1993 Legacy Turbo Wagon.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Purchased a wore out 1993 Legacy Turbo Wagon. Couldn't pass up the price at $1500. The car is far from perfect. Flaws that are easily noticed at first:

-Varions nicks, dings & dents all over body. Front bumper slightly jarred.

-Front drivers side wheel bearing making noises when making Left Turns.

-Oil leaking onto exhaust manifold when warm.

Nothing major that couldn't be repaired quite easily and on the cheap. Car has 170,000 miles but the interior doesn't show it.

PICTURES:

[TheSubaruJunkie]

First thing on the list was to replace the front wheel bearing. The noises where unbearable while turning left, but when turning right would dissapear.

Instead of removing and replacing the bearing itself, I purchased a low milage drivers side steering knuckle for $50 and spent 1/2 hr installing it. While in there, i noticed the CV Joints will need to be repaired soon.

After making the wheel bearing silent, it was now time to make the engine louder. I removed the air intake box and cut the snorkus out. This is a common mod, no pictures unfortunatly but pretty straight forward. This doesn't do alot for engine performance however under heavy acceleration you can really hear that engine workin!

Now that the engine breathes alittle better, time to help it even more by making the intake air cooler. I found a local member selling a custom intercooler with hoses etc... everything I would need to drop the intercooler into the engine. Its a small intercooler, but plenty for the 2.2 under stock boost.

I removed the stock intake pipe, and unbolted the chiminey setup for the turbo. I also unbolted the metal plate under the scoop that normally directs air to the chiminey. The intercooler fit right in place, and hoses worked as intended. I ended up re-using the stock Legacy Bypass valve, but had to cut each end alittle shorter to squeeze into the tight spot between the intercooler and the intake tube that leads to the turbocharger.

PICTURES:

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Since I have the intercooler in place. I'd like to see what kind of boost Im running. Previous experience with my RX told me when installing an intercooler, its common to lose a couple pounds of boost. I would like to monitor my boost levels and eventually install a manual boost controller.

I wanted a boost gauge that was realistic for the Legacy. I never plan to run anything past 20psi so a guage that went to 30psi would be useless. I searched eBay for a good gauge that would read from -20 to +20. I found an autometer at the right price and purchased it. Now that I have the guage, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is "Where do I mount this?"

I didn't want to put it on the A pillar in some gauge pod and make it horribly obvious that my car is modified.

I also couldn't find a practical spot anywhere on the dashboard to mount it without hacking up the interior of my car.

I drove to the local auto store and found a standard gauge mount that you'd use to mount to your steering column. I found a vacuum source on the intake manifold to T into and set forth mounting my gauge. I put it on the right side of the column so it blocks my fuel gauge. But I dont mind so much. I also wired the backlight into the circuit for the ashtray so the gauge operates with the dimmer for the dashboard.

PICTURES:

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Only so long you can handle stock rims

I came across a deal on Craigslist for a set of '00 RS 16" alloys for $300. The tires are pretty worn out, but the rims look great. I installed them and im suprised how it transformed the car. Makes it look like a whole new car!

Now that the car doesn't look like stock, it can't sound stock either! I picked up a axleback exhaust piece from a buddy of mine. All it is was a section for a WRX with the muffler removed and straight pipe welded in its place with the stock exhaust tip at the end.

The piece bolted right in. All but 1 exhaust hanger fit in place and the exhaust is alittle short... it doesn't stick out as far as the stock exhaust. But it looks great and sounds even better!

Don't need a better reason to wash the car either... so I spent the afternoon giving it a bath!

PICTURES:




VIDEO OF THE EXHAUST:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KItyJur07c

[TheSubaruJunkie]

After driving the car this whole time, its kind of embarassing seeing blue smoke comming from under the hood. This is cause of the oil that leaks onto the exhaust. The smoke comes from under the hood, through the hood scoop and even from under the car. It also makes it impossible to use the vent's inside the car or else it would fill the car with smoke.

Ive been having some problems with the engine that indicated a possible leaking head gasket. So I pulled the engine and began disassembling it. I sent the heads to a machine shop to have them surfaced. And I got a complete engine gasket kit from the Subaru Dealer. I also picked up a timing belt kit off eBay that included the belt and new idler's.

Took a few weeks, but I finally got it all together and running. The engine no longer smokes, and still runs as good as the day I pulled it apart!

PICTURES:

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Well. The suspension on this wagon is 170,000 miles old. Not to mention it is a Station wagon and wasnt created for performance. The car's body sway is horrible and bounces alot over bumps.

Ive done alot of reading and wasn't sure what to go with. I knew whatever I ended up with, would have to be on the cheap since Im on a budget. Coilovers were out of the question. WRX Takeoffs was a good option, but what worked and what didn't???

From what I read, the '02 WRX stuff was supposed to be a near bolt in so I picked up a set of '02 WRX wagon struts and springs for $100. I didn't plan on using the struts, but wanted a complete setup so I could mix & match parts to see what worked. My intentions were to use the WRX springs on a set of KYB GR2's.

I picked up a complete set of GR2's for the 4WD Legacy off eBay for $277 shipped. With everything I needed here, I went and tore into it...

Before I started, i wanted a before & after picture to tell if the new setup would lower the car any. I didn't have a tape measure, so I had to find something to use as a refference.

FRONT:


REAR:


With the suspension pulled, I set everything next to eachother to use as refference. You can see the 3 setups are near identical.

In the picture we have, from left to right: KYB GR2's - STOCK LEGACY - '02 WRX
FRONT:


REAR:



I dismantled the Stock legacy and Stock WRX struts and started fitting parts. The springs fit into the GR2 struts, but the top of the spring is narrower at the top. So you must use the WRX spring perches. I also used the WRX tophat because they are 110,000 miles newer so I figured they would have to be better.

In this photo you can see the new strut/spring setup compared to the stock Legacy strut/spring.


Installing it was as easy as removing it.


The rear was alittle different. After tearing apart the stock Legacy and the WRX struts, I could tell right away the top hats would be different. The WRX top hats are one piece with the spring perch. Ontop of that. The bolt pattern for the WRX tophats is wider than the stock Legacy... so using the WRX tophats would be out of the question.




I placed the WRX spring into the GR2 and found another problem. It appears the bottom of the WRX spring isn't as wide as the stock legacy and didn't fit quite right.


So i determined it would be best if I just used all the stock Legacy stuff with the GR2's. However, I liked how the WRX bump stops looked as opposed to the Legacy ones. They were taller, and like the front tophats, where 110,000 miles newer than the Legacys... So I used those instead.

Pictured on the left is the WRX bump stop with the Legacy on the right:



I then assembled everything and installed the strut.


So after everything said and done... did the new suspension lower the car any????

No. It appears not. If anything, the rear end is slightly taller than before.
FRONT:


REAR:



However the test drive revealed immediatly the improvements over the stock suspension. When pulling out of the garage and driving out of my driveway, i could tell the car was much stiffer. Driving through the gutter at the end of the driveway no longer made the nose of my car bounce up and down.
A few quick 30mph right and left hand turns also convinced me the body roll of the past was long since gone. The WRX springs definatly stiffened the front end a whole lot, and now its time to get my new tires mounted to my 16" RS rims and have the car's alignment done.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

9PSI is much better than 5PSI!!!

I installed my manual boost gauge. I was kinda putting it off because of my 4EAT transmission. I figured any improved power would have been eaten by the crummy torque converter anyhow. Boy was i wrong!

No pix just yet.

[555BCTurbo]

Nice car!

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Thanks

[92wagon]

I removed the air intake box and cut the snorkus out. This is a common mod, no pictures unfortunatly but pretty straight forward. This doesn't do alot for engine performance however under heavy acceleration you can really hear that engine workin!

does this work well with a n/a engine too?[/quote]