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The BattleWagon -- Mud's Outback

163K views 761 replies 62 participants last post by  abacall 
#1 · (Edited)
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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#196 ·
Yeah, it's pretty chilly. Not as cold as the past couple days though. :smile:


Nice! No rasp that I can hear.. that's the big prob with out NAs and aftermarket catbacks w/ no reso. :\
DEFINITELY no rasp. This is the opposite of rasp. :lol: I think the Magnaflow was a very good choice... I just need to tone down the resonance in the hatch.

Love the exhaust, and hadn't realized how good your outback looks with the lift until you posted those pics! love it! Get on facebook, we have things to discuss...
Sent ya a message!
 
#199 ·
Not bad at all, actually. It was about 38F outside when I did it, so I just used a hairdryer to heat up one place in the middle of the spare tire well where it wasn't wanting to flex enough. I used the hairdryer more to warm up the plastic trim clips before removal more than anything else. :lol: If you're thinking about doing it, give it a shot! Just be sure to wear some fabric gardening gloves to keep from slicing your hands up on the edges of the material.

As for the difference, it's quite noticeable. I describe it in detail in the review post here :wink: : http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f94/roadblockr-like-dynamat-but-moarcheapr-66710/#post739673
 
#202 ·
We installed Dynamat in the '95 Neon Sport to tighten up the bass after installing a subwoofer in the trunk. We did it during the summer & that stuff can get messy when it's hot! :icon_eek: We installed some where it would be visible & it was a PIA to position the lettering so it looked right. Yes I know, totally not necessary, but it's my nature! :wink:

We bought a case of the Dynamat flat sheets, so there still plenty left. I might have to throw some in the Forester(s) if I find myself bored some day... :huh:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
 
#203 ·
Hey Zach, been admiring your work on the Outback. I just had a MagnaFlow and header put on my Foz and now thanks to you I'm looking forward to some sound-deadening material in the back. Question, when you put it all down - how thick is it? All the carpeting and other crap goes back in no problem? Thanks - Steve
 
#206 ·
I matted certain areas... basically the ones that I could reach and knock with my fist. If it made a hollow sound, I put some matting on it (just a small section of the matting (about 40% of the surface's area dampens the sound, no need for full coverage). Once I got those 'problem areas' matted, I stuffed. I did not remove any of the trunk side panels in the process, just reached/matted where I could and stuffed where I couldn't. It was too cold to risk snapping off a ton of clips.

The hatch/liftgate I matted a lot, and stuffed a lot.

Hope that answers the question. :biggrin:

FWIW, my cousin's heavily modded MINI is fully Dynamatted, and I'd say the back of my car is comparable to how quiet his is. :shrug:

Oh, and I drove the Forester to the car wash the other day to de-salt it. Good god, that hatch rattles like a tin can... I need to fix that! :lol:
 
#209 ·
The headers stick down further than the filter, so it's protected. I'll get my skidplate made before I do any heavy duty offroading anyway. :smile:

Yes, I was! I'm thinking the Yokohama Geolandar AT/S unless something better pops up in the next six months or so.
 
#210 ·
It sounds like you're good on the oil filter. :cool:

As to tires, first you need to decide where you're going to spend most of your time. Off road, street or something in the middle. :confused: I'm afraid I can't help, since all my driving is on the street, so my tires were selected for that. :wink:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
 
#211 ·
A little extra protection for the dangly bits...

Custom fabbed from 1/8" diamond-plate aluminum (could not find 1/8" smooth locally) to hug everything as tight as possible, but still clear the header. It should be enough for my usual light offroading/mud/snow fun. Added the little wings on the front to protect the lower radiator hose on the left side of the car, and some of the wiring on the right.

Ghetto-stenciled the letters because I was in a creative mood. :lol: Pardon the cell phone pic.

 
#213 ·
Yeah, it wasn't my first choice (the smooth slides over things better) but it does look nice. When someone shines their headlights at the front of my car in a parking lot, a reflection of the plate shines on the ground. Pretty odd... but cool. :p
 
#214 ·
Well.. I got some bad news today. :icon_frown: Not very happy right now. Check the compression, and it's low across the board. Anybody got a nice low mile EJ251 sitting around? Will probably have to do a ring job this summer.

From Blackstone:

"Before you head to Kansas State we suggest having the cylinder compressions checked in
the old Battlewagon. We found high chrome and at 16 ppm it points to excessive wear at the rings. Seeing
any blue or white smoke coming out of the tailpipe? Iron, from steel parts, was a bit higher than average for
the 2.5L Subaru, and this may show cylinder wear (maybe where the rings and cylinders meet). Viscosity
was 5W/20. The trace of gas is okay. Try 1,000 miles on the oil to flush out any leftover metal. Check back
to monitor wear. Caution: ring wear!"
I do have the blueish white smoke on cold and warm starts, but it disappears pretty quickly.
 
#217 ·
148,700-ish

It actually runs like a top. I mean, quiet and smooth. The Foz definitely has more get up and go (it has 153k miles), but I've always attributed that to it weighing 400lbs less. Maybe I was mistaken about that.

Gas mileage is good on the highway (26-29), but pretty sucky in town (20-21).

I've got a little time... will just cut the OCI's down to about 2500 miles or so until I can do it.
 
#219 ·
Ooooo. Thanks for that link, Silke! I was just thinking straightforward, with stock stuff, and maybe a cam regrind and simple headwork, but hey.... lol.

We shall see. My dad is planning on footing the bill. That's good news.
 
#222 ·
My dad is planning on footing the bill. That's good news.
I figure I'll be footing the bill on my son's '03X when the head gasket goes or if the AVO Turbo kit takes out the engine. :icon_eek: So far, the '03X has been running perfectly. :wink:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
 
#221 ·
I don't think he's gonna go for that. :lol:

It will be a N/A build. I won't have time to mess with the S/C before school starts in the fall. :sadface: It was a really cool idea, but it just doesn't look like it's going to happen realistically. Not this time around, anyway.
 
#224 ·
I totally agree there. I've had vehicles in much worse shape (like my '87 Ranger... lol).

On a more pleasant note, I received some go- err...'stop' fast goodies in the mail today. Maybe they will make the BattleWagon feel a little less under the weather. :biggrin:

Also got my flywheel turning tool for mom's Suburban. If the rain stops, I'll have the engine out next week. Just keeps getting pushed back by the weather. :evilatyou:
 
#225 ·
It sounds like your projects are lining up! :icon_eek:

My recent project for the '07 (seats) can be done indoors, so the I'm good. Still, the weather here has been very mild this winter (El Nino) & the lawn is starting to grow, so that means mowing already! :frown:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
 
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