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.

Coming from someone who has been there and learned the hard way, change all 4 tires if you can afford it, instead of risking the damage to your drivetrain. With a manual, you don't have the option of putting the FWD fuse and going with it, and I wouldn't recommend a used tire unless it was close to the exact same circumference and the same type/brand. if the rest of your tires are at that level of wear, it sounds like it might be about time to replace them anyways.

Really makes me want to get my mis-matched color (White, Green, and Blue) turbo swapped legacy on the road too, but that will have to wait until this summer when I can really spend some time with it. Any idea how much power you are getting out of the engine? AT or MT? I can't even image how much fun that car is.

Like I said, as far as performance upgrades, it got the 6 speed transmisison used in the STi's, which is regarded as next to indestructible when compared to the 5 speeds. The biggest selling point of the spec B is probably the Bilstein suspension on it. From what I have heard, the Bilstein suspension is in a class of its own, a little bit stiffer than the KYB GR2s most people recommend, and last next to forever.

I've got to admit I did panic a little bit when I saw the thread title.

Spec B is almost a tuned version of the legacy. it came with the STi 6 speed, bilstein suspension, different interior, the nav system, and some cooler looking wheels. http://reviews.cnet.com/sedan/2007-subaru-legacy-2/4505-10865_7-32027769.html

The price is pretty good if the interior/exterior is in good shape, and there are no mechanical problems. As long as it feels solid, I wouldn't have any qualms about buying it. I'm daily driving mine about 500 miles a week with 230k miles, and haven't ever felt the need to find a different car. If that is the year/type you are looking for, I would jump on it.

What more do you want out of an STi that your LGT isn't doing for you? It would be a lot cheaper to do a few upgrades in the LGT if you want to look prettier, go faster, or handle better. If you need a little inspiration, there was a link of a LGT on nasioc for sale I just had to bookmark: LINK

From what I hear, converting it to single turbo is fairly easy, just plug up the oil and coolant lines that would have gone to the second turbo. I have been asking a lot of questions around on different boards for the swap I am doing, and it seems that the twin turbo engine is very similar to other subaru turbo engines, just with a few overly complicated valves and solenoids to control the sequential operation of the turbos. I do have to admit though, that the idea of a twin turbo dune buggy would be pretty cool. I'm not sure how compatible with USDM ej20 parts they are though. It certainly would be nice if a lot of stuff would just swap between them.

If the gas milage has been somewhat lacking, a better idea is to make sure that it doesnt need any maintenance. Depending on the last time they were replaced, it may be good to check the air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, PCV valve, etc. +1 on keeping the tires inflated. On any car, improperly inflated tires can really hurt gas milage, but on an AWD soob, it also cooks drive train components.

Are your headlights clear? I know that on a lot of these cars, after a few years the headlights start clouding over, which really reduces the light output of them. If this is the case, a simple polishing job should probably bring them back to life. The next most important thing to consider is the alignment of the headlights. I'm not sure if the '99 has them, but on the headlights that came with my '97 outback, there were levels on the tops of the headlights that let you know when they were more or less aimed correctly. I might be wrong, but I believe that there are instructions in the car's manual about the proper procedure for aiming them. If not, I know there has to be information here on it. Good Luck

I'm not sure I have ever heard of any real engine damage other than what can be caused by the headgaskets on the ej25. As long as the oil was changed regularly, and you didn't notice the noise yourself, I doubt that it is anything serious given that older folks tend to be a little easier on their cars. Is you dad familiar with the quirks that subaru engines tend to have? I know that my dad thought something was wrong with a brand new tribeca because there was the usual little bit of piston slap when it was started.

That white brat looks like its been on the east coast a little too long. Looks like it was a fun trip though. Reading threads like these really makes me want to try and have a VA meet sometime, especially since there are a few of us in the area now.

As far as performance and reliability, you really can't go wrong either way. The choice basically comes down to which you prefer driving.

Before someone really shoots you down: Yes, with enough work, it is possible to swap nearly any EJ series engine into your car. Several other members here have done so, so I'm sure they will be able to answer pretty much any specific question that you have about it. However, the EJ25 you mentioned is probably the least desirable engine subaru has ever made, because of the bad reputation it got from some severe headgasket issues. A much better candidate for a swap would be an older EJ22, which is pretty much bulletproof.

Now that is an epic picture. It looks like its conquered the world.

How hard is it to break into a locked soob? To me, it seems you could just pry the glass away from the body a bit and stick something down to unlock the door.

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

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.

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.

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?

I wouldn't mind a bit of a drive. Hopefully my latest acquisition will be road-worthy by then.

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

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.

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.