My 3.3L Subie Conversion Thread, Got me some 914rubber stuff Options

[a914622]

If our going to use the stock ecu (i recomend) the hole dash has to come out to get the wire harness "liberated". Big pain but just remove all the 10mm 12mm you can see and feel. There are bolts behind the ac vent covers.
Funny when the masive 8 foot wire bundle is cut down its almost as small as the teener.

You should check the engine wires harness for britleness, and plan on getting new vaccuum lines. I found most all the seals were hard or cracked on both of mine.

jcl

[Dr Evil]

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Dont let Scotty B see this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Chris H.]

If our going to use the stock ecu (i recommend) the hole dash has to come out to get the wire harness "liberated". Big pain but just remove all the 10mm 12mm you can see and feel. There are bolts behind the ac vent covers.
Funny when the massive 8 foot wire bundle is cut down its almost as small as the teener.

You should check the engine wires harness for brittleness, and plan on getting new vacuum lines. I found most all the seals were hard or cracked on both of mine.

jcl

Funny you should say that...I just came in from the garage. Wow there are a LOT of bolts in that dash. Will post pics in the am when I pull that wire bundle out. Couldn't take another minute of it for today. Definitely using the stock ECU and a good portion of the overall harness. Seems easiest.

This car is starting to remind me of the old days when I had VWs. Tools required:

10mm socket
12mm socket
14mm socket once in a while
screwdriver

I'll definitely replace all of the rubber lines and re seal the engine as well since it's out. More to come...

[brant]

thank you for documenting this

[Mike Bellis]

Enjoy the striping! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND LABEL EVERYTHING!!! Label all the stuff you know. Label all the stuff you don't know. The electrical system and devices will look a lot different once it's removed.

Don't cut anything until you identify both ends of the circuit. Label everything!!!

Looks like fun!

[Chris H.]

Thanks guys. Got the harness out...

Empty basket:



Overflowing basket:



Looks like it weighs about 40 lbs.

So far what I have tried to do is keep everything connected to everything else where possible, so the only things that are disconnected are the few things in the engine bay, which I color coded with several different shades of my daughter's nail polish. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[904svo]

Heres my WRX harness before and after. Label all the connectors and cut the wires from the main harness., Power and Grounds leads are shared in the harness.

[speed metal army]

Holy Moley!
Waaayy too much of the scary stuff for me!(wiring that is) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Awesome project. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[76-914]

Subscribed. Looks like your a couple month's ahead of me. I plan on doing the exact same thing so this is a good thing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) Just stay ahead of me so I don't have to do too much head scratching. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) Are you going to stay R-134 or convert it also? Talk about being wet behind the ears; I must have passed on 10 SVX's before I found out they only came with automatics. Duh! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) I hope you sort out the tranny/clutch set up before I get there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[nsyr]

Three quaters of that wire will be eliminated.

[Chris H.]

Subscribed. Looks like your a couple month's ahead of me. I plan on doing the exact same thing so this is a good thing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) Just stay ahead of me so I don't have to do too much head scratching. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) Are you going to stay R-134 or convert it also? Talk about being wet behind the ears; I must have passed on 10 SVX's before I found out they only came with automatics. Duh! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) I hope you sort out the tranny/clutch set up before I get there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Haven't thought about the R134 conversion. Might have to...not sure. I had no idea that the US spec versions of the SVX were auto only either until I started asking folks if theirs was stick or auto....got the old (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) It's really the weak link in the car. Tempted to find another SVX in better shape and do a 5 speed convert on it. With the right gearing it would be very fun. The AWD is really good without being too "controlling" if that makes sense.

Andrew, glad to hear the wiring is going to be pared way down. I may need your help when I get to the tricky part where I should STOP cutting so that I don't have any CEL or "limp home" problems. Hoping the wiring design is old enough to where it's not so finicky... and when it looks like I am messing up along the way please don't be afraid to tell me...

[ruby914]

It's nice to see all the Suby conversions in work these days.

I would do my best to not cut any wires. I found myself reusing, unused wires, to extend used wires.
You may find something like a yellow / red wire in the A/T loom that you want to use on locating some thing like the FP regulator.
It is nice to find that extra Y/R wire in one peace.

I used a dental pick to unlock the connectors and to unlock each wire in the connectors.
Label everything (used and unused). A label maker would be a good investment.
Good luck.

[DBCooper]

I was lazy, bought a plug and play engine harness and aftermarket ECU from Outfront and plugged it in. Well, not quite that simple, but pretty simple.

[a914622]

All the wires get trimed down to look like this


The svx is straight forward. The to engine side and the to 914 side. There are 2 o2's and the speed sensor need to be pluged into the subaru tranny. The svx ecu can also be upgraded to the "duel mode" stock/sport. but thats down the road.

jcl

[3d914]

Great 3.3 conversion thread. Keep it coming and good luck on the project.

[BIGKAT_83]

All the wires get trimed down to look like this


The svx is straight forward. The to engine side and the to 914 side. There are 2 o2's and the speed sensor need to be pluged into the subaru tranny. The svx ecu can also be upgraded to the "duel mode" stock/sport. but thats down the road.

jcl

Nice job on the wiring harness. Thats more than one night of work there.
When I did mine I had a mistake in the cop wiring and burnt up 2 coils and the ignitor.

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[Chris H.]

Happy New Year everyone!

Just a bit more progress to report. Should drop the drive train today or tomorrow. A few pics...





So here's the cause of the "slight" exhaust leak. This is the pipe coming off of the main cat... man that thing was loud... check out those welds!



In case you are looking for an SVX to drive (not part out), the areas to check for rust are the doors as well as the whole belt line of the car. Like Honda Civics of that era and others, the SVX has a plastic lower panel. Water can get trapped under the plastic and cause rust. Other than that it seems OK aside from the leaky sunroof issues.



Oh no rust in the long! not really...just surface. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)



The windows are a PAIN to get out...Step 1 is to undo all of the bolts you can reach with the windows UP. Then roll them down and do the rest. The windows will not come out if they are rolled up. Best to leave the battery hooked up or close by in case you have to roll them up or down again.



Don't wrestle with the shifter from the top. You can take off the trim but it's almost impossible to remove that way due to the position of the cable bolts. Get it from underneath.



To disconnect the engine fuse box/wiring harness you do not need to cut a section of fender like I did. Just follow the wiring into the cabin and they are connected to the back of the main fuse panel. Pull the engine panel out and connect it RIGHT BACK.





Conversely the best way to remove the SRS sensors from the fenders without cutting the wires is to cut a slightly larger hole and push them through so they end up in the interior of the car. Don't wrestle with trying to remove the wires from the main control module. There is something more to that process that is not worth wasting time figuring out...



Plenty of room around the engine once you get the peripherals out. My plan is to cut the front area where the radiator was and roll it out the front of the car. We'll see if it works!

Thanks for all of the support and suggestions! We should do a "best practices since these swaps are becoming pretty common. Love the dental pick idea, and ruby914 I followed your build on Club NARP. Awesome work. Your dash is amazing. Wish I could use a WRX gauge cluster...

[Chris H.]

Finally wrestled the engine and trans out...

First I cut the front section out where the radiator was so I could (hopefully) slide it out the front.



Pre-cut look



Top bar cut



Bottom bar cut

There are 6 17mm bolts on either side of the front suspension. It's fairly obvious that they are the front sub section. Then undo the struts, jack the car way up and the engine, trans, etc will allow you to wrestle it out and forward.



The engine naturally leans forward a bit due to the weight but it IS NOT resting on the accessories/drive belt. The oil pan is a roundish shape.



As the saying goes...the sawzall always wins. Godspeed Mr SVX...



By the way make sure to duct tape any sawzall cuts or you will very likely cut yourself badly or at least tear your clothing.

Still have to take out the gas tank and rear diff, but that's not too bad.

[euro911]

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[Chris H.]

Parts are en route! Lots of parts! Some I don't even need yet!