30 replies to this topic

[Hotshot]

Alright, I went and bought myself a mostly completed EJ20R twin turbo swapped legacy.


on the truck on the way home


Profile shot


Interior


Awesome folding rear seats. They go completely flat.


And the reason this is getting posted here.

As far as I can tell, the wiring for the ECU is already mostly completed, but I need to find the connector from the rear harness, and sit down with wiring diagrams and a soldering iron. I still need to find a set of fans for the radiator that I have for it and get that put in, I need a fuel pump to keep up with the engine.

Right now I'm in the process of trying to figure out where several loose hoses are supposed to go, particularly all the vaccum hoses that control the operation of the two turbos.

I'm know that I am in a bit over my head with this, as I have never owned a turbo before and I now have two of them, but I figure it will be a learning experience. I'll keep this thread updated with whats going on with it.

[Hotshot]

First question: What do subaru turbos use as far as cooling? As far as I can tell, it has oil lines running from the block to each turbo I would assume for lubrication, while there are other lines running to the turbos from a small reservoir on the top left side of the engine. I assume that that would be standard coolant to cool the turbos? There are two fittings on the top of the reservoir, one is a return and the other looks like a pickup. I'm not 100% sure where they go. My best guess so far is that they hook up to the turbo radiator that I have for it.

Is there something similar to a hayes manual for JDM stuff?

[Skip]

So you bought Jule's wagon.

Believe me when I say this, not too many folks here
have tried this.

Your best bet is
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/

Those guys specialize in Legacys and mods.

Next you might try
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/

Those dudes are always trying new stuff to make
"Mo Powr"

Good luck with it, looks like a fine start with
some real nice potential.

[Hotshot]

Yup, Jules' garage is about 20 minutes away from my house. Between it being that close, nearly finished, almost completely unique, and putting down 280hp at the wheels, I couldn't pass it up.

I've been lurking on several Australian and European Subaru boards, and they seem to have the most useful information as far as diagrams and information on this specific engine. I do think I will make a thread on it over at legacycentral though to see what kind of input they have.

This morning I spent most of my time figuring out how all the different components of the twin turbo setup are hooked up, and how all the vacuum lines control them. I was getting a little nervous about finding out how they were supposed to meet at the solenoid to control them, but thank god they numbered all of the outputs, and all the hoses, and I found a diagram on some English web site that says where they are all supposed to go.

I also tried hooking up the downpipe to the passenger-side turbo, and found the crossmember that needs to be modified for it to fit. Also emptied the gas tank of all the fuel left in it, it smelled pretty old, and there was a good bit of rust inside the tank that seemed to wipe out with some rags and some elbow grease. Unfortunately, I have to head back to the real world so it might be a week or two before I get a chance to do much else. I am going to get the fuel pump in it next time I have a chance, hook it up to a battery, give it some gas, and hopefully it may turn over, and if I get really lucky it might run.

[h4life]

good luck man. document as much as possable. keep us updated. they seem like such a good deal on ebay for such a cool engine. bummer that not to many people have done the swap. i would love to do this to my brat but i think i might just do the ej2.2 for now to learn and then if you have much luck ill would like to yank that out and go with a meaner engine. im new at the engine swap thing and i think i had better keep it simple to start. also where did you get that motor and did it come with the wiring? thanx man have a good one.

[Hotshot]

The engine and drivetrain were already in the car when I purchased it, but the wiring and and several other things still have not been completed. I believe the person that started the swap got everything off of ebay, but I could be wrong. Good luck with the engine swap in the brat, I know that everyone here that has done it has loved the ej22 in. Personally, I think that an ej20tt would be a little scary in a brat though.

[h4life]

The engine and drivetrain were already in the car when I purchased it, but the wiring and and several other things still have not been completed. I believe the person that started the swap got everything off of ebay, but I could be wrong. Good luck with the engine swap in the brat, I know that everyone here that has done it has loved the ej22 in. Personally, I think that an ej20tt would be a little scary in a brat though.

haha thats what i was hoping for. dont has the time or money to do it right now. maybe in a few months.

[EvilDead]

Is that RHD!! Sexy!

[Hotshot]

Is that RHD!! Sexy!

Yup. I can't wait to freak people out on the interstate with it.

[EvilDead]

Yup. I can't wait to freak people out on the interstate with it.

Just get a fake steering wheel for a dog, and teach him to honk.

[Hotshot]

So what do most people do as far as the transmission crossmember when it comes to these swaps? Finding one to fit the TT downpipes is going to be such a pain I have considered just notching the current one. Is that a fairly common modification for turbo engine swaps, or will it questionably affect the structural integrity of the crossmember?

[grossgary]

the down pipes go back far enough to hit the rear transmission mount? if it was that i would notch it.

if you mean the front cross member, which holds the engine, i would be more hesitant to notch that...where, how much, etc?

[Hotshot]

Apparently they do. Didn't seem to notice any problems at all with the engine crossmember, as I believe that it is custom made, but in order for the downpipe to fit, I will probably have to cut in about an inch and a half into the transmission crossmember, almost right in the middle of where the transmission mounts and where it mounts to the frame. I figure it will probably be ok, but since I don't know it for a fact, I may weld on a little extra reinforcement just in case. I won't be able to get back to the car until next weekend for more pictures though.

I would like to find an original TT crossmember, but its awfully hard to find people in other countries parting out manual twin turbo legacies, and I can only imagine what it would cost.

Actually I think I might have one of the downpipe in question.

[grossgary]

its awfully hard to find people in other countries parting out manual twin turbo legacies, and I can only imagine what it would cost.

seems like you got a good eye for what you're trying to do and that being the case i would notch it.

the easier option might be to have someone in another country source you the parts and send them to you, should be able to order that stuff from Subaru in another country. i do that for some NZ folks...actually shipping them a package tomorrow. i give them my address, they order and send stuff to my house, then i package and ship it to NZ.

[Skip]

Gary's idea of going down under has many merits.

They have many TT's and I'll bet you could at the
very least get a picture of one.

With your eye for fabrication, seeing how they
are notched may give you a better understanding of how
the factory did it.

Here is one of the best Aussie sites
(was the Backyard Boys sight)
http://www.ausubaru.com/

I'd give them a look and an email to
an owner - mighty helpful people those Aussies.

Good luck and search for a member named
Matty B
He has a way kewl jet boat build going on down under,
but know a lot about everything, bet he'd help.

[FormulaSuby]

Is there something similar to a hayes manual for JDM stuff?

Hi Hotshot.

I am in PA and working with what is exactly the same motor. Mine is a JDM EJ20R. I have been to no less than 30 sites and cannot find one compatible with my ECU and year. All of my investigation over the last 3 months shows that the motor is out of a late 1996 - early 1997 Legacy GT from Japan. I am working my way through all the U and Australia sites right now. The issue I have is that the ECU uses connectors like the 2.0 N/A engines, not like any of the Turbo wiring I can find, which most label as B135-B137 in bulkhead wiring. The most accurate pinout I found is here: http://www.veloce.pw...ueyonder.co.uk/ and only the ECU pinout,not the schematics.

If you find anything, or if I get lucky, please keep my contact info available and I will do the same for you.

Thanks,
Steve

[Hotshot]

I know how you feel. My engine came out of a '96 GT-B, and it seems that every service manual for that particular year has dropped off the face of the earth. Like you said, the best thing I have found to date is the website you mentioned. If I find anything of use, I will be sure to let you know.

[grossgary]

i'm not against helping you here, but i'm not going to make a habit of it. let me check my contacts. if you decide against notching it, find me the JDM part number.

[grossgary]

good luck!

[Skip]

Hey Gar, I hear you.

I think we leave these two guys on their own.
They don't seem to need/want our help.

Good luck fellas.

[Hotshot]

Sorry about that skip and gary. I hadn't realized how rude I was being.

I really appreciate any help, and I know for sure that if it weren't for people like you, I wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of actually getting this thing moving.

I'm still not 100% sure what to do about the crossmember, and I really don't want to make a decision about it until next weekend when I can go home and actually see the car again to get a better idea of what I should do. I still haven't gotten the car on the lift yet to really get a good view of the underside. I am leaning towards notching it if possible, as opposed to spending more money on parts.

gary, I will start searching for that part number ASAP if you are still willing to help me look it up.

skip- definitely going to take your advice and start posting in a couple of overseas forums.

Thanks for everything


-Richard

[Hotshot]

Hmmm.

Ran into a another bit of a problem. Power Steering lines this time.

The metal lines to the steering rack on the ones I received to match the engine are routed completely differently than the ones that originally came with the car.

So I have a few options, one or two of which might be a bad idea so I am running them by everyone here.

1. bend the lines on the new hose to match the steering rack
2. use a fitting to put together the bottom half of the line from the car and the top half for the engine. (boom?)
3. Make a SS line instead. ($)
4. Power steering is for wimps.

[Hotshot]

For an update on the crossmember issue:

Talked it over with a few friends/mechanics, asked around on a few different forums on a few different continents, and came to the consensus that the bast way to get around this issue is to just have the downpipe cut and remade when the exhaust is put on the car. This is the one way to solve the problem I could come up with without modifying anything structural, or paying for rare, expensive overseas parts.

Any thoughts, feel free to post them.

[boxerbob]

i have the same type of motor in my garage. wanted to do the factory twins but gave up and figured if i went single i could tune it how i like it and not have to worry about the VOD or hooking up the black box of doom (scared the crap outta my wiring guys). sadly i had already notched my crossmember for the twin ups. thinking on just getting custom mounts and stuff too. i'm already looking at a Stinger 4424 for an ECU.

Goodluck with your swap!

[boxerbob]

So what do most people do as far as the transmission crossmember when it comes to these swaps? Finding one to fit the TT downpipes is going to be such a pain I have considered just notching the current one. Is that a fairly common modification for turbo engine swaps, or will it questionably affect the structural integrity of the crossmember?

ever find one? i got all mine. i highly doubt it will fit an EA body. i have both DP's too which i think you said you were looking for.just one has no heatshield now.