AssYriaNrocKer's 98 GT build

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Purchased this 98 legacy for $1000 about 2 weeks ago. Going to be replacing the motor as soon as I can due to bent valves. The car is in good condition for $1000 so hopefully I can get this thing looking good with the money I saved on the purchase! This car will be a daily driver for the GF.
This build thread will be pic heavy.

Things I've done so far:
MAJOR cleaning [its was nasty inside]
Installed wrx 6 disc stereo[for now]
Got all the missing interior pieces from the junk yard[ashtrays, jack cover, spare wheel with cover etc.]

Things ordered but not installed:
JDM V7 wheels [getting powder coated sti gold]
New stock spoiler [old ones cracked]
New passenger side tail light

Future mods:
Projectors
L7 grill
More to come I'm sure...

I am a Toyota off roader but working on Subaru's is nothing new to me. I love these cars. Should be a nice, safe, and reliable car for my GF to be driving when we make our move to the snowy roads of Chicago!

Questions comments and opinnions always welcome.

-RONI-

PICS from previuos owner













-RONI-

[fatgc8]

Stickyyyyy Michysssss!!!! Car looks great man! I agree with you on the paint job and the fog lights have also seen their better days. JDM fogs?

[AssYriaNrocKer]

She was complaining about intermittent power loss. Like serious power loss as in the car is about to stall. I took it for a ride to verizon and yeah...fuel pump failed in the parking lot. I was able to rent a fuel pres. gauge from autoszone and diagnose it on the spot. When turning the key to the on position I noticed the fuel pump was not making a sound at all. I had her turn the key while I gave the pump a few love taps and sure enough it started making noise and the motor started. I had her sit in the back seat tapping the pump every so often and we limped home going about 30mph with about 10-15psi of fuel pres. lol Hey it worked.

I have a Walbro 255 pump along with the full fuel pump assembly at my dad's house and I will be posting a fix soon.

-RONI-

[meepers]

Manual swap is pretty easy. Let me dig through the posts that I used that helped me out with the wiring. Overall it is a pretty damn straight up swap and wiring. I did not pull my motor when I did the conversion, I did it ghetto style on the floor with jackstands and a floor jack. The auto trans is a frigging PIG. The wiring is easy, and you will run into some annoying clearance issues when you go to bolt in the pedal assembly as the wiring/carpet makes it a tight fit and you dont want the wiring to be pinched.

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Manual swap is pretty easy. Let me dig through the posts that I used that helped me out with the wiring. Overall it is a pretty damn straight up swap and wiring. I did not pull my motor when I did the conversion, I did it ghetto style on the floor with jackstands and a floor jack. The auto trans is a frigging PIG. The wiring is easy, and you will run into some annoying clearance issues when you go to bolt in the pedal assembly as the wiring/carpet makes it a tight fit and you dont want the wiring to be pinched.

Wow I would really appreciate the thread sharing especially from someone with some auto/manual trans swapping experience. I believe you on the pedal assembly because it was a pain in the ass to pull it out of the donor vehicle. With all of the left over wires from the previous owners alarm system I would def. be having a tough time down there. I might finally look into removing the unused alarm system before attempting the trans conversion now that you say that....It should have been done a while ago anyway but removing old alarm systems can be intimidating. I would appreciate any help you send my way meepers.




----------------------------------------

Fuel Pump

So like I said, I was dealing with a fuel pump failure. My first thoughts where "oh no prob. I have an STI fuel pump assembly hanging around somewhere". The problem was this STI fuel pump assembly was fitted with a Walbro 255 fuel pump! With my NA motor I think it was quite obviuos that a Walbro 255 would be pushing far too much pressure for my stock fuel system. I ended up ordering an OEM replacement pump form Bosch. Part number 69499. I read a of a few people having installation issues regarding the wiring terminals but I had no such issue, it was a direct and perfect fit. So upon removing the old fuel pump and assembly the first thing I noticed was no filter on the end of the pump! :smt076 I am assuming this is what caused it to fail. The second thing I noticed was it was an aftermarket pump made by a company called "Carter", which I never heard of, so obviously the P.O. has replaced it before. I was happy to find the inside of the tank was spotless. No water (from what I could tell) no rust, corrosion, debris, or any other foreign materials. I did however find the filter sitting at the bottom....it looked brand new like when the installer stuck it in it fell off immediately and was never used. (btw i use the term "filter" loosely here...it's the sock/bag thing on the bottom of the pump not the actual fuel filter)


Here is a comparison of the STI fuel pump assembly and the 98 NA Legacy fuel pump assembly that was retrieved from the tank.





STI


98 LEGACY (missing "filter bag")



So there I was about to install the brand new Bosch OEM replacement pump when I thought (of course) why not try to "kill two birds with one stone" here. I remembered I was having an issue with fuel starvation during hard cornering. This would usually (if not only) happen during right turns with 1/4 tank of fuel or less. From what I understand this happens because the fuel is moving over to one side and leaving the pumps fuel inlet empty. To compensate Subaru uses what I think is called a "jet/transfer" pump on the driver side that pumps fuel over to the pas. side where the fuel pump is. In the older versions of this set up you see the "jet/transfer" outlet just leads to the general area of the fuel pump in hopes of keeping fuel near the fuel inlet zone. However in the newer versions of this setup found in (I want to say 04 and up) STI's the "jet/transfer" pumps outlet leads directly into what is called the "surge box" witch keeps the fuel directly around the filter bag, meaning the inlet has constant fuel flow around hard corners which means.....no more fuel starvation! Now this Legacy is no track queen but it sure is fun to drive. Hitting a corner half way decent and having the motor sputter to a stop due to fuel starvation is pretty upsetting. I decided to "see what I can do" and do my best to have the best path for that transfer pumps outlet to stop this fuel starvation once and for all. I used the pieces from the STI assembly and transferred them to my Legacy assembly along with the replacement pump. So here is a pic with some helpful "arrow thingy bobs" and names of "thingamajigs".



As you can see in the picture the hard lines for the transfer pump outlet are longer on the STI version than on the legacy which meant I had to extend the rubber fuel line hose to reach the further away surge box. On the STI version the surge box also has some fancy bracket that holds the surge box in place. This bracket is not easily transferred over and I ended up not using it. To fit the surge box I cut the opening around the filter bag to be a bit larger to allow more room around the legacy fuel pump inlet. From there I connected the newly extended hose and left it at that. The box does not move freely and I feel confident the surge box will not move or fall off once installed in the tank. Also I will mention I read on a forum somewhere that one user had a difficult time fitting the surge box in the tank due to the tank being smaller and not allowing the box to fit forcing him to create his own home made surge box. I do not remember what year or model his Suby was but I can say that mine although slightly tight it did fit. I even installed it and then removed it, to make sure nothing moved and then reinstalled it. Here is a couple pics of the 98 legacy fuel pump assembly fitted with the new fuel pump (wrapped in a sound deadening rubber sleave) and the surge box with the extended transfer pump outlet.





Just as a triple check I will be opening up the fuel pump again sometime after a tank or 2 to be 100% certain that the filter bag and surge box do not come off as it did for the previous installer. On a side note the sound deadening rubber sleeve was found on the old pump and I decided to use it again. I read up on this idea and lots of people were saying "what about the fuel pump overheating?" and to that all I can say is this vehicle was driven with that sleeve installed in 120 degree Arizona heat. I have full confidence that overheating did not cause the fuel pump to fail but rather the absence of the filter bag is what made it fail. This was a fun one and hopefully takes care of fuel pump and fuel starvation issues for years to come. I will keep updated.

Rear end links and fogs still coming soon.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. :usa2:

-RONI-

[meepers]

Damn.... Now I wanna get a complete sti pum/sender for my car. If you still lived in AZ I would have no problem helping you with the swap. I need to find all the links and PDFs I downloaded and will gladly send them. Having the fsm PDFs is great. Using my iPad in the car with every diagram needed. Saves time.

Lemme do some hunting.

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Haha I didn't even realize your location was PHX. I do not regret my move but I must say I've lost a lot of valuable resources since moving. The full pump and sending unit can get pretty pricey. I got mine from my brother (Fatgc8) after an unfortunate end to his STI's life back in.....oh I want to say 2012? I've just had it in my collection of misc. parts this whole time. I sure do miss that car....

No rush on the swap info. Its gonna be while before I can start that project.

-RONI-

[fatgc8]

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!

[AssYriaNrocKer]

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!

Nothing new to update really, everything is running the way it should. Still eating snow for breakfast like a champ...here she is with with the winter boots...again...





Here is the future....lol Thanks fatgc8 for the early christmas gift! :smt066

EJ257 short block

Not happening anytime soon...but it will happen.



I was a little worried about storing it so I used a product called Fogging Oil by Sta-Bil to protect from any surface rust that may occur. I then wrapped it in a blanket and then a giant drop cloth.



-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

The 4 runner has been taking a beating lately and sprung a leak! That's not gonna stop us from camping though...the suby stepped up to plate while the 4 runner waits for parts. I love this damn car...it is just so damn comfortable and fun to drive. Even though that power steering pump is leaking all over and actually starting to howl it handled the 5 hr drive easily on our first trip. Destination was Giant City State Park in southern Il. We actually ended up in a nearby campground to be more secluded, it was a great time. She is extremely dirty and tired in these pics but Ill post anyway. Got it dirty going through a little but of mud from the rain. It was a blast...and funny to see 2wd trucks stuck when I couldn't get stuck if I tried!











Yes all of this fit without issue!




Second trip was much closer to a some what local campground in Marengo, IL. Great spot to get away for the weekend. The very next weekend I might add...so no wash. It doesn't get much dirtier than this...so many dead insects.......








When I installed the Ohlins struts I never replaced the strut mounts. Now with the stiffer suspension beating the hell out of the mounts you can only imagine how horrible it sounds on bumps! I have just placed an order for some Group N Subaru strut mounts. They should pair nicely with the Ohlins struts....wish I had done it when I was installing the struts but the funds where just not there at the time. Next I need to take care of the power steering pump. I was thinking about buying the gasket kit and just tearing it down....but maybe with the 04 STI steering rack in there it is demanding more than the pump can handle? Maybe I will rebuild it only to have it start failing again due to the stress of keeping up with the STI rack? I have done a little searching and haven't found anything about a pump swap. I know that the pumps are very different and require the reservoir to be mounted separately but I have not seen a write up of any kind ...yet....I will keep searching. If anyone has any info on this please feel free to share.

Summer wheels going back on soon.


I keep saying I'm going to replace those hideous dead fog lights.....I'm slacking.....

-RONI-

[subieadam]

Love the new carpet smell lol

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Not much new on the GT. Replaced the old yellow top Optima with...well... a Yellow top Optima.lol In other news a did make a new purchase. As some of you may know my daily driver was a 1994 2wd 22re 5spd Toyota Pick up. This is not the greatest vehicle to be driving in the blizzards of Chicago. As a matter of fact it might be the worst...So I decided to part with it and get me a Subaru of my own. I sure did love that little truck but some times you just gotta let go and move on. The dude who bought it seems like he will care for it as much as I did...or at least try.

Anyway I was looking to buy a beater. Something for 1k or less that I can do a little work to and drive everyday no matter the weather. I wanted the Outback but I also didn't want to end up buying something that was gonna need head gaskets in a month. I knew that the 1996 Outback was available in a 5spd with the reliable 2.2 motor but I only found one available in my area and it was a rust bucket! It squeaked, rattled and jangled all through the test drive and like a dumby I STILL made the guy an offer. Thank the Suby Gods that he declined my offer of 400$! After researching I found out that the updated versions of the head gaskets have "tabs" that can be used to identify a new vs. old head gasket Sure enough I found one not too far from my house with the tabs and decided to gamble on it. The guy took my first offer of 800$...I was a little sceptical that he was so eager to take my first offer. I really don't want to have to take this thing apart and do head gaskets....I just wanna drive it to work and back with maybe a camping trip or 2? So far I have done; timing belt, water pump, replaced RR door, plugs, wires, coil, diff fluids, radiator flush, oil change, rear struts, master clutch cylinder, slave cylinder, alternator, refurbished the wheels, new tires and alignment. Last week I also had it undercoated as a last ditch effort to stop the rust from advancing. In all I am 1800$ into this wagon and that includes the price of purchase/title transfer. I am happy with it thus far...it's been about 4 months with no issues other than the ones I fixed. (timing was off but no bent valves!) I even found the original dealership window sticker in the glove box!

Here she is...1998 Legacy Outback Wagon 5spd N/A EJ25










I'll miss my pick up forever...







-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

OK....Update?

So this wagon has since gone from running great to running ok with a check engine light. Missfire codes Cyl. 1,3 and 4. Also the occasional EGR codes and Catalyst codes. The rack has torn and leaking boots...the exhaust is rusted from manifold to tail pipe beyond repair...both front axle boots are torn and axles are bone dry and rusty inside...and last but certainly not least ...I am pretty sure the "oil separator" plate on the back of the block is pissing oil. Everything is wet and I have to keep an eye on the oil level.

Anyway who cares this thread is about the Legacy GT limited not the rust bucket daily driver! With that being said....I have decided to junk the wagon. Not without keeping a few goodies of course. By goodies I mean MANUAL TRANSMISSION. Yes it is old, yes it needs to be resealed but it only makes sense. I have been waiting to do the trans swap on the auto leggy since day one and now i have the opportunity with almost every major component I need sitting right there waiting to be had. I have gone too long without any of my projects moving forward. Its time...

From what I understand thus far; I will be keeping the trans, rear diff, and hydraulic parts from the wagon. I already sourced a pedal assembly so I wont need that and the front axles are trashed so I wont be keeping those either. I will need to purchase a clutch kit that includes a fly wheel, front axles, and a drive shaft because I believe the drive shaft in the wagon will be slightly too long. If I am not mistaken the 5mt out of the outback should fit without issue and the X-member should bolt right up as well. I am using the outback rear diff. to pair the gear ratios being as the auto trans and diff. use different ratios which should also bolt up with no problem. I belive installing the pedal assembly and clutch master should be hassle free because from what I have read the firewall already has a cut out for the manual swap it just uses a rubber plug in that location for the autos. If you are wondering why I havn't just looked at my own firewall to make sure the rubber plugged hole is there it is because the car is hibernating. It is under a car cover in the back of my garage which is hard to get to. (I somehow fit 2 cars in a 1 car garage to hibernate over winter)

As far as what I will be driving...I am currently shopping. Looking at getting something like a 06-08 outback with generally low mileage with a 5mt. Something that is a bit healthier than this 800 purchase. I need to have a newer safer vehicle for the newest addition to the family. My first child was born on this past Christmas and he has been a blessing. A future Suby fanatic in the making!

So in conclusion of this post...does anyone one have any tips for my next mission?

Is it 100% certain fact that my drive shaft will not swap from the outback into the gt sedan?

Will the cross member fit directly on without modification?

Does any one have any helpful links?

Does anyone need anything from the Outback that I will be junking? It is 1998 Outback all weather package...let me know


And lastly...I have been doing a lot of searching as you can imagine and I have noticed that Photobucket has ruined tons of forums out there. Thousands of pictures not showing up in some very informative threads. Is there a fix for this? It would be such a shame to not have any pictures from past writeups. Are my own pictures even showing up in this thread?

[admiral snackbar]

I found this on NASIOC of all places and its been super helpful:
to fix your photobucket photos, you just add ~original after .jpg. It starts out looking like this when the photos are broken: Tdagen/image_zps8e8f28ea.jpg[/IMG]

It ends up like this: Tdagen/image_zps8e8f28ea.jpg~original[/IMG]

And some of mine had some weird numbers in between the .jpg and [/IMG] like this:
/subysmashedup378.jpg?t=1257112242[/IMG]



From the other end, if you're using Chrome, there's an extension that fixes the images as well.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...giikdkpmcpkaon

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Admiral snackbar that was very helpful info. thank you! What a shame Photobucket would do something like this. Also....that is a a great username.



Before I could start my quest to "gear shifting" I had to find a replacement vehicle for my daily driver. As stated in the last post I was prepared to spend a bit more to have a safe ride for my new born son. With a little bit of patience and persuasion the new daily was found. A clean 2006 Legacy Wagon with 45k miles! Clean carfax, no rust, 5MT and such low mileage...I had to have it. Only problem was...the wife ended up liking it more than myself! It is newer and far more spacious then the daily driver she had (05 Impreza Outback Sport 5MT) and so we made a trade. She got the new 06 wagon and I took the 05 Impreza as my daily. I just replaced the clutch (in the Impreza) and I guess you could say I'm not complaining...but man I love that 06 wagon! So clean and still has that new car smell! Anyway here is a few pics before I move on.








Having two healthy daily drivers for us meant it was a big green light for the tear down on the 98 outback. It sure as hell was not easy. When I first purchased the vehicle I had gotten it undercoated to help prevent any further rust. Whether that helped or not I do not know but I can say that the LF control arm was so severely rusted I could have broke it with a couple hits of a carpenter's hammer! The undercoating made everything a bitch to remove! Every damn bolt had a thick coating of black, disgusting, sticky shit all over it. And guess which other car has been undercoated....yeah the GT... Regardless of the copious amounts of tar on the outback I got her done. I removed; axles, rear diff, transmission, flywheel, clutch cover/pressure plate, clutch cylinder, slave cylinder, drive shaft, and obviously shifter linkage. The shifter arms where pretty rusty so I did a bit of sanding and painting on those and I plan on doing the same to the differential. The axle boots were torn not to mention I buggered up the ends with a hammer trying to get them free so axles will have to be replaced. I have resealed the tail shaft of the transmission along with the access panel on the top. Now when I took it apart I found gaskets. Instead of replacing gaskets I decided to use the red sealant we use at work (Toyota dealer). It is a lot like the Fujibond stuff and it used mainly to seal transmission cases anyway so I don't see that being a problem. I did however use WAY too much but I doubt that will cause any problems either.

Under the knife...FINALLY!


Here is that crusty ass LF control arm. Anyone still rockin these old outbacks be warned this is a rust problem area along with the rear strut towers!


Here is what it looked like when I pulled it out. Dirty, rusty, and ugly. You may even ask yourself "Why is he even bothering using such an old high mileage piece of junk 5MT?" Well the truth is I am doing it because it is going to be cheap. Let's not forget the auto currently in the GT is slipping like crazy...and who actually wants to drive an automatic Subaru anyway. My wife doesn't even drive an auto...




You can see how the leaking oil separator plate left oil residue all over the bell housing. The whole thing was very difficult to clean and the end result is no where near perfect like it was on my 4Runner trans. swap...but IIRC I used some kind of steam cleaner on the 4Runner trans...this time around I used endless amounts of brake cleaner.



While I was working on the trans. and getting it cleaned up I had it standing up on a spare rim inside of a kiddie pool. This helped keep it stable without damaging the shaft and also kept the mess contained. I used a rubber glove to cover the seal so no brake clean/degreaser got into the transmission.



So like I said I used way too much sealant here but I am not too worried about it.



One nice surprise was a broken Shifter Bracket on the back of the trans. Two of the three mounting holes were broken and the previous owner decided to weld it back together. Well the welds did not allow it to sit flush and it was missing a bolt. Not to mention the ugly ass welds did'nt hold anyway. I ordered a replacement for $15 part number: 35033AA022

Here is a pic of the old broken one.



Here is a pic. of the new one Installed.



Here is what it looks like now after a little cleaning and resealing. Like I said not perfect but much better. I am assuming this will be replaced in a few years anyway given it has approx. 200k+ miles





I went ahead and bought a new dust cover for the shift fork ($20) because the old one was gone, aside from a crunchy little lip that was barley hanging on. Here is a pic for anyone still paying attention? I also ordered a new shifter return spring. Actually seeing as almost every 5MT is missing this piece I ordered 4 of them. They are like $1.25 each.




I pulled a few misc. pieces as well such as keyless entry module with fob (no pics) and also this hood scoop. The newer one being on bottom.



So along the way I managed to pick up a few goodies!

Kartboy shifter bushings front



Kartboy shifter bushing rear



I sanded and painted the whole crossmember and purchased RalliTEK crossmember mount bushings and a Group N transmission mount! If your wondering why it looks so shitty it's the undercoating. I wanted to install these tonight but there was soooooo many mosquitos in the garage tonight.....ffuuuccckkk that.



Here is a shot of the shifter arms after light sanding and painting with the front Kartboy bushings.



Last but not least I picked up this Prodrive Axle back Oval Tip exhaust. I am not sure if it will be bolt on or if I will have to Adjust or replace the hangars. Anyone know if it's a direct fit?? I will test fit when I have the old exhaust out for the 5MT install.








I was almost teary eyed...but not really.lol As you can see I removed the brand new tires that were on there and installed some Prius tires from work.



Things to ponder...

Will the outback drive shaft work in my GT?

The rear axles came out without the locking clips on the ends...will this be a problem?

Will the red sealant work as good or better?

Will that exhaust be direct fit or will it need to be modified in some way?

By the way I've come this far all on my own. I used some large tow straps to help lower the transmission without dropping it and it was a struggle but I got it done. I am thinking I may need some help with the automatic seeing as it is a LOT bigger.

Anyone have any input? questions? helpful tips?...I'm all ears..errr eyes...

Goodbye Outback you will be missed...but organ donors save lives.


-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Today I had time to throw on the Group N transmission mount and the RalliTEK crossmember bushings. When I removed the old bushings I noticed 1 pair was installed wrong. Instead of being on either side of the crossmember they were placed on the same side on top of each other...strange. Mosquitos are still out in full force so after that I pulled the GT in and called it a day. These mosquitos are going to be a battle now that its warm out.

Group N on left original on right.


RalliTEK crossmember bushings installed with Group N trans. mount. I got the "soft" bushings opposed to the "hard" Judging by how soft the originals were I am positive it will make a huge difference. The old ones were as soft as a sponge!


I am ready to start tearing into this thing. Should be fun... The wagon was kind of easy because I knew it was going to the junkyard so everything got a taste of the hammer. This time I will be a bit more...gentle.

I may have a connection on a better shape bumper locally. It is the same paint code...hopefully the shade is the same. Then again anything will look better then the current scratched, chipped, bent, and low hanging bumper that is on there now!


I will give her a good cleaning before I start....just for motivation purposes. I will do my best to take pictures and update this page along the way.

-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Remember kids, always unbolt the torque convertor when removing an automatic trans!

Look at the size difference here. That is one giant magical shifting box...and only 4 damn gears to. I have a spare 4:44 differential now if anyone is interested.



Currently I have all parts in hand and ready to be installed. The old stuff for the auto is all out as well. If you need any of the parts I am not using just let me know. On another note I am surprised by how tight the flex plate bolts are. I'm sure there is loctite on there but still seems really tight. I brought my breaker bars home today and will get them off tomorrow some time. Tomorrow I will also install the pedal assembly.

Yesterday I picked up a replacement bumper. I really dislike the small black portion that is under the headlights but actually I see it on a lot of these legacys. The bumper is not perfect but it will look 100 times better then whats currently on the car.

-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Since I had such a hard time dropping the auto trans I decided it might be a good idea to replace the rear main seal. I wondered if all the trans/engine movement flexed the seal and started a leak. I was debating at first but sure enough there was a drip of fresh oil behind the flex plate. I decided since I have it in stock anyway I might as well throw it on. After that and a little cleaning I threw on the freshly cut flywheel. Of course I forgot to take any pics of this.

I removed the bumper to have better access to the auto transmission cooling lines that I needed to remove and cap off. I threw the old bumper in the shed for the time being...anyone need it?...It's ugly.... I got the lines out and capped off the ends from the radiator.


Getting the new brake and clutch pedal assembly in was not the easiest thing that's for sure. If you are using the cable type shifter it would be a lot easier but I'm using the hydraulic setup, that came from the outback, which uses an extension rod that has to be routed behind the steering column to reach the clutch master cylinder. After moving a few wires and modules it is possible I promise. The TCU is also in this area by the brake pedal and I have left it plugged in for now. From my understanding there is a plug for cruise, one for ABS, and one for the trans. I am not 100% on this so I left it plugged in for now.


Cant wait to see a shifter here...


Next I will finish installing the clutch kit and throw in the rear diff. along with the trans and driveshaft. I still need to get some front axles...I may or may not have a connect on some used front axles for cheap.


That's all for today.

-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

I apologize in advance for not taking as many pictures as I would have liked to. I did every bit of this project alone and wanted to keep a forward motion instead of stopping to take pics every step of the way. Besides...dirty hands?...clean phone?...

After the pedal assembly was in I threw the clutch in. I had the old flywheel resurfaced and used a new clutch kit from Exedy. I recently had a bad experience ordering an "Exedy" kit from an online vendor so I decided to order straight thru Exedy this time. Worth every penny. I went with the KSB04 kit which is an OEM replacement kit that includes: pressure plate/cover, clutch disc, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, grease, and alignment tool. I'll mention here that when I was doing the throwout bearing it wouldn't fit! Come to find the previous owner used a sleeve with an oversized throwout bearing to fit over it. Generally you use a sleeve if the snout of the trans is marred and causing a noise. Seeing this, I figured the only way to get a bearing on here that I know 100% will fit is to buy a new sleeve and bearing kit because it is hard to find a bearing that will fit a sleeve...usually they come in kits together. After removing the sleeve....what a nice surprise...no marring or any damage whatsoever! Maybe the previous mechanic had it laying around? Or maybe it was a preventative maintenance item? Either way my bearing rides smooth with no noise I was happy.

Freshly cut flywheel that came out of the outback donor.


OEM replacement Exedy clutch disc.


OEM replacement Exedy clutch cover.


Once the transmission is in place the crossmember bolts into holes that are already there on the vehicle you just have to remove the rubber plugs. These plugs kept the threads in perfect condition! I just moved them over to the newly unused holes for the auto trans. crossmember. After that I installed the rear differential. Just a tip for anyone doing this, it is much easier (in my opinion) to leave the axles in place. I was able to lower the old diff. down and maneuver the axles out, and at the same time I was able to raise the new diff into place and smack the axles completely in. Next was the drive shaft. At first glance I thought I was golden....just throw it in and done...not so fast. The length was perfect but once it was bolted in I couldn't get the differential flange cover on because it would hit the driveshaft. The culprit was the center carrier bearing. On the outbacks it hangs 1 inch lower to accommodate for the lift of the outback. (I guess I forgot to mention the trans. crossmemebers on outbacks also have 2 1" spacers that I had to cut off) After separating the front and rear section of the shaft you can see a staked nut that holds the carrier in place. Remove nut, pull flange, pull bearing, and install it all back together on the manual drive shaft. After swapping the carrier bearing it fit perfect. For front axles I went with Napa brand rebuilds. I heard they use Subaru knuckles to rebuild and they were decently priced. Got the heat shields back on along with exhaust and then it was time for the hardest part (for me)....WIRING.

Anyone out there researching for this swap will find tons and tons of threads on the topic. The problem is when it comes to the wiring people have done many different things and have come to some similar results. Some people have no ABS, some have no cruise, some have CEL codes, and some have a low idle/stalling problem. What I have done here is gathered all the info I can fit into my little brain and used it to do what I BELIEVE to be CORRECT. With that being said, use any information on my build thread at your own risk. My vehicle is a 1998 2.5 GT Limited and my donor vehicle was a 1998 2.5 Outback...if you are using anything other than those two cars YOURS MAY BE DIFFERENT. (but prob. not that different.)

Ill start off by saying I have tried a couple different configurations of the wiring and came across some of the symptoms I listed above. What I have currently setup in the car is working so far with no stalling, perfect idle, no CEL codes (yet), functioning ABS (presumed functioning have not tested), working cruise control, and no other abnormalities. With that being said I don't really have any logged miles on the car just went around block a few times so time will tell if any codes come up....but I feel confident.

The Items that will need to be wired are as follows:

REVERSE LIGHTS

CLUTCH PEDAL SWITCH

VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR

NEUTRAL POSITION SWITCH

ECU IDENTIFIER PIN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

REVERSE LIGHTS

The reverse lights will be wired into the inhibitor switch harness that use to connect to the 4eat. On the inhibitor harness you will be using pins 9-12 for this swap. The reverse light wires on my 5mt were connected to a grey 2 prong small harness. One wire of this reverse harness will go into pin number 9 of the inhibitor harness and the other will go into pin 10. To do this I just cut out the grey harness and used the other end of the inhibitor switch to plug the wire in. This way it is not a harness going to a harness its just one plug and not 2. Refer to the picture below.

CLUTCH PEDAL SWITCH

The clutch pedal has 2 switches on it. The top one is the clutch switch you will be using. The lower switch I believe is used for cruise control. What I did was extend the 2 wires coming from the clutch switch all the way to the AC drain hose. The AC drain hose was an easy way thru the firewall and being that the wires are fairly small i am not worried about having any water leak from any gap created by squeezing the wire next to the hose. One of these 2 wire goes to pin number 11 on the inhibitor harness and the other goes to pin 12. This taps into the starter circuit which means you can only start the vehicle with the clutch pedal depressed just as it is intended to work. If you plan on any auto X or other type of racing this is usually checked on inspection. (From what I have read anyway) Refer to picture below.


VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR

So luckily for me the vehicle speed sensor was exactly the same for the 4eat and the 5mt. I have not heard anyone else say this in their findings but in my case I was lucky. OK...not EXACTLY the same but same set up just different length wires. All I had to do was plug it in though. From what I have read sometimes you need to extend wires and other times you need to add wires that run straight to the ECU. It all depends on the years of the donor and the car your working on. I guess I caught a break on this one....good luck to everyone else!


NEUTRAL POSITION SWITCH

This is where a lot of people differed in their findings. Originally I had this connected thru the inhibitor switch just like all the other wires and that made sense to me at the time. Having it connected thru the inhibitor switch caused me to have low idle and stalling issues which was very scary....coming to a stop with no brake boost is not fun. The reason this happens is we forget that the inhibitor switch does not report directly to the ECU but rather to the TCU. From the TCU the signal THEN gets sent to the ECU. The TCU has 3 plugs. I believe ones is for ABS, one is for cruise control, and the center pug is the shifting solenoids. With the center plug removed the idle drops to normal and you retain ABS and cruise. So like I said the TCU is not sending transmission signals to the ECU without that middle plug. You have to connect the neutral position switch directly to the ECU. To do this one wire has to be connected to pin number 82 on the ECU. This pin has a wire in it already...If I remember correctly it is blue with a red stripe and 2 silver dots. Cut the wire and connect it to the neutral position switch. The other wire of the Neutral position switch gets grounded.

ECU IDENTIFIER PIN

The ECU on my 98 has a AT/MT identity pin. Apparently for these years Subaru used the same ECU part numbers for both auto and manual, the difference being pin 81. On the auto this pin is left empty and measures 5v. On the manual this pin is grounded to show 0v. To convert your ECU to a manual you just plug in a pin and ground it. To do this I removed pin 80 and moved it over to 81. I then cut the wire and ran it to a ground. Pin 80 I believe is an auto diag. pin that is no longer used. Now that the ECU knows it is a manual you will no longer get any automatic transmission related code. I believe pin 80 is a pink wire.

Some pictures for reference...

This picture is kind of useless but I will include it anyway. Like I said I kept forgetting to take pics so this one was taken after I already put the ECU back. The red wire is my ground for pin 81. It is grounded to the body on a dash support. People say it needs to be grounded in a certain way yada yada yada....a ground is a ground 0v is 0v....haters gonna hate.


For the clutch wires I used a small 2 prong plug just in case it ever needs to be removed.



I have a FSM on my hard drive which helps a lot. Here is a reference to the Inhibitor switch. There are 2 plugs left over after you remove the auto trans. The bigger of the 2 will not be use. I just water proofed it and tied it to the side. The other one is the inhibitor switch that is used for revers lights and clutch pedal switch.


Here is my attempt at showing you how things are wired. Not super helpful but I am sure it will help someone out there.


So like I said I have not logged miles but as soon as I am done here I am going out for a drive and a car wash. I will keep this subject updated. I believe everything is correct and I should have no issues. If anyone has any questions or comments always free to chime as usual. Here is a few pics of the finished product. Maybe when I report back I'll post a few pics of this thing actually being clean.

This is the "new to me" bumper. Not a huge fan of the black line under the headlights but it is common on these years. I guess it doesnt look terrible...kinda like eyeliner for the car. As you can see I did not install the fogs because they were trashed and filled with water....time for a fog light upgrade. Decently priced suggestions anyone?


Interior



One last thing I would like to say is....I did this all alone. From lowering the trans to bleeding the clutch I had only 1 helper...this guy...


-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Currently have about 170 miles on the car after the swap. I can say that it drives great! Only bad thing to mention is 10 miles into it CEL came on: P1101 NEUTRAL POSITION SWITCH (off). This didn't make sense to me because I know my wiring is correct so I erased it and moved on. 65 miles later it came back. Erased it again and it has yet to return. Yesterday I rechecked my wiring and even checked the voltage at pin 82 (neutral position switch pin). I got 5v when in neutral and 0v when in gear which is exactly what I am suppose to see according to the FSM. I am thinking that the switch maybe sticking at times. Maybe it has something to do with all the cleaning I did when the trans. was out. I used a ton of brake clean and degreaser which may or may not have caused an issue. Either way I believe it is an intermittent issue with the switch and has nothing to do with my wiring. I am going to ride it out until I see it becoming a frequently reoccurring issue at that point I will throw on a new switch. Other then that one small hiccup the car is running great. It is still an NA EJ25 so "fast" it is not exactly a descriptive word for this car but it sure is fun. Currently running the car with no axle back exhaust. With the UEL headers its fairly loud and attracts unwanted attention from the 16 year olds revving their Honda at me because I have a loud Subaru with gold rims... I hope to make it out to the muffler shop tomorrow to fab up a way to mount that ProDrive axle back.

Got in a quick car wash before the rain.












This here is the one ugly ass corner of the car. This fender has been repainted or something by the previous owner and its all chipping and there is no clear coat. I would love to get the whole car painted but that's expensive. Maybe I should just get this one fender fixed for now though. In this corner the hood seems misaligned as well. Not sure if it is the hood or the fender that is misaligned.


At 80mph it sits just under 4k. The outback was similar to this and I always thought that was a bit high. I know with the gear ratios being different my speedometer is no longer exact...I just don't know If it is too slow or too fast.....ratios and math is not my forte. I took it up to about 110mph and I'm pretty sure it was around 5k.


-RONI-

[Sub-Goon]

All speedometers read a higher speed than reality, the manufacturers see to that! Download a gps speed app on your phone to see what you are actually doing and compare to your speedo.

[webberjames95]

nice work keeping her going

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Sub-Goon you are correct. I used a GPS app and found it to read 5mph slower than my vehicles speedometer.

Webberjames95 Thanks man. It's a slow and long road but much more to come.

-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Garaged for the winter. Had a great time driving this thing all summer with no issues.

This year I will be leaving the 4 runner out of the garage and will have more room to continue any work and maintenance on the GT. Next on the list as of right now is steering wheel replacement and control arm bushings.

-RONI-

[ryu_haneda]

Hope you are doing very well. It’s been a long time since I’ve driven a BD GT, I saw one on the road and was like WOW

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Hope you are doing very well. It’s been a long time since I’ve driven a BD GT, I saw one on the road and was like WOW

Wow...no post since 2019...

I have been well. Well and busy. I have since sold the 95 Toyota 22re 4 runner. It was my baby for over a decade and took me on many adventures. However given the circumstances (divorce), I was forced to make some financial changes. I refuse to let go of the GT and the 4runner had blown rings so the choice was easy. I collected my pennies and continued to play with the GT. Unfortunately that has led to a minor setback, but rest assured I had a huge smile on my face the whole time.

It was the beginning of the pandemic sometime in February 2020 around 9pm on an eerily open highway. literally not a soul in sight; no police; no traffic; no one at traffic lights. I decided it was a great time to have some fairly safe fun on the highway. I do not condone unsafe driving on public roads ...I just figured it was so empty it was a once in a lifetime chance to have some fun right on I94. Going down a smooth straight away I was accelerating somewhere around 135mph (beyond the numbers on the speedo) and just under redline. As soon as I released the accelerator the engine shut off and was unable to restart. I was able to safely stop on my exit and was towed home by a co-worker. I have since purchased a new home and towed it into the new garage. She hasn't ran since but I have a decent garage to work in now: compressor, air tools, bench, engine stand, engine hoist, etc. So needless to say I just pulled her out and.....the rod bearings are toast! Bank one head did not seem to have any damage to the cam journals what so ever but bank 2 suffered some minor scoring. I am going to take the heads over to a local machine shop to get a better assessment. I am currently on the hunt for a 2.5 NA DOHC engine. Much harder to find than I expected. Might end up buying a whole running car and just pull the engine. YYESSS I do eventually want a turbo setup but I would really like to have this thing running in the mean time. So....Anyone local to southern Wisconsin have a 2.5 laying around?

Can someone verify for me, are my photos in this thread still viewable? I'll try to post some photos.

Hope everyone has been having as much fun as I have with their Legacy.

-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Finally found an engine! 2.5 DOHC out of a 1998 Outback. Purchased from Fairfax Salvage and Repair in Fairfax VT. I was told the car was running with no major engine malfunctions with 154k miles. Upon receiving the engine it was clear the head gaskets had been leaking for quite some time. After a quick power wash I drained and removed the oil pan. The oil that came out showed no signs of metal debris to any degree. Also yanked on the rods just checking for loose damaged bearings. No concerns found so far. I had some time to remove the intake manifold as well as the timing components. Valve guides look to not be dropping and in decent condition. So far the only concern I have is 1 stubborn seized exhaust stud. I was able to remove the other studs that were broken and damaged using a torch and vise grips. I am more than likely going to be sending the heads out to a machine shop for pressure testing, cleaning and surface decking. Hopefully they can help me out with the corroded stud. Here is a few photos to show you guys what I am working with here. So far I am fairly pleased with my purchase from Fairfax Salvage.





This is after the power wash.






I was able to remove the stud shown on the right but that left one is seized pretty good. I'm hoping the machine shop can take care of that one.


Here is how it sits for now. Christmas is here. Hoping for more positive updates after the holidays.



I'm excited to get this engine running and get this polished turd back on the road!


-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

I was pleased to see the oil staining was actually not that bad, indicating the previous owner likely kept up with oil changes. No significant scoring on the bores and journals either.


This is what the short block looked like before any cleaning was done.


I cleaned it up using lots of brake clean. I tried to remove as much of the corrosion and oxidation as I could using a wire wheel.





To keep the buckets in order I like to use little organizer boxes. They are like 4 bucks from Harbor Freight. I have the cams, caps, and buckets neatly set aside. I also have all the bolts soaking in white vinegar. I guess it helps remove rust and oxidation. We will see how well that turns out.


The heads were sent to the machine shop and returned pretty quick. I had them pressure tested, vacuum tested, cleaned, and surface decked. The guides and valves look healthy so I will not be messing with them.




So far It is going pretty smooth. I pretty much have 2 of everything so I can choose the healthier of the 2 options. I will be taking smaller items to work and use the parts washer to cook and clean some of the smaller parts. For the machine work I used Dons Machine Shop in Kenosha Wisconsin. I have used them plenty times in the past when I worked for Kenosha Subaru. I would imagine there are better shops around but I got a decent price and very fast service. Vacuum test shows 100% seal and no cracks on pressure test. .004" on the deck surface. Also they were able to remove the one exhaust stud that was seized. The surface of the head at the exhaust manifold side is very pitted but I will try and deal with that when the time comes. Maybe some exhaust gasket goop or something idk. Slowly but surely she is coming along. I have OEM head gaskets on order.


-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

Boy these forums really died huh? Whatever I'm still going to keep updating this picture heavy build thread.

I have not gotten the heads on yet but I have been getting organized and collecting some more parts. Although I did not snap a picture I have decided to use the Phenolic intake spacers from Grimm Speed. The idea is to lower intake manifold temps while also increasing intake manifold volume. The science makes sense to me. I found it intriguing and decided to purchase it with the money I saved on the oil pick up tube. I will have to figure out how to extend the EGR pipe since the holes will now be 8mm farther apart. I will be running a Killer Bee oil pick up tube. Although it is their first generation design it is still far stronger than the stock original and I had it laying around the garage so no need to purchase one this time around. I did however purchase the Killer Bee windage tray which will help keep the oil down in the pan while also directing oil to the pan at a faster rate. The pan will be the OEM STI part number 11109AA151. Although it holds slightly less oil, it is shaped in a way that keeps the oil right at the pick up tube to avoid sucking air while the oil sloshes around during cornering. With this pan I will have to run the STI dip stick and tube. Parts ordered. PCV valve and repalcement OEM hoses have been ordered along with OEM oil pressure sensor and new oil separator plate.

I have 3 oil pumps on hand. 2 that came off of these older motors that are filled with metal shavings and scoring that wont be used and one that I had in the garage that is clean and ready to use. The pump that will be used is stamped with a 76 which I believe means it is a 10mm pump. I was hoping to be running an 11mm pump however this is what I have on hand and ready to use. The old pump is stamped with a 78 which I believe is 11mm. I will have to take these apart and take some measurements of the rotors for myself and find out. Maybe I can swap the rotors with they look healthy enough? Not sure....any ghosts out there want to chime in?


1st generation Killer Bee oil pickup tube Will be cleaned up and used this time.


Here is the entire exhaust setup. Borla imitation header, stock cat that needs to be replaced, custom bent pipe, pro drive axle back. Header has been removed and handed over too Herzogs Hot Rods and Fab for a small leak repair weld. Once I get that back I will be spraying some high temp coating and wrapping with Fiberglass exhaust wrap. It will be my first time wrapping an exhaust so should be fun. The cat will be replaced with a cheap after market unit. It is no longer available from Subaru but I need to pass emissions so hopefully the Evan Fischer replacement performs as its suppose to. I will spray the rest of the pipe with the high temp coating and buff the Pro Drive axle back. I also have some 10mm polyurethane exhaust hangers to keep it from wobbling around, hopefully they fit.



As for the old block I will be disposing of it. I removed the crank, rods, and pistons in hopes of making a cool lamp. The case halves will be recycled. Here you can see how bad the failure was. Number 2 and 3 rod bearings spun. The small photo below was suppose to be a video showing the moverment in the rods but I cant get the video to post properly. You're just gonna have to take my word for it.





I will update as I go. Also try to add some pics of the small goodies before they go on.



-RONI-

[AssYriaNrocKer]

I removed the oil separator plate and cleaned that pcv area out. That spot usually gets gunked up pretty bad. The plate bends easily upon removal and I believe is listed as one time use part. The older design had a plastic cover that always leaked. This one had 10mm bolts that I have not seen before. The correct bolts are 4mm Hex bolts (I believe). New plate and correct bolts in hand just waiting on some fresh fuji bond. The extra tubes I had all went bad.



I used OEM Multi layer gaskets.



Heads are bolted on.



Sprayed the header and exhaust with Heat resistant exhaust coating. Came out looking very decent, hopefully it lasts. Next is to wrap the header.




I stripped down the intake manifold and hot tanked it. Putting it back together should be fun. Lots of vacuum lines that need to be replaced and a very crunchy wire harness.



-RONI-