Hill Climb and Sprint RA Project thread eventually
11 February 2010, 01:02 PM
#121
No further forward at the min, work and an exploding fridge water filter resulting in an indoor lake causing me some time issues 
Hope to get some progress done tomorrow. Work and families are a real distraction, note to self buy lottery tickets more often
All the exhaust pipework has now gone out to Stewart Black at Black Performance - Ceramic coatings for cars & bikes to be ceramic coated. That should work out better and also save me half a day of wrapping and a week of scratching
Few more bits arrived from TSL and RCM today so hopefully sort out the rest of the gearbox fit and driveshafts tomorrow. Then if time permits redo all the engine and fuel tank braided lines. I have been unhappy for a while with the quality of the hose I got from Pirtek which has resulted in a couple of fuel leaks so its all coming out to be redone with better quality hose.
Hope to get some progress done tomorrow. Work and families are a real distraction, note to self buy lottery tickets more often
All the exhaust pipework has now gone out to Stewart Black at Black Performance - Ceramic coatings for cars & bikes to be ceramic coated. That should work out better and also save me half a day of wrapping and a week of scratching
Few more bits arrived from TSL and RCM today so hopefully sort out the rest of the gearbox fit and driveshafts tomorrow. Then if time permits redo all the engine and fuel tank braided lines. I have been unhappy for a while with the quality of the hose I got from Pirtek which has resulted in a couple of fuel leaks so its all coming out to be redone with better quality hose.
Last edited by Arch; 11 February 2010 at 01:04 PM.
12 February 2010, 03:40 AM
#123
Managed to spend some time on the car today but t turned out to be a frustrating day but achieved a fair bit.
I had an issue with the front drive shafts for the Hawkeye 6 speed. The front shafts from the Spec D would not fully engage with the newage 100pcd hubs which resulted in the hub nuts not running up far enough and were infact only on by about 4 threads
I initially thought that this might be due to the ABS rings but had my doubts.
I decided to remove the spec D shafts and compare them to a normal 5 speed shaft, a 5 speed Hawkeye WRX shaft with the male gearbox ends and lastly the Hawkeye Spec D shafts .
It should be clear from the pics what the issue is. The top shaft is the Spec D shaft, then the Hawkeye WRX then the 5 speed at the bottom. All the shafts are identical in overall length hub to gearbox but for some reason the 115 PCD hubs must be machined slightly differently. Pity because the Spec D shafts have a significantly beefier inner outer joint but hey they are now surplus, anyone after a set of Speed D shafts
The next job was to fit the 6 speed gearbox mount. This didn't take long and successfully solved the linkage clearance issues I had with the tunnel.
I then fitted the gear linkage and Agency Power short shifter.
This is where it went wrong. The linkage itself is a pain to fit but once fitted I couldn't select reverse. The lever pulled up and the arm on the gear box moved but it wouldn't engage. I worked out I needed to lengthen the cable but ran out of adjustment. I had to remove the linkage and cut the slot for the reverse cable slider longer towards the bottom of the shifter. With the linkage in again I then managed to get enough adjustment to solve the issue. Word of warning, if you are thinking of buying an agency power short shifter - DONT it doesn't fit properly and will result in 1 hours worth of filing.
The other trauma was the set of Perrin 6 Speed shifter bushes that I had just purchased
Again they don't fit at all. They are a smaller diameter than the linkage in the Hawkeye 6 speed so the linkage must also have been changed from Blobeye to Hawkeye - good old Subaru you just have to laugh
: This is a pain as I fitted a similar set to my 5 speed linkage and it made a significant difference to the solidity and feel of the gear change.
Last on the list tonight was to open up the new rear diff to inspect it and check the ratio prior to fitting.
All looks good and the correct ratio as expected I decided that it would be rude not to give it a quick lick of POR15 before it gets fitted
Well all in all achieved a fair bit but not as much as I anticipated. It never ceases to amaze me how many parts I have bought and found they just don't fit properly, you then have to spend ages making them fit where possible :angry:
I had an issue with the front drive shafts for the Hawkeye 6 speed. The front shafts from the Spec D would not fully engage with the newage 100pcd hubs which resulted in the hub nuts not running up far enough and were infact only on by about 4 threads
I initially thought that this might be due to the ABS rings but had my doubts.I decided to remove the spec D shafts and compare them to a normal 5 speed shaft, a 5 speed Hawkeye WRX shaft with the male gearbox ends and lastly the Hawkeye Spec D shafts .
It should be clear from the pics what the issue is. The top shaft is the Spec D shaft, then the Hawkeye WRX then the 5 speed at the bottom. All the shafts are identical in overall length hub to gearbox but for some reason the 115 PCD hubs must be machined slightly differently. Pity because the Spec D shafts have a significantly beefier inner outer joint but hey they are now surplus, anyone after a set of Speed D shafts
The next job was to fit the 6 speed gearbox mount. This didn't take long and successfully solved the linkage clearance issues I had with the tunnel.
I then fitted the gear linkage and Agency Power short shifter.
This is where it went wrong. The linkage itself is a pain to fit but once fitted I couldn't select reverse. The lever pulled up and the arm on the gear box moved but it wouldn't engage. I worked out I needed to lengthen the cable but ran out of adjustment. I had to remove the linkage and cut the slot for the reverse cable slider longer towards the bottom of the shifter. With the linkage in again I then managed to get enough adjustment to solve the issue. Word of warning, if you are thinking of buying an agency power short shifter - DONT it doesn't fit properly and will result in 1 hours worth of filing.
The other trauma was the set of Perrin 6 Speed shifter bushes that I had just purchased
Again they don't fit at all. They are a smaller diameter than the linkage in the Hawkeye 6 speed so the linkage must also have been changed from Blobeye to Hawkeye - good old Subaru you just have to laugh
: This is a pain as I fitted a similar set to my 5 speed linkage and it made a significant difference to the solidity and feel of the gear change.Last on the list tonight was to open up the new rear diff to inspect it and check the ratio prior to fitting.
All looks good and the correct ratio as expected
I decided that it would be rude not to give it a quick lick of POR15 before it gets fitted Well all in all achieved a fair bit but not as much as I anticipated. It never ceases to amaze me how many parts I have bought and found they just don't fit properly, you then have to spend ages making them fit where possible :angry:
Last edited by Arch; 12 February 2010 at 03:44 AM.
12 February 2010, 08:45 AM
#124
Drag it!
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I think you may regret fitting the quickshift Arch. The 6 speed gate is considerably tighter than the 5 speed gate, and the STI Linkage is perfect for every kind of use i have used it for. Steve Beattie had a quick shift on his, and i made him get rid of it, it makes the already tight gate harder to get through.
Send me one of the OEM linkage bushes and i will get you a solid aluminium bush made up by a guy that does them for Evo's.
Steven
Send me one of the OEM linkage bushes and i will get you a solid aluminium bush made up by a guy that does them for Evo's.
Steven
12 February 2010, 11:41 AM
#125
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what a pain re those shafts, super useful posts for those of us going in that direction though...hope the next phase is simpler
Steven, do the aluminium bushes make a huge difference? I have a friend with a lathe so could know some up if it's a worthwhile exercise.
Steven, do the aluminium bushes make a huge difference? I have a friend with a lathe so could know some up if it's a worthwhile exercise.
12 February 2010, 11:45 AM
#126
No dont say that I dont want the hassle of re-rigging that reverse gear Will try it once the cars running and if its no good out it comes. The one I had last year had very very little movement and hopefully I should only need 1-4 at most events. If you look at the set up in John's car mine is very similar so the tight gate might not be an issue if I am only using 1-4 if I need 5th then yes it will def come into play. With the 5 speed East fortune is the only place I took 5th but we dont do it now - mores the pity.
I didnt remove the bush as it is a pressed in affair with a vulcanised metal insert, its not like the normal bush with two halfs and a removeable sleeve. I measured the diameter of the housing and its at least 4mm bigger than the Perrin bushes so they must have changed the whole linkage set up between Blobeye - Hawkeye.
If I need to take the linkage of again I will measure the diameter of the linkage housing and maybe get them made up from there - thanks
Thanks for the advice
Will try it once the cars running and if its no good out it comes. The one I had last year had very very little movement and hopefully I should only need 1-4 at most events. If you look at the set up in John's car mine is very similar so the tight gate might not be an issue if I am only using 1-4 if I need 5th then yes it will def come into play. With the 5 speed East fortune is the only place I took 5th but we dont do it now - mores the pity. I didnt remove the bush as it is a pressed in affair with a vulcanised metal insert, its not like the normal bush with two halfs and a removeable sleeve. I measured the diameter of the housing and its at least 4mm bigger than the Perrin bushes so they must have changed the whole linkage set up between Blobeye - Hawkeye.
If I need to take the linkage of again I will measure the diameter of the linkage housing and maybe get them made up from there - thanks
Thanks for the advice
Last edited by Arch; 12 February 2010 at 11:51 AM.
12 February 2010, 11:53 AM
#127
I fitted a set of stiff powerflex bushes to the 5 speed linkage and it made a significant difference to the feel, alluminium ones would be infinately better in my opinion.
12 February 2010, 02:29 PM
#128
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Will whip the linkage off Steve's car this weekend and try get some made up just to try on the banana.
1st and 3rd gate is extremely narrow on the 6 speed. A system like John's should help, yes. Bugger when you want 5th, although you could always take the JS approach and raise the limiter (or as JS did, ask me if its ok to raise the limiter on my engine )
1st and 3rd gate is extremely narrow on the 6 speed. A system like John's should help, yes. Bugger when you want 5th, although you could always take the JS approach and raise the limiter
(or as JS did, ask me if its ok to raise the limiter on my engine )
Last edited by P20SPD; 12 February 2010 at 02:30 PM.
12 February 2010, 03:13 PM
#129
Will whip the linkage off Steve's car this weekend and try get some made up just to try on the banana.
1st and 3rd gate is extremely narrow on the 6 speed. A system like John's should help, yes. Bugger when you want 5th, although you could always take the JS approach and raise the limiter (or as JS did, ask me if its ok to raise the limiter on my engine )
1st and 3rd gate is extremely narrow on the 6 speed. A system like John's should help, yes. Bugger when you want 5th, although you could always take the JS approach and raise the limiter
(or as JS did, ask me if its ok to raise the limiter on my engine )If you do get a chance this weekend can you measure the ID of the linkage cup for the bushes and I will measure the Perrin bushes just as a comparison. Are you running a Hawkeye box? Would be interested in a pick of the current bush that is installed.
Last edited by Arch; 12 February 2010 at 03:15 PM.
12 February 2010, 05:08 PM
#130
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Will see what i can do Arch. Steve's is a blobeye, not sure on the one in the banana and i can also measure the one on my hatch (which i assume to be the same as the Hawkeye)
Steven
Steven
12 February 2010, 06:13 PM
#131
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Thanks but my builds never seem to be simple. You buy the parts that should be a direct fit but due to the normal Subaru messing around with constant changes one solved issue normally results in two new ones.
I fitted a set of stiff powerflex bushes to the 5 speed linkage and it made a significant difference to the feel, alluminium ones would be infinately better in my opinion.
I fitted a set of stiff powerflex bushes to the 5 speed linkage and it made a significant difference to the feel, alluminium ones would be infinately better in my opinion.
13 February 2010, 08:06 PM
#136
22 February 2010, 12:46 AM
#137
Right starting to make some progress. Had a list of things to do over the last few days and completed some and failed on others. The ones i failed on are mainly down to parts arriving that turn out not to be correct which is really frustrating. I ordered an turbo oil feed/drain kit and water banjo set from Australia, it finally arrived and surprise surprise its the wrong kit :angry: So unable to mount the turbo yet. I also need to arrange some new wastegate springs to match those suggested by Andy F, thanks for the advice as always Andy :thumbup:
I did manage to get the new rear diff fitted. So it was out with the old R180 plated diff and in with the new R180 plated diff. Prop also fitted so gear train pretty much finished apart from fluids which I will do later.
Also fitted the front hubs back on after they had been down to Alyn at AS Performance to be fixed after a slight mishap with the front driveshafts. All fixed now, cant thank Alyn enough for turning these round so quick and also getting the parts I needed up quick style - top fella thanks :icon_salut:
Will get the front struts back on tomorrow once the tweaks I need done are completed.
I have pulled all the fuel lines out of the car and will redo these tomorrow with new hose which as mentioned previously is far superior to the current hose. I have few new unions just incase but think the current ones will be fine but spares are good and they are shiny so that helps.
I have mocked up the inlet pipe to see what angle hose i need to connect to the turbo. I made a few paper templates of various angles to work out what I need so will get that ordered tomorrow. I am using another RCM trumpet which fits into the RCM filter and is the exact diameter of the Garrett so will make fitting easier. Big thanks to Tom Hayes at RCM for the help :thumbup:
Pics of the RCM filter and inlet trumpet from last year and the new RCM trumpet.
I also fitted the headers and uppipe to enable me to mock up the turbo. I have taken some pics of the rotated kit to show the quality of the finish on the coating which was done by Black Performance really is top quality.
Still got a lot to do but gradually ticking things off the list
I did manage to get the new rear diff fitted. So it was out with the old R180 plated diff and in with the new R180 plated diff. Prop also fitted so gear train pretty much finished apart from fluids which I will do later.
Also fitted the front hubs back on after they had been down to Alyn at AS Performance to be fixed after a slight mishap with the front driveshafts. All fixed now, cant thank Alyn enough for turning these round so quick and also getting the parts I needed up quick style - top fella thanks :icon_salut:
Will get the front struts back on tomorrow once the tweaks I need done are completed.
I have pulled all the fuel lines out of the car and will redo these tomorrow with new hose which as mentioned previously is far superior to the current hose. I have few new unions just incase but think the current ones will be fine but spares are good and they are shiny so that helps.
I have mocked up the inlet pipe to see what angle hose i need to connect to the turbo. I made a few paper templates of various angles to work out what I need so will get that ordered tomorrow. I am using another RCM trumpet which fits into the RCM filter and is the exact diameter of the Garrett so will make fitting easier. Big thanks to Tom Hayes at RCM for the help :thumbup:
Pics of the RCM filter and inlet trumpet from last year and the new RCM trumpet.
I also fitted the headers and uppipe to enable me to mock up the turbo. I have taken some pics of the rotated kit to show the quality of the finish on the coating which was done by Black Performance really is top quality.
Still got a lot to do but gradually ticking things off the list
02 March 2010, 01:02 AM
#139
Well been busy with the car today and starting to see progress.
The fuel lines are all changed including most of the lines to the fuel tank. It is time consuming making up the hoses but the new hose really is so much better.
I have also pretty much got everything in the engine bay done, Turbo is fitted, headers, up-pipe, wastegate and downpipe also fitted. Its a credit to Scott down at Meercat that it all fitted together perfectly. I still have to make up the hoses to feed the water to the turbo just waiting on some hose that should come tomorrow, well today now, and thats it ready to fire up. The hose from Viper Performance came and fits perfectly with the Turbo and the filter.
The ceramic coating really has made a huge difference in terms of time and ease of fitment. The time saved not having to wrap everything is a god send and the fact it looks so much better is a bonus. Big thanks to Stewart Black at Black Performance. :icon_salut:
Tomorrow will hopefully see the car running and everything leak checked and ready to head across to Andy for a tweak later in the week after that its a more about some wiring changes and a thorough tidy up.
The fuel lines are all changed including most of the lines to the fuel tank. It is time consuming making up the hoses but the new hose really is so much better.
I have also pretty much got everything in the engine bay done, Turbo is fitted, headers, up-pipe, wastegate and downpipe also fitted. Its a credit to Scott down at Meercat that it all fitted together perfectly. I still have to make up the hoses to feed the water to the turbo just waiting on some hose that should come tomorrow, well today now, and thats it ready to fire up. The hose from Viper Performance came and fits perfectly with the Turbo and the filter.
The ceramic coating really has made a huge difference in terms of time and ease of fitment. The time saved not having to wrap everything is a god send and the fact it looks so much better is a bonus. Big thanks to Stewart Black at Black Performance. :icon_salut:
Tomorrow will hopefully see the car running and everything leak checked and ready to head across to Andy for a tweak later in the week after that its a more about some wiring changes and a thorough tidy up.
06 March 2010, 10:57 PM
#148
Been a really busy week on the car and at times exhausting including a 20 hours stint on Wed/Thurs morning but things are now starting to come together.
I had a bit of an issue with an air lock in the coolant system which I originally thought may have been the thermostat but having removed it the problem remained so refitted it and filled the block via the top hose then filled the radiator from the top hose and then topped the system up via the "header" tank - problem solved. I have never had to fill it that way before but hey it all now works.
Also had an idling issue which I traced to a sticking ICV so an easy fix there.
The bumper is all fitted back on and then a the last job was to spend a few hours making sure nothing had been left loose or forgotten and a thorough check over of everything before mapping.
The last thing was to get the car across to Andy F to have it mapped. Big thank you to Andy for being so flexible and helpful as usual even after my senior moment on Thurs The car went through the mapping session on Friday without any real issues at all and i am really pleased with the results. We didn't have much of a chance to play with it during the session as the roads were a bit wet and I had road tyres on, so not the best scenario, as we found out at one point 
Its always a pleasure listening to Andy and picking up some helpful tips and advice from his knowledge and experience thanks Andy :thumbup:. The mapping stage is always a worry as you just never know what issues are going to start to show under boost and I always find the pre-mapping stage the most stressfull part of every year and probably the time of year my subaru social worker dreads the most - thanks John
With that out of the way its now a case of tarting it up and sorting out a few niggles and do some wiring for the DCCD.
I had a bit of an issue with an air lock in the coolant system which I originally thought may have been the thermostat but having removed it the problem remained so refitted it and filled the block via the top hose then filled the radiator from the top hose and then topped the system up via the "header" tank - problem solved. I have never had to fill it that way before but hey it all now works.
Also had an idling issue which I traced to a sticking ICV so an easy fix there.
The bumper is all fitted back on and then a the last job was to spend a few hours making sure nothing had been left loose or forgotten and a thorough check over of everything before mapping.
The last thing was to get the car across to Andy F to have it mapped. Big thank you to Andy for being so flexible and helpful as usual even after my senior moment on Thurs
The car went through the mapping session on Friday without any real issues at all and i am really pleased with the results. We didn't have much of a chance to play with it during the session as the roads were a bit wet and I had road tyres on, so not the best scenario, as we found out at one point Its always a pleasure listening to Andy and picking up some helpful tips and advice from his knowledge and experience thanks Andy :thumbup:. The mapping stage is always a worry as you just never know what issues are going to start to show under boost and I always find the pre-mapping stage the most stressfull part of every year and probably the time of year my subaru social worker dreads the most - thanks John With that out of the way its now a case of tarting it up and sorting out a few niggles and do some wiring for the DCCD.
07 March 2010, 08:31 PM
#149
Drag it!
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Social working sounded amused when i was talking to him as he arrived at yours to help with the water problem
Wont say anything about your senior moment
Wont say anything about your senior moment
08 March 2010, 02:44 AM
#150
And like most social workers they always arrive once everything is working or dead You will laugh though, lost reverse gear just at the end of the session with Andy. The pull up lever was solid, wouldnt pull up to let you engage reverse. I pulled the eye end off the box today and the lever on the box is fine but the linkage is solid so its history, not a bad return for a short shift lever,as it lasted about 55 minutes
. I have to agree that the gear change with the short shift wasnt nice, totally different to the 5 speed v short shift i had which was very effective so its back on with the standard lever
Last edited by Arch; 08 March 2010 at 02:52 AM.
