Labor Day Weekend
Busy weekend!
On saturday, I met up with another Subaru enthusiast to buy some 2.5RS strut assemblies that he sold me for $80. Although these will raise the value of the vehicle, they are nearly a necessity on our underpowered chump car. With only 110hp, I am not going to be competitive based on acceleration, so handling is going to be very important in maintaining speed. The RS struts and springs are stiffer and will lower the car by probably just over an inch. And unlike the struts currently on the car, these struts still actually dampen. No more floating down the freeway like a cadillac.
Sunday I planned to spend the entire day working on the car. I started by lifting it up and removing all four wheels. I was suprised to see that the front end components were fairly free of rust. The rear however was a different story. Anyone doubting the $500 value of this car should take note of all the rust in the below picture. (You can click on any picture for a larger view.) Also, I noticed that the rear struts are actually KYB GR-2 replacement struts. These are GOLD for both budget subaru owners and the Chump Car racing community. If they weren’t completely blown, they might actually be worth keeping on the car. Oh well.
After pulling the wheels off, I dug into the front end, removing the complete strut assemblies and the brakes. I havent decided if the stock brakes will go back on or not. I will likely try to source some WRX brakes for the front. I have no idea how to swap out disc brakes for the rear, so I’ll have to do a bit more research before I dig into that project. Anway, the struts came off pretty easy, I still had to use some penetrating lubricant and a breaker bar, but all in all, it wasnt too bad. In the second picture, you can see the old strut next to the RS replacement. I know, it doesnt look much different at all. I looked up the part number to verify I did in fact have the RS struts.
Once I got the struts and brakes off, I started poking around underneath the car. I removed the jack plate and dumped a good pound of oil soaked dirt onto my face. (Sweet. More weight savings!) Pulling off the jack plate gave me a more direct view of the steering rack. Well, it didn’t give me a better view of the rack itself, but just the immense amount of grease and oil coating the rack. It sure looked like there is a leak in the system, so I decided to pull it all out so I could clean and inspect. I really dont want to have a steering failure in the middle of the race, so I figured it would be worth the extra effort to pull that system and check for issues. This also meant I had to drain the power steering fluid, which is a huge friggin mess, and I did a great job gettig power steering fluid all over the place. It kinda burns your skin…
Also, I neglected to mention that pulling the power steering out also required that the front sway bar and header be removed. So those all came out too. The front sway bar is just fine, but it looks like the bushings on the endlinks are completely ruined. The exhaust is fine. A bit rusty, but it does its job. Also, with the power steering and sway bar off, I was able to really check the hub assembly. The wheel bearing and CV joint both feel very smooth, which is a relief. I will likely bring spare axles to the race, but they dont need to be changed out just yet.
With the steering rack out of the way, I discovered something new. The oil seemed to be coming from the clutch housing. Great. The bottom of the clutch housing has a cut out. That is there in case the main seal leaks. You wouldn’t want engine oil filling up the clutch area, so the cut out drains any of the oil. You can see in this next picture just how oily everything is.
Now, I had considered pulling the transmission out so I could check the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel. Seeing so much oil possibly coming from the clutch housing pretty much solidified my decision to yank the transmission. That is the only way I was going to get a good look at the area around the main seal to see if that is where the leak is. SO, I called up my Dad to give me hand. It’s one of those jobs that is just so much easier with two people. Also, he and my Mom just retired and moved from California to Colorado. So they went from living 2 days away, to living jsut over 1 hour away. Yay! One quick call, and my Dad was on his way. While I waited, I took advantage of the break to clean up things a bit. I put all the various bolts is labeled freezer bags, swept the floor and vacuumed up the dirt, then had lunch, and a beer.
To take the transmission out, I had to remove the intake, disconnect the wiring harness from the motor and transmission, remove the starter motor, disconnect the clutch cable and return spring, remove the exhaust, remove the exhaust heat shield, remove the center drive shaft, disconnect the front axles, and disconnect the shift linkages. Then, there are 2 bolts and 2 nuts that hold the transmission to the motor. With those out, a jack goes under the transmission, and the four bolts that told the transmission mounts come out. After that, its just a matter of wiggling the trans off the two lower studs. After having removed a 6 speed STi transmission, this lil trans was really simple to get out. Still, it would have taken me a LOT longer without my Dad’s help. Thanks Dad!!
With the transmission out of the way I pulled the pressure plate, clutch plate and flywheel, and found that the main seal is NOT leaking. Which is good. The clutch, however, seriously needs to be replaced, so it’s a good thing I checked. With all of that done, I was tired dirty and hungry, so it was time to stop. Next step will be to aquire a clutch pack and WRX brakes. Then I will clean and rebuild the steering rack, and put everything back in!
