my first ever '93 turbo wagon

[carguy327]

Hello all

I get my '93 Legacy turbo wagon next week. I was looking for a '95 + but couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy this '93 as it has a very clean and nearly rust free body..good considering it's in ontario's snowbelt.

I need any advice you guys can throw my way, since my questions are
all-encompassing, that's why this is posted in MISC.

The car has the 4EAT tranny, happy tranny, never any problem, so said. Other than frequent fluid changes, what can I do to keep it happy.

Since I'm getting this one for much cheaper that a 95+, I have cash burning in my pocket. I need help in deciding on which parts to buy first. If any of you can fill in the blanks on part #'s, that would be great.

Wheels & tires..17 X 7.5 ..tires??
New struts all around ..KYB..GR2?
Springs..just to lower it a bit..what am I looking for?
Options for my brakes..
Upgrade to WRX or just maintain the original set up?
absolutely needs new rear rotors..butt fugly rotors behind new rims: that's no good + they probably have crappy stopping power.
Bushings and sway bar connections all look OK.

and finally, is there a subtle rear spoiler/wing available for this wagon?
The one at Primitive.. is too large. Something like the subaru-made 95+ GT wagon spoiler.

If you have anything to add, suggest or sell, feel free..let r' ripp!

Thanks Gerald

[entirelyturbo]

Nice find! A rust-free Northern Subaru

Any car I buy, I start with the engine first. Check for oil leaks, which are valve cover gaskets more than anything on these cars. See what version knock sensor you have, if it's a grey connector, replace it with a white-connector one. Other than that, just see that it's up to date on maintenance, clean air filter, NGK spark plugs, etc. etc. and you should have a fine Legacy Turbo to mess around with...

17X7.5's will fit, just watch your offset. +48 is about the limit, I guess. I never got my car lowered with the rims, so I can't personally speak for that. H&R and Whiteline make springs for our cars, I almost had the H&R's on my car but I decided to just go back to stock. KYB GR2 struts have gotten good reviews all around this board, so I soon will replace my garbage Monroes with some, once I have the time and $$$.

Ask Josh (Legacy777) about WRX brakes, he has front calipers and rotors IIRC...

And finally, enjoy the car. Turbo wagons are rare and desirable...

[carguy327]

Nice find! A rust-free Northern Subaru

Nearly..nearly!!..Actually it has a completely solid floor and rockers among other solid body parts..it was regularly rust proofed..minor stuff..I'll get to it before it gets out of control.

See what version knock sensor you have, if it's a grey connector, replace it with a white-connector one.

I'm going to have to get a manual for this puppy..'til then , where's the knock sensor? Just because I fill my brain with such info..Why is white good..gray bad?
I would have never started here but it makes complete sense.

And finally, enjoy the car. Turbo wagons are rare and desirable...

Really?!! Cool. Here's some pics of her.
http://members.rogers.com/netdrive/
Stock alloys's finish is shot. They'll be sandblasted, painted and have the snows installed on them.

Needs roof rails so bad..and a spoiler

Thanks for the suggestions..!!

Gerald

[entirelyturbo]

Well, every car has some rust somewhere after 11 years, even if it's not visible...

The grey-connector knock sensor is very problematic on our cars for being oversensitive, even cracking sometimes. Therefore, it would pick up vibrations which were something other than engine knock, and pull timing, and engine power, for no good reason. If you look straight down on the engine block where the throttle cable attaches to the throttle body, you should see a circular sensor bolted to the block with a wire leading to the harness. Just get a long extension and a magnetic reacher (trust me, you'll NEED that one ) and you should be able to change them in 20 minutes... Search "knock sensor" and you should find a post with the problems I stated, and also a part number for a new one.

Legacy Turbos are rare to begin with, in any area of the country, but more in Florida (where I am ) than anywhere else. I've see ONE turbo wagon in my whole life!

Good luck, and glad I could help...

[Legacy777]

the calipers on the turbo legacy have the same piston size as the WRX. Only difference is rotor size.

You will get better brake balance with the current turbo legacy setup. The WRX brakes just add more front bias. If you do want WRX front brakes, I'd suggest the new 11.4" legacy rotors to balance things out.

[czo79]

Josh...
you just touched on an issue I have been wondering about for a while. I would like to upgrade my brakes...But if I upgrade to a wrx front brake set, or a sti 4 pot set in front...will this drastically affect brake balance, to the point where the car is going to start to handle weird under braking? How important would it be to upgrade the rears to the 2 pots or something then? It seems like lots of people just upgrade their front brakes, so I would think it would be ok, but I have learned that with cars, as with other things, just because everyone else does it...doesn't mean its a good idea.
I just don't want to screw up my car...If I'm going to spend that kind of money, I want improvment all around.
thanks
Micum

[Legacy777]

Well.....it's sort of a balancing issue, because if you change one thing, it affects others. That's what happened with my swap. The only original braking component on my car is the brake booster and the hard lines on the car. MC is different, prop valve is different, ss braided lines, wrx front brakes, turbo legacy rear brakes.

Some people don't mind the added front brake bias....or don't notice it. My brakes worked well before everything, however you guys know me.....I'm a nit picky bastard....haha.....so I tend not to settle for anything less then perfection. Check out the brake faq thread & links to brake knowledge thread in the brake & susp forum on nasioc. I've got some pretty in depth posts over there.

Here's an excel sheet I made up when figuring out what would work best with my setup, and determining some of the bias issues.
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... kemath.xls

If you have specific questions, I'll try and answer them. But check out the excel sheet. I've tried to include the turbo legacy in some of my calcs.

[carguy327]

No I don't have a huge overpowering desire for WRX brakes. If the orignal setup is OK, I'll probalby just leave the orignal Turbo Brakes and maybe get some cryo rotors ( are those for real? not an automotive voodoo myth?) The rears are really ugly, I'd say over half of the rotor face has swelled up rust on it starting from the outside edge inwards.
Are the turbo front discs 4 pots?

Thanks guys

Gerald

[Legacy777]

Yes, cryo-treatment does work. I had all four of my rotors cryo-treated. I run mintex 1155 pads. They are not very rotor friendly, however my rotors are not very badly scarred/grooved. I did a write-up on here for the merits and how the treatment works. Do a search, and something should pop up.

turbo front calipers are just two pots.

[evolutionmovement]

A friend of the family had a Mercedes-Benz/Saab/Subaru dealership that he sold about six years ago. His everyday car? 1993 Legacy turbo wagon. Silver and in perfect shape. I wonder if he likes it better than the '57 300SL cab he used to let me play in as a kid...

Steve