urabus1995 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Hiya Guys and dolls. Has anyone converted an N/A Legacy to run on LPG? My car has very low milage (approx 25,000 miles) although a 94 model, imported to UK from Japan. I intend to keep this beautiful car for as long as it lives, with care and attention. Petrol prices in ULK are real BAD -75-80 Pence per litre. our govt has allowed LPG to be sold with a better tax relief, and is , at the moment, 40- 45 Pence per litre. The cost of conversion here is around £1200 . Does this mess up The ECU? are there ant other pitfalls I might encounter if I go ahead? I dont want to risk anything that might shorten the life of the car, but it looks like I could save a lot of money in the long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 A naturally aspirated legacy. Weird. Does this legacy still have the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors on it? I don't think the ecu would like lpg very much, but I think the ignition system could be made to work with what you are planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by snotrocket A naturally aspirated legacy. Weird. . Sorry to take this OT, but, Snotrocket.. whats weird about an NA legacy..? most of the Legacies in the US are NA, with the exception of the 91-94 Legacy Turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Ha ha you caught me! That was dumb. I was thinking Carbureted legacy. Anyway, i don't think he can use the fuel injection, can he? I see no possible way for that to work, but if he puts the LPG stuff on there, he could make his ignition system work with an aftermarket ( MSD) ignition controller. I would delete my first post, but that would make Calebz's not make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolerance02 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Lot of carburated Legacy's here with 1.6 and 1.8 liter engines. Belive it or not, they are the best Legacy's to convert to LPG. Convertion is very simple to. No problems at all, 300000 miles is no exeption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urabus1995 Posted January 28, 2004 Author Share Posted January 28, 2004 thanks Tolerance, this is what I want to hear !!!! I did read another thread on this subject, but it was referrin to modern Imprezas.My engine is an EJ20, which I also read is the most reliable of them all-------so I want to treat it real good. Its greedy, but I just love that growl at 4000 +revs. I will talke it down to the local fitters to get an expert opinion. They also give an extra discount on the LPG if they do the conversion. Another thought--------------------My heating system runs on LPG ! Maybr I could tap into that tank ????? its only 26 Pence a litre. I would probably get caught by the authorities !! I dont think the central heating gas is taxed at the same rate. Worth investigating though. Thanks for all your opinions, I will let you know how I get on. Cheers from a Shivering frozen Scot. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 the 70s during the fuel crisis. Most of them worked OK, but I never saw a Subie converted. The carb engines were very easy to convert as we had kits that adapted them. Duel fuel is also possible as we have a few busses in my agency that can run gas if they run out of LPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolerance02 Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 For injection engine i should recomment a LPG injection system. It is more expencive but the ignition system by EJ20 makes that there is always 1 ignition in a open cylinder. This causes heavy backfire (if used the common LPG system connected to the trottle housing) in certain circumstances which will damage the air filter housing and air flow sensor. Also, by using LPG injection system the engine will always start on gas and after running a few seconds automaticly switch over to LPG. So the gas system (pump, injectors) will not dry out and still intact. Succes! Urban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 LPG was offered here in Canada as an option on some big Chevy Caprices about 15-to 20yrs ago. There were a few problems. 1). LPG filling stations were few and far between. 2). LPG doesn't atomize below a certain temperature..(-20°C I believe). 3). LPG doesn't have the sam BTU's as Gasoline..less power. Today, the filling stations are probably more numerous and I don't think it goes below -20°C in Scotland very often...(more like never). Your Subie will definitely be less powerful,(slower), and on an already underpowered car you might be getting out to push once in a while. But of course if your going to save some cash then a wee power loss might not bother you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolerance02 Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Less power with LPG is history. It's one more reason to opt for LPG injection. There is made a lot of progress in developement from LPG techniques in the past years. The newest system is liquid injection (no longer vaporised). The engine stars on gasoline and after seconds each cylinder, one by one, switches over to LPG injection. The driver does'nt feel the difference. Urban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 LA to SF that was a dual fuel. I started out on LPG and when the tank emptied in the valley on route 5 the only way I knew it had switched was the gas gauge went up and a light came on the dash that told me I was on gasoline. I was rolling at 80 MPH and it was imperceptible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolerance02 Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 By the newest systems even the feul gauge in the dash shows the LPG level in the tank when driving on LPG and the gasoline level when driving on gasoline. Urban. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urabus1995 Posted February 2, 2004 Author Share Posted February 2, 2004 Thanks to everyone for their views on this subject. I cant afford to lay out the cash to do this conversion just yet, but I think I will save so much in the long term, that the sooner I get it done the better. Being duel fuel,as some of you have noted, the availability problem is not so much of an issue. My home town has the LPG station for the area. It looks as if the donut spare wheel cavity is the best place to fit the tank for LPG, but that then leaves me finding a sensible place for the wheel. It does not take up much room, I know, but its a pity that things are not like my old DL, which had the "proper" spare , under the hood ! I will let you all know if this is a successful modification. Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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