

Here are a couple pics. One with the low beams only, and one with my highbeams on + the Hella's. The pics don't capture the color well, unfortunately. The Hella's also throw much farther... our driveway just isn't long enough. :lol:



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I have some goodies ordered that should arrive soon! :smile:

I'll give you a hint... the opening to the throttle body is some 2.75-3.0" (approximately... I couldn't measure that well) and that little plastic elbow that is plastic-welded onto the airbox is... 1 7/8" :eek: at its smallest point.
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