What is up with my '99' Subaru ?

CLS447

Platinum Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Messages
6,324
Location
Reading, PA
Aircraft
Air Command 503 & Air Command SxS /EJ2.5
Total Flight Time
Aprox 400 gyro
July 2017 ! She runs & the IVO magnum spins ! So far, so good........

Tie her down solid, fire her up & watch that temp ! No response from the VDO temp gauge.... check for circulation.....nope !

I installed the sender in the copper return pipe....no ground there, isolated from engine with rubber hose.....DOH ! So I gave it a temporary ground & she works....yahhh !

Keep an eye on the gauge & watch for parts that fling off while she runs. Temp not moving up... Bad spot for the sensor...will not show temp until it would be too late. Still not circulating. Put her away & think about it.

Later back at the bat cave.......Open fill/ expansion tank , look in. EMPTY ! Refill & try again. Still no coolant moving , engine hot gauge not. Let her cool.....tank empty again. REFILL.

Go over entire machine & tighten & secure all the thing that I overlooked.

Start her up & watch temp......it's circulating ! Will that VW Rabbit radiator cool this beast ? Didn't run her real hard & did not set pitch yet, but did not go past 180 !

Called Don Parham for preliminary chat......He sure knows his stuff, & he remembered me ! He said that I don't even need the rear O2 sensor. I installed a dummy light to operate off of the factory H2O temp sensor, wrong ! Subaru used a gauge for that.....won't work my dummy light ! They have their sensor in a great spot.....if only I could get to it easily. I need to ask Don about removing or abandoning it.....I would think the ECU would need that info ?

Why is my check engine light on ? Larry Boyer loaned me his OBD2 scanner.......Fuel temp code & other stuff !?!?

Clear codes.....I hope when I run her today the light is out ! Pipes are a little loud, but the combustion gasses are coming out of the ends !

More to come......maybe even this year, gotta get movin. Later !

PS....I still love this machine, it is still EXACTLY what I want... I believe that this engine will take 2 occupants up ,up & away. HOP IN !

PPS....spent another Sat. working on the SH1....,... Good thing they are not in business because I would be .....let's just say....unpleasant to them. TIP.....never buy the first model! Horrible instructions ! We have the book for the SH3.....so many things changed & were done for you.....very dissapointing "kit" !
 

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I did hear on a Suby you have to have the heater hoses routed back into each other and not plugged.
 
the heater hoses need to complete a circuit from the water cross over manifold on top of the engine to the

thermostat housing on the bottom of the engine,or have a cabin heater in the circuit.

On my engine I have the water circulating through the turbocharger,the water gets hot really fast

and the thermostat opens faster and my water temp runs 170 degrees at cruise speed,when I do a lot

of climbing and touch and go landings the temp only gets to about 190 even on very hot days.
 
J.C.Casabuono;n1122707 said:
Whitout a heater circuit by pass, thermostat will not open ... and no fluid circulation.

I have them looped. I will be moving my sensor to that loop. Thanks
 
I have 6 check engine codes. Erased them & restarted. They came back. I am calling Don Parham in a few minutes.

Retorqued prop, did not go WOT yet. But I did remove 3 full turns of pitch & got her up to 4000 rpms.
 
I used a VW radiator on a ea-81 conversion on a fixedwing and had to use a

VW diesel radiator it is just a little larger and that made it work really well.

Also my water temps senders are on the crossover beneath the intake manifold ,

there is one sender for the gauge and one for the ecu.
 
My rad was installed for the EA81 that was on the machine. I was hoping to not have to change it......so far , so good.

I had the crossover pipe powder coated black, & the intake red. It is a little tough to get to & don't want to disassemble it again !

The original gauge sensor is still in & gives the computer information. The single wire that comes out of the ECU will not be used for a gauge , it is now capped. I thought is operated a dummy light. I am using a VDO water temp gauge with it's own sender. Let me see if I can find a pic off my heating coil "loop".

IVO wanted me to buy a 72" 3 blade magnum. I only had room for a 68" prop, so we settled on a 70" 3 blade Magnum. It took alot of rework to make the clearance for that. I figured if it could not fit , I would trim it down.

The redrive is an Autoflight gearbox from New Zealand. I believe it is about a 2.58-1 ratio. What do you think ?

Do you see the brass fittings to the left of the starter motor ? This is my loop. With a change of fittings , I will have a nice spot to drill & tap for my sensor(1/8" pipe).

Notice the casting marks below those fittings....007..... these heads were custom made for James Bonds gyro.
 

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CLS447;n1122766 said:
The redrive is an Autoflight gearbox from New Zealand. I believe it is about a 2.58-1 ratio. What do you think ?

With the engine topping out around 5500 rpm, the prop will be going a little over 2100 rpm. For that diameter prop to be most efficient it needs to turn just under 2800 rpm max. You might not get maximum thrust from that setup. The key word in that is "might". My 95hp EA82 with a 2.58 drive and a 68" IVO (ultralight version with less cord than yours) I could only get around 275lbs of thrust. I know thrust numbers are not the only thing that makes it fly, but it gives me a ballpark idea of its performance. My machine weighs 605lbs + 190lbs of pilot = an AUW of 795lbs. I would like to get 400 lbs of thrust.
As soon as our airport opens back up, I'm going to give a go and see how it will fly. If it's not enough, I've got a 2.2 with a 2.1:1 drive.
 
CLS447;n1122740 said:
I have 6 check engine codes. Erased them & restarted. They came back. I am calling Don Parham in a few minutes.

Retorqued prop, did not go WOT yet. But I did remove 3 full turns of pitch & got her up to 4000 rpms.

Don said that I will always have those particular codes, so the Check engine light will always be on. So the engine must be running properly. If I get rid of the rear O2 sensor, I will get a code for that also.

Let the torture testing begin !

I will also check the thrust with my thrust buster scale.
 
Wow, Chris, its been how long since ROC, when you had the SxS with the EA 81 a whirling... ? I never come here, see they really screwed up the forum..... but know Mentone and Oshkosh are going and was looking to see what was up, came across your post...

For starters I always drill 3~4 1/8" holes around the thermostat element so you get good thermostat operation. USE A SUBARU THERMOSTAT too, You can NAPA one or whatever but Drilling holes in the plate is a must for coolant flow. Many reasons.... Second you can get (rear) O2 eliminators/ simulators from any of the big racing parts warehouses. With no cat converter on it, the light will light eventually / sooner since you are not lighting off a cat..and you will have efficiency code there being no cat to tickle the rear sensor... as far as the other sensors you gotta be careful since the newer ECM's are looking for wheel speed in some form. the engine will only run for about 60 or 90 seconds without a wheel speed signal... many used the rotor tach signal to keep that channel from shutting down the engine IN FLIGHT !! I am sure you know this if you are talking to Don. I also never believed in letting the subaru EJ engines fly to 5500. I usually ground mine down to 5350 and let it unload to 5400 in flight with my warp drive if everything was right. Glad to see you are still in the game and you have a SH1 kit ? So do I. Gotta get working on mine but am building a new 2.5 for Big Red.... too much to talk here just thought I would say hello. Jonathan
 
Jonathan, we worked all day on the SH1 , making headway......it's not mine. Andy P. purchased the kit a long time ago....2.5 & all upgrades. He drives 3 hrs to get here.....labor of love for me.

I think I put a Fail-safe stat in my engine. Don supplies his harness with a speed sensor box.

Anything wrong with just keeping the rear O2 sensor ?

Good to hear from you ! Take it easy & pop in again.....please !?
 
Wow, 3 hour drive... that is harsh.... but better than sitting in front of the TV ! If you keep the rear 02's it will trip cat efficiency (failure) codes...if It were my build, I would use ecm from pre 96 and skip the whole could stop a running possibility but then I think you have to use a mass airflow sensor. I guess as long as you are making progress you can get back in the air soon....... I am finishing honing cylinders on my 2.5 block so much fun.... you should come down to our Barnstormer fly in next year at Barry's, KAFP... Anson County ..... I may post a picture or 2....
 
My 99 has a MAS. I have never been grounded, Jonathan. I have a superbly flying single with a DCDI 503 that carries me & 12 gal of fuel. I still am looking forward to carrying passengers, though !

My life is a bit different now, & I really don't hop around the country like I used to do. I really am enjoying the single life now though ! Thanks for the invite !
 
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