legacycentral bbs

Long story short I acquired a 91 Legacy Sport with 215k on the motor..Looking to build it up a bit. I wouldn't like to rebuild the motor atleast until it blows..I would like to find the setup I want however before it blows. What would you reccommend as possible upgrades(maybe ones you have done yourself) for my car.


Thanks,
Eric(TurboSubie)

Well I'd do the exhaust first, and intercooler. Then a boost gauge and carefully raise boost to about 12 while watching your fuel. Make sure you're getting enough fuel. If you like change out your fuel pump, but you won't really need to unless you change your turbo.

I'd change out the fuel pump as soon as you can. 215k and it's not going to be doing so well. I would try not to blow it up, blocks are getting harder to find. If you are going for a lot of power you will need a 255lph fuel pump anyway.
Exhaust, Intercooler, more boost=200ish hp

and spend some time going back through the turbo and intercooler forums, see what we've been up to.

my wagon [ej22t] reached 482,000km's.. turbo and engine still strong, 4EAT shit the bed tho. Tranny sholud be in by Feb, then it will be back on the road.. it's been since last feb that i've driven it..

Assuming the engine hasn't been starved of oil or overheated too much, 215k shouldn't be anything to really worry about. Do what the others suggested and you'll have an old granpa that can still whoop some young whipper-snapper hiney!

How would I make sure I am getting enough fuel? WOuld you recommend the walbro fuel pump? I'm looking for a setup that I can run 20+ lbs of boost...atleast 20. Not consistently but maybe at the track or a local strip. any pointers on how to keep this engine alive but still have a pretty nice sleeper? What type of down/uppipes are pretty good as well as a full exhaust. I'm kinda new to this boost thing as I usually drive a V8 camaro. I know that turbos spool up faster when the exhaust flows more freely(maybe remove cats all together with aftermarket exhaust?) ANy turbo upgrades that you have tried that have yielded some good results. Manual or automatic boost gauge. I have been reading about a Godzilla BOV how much boost does this require to blow off...I kinda like a loud BOV. Also what all should I change on this car (plugs,wires,fuel filter etc) and what brand do you reccommend? Any info you can give is much appreciated.


TurboSubie(Eric)

Magnecor wires as everything else I've tried didn't last and were inferior anyway. I highly recommend Sea Foam or some other good internal engine cleaner as I strongly suspect it was the reason for my melted exhaust valve at ~246k. Internally the engine was perfect except for the carbon build up and melted valve. Also check that the knock sensor isn't cracked.

Steve

that engine is barely broken in...

Good to hear about the motor still having alot of life. Where can I get Seafoam or those magnacor wires.. Also, will the up/downpipes from a wrx work on my legacy?

Yes, WRX exhaust stuff will work, it will bolt right up if I understand correctly.

Well, a WRX up-pipe will fit up just fine (if it has an EGT sensor bung you may have to plug it; I used a Nissan Sentra oil drain plug and a 12mm copper washer), but a downpipe won't quite -- it's a couple inches too long if I recall correctly. If you're going to be customizing the rest of the exhaust then it won't be a big deal, but it won't bolt up to the stock midpipe.

Correct,
DP from the WRX is too long and you need to get a custom midpipe to make one work. You can see my write up on it if you do a search in the exhaust forum for Nov or Dec of last year.

On the Up-pipe, save your pennies. The stock up-pipe is catless just like an STi one. There is very little be gained for the money spent on getting some fancy aftermarket one. The stock unit is a quality piece and changing that pipe is a royal PITA...

Like people have said, run some seafoam in that badboy (you can get it at any Advance Autoparts). After the treatment, run a compression test and leak down test on the motor to see how good the seals are doing (valves, manifold, piston rings, etc). Then come back here and tell us what the results are.

I would suggest doing all of this before doing any mods. It's good to know whether the engine will be able to handle the added abuse of modifications before you actually do the modifications.

Do a coolant flush, transmission/rear diff flush, oil change, fuel filter/pump change, and air filter change as necessary.

ALright, I will do that test asap. The guy I bought the car from fried the computer. I need to buy a new one...would this be a good time to upgrade to a link ecu or some other aftermarket...any cheapers ones I can upgrade to?

If you want the stock ECU, I have one (also have an ETC).

If you go ahead and just go with a standalone, you eliminate just about every problem you would eventually have in trying to get more power. You eliminate the MAF and the pretty constrictive intake amongst all the other electronic limits the ECU has, it was very very very detuned from the factory. You can safely tune the car to about 80 extra hp or so with no increases in EGT temperatures and bone stock (a member did this). Much more will be gained with a turboback 3" exhaust and intercooler.

How much is the stand alone? Would a WRX intercooler be a good choice?

ok, ran into some problems...the guy hooked the jumper cables up backwards on this car while the battery died. I know he blew some things...we changed the coill, igniter,..this car does not get spark..and it blows the SBF 2 fuse in the fusebox when you put a new one in...what does this fuse for? why is it blowing this fuse?

SBF-2 powers the engine management system.

He may have fried the ECU. Try unplugging that and see if the fuse stops blowing. If so, you need a new ECU.

I tried using a computer from a non turbo legacy...I was told this would run the car but not perfectly...hooked it up and the fuse still blows...any other options?

A non-turbo ECU won't run the car if you just plug it in. You have to reverse the cam and crank sensor wires first.

But that doesn't matter... The fuse still blew so chances are it isn't the ECU. It's something else in the engine management system.

But I guess the thing to do first is unplug all the engine management stuff you can find and then turn the ignition on. If the fuse doesn't blow, plug them back in one at a time until the fuse blows again, and then you've likely found the culprit.

I don't have a wiring diagram for a 91, but based on my 92 FSM, here's a list (that I think is pretty complete) of things powered by SBF-2:

- ECU
- Fuel pump
- ECU
- All four injectors
- Oxygen sensor heater
- Select Monitor
- Purge control solenoid
- IAC valve
- Pressure exchange solenoid
- Boost control solenoid
- Ignition coil

Let us know what comes of that.

Turns out there is a central wire that powers all the SBF fuses...it is a big white wire with a red stripe...and yep...it was blown out alright...hoping this is the only thing it could be...my ignition relay is good(it clicks) but the fuel pump relay doesn't(guess its powered by the ecu)..so what do you think guys...think this is the problem?

Yes, the ignition relay is controlled by the ignition switch but the fuel pump relay is controlled by the ECU. (Actually, technically, the ignition relay is also controlled by the ECU, but that's not really important here.)

You should check all the power wires before trying to power anything up again. It'll be a bit of a pain, but unbolt the fuse box and check all the wires for burnt insulation or other damage.

And never let the clown that hooked up the jumper cables backwards ever get near your car again.

I had some moron hook up the battery cables backwards in my Eagle Talon and it turns out that he had blown a fusible link in the main fusebox (in the engine bay).

Worked great after replacing that.

I checked all the wires from the fusebox...none looked burnt...we basically went over the whole wiring harness that is between the bottery/fusebox...to the Ecu. I really do think this is what was causing the fuse to blow...but I won't knoe for sure until I get my Ecu back from being rebuilt...i'll keep you posted. Thanks for all the advice..