Strykr's '99 GT 30th

[Strykr]

Hey everyone,

I decided it would probably be a good idea if I made a build thread instead of reposting on my new members thread. I bought my '99 Legacy GT Wagon 30th Anniversary with only 108000km for $500 due to the previous owner having overheating issues and not wanting to get it fixed. The car has a few cosmetic issue that need addressing along with the overheating issue which he tried to solve by using Stop Leak and it's giving me nothing but headaches to fix the issues that crap has caused. It has a 4EAT, fully loaded minus underseat sub, disc changer and it has a trailer hitch that doesnt want to come off easily. I still currently have a bunch of things I need to address before winter comes, but my priority is fixing the overheating issue.

Current mods:
- 4EAT Powermode (Used a spare rear defrost as switch)
- '96 EJ22 Stock Intake tube
- 35w HID (passenger side keeps blowing bulbs once I turn them on)

Todo List:
- Fix overheating
- Install grounding kit
- Replace valve cover gaskets, cam seals, rear diff input seal and oil pan gasket
- Fix speedometer issue
- Fix surface rust
- Replace rear trailing arm bushings
- Fix loose steering
- Replace balljoints
- Replace brakes
- Replace driver fog light
- Repaint front bumper/lip
- Clean headlights
- Remove trailer hitch

Pictures:

[Perdue]

Welcome to SLi. The information here will surely help you along. There isn't a ton of modification available directly for this platform, but a lot of parts from other subies can swap or be modified to work. You can't beat a $500 deal, even if you buy a whole new longblock.

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[LeggyxPower]

Damn 500$ is a steal... It looks like it had a very hard like for only 108k km though.
Are you going to pull the motor?

[Strykr]

Damn 500$ is a steal... It looks like it had a very hard like for only 108k km though.
Are you going to pull the motor?

I wouldn't say a hard life, but the previous owner didnt take the best of care for it. The front bumper was kicked by some kid and thats how the front foglight went missing, windshield was caused by a stray golf ball the day I bought the car on my way home lol and the rust was due to just poor care of the cars cosmetics. As for the paint chips all over the front end, it's bad here during the winter and spring due to the city sanding/rocking the roads so thats normal for older cars. I plan to fix all the cosmetic issues as soon as possible, but right now my focus is on having the motor back up and running than fix the rust so that I dont have a bigger problem after winter.

As for the engine, right now I just want to fix the overheat and seal/gasket issues until I have the motor in my GenCoupe rebuilt since it's been dead for a year thanks to a local body shop blowing it on me. Once the Genesis is fixed, my game plan is to pull the motor out and drop in a turbo setup.

Update: So just did a coolant pressure test and it had no problem holding 15psi, also did a test to see if the headgasket was leaking gases into the coolant and nope. So the only thing left I can think is I BADLY need a flush. If that doesn't fix the issue than I'm at a loss of ideas, along with a couple other coworkers(mechanics).

[Alphius]

I've seen a lot of EJ25Ds that pass a coolant hydrocarbon test with flying colors but still have bad headgaskets. It sounds pretty likely to me.

[Strykr]

I've seen a lot of EJ25Ds that pass a coolant hydrocarbon test with flying colors but still have bad headgaskets. It sounds pretty likely to me.

Hydrocarbon test, compression test, leakdown test and coolant pressure test. I have a hard time seeing all those tests pass the headgasket, but it is a very slight possibility the stop leak sealed it enough to hide it being shot.

[Alphius]

Yeah, I've been in that boat with all the tests passing a few times before. If you've checked all the easy stuff and it is pushing coolant into the overflow at all, it's probably a HG regardless of all the tests passing.

[Strykr]

Only thing left to check is heater core condition and flush system. If neither of those come to a solution, I'll be pulling her down and rebuilding.

First time owning a subaru, but this issue has yet to make me regret it because I know they're great cars and with my skills even a rebuild wont bug me. Actually I'm kind of looking forward to it since I have everything I need for a stock rebuild. Although I was hoping to do it when I had pistons and rods for a turbo build lol

Thats the only reason I dont want to pull her apart yet, because id have to rebuy almost all the stuff I've got to build it for boost.

We shall see over the next few days how everything goes. If the engine needs work maybe I'll try to source something running so that I can put the 25D onto my spare engine stand and slowly pick away at it.

[LeggyxPower]

Yeah, I've been in that boat with all the tests passing a few times before. If you've checked all the easy stuff and it is pushing coolant into the overflow at all, it's probably a HG regardless of all the tests passing.

Listen to this man he knows his stuff! I had very weird symtoms of my head gaskets as well. and it ended up being them. And depending how bad the car over heated the heads are most likely warped.

But by all means try the simple stuff first,
-Rad cap
-check the thermostat
-Flush coolant and burp the system

but 9/10 EJ25D its the head gaskets
That's most likely the reason you got it for that cheap, there are tons for sell with "overheated and don't want to deal with it"
Because they took it to the mechanics and the estimate on the job is around $2000 so they get rid of it

[Strykr]

I'm not at all saying he's wrong, I know he probably is right but it's much easier to check the simple things and change parts that I already plan to replace/regular maintence. I plan to keep the car for a while so putting money into it wont bug me, much easier to replace external parts than it is to pull the motor. If I were pulling the motor apart for headgaskets than it would be a full rebuild just to know the motor will last.

I completely agree, that usually is the reason for low mileage cars being cheap is the repair bills. But that's something I already knew when buying the car.

But like I said, I want to check and perform the simple things first before I just jump straight to headgaskets.

[Alphius]

Good deal! At first it sounded like you were in denial about the possibility. We're just here to help! Haha.

Sounds like you have it under control, and I totally understand the want to fix it cheaply and keep driving. I did the same thing with a weird rattle on my EJ25D while I was pulling together parts for my swap.

[Strykr]

Good deal! At first it sounded like you were in denial about the possibility. We're just here to help! Haha.

Sounds like you have it under control, and I totally understand the want to fix it cheaply and keep driving. I did the same thing with a weird rattle on my EJ25D while I was pulling together parts for my swap.

No definitely not in denial lol sorry if I made it sound that way, just want to try the easy stuff and hoping it's not the headgaskets yet.

[Strykr]

Well looks as though I will be pulling her out and replacing the headgaskets along with everything else I can for maintenance while I'm at it. Theres a leak somewhere, but dont have a block test(combustion gas) kit to check if its the block or if its coming from somewhere else. More than likely theres a headgasket leak that only shows up when the engine gets up to op temp.

Still need to put up the fence at the house before it gets cold so this might have to wait a week to get done but it gives me time for a few other parts to arrive.

Update: So after refilling the coolant for the 8th time since buying the car I finally read my Haynes manual as I had a feeling the car wasn't taking enough coolant. After looking into the capacity I found out that the full capacity is 6L (1.58gal) and the car hasnt even taken a full 3.8l (1gal) jug of coolant. Ive flushed the system with vinegar and also bled it properly but it wont take any more. I know there cant be 2l remaining in the engine, so there's definitely some clog somewhere or something weird going on..

[Strykr]

Okay so haven't had a chance to drive the car far enough away to see if it overheats but I hopefully will have a chance tomorrow to give this a shot. Today I need to recheck the coolant level as I still cant figure out why it's not taking enough coolant and I have to recharge the battery (left the lights on by mistake and went to go to work this morning in -1C just to find the battery was flatlined.)

[Strykr]

Well I decided on my adventure to go to the auto parts store to buy a new block tester and the results were as I figured.


I still need to figure out why it's not taking all the coolant but ill do that when I pull the headgaskets off I guess. I'll probably just drop the rad off to get it rodded and flushed out while I'm doing the rest of the things I need to do.

[Strykr]

Well tomorrow I'll have the car at the shop to have the headgaskets finally changed! Also plan on replacing a bunch of other gaskets/seals while I have the engine out of the car.

Hopefully it doesn't take too long to pull the engine and replace everything. I only have about 6Hrs each day of shop time this weekend.

[Strykr]

Well the engine is out, I have 2 hrs left to get everything changed and than hopefully at least have it sitting inside the bay again.

So excited to have this thing up and running!

[Go Mifune]

I was only half paying attention to your wagon and then noticed that the odo is in kms and so you have a '99 wagon with about 75k miles on it for $500. Great find!

[Strykr]

Ya it's kms lol and thanks! I'm pretty damn happy about this purchase!

Only issue now is the spindle decided it wanted to sheer a few bolts when I was changing the driver axle today, so I now have to source a new spindle on top of finishing the headgaskets. The engine is out and ready to start having everything replaced, tomorrow I should have the engine back in the car and than Monday I have to get a spindle to replace my current one. So hopefully by Monday night I'll have the car back on the road

[Strykr]

Well things aren't going as well as planned, I picked up a new spindle and than as I started to tear the engine down I came to the quick discovery that it had been opened up before and reassembled badly. The cam caps were way to much over torqued (one bolt stripped trying to take them out) and also the head bolts were in by at least over 120ft lbs. So once again I've been delayed and now have to source a cam bolt and possibly new head bolts. Also need to pick up a new idler pulley as mine has gone bad and a timing belt.

I did manage to get a set of fog lights, new power antenna and a few other small things I needed. Plus also will be getting a temporary hood so that I can take mine off to fix the rust starting on the front edge.

[Strykr]

Last night I managed to clean the crap out of the block, there was so much sludge and gunk in there that I can completely understand why the engine told the last owner where to go after him not treating her nice. I will post up some pictures after I get off work of my current progress and how the engine now looks. I have the driver side head rebuilt and ready for to torque down. I need to go get a new cam cap bolt from picknpull as Subaru Canada (so i was told from my local dealership) wont sell the bolt by itself nor will they take US part numbers (which they use the same numbers) to order.

[LeggyxPower]

Sorry to hear man! doesn't really make you wonder. Car only has 119k on it ..why was the motor already messed with? I also had the same with issue with mine, some monkey stripped one of the cam cap bolts so bad it was too far gone and had to carfullely grind it down

[Strykr]

It's all good I nearly have it reassembled. The headgaskets had already been previously replaced and when they did it they used to old style gaskets so I assume the headgaskets had been replaced in the early 2000's as they changed to mls around 01-02. I'm just excited to have it back up and running so I can save for a turbo build.

[Strykr]

With the magic of the internet, the engine is now back in the car and running as of yesterday!









Took a total of 36Hrs combined from start to finish, that's including breaking things along the way due to some bolts seizing. I still have a few other things I need to accomplish this week such as install new power antenna, install driver fog light, reinstall grill, change to winter tires, clean out tools/parts from engine rebuild and a few other small things.

[LeggyxPower]

Was there any war page on the heads? Also good shit man. Your head gaskets are way worse then what mine were! I'm curious in the cost of the power antenna mines broken so I just " set it at the same height of the roof and kinda just left it there lol


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[Strykr]

There was 0 warpage, heads were perfectly straight. Only issue was the headgaskets blew the middle layer and also around the bottom of the gasket surface. They actually are cleaner than when I removed them lol they had caked on coolant that stayed when I pulled the gasket.

As for the power antenna, someone local had one brand new in the box that never installed it, I only paid $30 for it. I'm pretty sure they're over $100 new, usually it's just the internal plastic gear teeth that wear out. So if your good with opening one, you could probably find good internal parts at a wreckers to make your work for cheap.

[Strykr]

Well it's been a while since I've posted, haven't really done to much other than buying parts for my turbo build. Only things I'm missing are a few coolant lines, intercooler Y-pipe, BPV and a EJ22E.

I've recently installed my Momo steering wheel, fixed a few suspension parts that were going and piling up parts.

Recently picked up the following:
- 03 Wrx springs
- 06 Sti springs
- 4.44 rear LSD
- FXT intercooler
- 03 wrx Ecu and full body harness
- TD05H-16G
- Wrx stock up pipe and down pipe
- Aftermarket Turbo headers (not sure which brand)
- Toyo T1's
- 03 Wrx front brake upgrade
- 01 H6 rear brakes upgrade
Probably missing more parts..

On that note, I haven't found an answer on if the wrx Ecu will be able to control the EJ22E. I'm assuming yes since displacement shouldn't make an issue as long as the electronics and mechanical parts required are there?

Other than that I'm just waiting to get my EJ22E so I can build that hopefully should have one in a few weeks and than after that it shouldn't be long till my legacy is turbocharged!