Small bit of progress this weekend. Got the drieshaft and heat shields back in (side note: Install the fuel tank heat shield before the rear diff. Doesn't really work the other way around. Ask me how I know this.
) Also, I'm going to have to sort out my driveshaft. I have two of them, and both have stiff spots in the u-joints. I installed the better of the two, so I'll either have the second one rebuilt or suck it up and see what Subaru wants for a new one.
I also refurbished my spare set of exhaust manifolds. When I swapped my engine last year I snapped all four studs off removing the exhaust. Unfortunately the studs on the replacement engine's manifolds were also pretty aweful, the threads had almost completely rusted away. I didn't have time to fix it properly then, so I loaded it with high temp silicone and wrapped it all with coat hanger. Worked well enough
Either way, I managed to get three of the broken studs out. The fourth snapped off flush, so I simply drilled it and tapped for a smaller bolt. Ghetto helicoil FTW.
A trick I learned from one of the local Subaru club guys: If you need a tap to chase threads, simply grab a bolt that fits and grind a slot into it. In this case, one of the cylinder head exhaust studs with a seized nut.
The more eagle-eyed will notice a couple things. One, my EGR tube is sliced off and sealed. I disabled my EGR a while ago, and this makes installation of things many times easier. Two, the studs I've installed in the manifold aren't the correct ones. The dealer couldn't get me the parts in time (ordered them several weeks ago, no luck), so I stole those from my blown engine's cylinder head. Same thread, and seem to be made of some miracle metal that doesn't stick to things. Good enough for me!
Trial installation of my front exhaust to make sure it clears things. Custom crossmember + custom exhaust built by two different people is a recipe for clashing parts.
Fortunately, everything clears. Just.
Clutch flex line installed:
The bracket is actually half of the one used in the STi, bolted to the support for the A/C line that would normally be there. My condensor blew up and I never really cared too much, so I just removed everything. Cars with A/C installed my still be able to do this, I can't remember what it looks like there.
Things are actually getting pretty close. Next week is fluids, starter, and wiring and then it should be ready to start. Just some buttoning up after that.
