Fresh Sweet Donuts Everywhere! (work log)

[323]

Nice to see an MSP still running. My Protege is still running (and passes safety inspection) though I wonder back and forth if I should sell it. Every time I think I'm ready, I don't have the heart. Too many good memories with that car.

I hear ya on being a dad and not having time. Even now that our kids are older I still feel like I don't have the time or the energy to do everything to the car I want to do. I've told myself that if I do a little bit every day, I'll eventually get it all done. I'm lucky that my Protege isn't my daily anymore so I at least have the luxury of working on it a little bit at a time when I have the time.

That doesn't sound very inspiring lol. I'm kidding. The kids always come first

Well, I've been battling a hesitation issue. Sad because the car ran flawlessly for so many years. While it's behaving BETTER than my last post, it's still happening. I smoke tested it for leaks and saw a little smoke come out on the EGR. I guess I'll have to make sure the 2 bolts are tight and if they are, I wonder if I need a new EGR (I have one on hand to swap) or just replace the gasket. I also checked and found the vacuum hose on my SSAFC was kinked just from how it was sitting haha. Car seems to run fine for a good 30 minutes then starts to hesitate. Besides the EGR, I'm unsure what to check next since there are no codes being thrown. Random thoughts are it could be coil packs getting old and screwing up when they're too hot, failing WGA, weak fuel pump? IDK.

It was quite foggy when I went to grocery get last night.

 

[bwalt]

Throttlebody shaft seal. With the age of these cars plus boost, theres a very good chance it's leaking.

 

[323]

Throttlebody shaft seal. With the age of these cars plus boost, theres a very good chance it's leaking.

That’s a great possibility. I dislike calibrating the TPS. Can someone just do it for me on a spare throttle body?

 

[323]

Is anyone still here? Finally replaced my radiator. @Gabe710 gave me his hand me down mishimoto radiator. Had a side quest of replacing the water neck gasket since I found a slow leak there 2-3 years ago.

 

[RPRP5]

Is anyone still here? Finally replaced my radiator. @Gabe710 gave me his hand me down mishimoto radiator. Had a side quest of replacing the water neck gasket since I found a slow leak there 2-3 years ago.

Still here, even though I no longer own a P5. Would still love to own another one in the future, with maybe a FSDET swap or a KL innit.

 

[sm1ke]

Is anyone still here?

Still here as a spectator!

 

[323]

Still here, even though I no longer own a P5. Would still love to own another one in the future, with maybe a FSDET swap or a KL innit.

Someone needs to make a KL swap kit lol. Def more old man friendly without all the headaches of boost leaks and tuning issues

 

[BenjiHoggi]

Someone needs to make a KL swap kit lol. Def more old man friendly without all the headaches of boost leaks and tuning issues

+1 for this. A KL swap is at the top of my list for my P5 once it makes sense for me to own a second car as the daily. I've got a general idea of what's involved but man I'd love to see an easier way to do it like a kit.

 

[323]

@bwalt It wasn't the TB shaft seal! Finally fixed my "fuel cut" issue by replacing my coil packs with hitachi units and ngk spark plug wires. Drove the car for an hour boosting around last night with no issues. I should've known better since it was acting up after the car full warmed up and at high rpm. Whole time I was mislead to think perhaps it's an annoying leak that happens due to heat, wastegate actuator, or maybe even the fuel pump. Glad the fix was easy but I definitely should've tried it earlier.

 

[bwalt]

Glad you got it figured out! Diagnosing cars on the internet is a crap shoot lol.

 

[323]

Glad you got it figured out! Diagnosing cars on the internet is a crap shoot lol.

Yeah. I mean, you’re not wrong! I’ve had that issue where the tb shaft was leaking in the past.

Car has been set aside to deal with an issue on the wife’s car. After that is dealt with, hopefully I can get started on some long overdue maintenance

 

[323]

Damn it's been a while. Wife's car has been fixed and been good for a while now. Where does the time go? Anyway, got a front wheel bearing and finally some Delphi lower control arms. Planned on grabbing a hydraulic press from Harbor Freight to do my wheel bearings but they're fresh out of stock. Guess we'll do some more waiting.

 

[323]

@LankyKiwi your notification brought me back here. No MSP activity and put on the back burner again lol. Wife's Subaru is back in the garage hogging up the tinker space. I'm chasing down a wobble (not a shake) issue at high speeds. So far the journey has been unpleasant. Found lower control bushings was a bit twisted. Upon reinstalling new parts, stripped a bolt hole in the aluminum lower control arm so now the whole control arm has to come off for helicoil. Front strut mounts are cracked. Upon disassembly, checked struts and they're completely shot lol. So now it's just sitting while I wait for parts.

 

[LankyKiwi]

@LankyKiwi your notification brought me back here. No MSP activity and put on the back burner again lol. Wife's Subaru is back in the garage hogging up the tinker space. I'm chasing down a wobble (not a shake) issue at high speeds. So far the journey has been unpleasant. Found lower control bushings was a bit twisted. Upon reinstalling new parts, stripped a bolt hole in the aluminum lower control arm so now the whole control arm has to come off for helicoil. Front strut mounts are cracked. Upon disassembly, checked struts and they're completely shot lol. So now it's just sitting while I wait for parts.

A broken Subaru? No surprises there

No shade at Subaru, they're fantastic cars... when they work

 

[323]

No shade taken! Personally I find them annoying to work on lol.

 

[pcb]

Planned on grabbing a hydraulic press from Harbor Freight to do my wheel bearings but they're fresh out of stock.

You don't need a hydraulic press.
Just a big socket set, a sledge hammer, a freezer, and an oven,..

Notice the dents in my socket,..
I missed a few times with my sledge hammer.

 

[323]

Happy new year everyone! The MSP finally made it back into the garage after a long saga of Subaru repairs. My goal for this year is to catch up on long awaited maintenance, get my windshield replaced, state inspection, then try to enjoy the car more often rather than watching it sit. Project Protege revival 2024 #protegerevival2024

With a very weak battery that only gave a 3-4v reading, I jumped it only to have it cut off on me when I turned on my headlights out of habit. Luckily, jumping it a second time was easy peasy. Currently working on replacing LCAs which came out pretty easy. All hardware was able to be loosened using hand tools unlike some Subarus I know. Anyway, the ball joint boots are torn and very easily movable by hand and the rear bushings have seen better days. Not too bad for 130,000 something miles though I'd say. I've seen worse at lower mileage!

 

[323]

Managed to install the LCAs pretty quickly last night which only took about 30 minutes per side. Did run into a minor prank but I would say it's the best possible prank if that makes sense lol. One of the inaccessible/hidden nuts seems to have stripped or the welding came loose. Doesn't make much sense as everything came out and went back on pretty easily. Marked the affected bolt to see if it ever works itself out. I'm happy it's not spinning freely as I was only able to tighten it snug but not use a torque wrench on it. Luckily there is another bolt right next to it.

 

[323]

Discovered my battery was still under warranty. Nothing beats a free battery. Went for a test drive last night and immediately felt a big difference in steering response with the new LCA's despite my alignment being out of wack. Car hasn't felt like this in a very long time! I'll give it a string alignment and set the car aside for now to handle small repairs on other cars.

PSA: Clean out your fender liners! Here's about 5 years worth of debris.

 

[LankyKiwi]

Discovered my battery was still under warranty. Nothing beats a free battery. Went for a test drive last night and immediately felt a big difference in steering response with the new LCA's despite my alignment being out of wack. Car hasn't felt like this in a very long time! I'll give it a string alignment and set the car aside for now to handle small repairs on other cars.

PSA: Clean out your fender liners! Here's about 5 years worth of debris.

View attachment 325425

Don't forget to clean out the front crossmember