Meatball's "Let's see if an idiot and 2 kids can build an S" thread

[Meatball]

Good day to everyone!

I've been putting this off long enough and I have come up with lots of questions so I suppose it's time to start my own build thread. I don't know how much time I will have to post updates, but I figure I need to do this so you good folks know who I am when I do.

A little background -- in June of last year I flew to Florida and picked up an '02 WRX that my buddy test drove/purchased for me, drove 800 miles back home, and started the tear down with my son and daughter then at 11 and 9 years old. My goal is for them to be able to turn a wrench when they get older, have build/troubleshooting skills, and know their way around a mechanical object larger than a lego set. I figure that if I can get 20 minutes at a time with them, it will be time well spent and they will have no problem taking ownership of it when we finish. "Look what my dad built with me!"

Here it is. It was a trooper for that long trek from Florida in June with NO A/C.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa337/rjmacriusn/P1010432.jpg (http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/rjmacriusn/media/P1010432.jpg.html)

So far, our time together has been WAY more than 20 mins at a time. We had a blast dismantling it because it was fairly easy to just unscrew things and put them in piles.

I received my kit about three weeks ago and we started the process. Needless to say putting it together brings up lots of questions. Many of those questions have been answered because of all you fine folks on this forum. Thank you all for your questions and answers. Because I have no experience save the occasional oil change/brake replacement, etc. this isn't as intuitive as one would imagine even following the manual. My engineering degree does help, but because I've never actually used my degree (thank God) the lack of practical experience leaves me scratching my head at times. Case in point, putting in the upper front ball joints requires you to orient the cotter pin holes PRIOR to tightening down the castle nut...just one of the lessons learned so far.

As the engine install isn't far away, I need to get things ready. My first question starts with Wayne's coolant system mod...⅛" NPT Barb nipple to burp the coolant system. I went to Home Depot to find one of these, and because I'm unfamiliar them I'm not sure if I'm looking at the correct thing.

What do you guys think? What exactly is 1/8 of an inch? Is it the threaded part OD, is it the barbed fitting ID? Would I be better off at a plumbing supply store? And now along those lines… because I've never tapped anything previously, what size tap and die set do I need?


Hopefully, this post will be the first of many

Thanks again all!

Rob

[Mechie3]

The 1/8" refers to the nominal pipe size. It corresponds to pretty much nothing on the thread itself. Here's a chart to correlate pipe size with actual NPT thread dimensions.

http://www.engineersedge.com/hardware/taper-pipe-threads.htm

[Meatball]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Mechie, do you think that photo I posted is what I am looking for? By the way, I purchased your relocation kit 2 weeks ago...Nicely done. Great kit all around.

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks for the quick reply. Mechie, do you think that photo I posted is what I am looking for? By the way, I purchased your relocation kit 2 weeks ago...Nicely done. Great kit all around.

Check your email... You're good to go, just watch out for adding links until you get to 10 posts or it will go into moderation.

GREAT luck with the build!

:)

[Meatball]

Thanks David. The kids are excited for sure...my daughter wants to be done yesterday and my son wants to take every step in stride. It is fun to watch the dynamic...

I'm not sure if I want to give the keys to this rocket to a 16 yr. old to drive when they come of age though :eek:

[Mechie3]

Thanks! :)

That looks like a 1/8" barb with 1/4NPT/MIP. You'll need a smaller thread size if you're looking for 1/8" NPT.

[STiPWRD]

Rob, you may want to go to Fastenal (they sell fasteners and such) to pick up the 1/8" NPT fittings. A google search shows 3 locations around Memphis. Also, you'll want a 90 degree bend since a straight barb fitting (what you bought) will interfere with the turbo inlet pipe.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/69942?term=barb&r=~|categoryl1:%22603388%20Hydraulics%209and%20Pne umatics%22|~%20~|categoryl2:%22611532%20Fittings%2 2|~%20~|categoryl3:%22612503%20Barbed%20Fittings%2 2|~%20~|categoryl4:%22612505%20Barb%20Elbows%22|~% 20~|sattr02:^1/4%22$|~

[Jaime]

I used a straight barb, I just had to angle it about 45 degrees toward the driver's side.

Ace Hardware is another place to check, there's two of them in the Memphis area.

[Meatball]

Man! You guys are awesome. I'll head to Fastenal tomorrow to see what I can scare up. Thanks so much all of you.

[wleehendrick]

FYI... I got my fitting for the coolant mod off Amazon. If you don't find what you need, I'll look up my order history and give you a P/N.

[Meatball]

FYI... I got my fitting for the coolant mod off Amazon. If you don't find what you need, I'll look up my order history and give you a P/N.

Yeah, that would be great. I looked online and Fastenal doesn't have one in stock anywhere around me and I think I am out of luck with Ace as well.

[wleehendrick]

Yeah, that would be great. I looked online and Fastenal doesn't have one in stock anywhere around me and I think I am out of luck with Ace as well.

Here's rhe description:

Anderson Metals Brass Hose Fitting, 90 Degree Elbow, 5/16" Barb x 1/8" Male Pipe

$7.50, Amazon Prime

Hope it helps, make sure to tap deep enough so enough threads engage, and careful tightening rhe fitring.

[Harley818]

check my thread below ....post #76 where I show pics of the process and where I drilled. This pic shows the part i used which I bought at home depot.
41770

good luck.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?14763-Harley-s-818S/page2

[sponaugle]

I also did a similar mod, although I did it on the side of the pipe:

http://www.sponaugle.com/818/TimingBelt6.jpg

The aluminum is pretty easy to tap.

Jeff

[Meatball]

Any particular reason you did it on the side and not on top? Is that a clearance issue you have to worry about?

[Meatball]

I also did a similar mod, although I did it on the side of the pipe:

http://www.sponaugle.com/818/TimingBelt6.jpg

The aluminum is pretty easy to tap.

Jeff


You must have a better Home Depot than I do. They didn't have anything smaller than 1/4" here.

Harley, It looks like you did the mod after getting the engine installed. Any problem with waiting until then or should I get it done beforehand?

[sponaugle]

Any particular reason you did it on the side and not on top? Is that a clearance issue you have to worry about?

No. It just looked like a good spot, and having more room above the pipe seemed more useful (for wire harnesses, etc).


You must have a better Home Depot than I do. They didn't have anything smaller than 1/4" here.
Harley, It looks like you did the mod after getting the engine installed. Any problem with waiting until then or should I get it done beforehand?

I got that fitting at Ace hardware, as they have a great selection of 1/8 NPT fittings.
If you have the engine out, do it first as you can then easily clean out and metal flakes, etc .

Also while I had the cross tube off, I removed the hard line to the heater core and put in a 90 degree fitting:

http://www.sponaugle.com/818/WaterPipe8.jpg

Jeff

[Meatball]

Thanks again for everyone's help!!

As I am sitting here looking at these pictures, I am thinking more and more about replacing the timing belt regardless of age. Should I? I am going to open it up to take a gander at it to see how it looks...is there a way to check just how old it is? I am trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but I also understand this thing won't be very happy after a broken timing belt. Timing belt kit is just going to add another $250~ish to this build...

[Meatball]

I am also sitting here looking at this thread realizing that you all have posted more photos that I have. As I said, it's an '02 and as far as I know has always been a Florida car. 158,000 miles on it with minimal rust...taking it apart was so nice after reading about what you guys up north have to deal with.

Here is the beast...
41806

And the engine...haven't tested compression on it or anything, but it did really well on the trip back home.

41807

One of my boy doing some damage with his new friend...the impact wrench!

41808

[Harley818]

I did mine while the engine was in the car. It wasn't difficult.
If there is enough meat, then Jeff's location is probably better.
If you look at the link for my thread, you'll see that the turbo intake touches the new fitting. In Jeff's location, nothing will touch.
I just wasn't sure how much meat there was in the intake there.

[TrickyPete]

Will this coolant mod only work with a pressurized tank? The reason I'm asking is because I'm using an N/A motor and it doesn't have one. I was going to relocate the front recovery tank to tapped barb's location and use a stainless bottle out front for the overflow. Will using a non pressurized tank out back rob the pressure and not allow the coolant to reach the front of the car?
I'm not trying to hyjack your build thread but since everyone is on the subject I would figure I'd ask...

[Mechie3]

A non pressurized tank will just drain the coolant system.

[305mouse]

Timing belt should've been replaced by now, but if it wasn't you really are asking for trouble. It's worth it for peace of mind to go ahead and replace it and while you're in there to take care of the water pump.

[Meatball]

I knew someone would say that, but I was hoping not. :-)

[Meatball]

On my travels this week, I had some time to read through the newest version of the assembly manual for the 818 on my iPhone...revision O. This revision varies significantly from the one that was shipped with my car, revision M. Of course, to use revision O I have to look at it on an electronic device because FF won't ship the newest revisions in hard copy until the old ones on the shelf are used up. This is somewhat problematic I must admit but I shall prevail.

Back to my point, upon reading through the front suspension, of which the kids and I are almost complete, I noticed once again that the LCA bolts are not to be torqued until the car is at ride height. Hmmmm...I know I'd read that before but it didn't sink in until this time. How in the world is this supposed to take place?! The new manual states to dent the firewall or cut the bolt in order for the LCA bolts to fit without rubbing, but it mentions nothing on how to get a torque wrench on the bolt to tighten everything up. I did read about AZPete cutting a hole in the firewall...then there is a big hole where there are supposed to be none...a completely sealed firewall. What have others done? The search function on this forum is kind of lacking...sorry.

Thanks all

[Meatball]

I am at a standstill with my build at the moment while I wait for parts for the engine. Unfortunately, I didn't think far enough ahead and now am having to wait for some hoses to come in from Subaru. Is there anything that I can skip ahead and do before the install of the engine? I certainly don't want to build something and then have to undo it later.

[Buzz Skyline]

It would be a great time to swap in a KillerB oil pick up and bigger oil pan, if that's something you plan to do.

As far as the LCA torquing goes, yep cutting a hole in the firewall seems to be the best bet. If you cut one the same size as one of the plugs off your donor, then you can seal it up pretty good (there are a couple to choose from, but I can't recall where at the moment. Maybe in the trunk under the spare). If you have the motor and gas tank behind you, it's not like it's a real firewall anyway - more like a waterwall.

You're ordering hoses straight from Subaru? Why not get some cheaper (and often better/prettier) aftermarket ones?

[Meatball]

It would be a great time to swap in a KillerB oil pick up and bigger oil pan, if that's something you plan to do.

As far as the LCA torquing goes, yep cutting a hole in the firewall seems to be the best bet. If you cut one the same size as one of the plugs off your donor, then you can seal it up pretty good (there are a couple to choose from, but I can't recall where at the moment. Maybe in the trunk under the spare). If you have the motor and gas tank behind you, it's not like it's a real firewall anyway - more like a waterwall.

You're ordering hoses straight from Subaru? Why not get some cheaper (and often better/prettier) aftermarket ones?

I did find those plugs you are talking about. One was in the engine bay and the other in the trunk. As far as the hoses, they are for the water pump replacement. This thing had the original water pump even though the timing belt had been changed. At almost 160k miles, the hoses were done. I wanted to make sure they fit for such a crucial piece of the puzzle...I won't be seeing any of them anyway under the timing belt cover.

Which cheaper aftermarket ones are you speaking of? Coolant lines? Fuel lines? I need them both...have a link for them?

Thanks