The Batmobile_Engage Member Journal

[Batmobile_Engage]

Not long after Joe left and I went to Independence Day celebrations, our home's (current home, that we are selling in 2 weeks) AC shit the bed. By the time I got home, it was 90 degrees in the house. So I spent the next, 95 degree, afternoon replacing the fan and compressor capacitors and the fan motor. So I got nothing car related done. :doh:

But hey, at least I was able to fix it myself and didn't need to spend hundreds on a pro. I guess that's the upside.

 

[Eagleye]

I am currently getting quotes to have our HVAC system replaced...talk about a painful bill. Congrats on getting yours repaired. I appreciate the time I spent years ago working construction to gain a lot of real world skills that help our family save a lot of money on house repairs and projects. It amazes me that we put emphasis on memorizing bullshit that is irrelevant in the real world over teaching skills like money management and simple home/car repairs in our high schools. Not everyone is going to college and even if they do, how many get a job that has something to do with their degree? Presidential candidates want to slash taxes or give people $1,000 a month for nothing...maybe we could teach a man to fish instead? Sorry...don't mind my passive aggressive thoughts on how this country is run haha.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

I am currently getting quotes to have our HVAC system replaced...talk about a painful bill. Congrats on getting yours repaired. I appreciate the time I spent years ago working construction to gain a lot of real world skills that help our family save a lot of money on house repairs and projects. It amazes me that we put emphasis on memorizing bullshit that is irrelevant in the real world over teaching skills like money management and simple home/car repairs in our high schools. Not everyone is going to college and even if they do, how many get a job that has something to do with their degree? Presidential candidates want to slash taxes or give people $1,000 a month for nothing...maybe we could teach a man to fish instead? Sorry...don't mind my passive aggressive thoughts on how this country is run haha.

Dude, I'm right there with you.

Kids need to learn how to build things with their hands, grow and hunt their own food, do their taxes, create a household budget, hang drywall, shingle a roof, change CV axles and care for children.

But I digress...we could bitch about this all day. Better to end it now before we offend someone.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Hoping to find some valve buckets today. My buddy Joe might have some extras laying around at work. Then, whatever he can't find, I will order from Jordan.
Once those come in, the heads will be complete and I can finish putting the engine together. :subaru:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

This is for especially for [MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION]

I cleaned up the coolant crossover pipe with sandpaper, brake cleaner, and hot water and a scrub pad. Taped it all off and laid on a thick coat of Duplicolor Ceramic Engine Enamel Primer. The finish of the primer is actually nice enough to be a top coat and the gray color should help reduce the amount of thermal and IR radiation that you might otherwise have with a black surface.

Pics: Before and after paint.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

I also installed the Torque Solutions billet half moon seals and permatex'd them in place.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Grinder34]

This is for especially for @Grinder34

I cleaned up the coolant crossover pipe with sandpaper, brake cleaner, and hot water and a scrub pad. Taped it all off and laid on a thick coat of Duplicolor Ceramic Engine Enamel Primer. The finish of the primer is actually nice enough to be a top coat and the gray color should help reduce the amount of thermal and IR radiation that you might otherwise have with a black surface.

Pics: Before and after paint.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

:tup:

Also props to fixing the AC yourself. When ours shit the bed a few years ago I didn't know where to even look. Ended up needing a new fan and new capacitors, but finding out which ones I needed, and then finding them in stock with someone that would sell direct to consumer was too difficult, so we ended up paying WAY too much. And then about 3 months later we ended up putting a whole new (larger) system on our roof and putting in two new ducts on the roof too. That was even MORE expensive...yay.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

:tup:

Also props to fixing the AC yourself. When ours shit the bed a few years ago I didn't know where to even look. Ended up needing a new fan and new capacitors, but finding out which ones I needed, and then finding them in stock with someone that would sell direct to consumer was too difficult, so we ended up paying WAY too much. And then about 3 months later we ended up putting a whole new (larger) system on our roof and putting in two new ducts on the roof too. That was even MORE expensive...yay.

Thanks bud! I am pretty handy around the house and a professional electronics technician, so I felt that I should at least take a swing at it. It helped a lot that I have a licensed HVAC friend that could come over in a day or two if I was not successful. Had he not been available, I might not have been so inclined to try it myself. However, after taking off the access panels I thought, "Really, this is it? Well shit...I should do AC repairs on the side." :lol: Just taking a peek inside really demystified the whole thing. But like you said, the most difficult thing is finding a place that will sell you the parts. You can buy everything you need on Amazon, but there's always the unknowns, like "did I actually order the right parts"? Most of the places locally I checked with would only sell to me if I had a license, certification or worked for a contractor. Luckily, there is one place in the area that sells parts to the public and their parts guy was nice enough to walk me through the whole replacement.

In the end, it cost me $180 in parts and I saved a couple hundred in labor by doing it myself. But the best part is the learning experience. Now I'm not as hesitant to attempt such things in the future. :tup:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Decided to add another coat of the ceramic primer and then got it all fitted and permatex'd in place along with the coolant piping coming off the water pump. There's a couple other brackets and pieces of piping drying out in the garage right now which should be installed tonight.

Luckily, I realized last night that I never installed the upper oil pump seal. So I took that all back apart and tapped that into place with some assembly lube. Thank God, because that would have been a huuuuuge fuck up. :doh:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

A little more done tonight. A lot of this stuff was getting kind of rusty, including some of the factory hose clamps. Some I cleaned up and sprayed a thin coat of rust inhibiting flat black paint, others I replaced with new worm gear style clamps. I also reconditioned or replaced a lot of the hoses.

Pictured: coolant and pcv systems (partial), water pump to oil cooler tube

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Got a big order of random shit in with Oakos Automotive (here in SE Michigan). Valve buckets, turbo drain hose, up-pipe studs, 3-bolt gasket, donut midpipe gasket, etc.

Unfortunately, they say it won't arrive from a Subaru distributor until at least NEXT Thursday. F*** shipping, I'm driving out there to pick it all up in person. That's got me sweating a little bit because the closing date on the sale of our (current) house was the 22nd. My wife was able to get it pushed out to the 29th, but we'll see...

In other news, Keith at Pure Tuning (of Toledo, Ohio) got a hold of me and said my start up base map is ready. I just sent him the money via PayPal and should have the map soon. Sadly, the motherboard in my laptop shit the bed, so I need to find a friend that will help me download the map from my email to my Cobb AP V3.

Other than that, everything is going fairly well. Stay tuned for more progress pics over the next couple days.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Anyone, anywhere. Please take a look.


https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=13289&share_fid=12579&share_type=t

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

I've got KSTech 19mm Phenolic Spacers on order to (hopefully) solve my clearance issue.

In the meantime, I got the new turbo all dressed and fitted.

 

[Alin]

Fuck, dude. Brand new parts are such fucking eye candy. :drool:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Too bad it doesn't stay looking like that forever. Mine should stay at least decent looking, considering it shouldn't see too much street use, especially not in bad weather.

 

[Grinder34]

That's the worst part of driving the car, getting everything dirty!

Too bad it doesn't stay looking like that forever. Mine should stay at least decent looking, considering it shouldn't see too much street use, especially not in bad weather.

No snow fun?!

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

No snow fun?!

Ummm....probably not. Or at least very, very, very rarely. I have always loved blasting down my neighborhood's unplowed streets while the rest of the county is shut down for a snow day. But in reality, the enjoyment is not worth the risks involved. Even the best driver can hit a curb in bad conditions and I've about had it with salt corrosion. Had I not done this build, I would maybe still drive it periodically in the winter. But now, my primary concern is longevity. I reeeeeally, want this car to be in good condition in 29 years when I turn it over to my son.

I might actually sell my Blizzaks and put some suuuuuper sticky summer tires on that extra set of wheels.

 

[Alin]

I agree as far as no snow goes, unless you move the fuck away from the carcinogenic salt states. [MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION] must have forgotten living down in the beautiful state of Texas. :lol:

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

I agree as far as no snow goes, unless you move the fuck away from the carcinogenic salt states. [MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION] must have forgotten living down in the beautiful state of Texas.

You want a set of Blizzaks, [MENTION=1172]Alin[/MENTION]? I'll make you a great deal if you come pick them up.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Grinder34]

I agree as far as no snow goes, unless you move the fuck away from the carcinogenic salt states. @Grinder34 must have forgotten living down in the beautiful state of Texas. :lol:

I missed snow so hard while i was there! I never (purposefully) drove like a maniac on snowy roads, but parking lots....lots of fun without paying for new tires!

But corrosion sucks, yes. Big time.