BKafe's Build Thread

[longislandwrx]

http://www.rallysportdirect.com/Exed...002-2005%20WRX

perfect for a few bolt on parts and you can't beat the price.

[Wayne Presley]

Engine and tranny separated... And cleaned. Ready for new clutch and timing belt kit.

Any recommendations for clutch? Std 2003 WRX engine, turbo... Mostly street with a few track days.

http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0094009/ph...um/9260625312/

SpecClutch.com stage 2 will serve you well. I am a dealer for them

[Bkafe]

Spent the last couple nights pressing in new wheel bearings and installing a new parking brake and ball joints.

Decided to take off the abs rings on the rear hubs, as I will not be reinstalling abs.

Some pics, of the parking brake install:
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0093009/ph...7634725652922/

[snowphun]

http://www.rallysportdirect.com/Exed...002-2005%20WRX

perfect for a few bolt on parts and you can't beat the price.

That clutch has a bad reputation on Subaru forums, I was very unhappy with mine in a MY02 WRX. Noisy, decel noise, POS. It is certainly not the same as the Subaru replacement parts which I put in my current MY02 and have had zero issues.

[Bkafe]

My donor was in the passenger front corner and needed a timing belt cover. With 130 on the odometer, I also wanted to do the water pump and timing belt. The cam gears slipped a bit during disassembly, but Meaty's guide on YouTube helped break down the cam alignment visually.

Meaty's Timing Belt Vid
http://m.youtube.com/my_history#/watch?v=6mjCegTnB60

Some pics showing belt cam gear alignment.
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0095009/ph...7634741353342/

[Bkafe]

Today was delivery day!

My daughter was shooting, so please excuse the shaky footage on the unload scenes.

[Mechie3]

I'm in a hotel Toledo waiting for tomorrows race. With nothing better to do I watched the whole thing.

[Bkafe]

818 Unload from Steward Transport

Then here is another for your viewing pleasure... a bit time lapsed though, as it was over 1hr.

[NicksPapaw]

Sweet!!

[AZPete]

Congratulations on the arrival, Brian! I look forward to seeing it.
Pete

[Bkafe]

Day 1: Inventory and Prep




Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafenba...7634820159816/

[metalmaker12]

Nice setup, have fun

[NicksPapaw]

Ha ha, that video reminds me of every day that I worked on my roadster. Back and forth, back and forth, up and down....... ahhhh the memories. Looking forward to your build.

[longislandwrx]

Ahh sweet relief at 2:00.... was anything missing? Thank you for this video, it really puts an end to the "what's included?" question

[Bkafe]

Ahh sweet relief at 2:00.... was anything missing? Thank you for this video, it really puts an end to the "what's included?" question

Inventory was relatively smooth, but there are many parts without numbers, or in a bag with a number. Most you can figure out...some I had difficulty. I did have minor discrepancy with list and actual parts (all "O" on parts list should make it to the Parts Order List). In my case the door skins didn't make it to POL...and my carbon fiber parts are not on the list, not in the shipment. FFR will sort it all out I'm sure.

My parts list for reference:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafenba...7634847654600/

[longislandwrx]

Thanks for posting those. Very helpful.

[Bkafe]

Assembly of Front Firewall:

[GUNS]

Video is private

[Samiam1017]

What are you shooting with. A Gopro strapped to your head? And I must say nicest garage I've seen on here yet. No that the others are too shabby

[Bkafe]

What are you shooting with. A Gopro strapped to your head? And I must say nicest garage I've seen on here yet. No that the others are too shabby

Chest Strap... I have to work on the angle.

New garage, so psyched to have extra room!

[Scott J]

Talk about a build thread! I'm dizzy!!!
Keep it up though
Good to see you're getting right to it

[longislandwrx]

Nice garage by the way.

[Bkafe]

Back from a bit of traveling...and have a video to upload soon. I added sound deadening to the front firewall, second skin.

INSTALL TIP: Shock mount install on lower control arm.
Be aware that when drilling holes for lower control arm, lean toward 1.75/2.0" from mid ball joint hole. My hole is about 1.6"... And now that I am mounting the coilovers...they hit the spindle.

I wanted a reason to upgrade to some aluminum ones...

[Stickshift84]

I recently finished up my control arms and targeted the holes exactly at 1.75" like the build manual says to. There is clearance to the spindle however the ball joint bolt head hits the shock prior to getting enough rotation of the spindle. Not sure what I am going to do about this yet.

[metalmaker12]

I recently finished up my control arms and targeted the holes exactly at 1.75" like the build manual says to. There is clearance to the spindle however the ball joint bolt head hits the shock prior to getting enough rotation of the spindle. Not sure what I am going to do about this yet.

Hit it with a big hammer!!! you slacking I see lol, I will be around here today

[Bkafe]

I recently finished up my control arms and targeted the holes exactly at 1.75" like the build manual says to. There is clearance to the spindle however the ball joint bolt head hits the shock prior to getting enough rotation of the spindle. Not sure what I am going to do about this yet.

I hear ya... This measurement should be re-evaluated.

I got my aluminum control arms and I will be marking proper location with the coilover and spindle attached. I will post the distance...

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I hear ya... This measurement should be re-evaluated.

I got my aluminum control arms and I will be marking proper location with the coilover and spindle attached. I will post the distance...

Would a button head cap screw work? or maybe counter-bore and use a socket head cap screw.

[metalmaker12]

I hear ya... This measurement should be re-evaluated.

I got my aluminum control arms and I will be marking proper location with the coilover and spindle attached. I will post the distance...

The hole tabs on the aluminum control arms is the right location for the AL lca's, no clearance issues lock to lock. I am certain they designed the suspension after the aluminum control arms and the steel ones are an afterthought. The distance in the build manual is obviously not correct for the steel arms, and needs a revision. FFR is aware of issue and will correct it.

[Bkafe]

Afterthought perhaps... But the pics in the manual shows the steel arms, with explicit instruction for each measurement. The aluminum arm instructions are in a separate section.

It is a Beta guide... I get that, just sucks throwing hundreds of dollars away on a pretty simplistic issue.

I have a pair of shiny new aluminum lower control arms, $291+shipping.

[metalmaker12]

I here ya, my arms are new and were 300 bucks to. I will pull my arms down, take pics and measure the distance for you Lata. I will pm you the stuff

[Wayne Presley]

Afterthought perhaps... But the pics in the manual shows the steel arms, with explicit instruction for each measurement. The aluminum arm instructions are in a separate section.

It is a Beta guide... I get that, just sucks throwing hundreds of dollars away on a pretty simplistic issue.

I have a pair of shiny new aluminum lower control arms, $291+shipping.

One of the guys on the GRM build put the bracket at 1.5" and not the 1.75" like in the manual so I just welded the bracket on the arms.

[metalmaker12]

One of the guys on the GRM build put the bracket at 1.5" and not the 1.75" like in the manual so I just welded the bracket on the arms.

I am welding Nicks brackets to his arms, I will post the results of his fitment, but he told me he measured 1.75".

[Bkafe]

One of the guys on the GRM build put the bracket at 1.5" and not the 1.75" like in the manual so I just welded the bracket on the arms.

Why didn't I think of welding the tabs!!
What a perfect excuse to buy a stick or mig setup. Been wanting to learn to weld for a while.

Very much appreciate the measurement info metal maker !

B

[Bkafe]

Got my new aluminum lower control arms on Friday! I completed the front suspension on Sun.

[Bkafe]

Finally got the right part for my axles, as 1 side did not come with tri-lobe (replacement?). These worked for my 2003 outers and Factory Five provided axle: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMA2MN8

Also dealing with a bad leak down test on my driverside bank. Dug into the engine a bit and found this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafenba...7636762502273/

Any suggestions? Subaru short block and refurb the heads? Rebuild? Junkyard low mileage? The donor was a Copart 2003 WRX Sedan, that ran...as I drove it myself...shame...

B

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Finally got the right part for my axles, as 1 side did not come with tri-lobe (replacement?). These worked for my 2003 outers and Factory Five provided axle: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMA2MN8

Also dealing with a bad leak down test on my driverside bank. Dug into the engine a bit and found this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafenba...7636762502273/

Any suggestions? Subaru short block and refurb the heads? Rebuild? Junkyard low mileage? The donor was a Copart 2003 WRX Sedan, that ran...as I drove it myself...shame...

B

Hey Bob
My friends at Turn in Concepts do walnut shell blasting on valves and heads. See picture I found on web. bmw-valve-cleaning.jpg

The cylinder that had water in it. Do you think head gasket or crack head or cylinder wall.

I'm not sure I would write off that engine just yet.
Bob G

[Samiam1017]

Spark plug holes are cracked if you look close. Better to not use.

[Bkafe]

Spark plug holes are cracked if you look close. Better to not use.

Where do you see cracks in the spark plug holes?

[Mechie3]

Cracks on the 2.0 cylinder heads isn't uncommon. Most of them don't affect anything.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Hi Bob
Compare your heads to the cracked one in this picturehead1_small.jpg