cBax
Vendor
Car
2005 Outback XT, Atlantic Blue Pearl/Granite Gray Opal
109k miles at time of purchase, bone stock w/ 5EAT
Backstory
Purchased the XT a couple weeks ago (7/18/15) in a private sale. Interior is rough, several scratches in the paint and huge dent in the hatch. Seemed to drive ok (worn out suspension) and pulled smoothly through the revs. I found out I know one of the guys that has been working on it and knows some history (old couple, dealer serviced (carfax confirms)), just drove it a few weeks ago and says its as good as it gets mechanically. No rust, so I made the guy an offer, paid cash and drove it ~50 miles home. Other than a slight stumble at idle and not knowing exactly how the turbo and tq convertor should feel, everything seems normal. Just planned to do a tune up, replace the majority of the suspension components and slowly upgrade it.
Biting into the crapsandwich
Cleaned the engine bay up, removed a grocery bag of pine needles and dirt from under the cowl the night I got it home. Couple days later I was putting tags on it and figured Id clean the maf and take it for a spin around the block. Noticed a rattle that would come and go with part throttle between 3-4k. Any more or less throttle would make it go away. Did some googling and scared myself into the worst scenario (rod knock). Called up the friend that had been involved with the car and asked if I could bring it to him to get a set of seasoned boxer ears to confirm or deny my suspicion. So I drove it to work the next day. No noises, everything seems fine. I get off the highway and Im manually shifting to listen for the noise...Its louder than ever. Oh no. Get 20 yards from my office and decide to go another block to listen further, accelerate and I get the moan of a banshee from under the hood, followed by a clank clank clank and it dies. No restart. So I push it to the side of the road and walk across the street to get a co-worker with a truck and tow strap. Another co-worker uses his AAA to get it back to my house. Neighbor came by later that night to check it out. Got it fired and it sounds like a rod is about to exit the block.
Oil is still full. I think I can see slight small shiny bronze particles. Im going to drain and cut the filter open, but I think we all know its done.
Pictures
For real?
I hate dirty motors
Getting over the crapsandwich hangover and making a plan
My pre-purchase goal was eventually to hit 300+ whp/wtq and a Legacy suspension setup that isn't too harsh. Its going to be the family wagon, so ride quality needs to be reasonable. The only part of that plan that is really changing is the timing of it. Was hoping to ease into the modifications and slowly learn the intricacies of the ECU. Looks like Ive got a lot of research to do right now.
Im going to have a ton of questions, as Ive never built or tuned a Subaru before. Ive downloaded the ROM and it all looks very familiar to what Im used to with other platforms. Ive got a lot of experience tuning Evos and Ive been dyno tuning my Mazda 3 on a fellow autocrosser's dyno at his house. He's upgrading it to AWD this fall, so the XT should see quite a bit of dyno time as I love doing it.
Any comments, suggestions, or slaps on the forehead are appreciated.
2005 Outback XT, Atlantic Blue Pearl/Granite Gray Opal
109k miles at time of purchase, bone stock w/ 5EAT
Backstory
Purchased the XT a couple weeks ago (7/18/15) in a private sale. Interior is rough, several scratches in the paint and huge dent in the hatch. Seemed to drive ok (worn out suspension) and pulled smoothly through the revs. I found out I know one of the guys that has been working on it and knows some history (old couple, dealer serviced (carfax confirms)), just drove it a few weeks ago and says its as good as it gets mechanically. No rust, so I made the guy an offer, paid cash and drove it ~50 miles home. Other than a slight stumble at idle and not knowing exactly how the turbo and tq convertor should feel, everything seems normal. Just planned to do a tune up, replace the majority of the suspension components and slowly upgrade it.
Biting into the crapsandwich
Cleaned the engine bay up, removed a grocery bag of pine needles and dirt from under the cowl the night I got it home. Couple days later I was putting tags on it and figured Id clean the maf and take it for a spin around the block. Noticed a rattle that would come and go with part throttle between 3-4k. Any more or less throttle would make it go away. Did some googling and scared myself into the worst scenario (rod knock). Called up the friend that had been involved with the car and asked if I could bring it to him to get a set of seasoned boxer ears to confirm or deny my suspicion. So I drove it to work the next day. No noises, everything seems fine. I get off the highway and Im manually shifting to listen for the noise...Its louder than ever. Oh no. Get 20 yards from my office and decide to go another block to listen further, accelerate and I get the moan of a banshee from under the hood, followed by a clank clank clank and it dies. No restart. So I push it to the side of the road and walk across the street to get a co-worker with a truck and tow strap. Another co-worker uses his AAA to get it back to my house. Neighbor came by later that night to check it out. Got it fired and it sounds like a rod is about to exit the block.
Pictures
For real?
I hate dirty motors
Getting over the crapsandwich hangover and making a plan
My pre-purchase goal was eventually to hit 300+ whp/wtq and a Legacy suspension setup that isn't too harsh. Its going to be the family wagon, so ride quality needs to be reasonable. The only part of that plan that is really changing is the timing of it. Was hoping to ease into the modifications and slowly learn the intricacies of the ECU. Looks like Ive got a lot of research to do right now.
Im going to have a ton of questions, as Ive never built or tuned a Subaru before. Ive downloaded the ROM and it all looks very familiar to what Im used to with other platforms. Ive got a lot of experience tuning Evos and Ive been dyno tuning my Mazda 3 on a fellow autocrosser's dyno at his house. He's upgrading it to AWD this fall, so the XT should see quite a bit of dyno time as I love doing it.
Any comments, suggestions, or slaps on the forehead are appreciated.
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