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Old 08-08-2014, 11:36 PM   #1
Brian894x4
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Default '02 Lifted Impreza, Light Expedition Build Thread

Several years ago I used to be a serious contender int the Toyota 4x4 community with a couple of expedition rig builds. My first one was an '89 Toyota 4x4 pick up that I modified, solid axle conversion and a lot more. The second one was a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser fully built for expedition travel. When I say expedition, I mainly mean trips around the Northwest looking for old abandoned historical sites, mines, ghost towns, logging railroads and stuff like that.

Unfortunately, financial reasons forced me to sell my Land Cruiser a few years ago. I was left with my daily driver, which was a bone stock and relatively boring 2002 Impreza Outback Sport.

About a year ago I began to realize just how capable these Subarus really were. Being a hardcore Toyota 4x4 guy I'm a tough one to please in terms of off road rigs, but I've been impressed. So I set about building my 3rd expedition vehicle. Since I'm going with basically a small economy car, compared to a full size 4x4, I'll have call this a light duty expedition rig.

The goal here is to be reasonable. Build a rig that I can continue to drive daily, back and forth to work, but that will still get me around up in the woods and mountains and take me almost anywhere I want to go.

Here are the mods so far.

Suspension
AGX adjustable struts + King lift springs + Subtle 1" blocks + 3/8" spacer in the rear
Rear WRX wagon sway bar
Front Perrin strut bar

Tires/wheels
General Grabber AT2 215/65R-16 tires on stock OBS wheels painted black

Armor
Gorilla Off Road brush bar with front skid plate
Factory rear diff skid plate
Rallysport mudflaps

Engine
Mostly stock 2.5 non-turbo
Custom 3" cat back exhaust, resonator delete, Flowmaster super 44 muffler
Custom WRX under hood intake scoop into stock air box

Transmission
Stock 4EAT with some mods
Poly trans mount
Manual switch to fully engage transfer clutch on demand
Shift lever position and transmission gear position indicator lights located on dash
Diff gearing is stock 4.11
Trans shifter modified from straight up and down shifting, ball shifter in place of stock grip

Other exterior
Yakama Load Warrior basket modified to sit low profile on the roof

Lighting
(2) IPF 968 housings with 55watt HID bulbs mounted on roof basket
(2) Hella 700FF housings with Hella 85 watt fog bulbs mounted on grill
(2) Hella 500 fog lights with yellow overlays mounted on lower brush guard
(2) factory fog lights with yellow overlays
(2) rear facing LED back up lights mounted on roof basket

Interior
WRX/STI solid black seats from a 2005
STI cluster from 2004
ATI center cluster pod with digital gauges for tranny/engine oil press/temp
Manual trans shifter cover
LED interior lights
Custom wood rear cargo deck and storage area.


More to come***8230;..












This is my old Land Cruiser, so you get an idea of where I'm coming from. It's painful to post this image, because I miss that rig so much. I put a lot of time and effort into it and it ripped my heart out to have to sell it.

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Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-24-2014 at 10:03 PM.
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Old 08-08-2014, 11:43 PM   #2
Brian894x4
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The Lift is about 4" over stock. I'm using AGX struts with King lift springs and 1" subtle blocks at all four corners. I also have 3/8" spacers in the rear. I absolutely love this set up. The adjustable struts really make a huge difference on and off road. I love the sport's car ride on the highway and the baja ride off road. It's really amazing.

I'm running stock front sway bar, a front Perrin strut bar and an '02 WRX rear sway bar. So far stock end links for now. I'm guessing they're under quite a bit of stress with the lift.

Tires are 215/65R-16 Grabbers on stock Subaru Outback Sport wheels. I kind of regret not going with a 15" rally wheel and a slightly shorter tire to help with the gearing a bit. In retrospect that losing an 1/2" or 1" of clearance would be worth the trade off.



I'm running Gorilla Off Road brush guard and skid plate up front. Love that set up as well. Kind of wish I would have gotten the winch option, but I guess I can always add that later myself. Rear has the factory optional diff skidplate. I'm looking to get a skidplate for the tranny pan also in the near future.


Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-09-2014 at 04:22 AM.
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Old 08-08-2014, 11:46 PM   #3
Brian894x4
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Interior has a few upgrades. I went with a 2004 STI cluster and center gauge pod. I've wired the cluster to read the outside temp using my stock Outback sport sensor. I've also wired the DCCD lights to work with my automatic transfer clutch switch mod, which I'll talk about later.

Also have 2005 solid black WRX/STI seats


Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-09-2014 at 04:24 AM.
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Old 08-08-2014, 11:59 PM   #4
Brian894x4
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So I have an automatic trans, which at first I was not happy with. I purchased this car with one years ago, so the wife could drive it if she had too.

However, I've learned to respect some of the advantages of the auto over the manual, especially off road. The automatic tranny essentially gives the car an effective lower gearing when crawling over an obstical. It's much easier to handle off road and as it turns out, the auto tranny has a better ability to lock the front and rear differentials over the manual tranny.

The 4EAT transfer clutch system is really a marvel of engineering that gets overlooked. The short version of what I did is that I followed the posts on other forums that allow you to manually locked up the transfer clutch. On the STI cluster I have it wired so that the DCCD "auto" indicator light comes on with the transfer clutch is in auto or normal mode. But the DCCD "lock" light will come when the transfer clutch is in lock mode.

My switch only controls the duty C solenoid, so most people who do this mod may not realize but the duty C solenoid only affects part of the locking of the transfer clutch. The line pressure in the transmission affects the rest, so in other words at lower speeds, lower rpm, the transfer clutch is less "locked" than at higher speeds, higher rpm. In the end and through lots of testing, I'm not convinced this "manual switch" is worth the time and effort. The computer really does do a good job of transferring torque and locking things up when needed.

I also wired in a volt meter which gives me an idea of what the transfer clutch is doing when in auto mode. The higher the voltage, the less lock, more FWD. The lower the voltage, more lock, more 50/50 torque transfer.



The center gauge mod monitors from left to right, Auto trans temp, Engine oil pressure, Engine oil temp.

The four lights on the guage pod are shift position indicators. I modified my automatic shifter to get rid of the gates and it now has a manual shift boot and manual style knob. This allows for quicker up and down shifting, but that and the STI cluster caused me to lose my shift indicators and its hard to know what gear I'm in. So the 4 LEDs now represent 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st gear.

I also have two lights on the dash (not shown in the photos) that tell me exactly what gear the transmission has shifted into by itself. There are two shift solenoids and based on whether these solenoids are are on or off, you can tell which gear the tranny has shifted into.

For example, Both lights on, indicate 1st gear - left light on indicates 2nd gear - no lights on indicates 3rd gear and right light on indicates 4th gear.


Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-09-2014 at 04:26 AM.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:03 AM   #5
Brian894x4
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I'm running an air compressor in the engine compartment. For off road and especially playing in the sand, I use this compressor a lot. Eventually I'll have it plumbed to the outside, so I don't have to open the hood to access the air. I also have a mini air tank that I may plumb into it. The hose will easily reach all four tires from where it sits.



Another view of the compressor. You can kind of also see my modified WRX air intake. I had a "cold air intake" system at one time, but the intake air temps were just insane so I decided to utilize a WRX intake, cut it up and modify it to suck air from under the grill and feed the stock air box.

Eventually, I'll probably go with a WRX hood and my own version of Gorilla's NA intake system.




Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-09-2014 at 04:30 AM.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:10 AM   #6
Brian894x4
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For the rear cargo area, I ditched the stock space wasting foam and carpet cargo floor and built my own wood deck. I raised it about an inch, which gives a tremendous amount of increased cargo room in under the deck.

I can store a lot of tools, spare parts and other gear along with the spare tire. I also have a few fire extinquishers and 1.5 gallon jerry can. Best jerry cans ever made, but unfortunately they don't make this version anymore.

Speaking of spare tire, this is one area where I've had a bit of a problem. I can't fit a full size 27" spare here, so I'm with the stock donut, which isn't so bad as its light and saves me a ton of space. But of course, having one small tire and 3 tall tires is not a good for an AWD car. The solution is two sissor jacks and the ability of my Auto trans car to convert to a FWD only with the flip of a switch. If the flat is on the rear, I don't have to do anything except put the donut on. If the flat is up front, I use the two sissor jacks and move a rear tire up front and spare in the rear and flip the FWD switch.

Beyond that I have my air compressor, a can of runflat and a tire repair kit.





I've also got a couple of LED lights both above the back deck and below the spare tire cargo lid to help light the way at night.




Last edited by Brian894x4; 08-09-2014 at 04:33 AM.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:18 AM   #7
Brian894x4
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I'll post a few more photos and mods later.

I have a few things on the "to do" list. Before winter, I plan to swap out the rear diff with an LSD 4.11 diff from a Forester XS.

The suspension set up is not quite finished. While camber is pretty darn close and it drives really nice, I do need to bring the rear wheel forward a bit, through either a fully adjustable rear suspension or a Forester trailing arm bracket.

I'm also still working on my lighting system, so more on that later.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:46 AM   #8
Mr_Hox
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I just went from
six to midnight...

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Sorry bud, but none of those pictures are working. Looks like they are hosted on another website that requires users be logged in to view images, so I and others can't see a damn thing...
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Old 08-09-2014, 03:50 AM   #9
Turtules
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2013 WRX
WRB

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Cant see the pics!

Very interested tho!
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Old 08-09-2014, 03:54 AM   #10
Brian894x4
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I'm so sorry, I'll fix those pictures right now.
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Old 08-09-2014, 04:29 AM   #11
sc00by4life
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forester trailing arm bracket won't work.
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Old 08-09-2014, 04:45 AM   #12
Brian894x4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sc00by4life View Post
forester trailing arm bracket won't work.
Wouldn't it at least move the tire about 1/2" to 3/4" at least? My wife's 2003 Forester bracket looks exactly like mine except it positions the tire slightly rearward. Our trailing arms the same length too.
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Old 08-09-2014, 04:49 AM   #13
sc00by4life
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian894x4 View Post
Wouldn't it at least move the tire about 1/2" to 3/4" at least? My wife's 2003 Forester bracket looks exactly like mine except it positions the tire slightly rearward. Our trailing arms the same length too.
Except the forester has rear subframe spacers. Yes, the trailing arms are the same.

Honestly, your rear wheels don't look too bad. You're essentially limited by the struts as far as what tires you can run, and since you aren't on forester struts you won't run into too many issues.

The only for sure way to fully re-center the rear wheel on the impreza chassis is adjustable trailing arms.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:17 PM   #14
Brian894x4
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The rear tire is pretty darn close, I got about 1/2" clearance. I've not had a rubbing problem as anytime the tire moves up, it moves back at the same time, but I wonder about snow and ice getting wedged in there this winter.

I would like to center it and adjustable rear suspension is one option I've been given. I just thought that the Forester trailing arm bracket which moves the trailing arm about 1" or so would be good to move it back at least another 1/2".



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Old 08-09-2014, 12:23 PM   #15
speckles
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2006 WRX Limited
Silver

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I have been dreaming of the day that I would take my 06 wrx and lift it. So far all I have on it is a front light bar but hoping to get a lift soon. Thanks for the inspiration! Subscribed!
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:34 PM   #16
Hondaslayer
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2005 Adventure van

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I was just reading your thread on Expedition Portal

Looks good, I might have to steal your rear floor organizer design (I have wanted to do something similar for awhile) Got anymore pics of the organizer?
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:48 PM   #17
69subaru360
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian894x4 View Post
I just thought that the Forester trailing arm bracket which moves the trailing arm about 1" or so would be good to move it back at least another 1/2".
The brackets will work for you. BG outbacks have them too. No idea why the other poster is saying they won't.
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Old 08-09-2014, 12:54 PM   #18
Hondaslayer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 69subaru360 View Post
The brackets will work for you. BG outbacks have them too. No idea why the other poster is saying they won't.
/\

This

I ran SF brackets on my GF which was on 28's. Even then I had to cut the wheel arch almost to the door line to make the tires fit
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Old 08-09-2014, 04:58 PM   #19
drewftw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian894x4 View Post
Interior has a few upgrades. I went with a 2004 STI cluster and center gauge pod. I've wired the cluster to read the outside temp using my stock Outback sport sensor. I've also wired the DCCD lights to work with my automatic transfer clutch switch mod, which I'll talk about later.

Also have 2005 solid black WRX/STI seats

Im curious as to how you got the OAT working on the cluster. I have the same cluster in my car and get figure out how to get it working. ?
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Old 08-09-2014, 10:38 PM   #20
carlozap
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wat is ur stereo?
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Old 08-10-2014, 03:09 AM   #21
Turtules
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Bad Ass!
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Old 08-10-2014, 02:51 PM   #22
THA KERNALLL
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Really loving this build! I have an 06 STi and will be searching for a Forester once the payments disappear. Want to build a nice off road fun vehicle and this is just amazing!
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Old 08-10-2014, 10:59 PM   #23
Brian894x4
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If I could build any car, it would be an '04-07 STI with this suspension set up. Has anyone done anything similiar?
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Old 08-10-2014, 11:10 PM   #24
Proper282
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Looks Great! Keep the updates coming
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Old 08-10-2014, 11:16 PM   #25
Brian894x4
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Here's some tire clearance photos. It is VERY close!

The first one is the front tire. There's only about 1/2" of clearance. The rear tire is even worse. It has about 3/8" clearance.

No snow chains for this car!

So far it still works great, no rubbing or any issues.



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