reviving lil' roo

rooinater · Jan 20, 2007

reviving lil' roo!

well it's takin' awhile for me to get around to it. but it's crunch time and lil' roo is going back to washington with me! so... i started working on her yesterday.

yesterday i got some stuff cleaned out the car. the electric fan relays remounted. replaced the battery cables and got a new battery. started her up and she purred like she just wanted to go play... next weekend pulling the engine and replacing the shot rear main seal, putting on the passenger heavy reinforced strut arm and control arm. i'm in a mad hunt to find a driver's side hub, the one i got awhile back was the wrong one... non vented rotor, i'm an idiot, it's vented... ooops. so if i can't find one in a local bend over here it comes junk yard... i'll have to locate one somewhere. change out the tcase with the one in my datsun 720 pickup (it needs an engine rebuild. then get another one from washington to get her driving...) reweld and reenforce the rear lincoln locker. re trim and tub the fenders... rework the stock tcase lever. so i can use reverse in double low... then off to the trail, then washington!

rooinater · Jan 20, 2007

well got a little bit of work done today. pulled the engine and replaced the rear main seal.

got it all back together and was going to start it. but the auto hobby shop on base was closing. so i had to go home. it still makes a wierd noise on start up, like the starter shaft is rubbing metal on metal or something... but goes away when the starter isn't turning....

well tomorrow i'm putting the reenforced passenger control arm and strut arm on. the driver's side i did before i deployed. i'm cannibalizing the tcase out my broken datsun 720, to replace the burnt up 720 second tcase that's already in there. and installing my hood pins. i'm tired of having to fight getting the hood open. i either have to have a spare tire sitting on my hood for it to unhook or someone putting their weight on it.

then just standing by for the hub to come in the mail!!!

rooinater · Jan 21, 2007

well, got the reenfoced control arms and strut arms installed. the hood pins installed. installed new connectors on the alternator. and got her started after the engine pull yesterday. also trimmed up the front and rear fenders to clear the tires a little better. still need to tub out the rear of the front fenders. the tires rub in compression and full lock turn.

reenforced hd control arms and strut arms

before the front trim (second time, no more stock bumper. so i don't need to have the holes), didn't get pics of the back trimming.

still need to replace the second tcase, front hub, tie rod and reweld the rear diff.

Dain Bramage · Jan 21, 2007

i cant figure out why, but i really like your subaru! did you make the lift?

rooinater · Jan 21, 2007

probably cause it doesn't have a straight panel on it (except the hood)... it's been on it's lid once at reiter. it gets used. other than that it's a good rig. it'll be my daily driver and pass runner after the yota is done being built. and i move back to washington in about 5 months.

john mudrat built the lift, after i got back from iraq in '04. before that it had a 4/3" lift kit, welded rear, 1.6L and 27" superswampers ssr's, and the higher geared ea81 4 speed d/r transaxle. now it's got the 5 speed lower geared, a second divorced case and most of it's in my sig line.

Dain Bramage · Jan 21, 2007

i have always liked lifted subarus. when you get back, and my truck is ready, maybe we can hit reiter. i wanna see what that thing can do!

NotMatt · Jan 21, 2007

That thing is killer man. A unique rig for sure, I'd like to see it in action sometime too.

landbruiser1 · Jan 21, 2007

NotMatt said:
That thing is killer man. A unique rig for sure, I'd like to see it in action sometime too.

X2 on that.. I love them older subies. My grandfather had the hatch back 2 door version of that with the tube grill gaurd. Man that thing was cool. I wish now I had got it. We called it the Tank.. Sweet little rig, forget the yota and keep building that.:beer: :beer:

rooinater · Jan 21, 2007

i'm done building the roo, just getting it back to trail worthy. so i can do some more wheeling in the pheonix area before i'm out. still have the locked up dana 44's, front and rear discs and 4.56 gears i was going to put on... but the tires are on my toyota. and i started building my more capable toyota anyways. so why go farther with the roo? it'll be me dd when i move to washington. and it's already extremely capable in the means of a subaru.

and as for seeing it in action. i move back to washington in 5 and a half months or so. a run to reiter trails or evans creek, i would not be opposed to. especially since i haven't drove any of those trails in 3 years. been a passenger whenever i've gone when i was home for 3 of the last 4 1/2 years.

Dain Bramage · Jan 21, 2007

for sure, dude, let me know when you get back, we can hit reiter. my truck will be well broken in by then.

London Gentleman · Jan 21, 2007

Dude that is bad, and not in a good way!!!:flipoff: How much of a lift is on lil' Roo

rooinater · Jan 22, 2007

read the sig line. and what's so bad with it?

skinny_pedal · Jan 22, 2007

i would so drive that subaru anyday. props for a sweet and unique rig

. hows the power with the big tires on there?

crash2 · Jan 22, 2007

Ya know I am not a subaru guy by any means but mad props to you doing your own thing and enjoy seeing these cool buildups/work in progress....

rooinater · Jan 22, 2007

it does fine with those tires. i have 2 transfer cases and 4.11 gears welded rear and limited slip up front. the stock subaru case is around 1.7:1 and the nissan case is between 2.3:1 or 2.5:1 and first gear is something like 3.54 or something... it's been awhile since i've looked all the numbers up. but final crawl is between 55:1 and 60:1 with 31" tires...

the engine is also a built 1.8L ccr crate engine. which is putting out 115hp with the weber. and the rear brakes were converted to disc brakes to help it stop. which is a bolt on. just go to pull apart, find a newer ea82 model turbo subaru, and check for rear discs. pull off the discs and bolt them up. some small work but not much. like 60 bucks or less to get disc brakes in the rear (i think i paid 30 bucks)... there's a sub frame holding the front and back parts of the lift together and the mount for the second tcase.

skinny_pedal · Jan 22, 2007

rooinater said:
it does fine with those tires. i have 2 transfer cases and 4.11 gears welded rear and limited slip up front. the stock subaru case is around 1.7:1 and the nissan case is between 2.3:1 or 2.5:1 and first gear is something like 3.54 or something... it's been awhile since i've looked all the numbers up. but final crawl is between 55:1 and 60:1 with 31" tires...

the engine is also a built 1.8L ccr crate engine. which is putting out 115hp with the weber. and the rear brakes were converted to disc brakes to help it stop. which is a bolt on. just go to pull apart, find a newer ea82 model turbo subaru, and check for rear discs. pull off the discs and bolt them up. some small work but not much. like 60 bucks or less to get disc brakes in the rear (i think i paid 30 bucks)... there's a sub frame holding the front and back parts of the lift together and the mount for the second tcase.

definetly cool. when your up this way and heading out to a trail, pm me. i want to see this thing in action

rooinater · Jan 22, 2007

just watch the nw trail section come late july. i'm sure i'll post up something. most likely i'll be holding a campout at evan's creek or naches for my welcome back to washington.
as soon as i get it trail worthy again. i'll hit the local trails in the arizona washes and i'll post up pictures also. my biggest complaint is the rearend is the weak link so far. if i keep it for long, it'll probably get a solid rear axle.

rooinater · Jan 23, 2007

well went to the post office and checked my mail! the new driver's side steering knuckle came in the mail! measured out the brake bolts! perfect measure! thanks monstaru! cheers!

come payday, installing new wheelbearings, tie rod and slapping it into the rig! this weekend planning on the tcase swap from my datsun, and figure out how i'm going to fab the datsun's skid plate to the subaru. since it lacks one and that tcase hangs low.

my goal is for a light test run first weekend of feb... with luck!

rooinater · Jan 25, 2007

well the replacement credit card came... so i got the wheel bearings, seals and ordered the stripped out tie rod. today i installed the new hub on the drivers side! perfect fit! i don't have the gravel guard on the disc anymore. the one on there didn't fit, oh well. also come to find out the actual discs are non vented... i'll have to hunt some vented ones down and pop them on. but the calipers are for the vented hubs... oh well works for me. brake pads are still excellent. and it stops a hell of a lot better with both bolts in the caliper...

thursday or friday i'm going to put the tie rod on. probably weld the rear diff up again and reenforce it on friday... hook the rear driveline up and check for bad u-joints. if they are all good, then i'll swap tcases, and attempt to find some steel to fab a skid plate on. and maybe saturday an easy test run! then the yuma 4 wheelers run febuary 3rd. which is a so called moderate trail run at Picacho - Copper Basin
area.