How hard? subaru engine swap problems.

"Frank Grimes" (FrankGrimes) 12/16/2016 at 20:38 • Filed to: None

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I love subaru legacy wagons. Specifically the 3rd gen ones we got in americaland. More specifically A silver manual one with the mesh wheels.

The problem with these is the crapptastical composite head gaskets and only 165hp. I need head gaskets that last and 300hp or so.

Anyone ever swap a turbo motor into one? How hard is it? I need to live Gran Turismo fantasy.

gmctavish needs more space > Frank Grimes 12/16/2016 at 20:44

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Why not a Legacy GT? No swap necessary

dogisbadob > Frank Grimes 12/16/2016 at 20:50

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an LS can fit in any car :p

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Frank Grimes 12/16/2016 at 20:54

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From what I understand the mechanical bits for a WRX or STI swap basically drop right in (Legacys and Imprezas were very similar in these days and a lot of the sub framing is actually identical between the two). The issue is the difference in wiring between the turbos and non turbos. You essentially have to splice the drivetrain wiring (including ecu etc) from the turbo car into the body loom for the Legacy. Big project for a DIY however there are companies who can modify your harness for you.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > gmctavish needs more space 12/16/2016 at 20:55

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In the US the third generation GTs used the same EJ251 as the other models. GT was just a nicer trim level for this generation. The only way you could get a turbo in this platform in the US was the Baja Turbo.

PowderHound > Frank Grimes 12/16/2016 at 20:56

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You basically just get a donor car and swap everything over. The turbo crossmember, engine, diffs, axles... Hardest? Thing is merging the wiring harnesses

gmctavish needs more space > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 12/16/2016 at 20:56

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Oh, I did not know that. That’s weird and disappointing.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > gmctavish needs more space 12/16/2016 at 21:15

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I believe it has something to do with emissions. America didn’t have any turbos from 1999 when the second gen Legacy was discontinued until 2002 when the WRX was finally introduced here. For 2000 and 2001 the automatic Legacys and Outbacks used the familiar EJ251 that Subaru has been using in everything forever while the manual Legacys and Outbacks used the EJ252. The only difference was that the EJ252 used a different intake and a MAF instead of a MAP sensor resulting in a loss of 9hp.

vicali > Frank Grimes 12/16/2016 at 21:32

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Move to Canada.. There are even a few rsk leggies around..

gmctavish needs more space > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 12/16/2016 at 21:35

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Damn. I guess my EJ253 with 173hp is not too bad compared to those. Still definitely not fast

DipodomysDeserti > Frank Grimes 12/17/2016 at 00:13

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Swapping engines on subies is a bit of a chore. You’ll need to find someone who knows what they’re doing to rewire everything. If you have to ask how hard it is, then it would be much cheaper for you to just buy one with a turbo engine. Also, Subaru didn’t figure out how to install proper headgaskets until 2012 or so. They still haven’t figured out how to make a proper piston, which is a lot more expensive on a FI engines. The transmissions are also weak. I’ve owned three Subies, two with turbo EJ255 engines. I cracked a piston on one.