Shellhammer13 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 So I'm new to the website and new to even owning a Subaru. I bought a Subaru yesterday and it needs work, (water pump, rear struts.) After I get thing into running and driving condition I wanna do some work to it. Its a 97 Subaru legacy. Has 190k miles on it and its a 5 speed Manuel. I was just trying to get some help trying to decide where to get started on Modding it a little. I'm currently making plans for an after market clutch, I want o header( I keep hearing that "UEL" is the way to go, I want a Turbo but don't know which brand or how much boost I should run, and consider a short throw shifter and performance chip. But I dunno if that's where I should start. Lets hear some opinions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Welcome. Please DON'T Double post. Read here about Head Gaskets before just doing a water pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hello and welcome to the board! If you'll be pulling the engine to replace the clutch anyway, you might want to give it a timing belt kit while it's out. If the HG's are original or are suspicious in any way that would be a reasonable time to replace them too. These two actions will help with the reliability, especially if you are planning to bolt on forced induction. Since you want to mod it you could also look into delta cams. Bolting on a turbo to an n/a engine has been done; usually the rule of thumb is to stay below 8psig boost on the n/a's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellhammer13 Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Sorry I didn't mean to double post. I did it from my phone and mt phones crazy. But yeah I figure on a lower amount boost but didn't know exactly thank-you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Make it triple posting If your car is running at this point I would HIGHLY recommend to drive it for some time to know what's wrong with it. You don't want to throw a lot of money on the engine and discover you need a lot of other parts to have a drivable car. About the forced induction: the '97 GT came with the open deck EJ25, right? If so, it may not be the right engine to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 About the forced induction: the '97 GT came with the open deck EJ25, right? If so, it may not be the right engine to begin with. Open deck, 48mm rod journals, piston-slap prone, HG's last about 100k..... this is NOT the engine you want to be turbo charging. You put a turbo on it and it's going to last a week and a half. It is quite likely that you have bad HG's now. The water pump's are not that common of a failure. What are your symptoms? Bottom end failure is very common with this engine - the rod journals were off-center ground from a 2.2 crank that had 52mm journals. This created a stroker effect but made the rod bearings tiny and weak. At 190k with overheating issues it's probably already cooked. You will be lucky if it goes down the road reliably in stock form - let alone with a turbo. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDfreak Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 So I'm new to the website and new to even owning a Subaru. I bought a Subaru yesterday and it needs work, (water pump, rear struts.) After I get thing into running and driving condition I wanna do some work to it. Its a 97 Subaru legacy. Has 190k miles on it and its a 5 speed Manuel. I was just trying to get some help trying to decide where to get started on Modding it a little. I'm currently making plans for an after market clutch, I want o header( I keep hearing that "UEL" is the way to go, I want a Turbo but don't know which brand or how much boost I should run, and consider a short throw shifter and performance chip. But I dunno if that's where I should start. Lets hear some opinions Even though the EJ25D is a fragile engine... 1) STI high-flow air filter (P/N ST165464S000) or the not-as-safe option of a K&N drop-in air filter 2) Delta cams (might want to get some Cosworth engine parts like head gaskets while you're at it) 3) Bosal or some random upgraded muffler or exhaust 4) Borla unequal-length headers 5) STI short-throw shifter (P/N C1010FA001) w/ STI shifter bushing (P/N B0220FG300) 6) KYB GR-2 shocks with Eibach springs 7) Exedy Racing (Stage 1) Organic Clutch Kit That's what I presume you might like. Oh, and Primitive Racing has got lots of good Subaru products too http://www.get-primitive.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I found a thread about a guy adding a turbo to his 2.5 impreza (see the other '97 GT thread). Has all the instructions you may need. The engine lasted less than two years, as far as I can tell Honestly, adding a low boost turbo may work, but I'm not sure the gain is worth it. And as GD says, with your miles and overheating I would probably not bother. Fix it, enjoy it as it is, and save the money for a WRX or STI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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