legacycentral bbs

My memory fails me but I swear I remember that one of the radiators was taller and because of this the "frame" below it was different. Who can clarify with measurements and such?

im pretty sure they are nearly the same, other than the cap in a different spot. they have the tranny oil cooler

I don't recall measuring the difference in lower mounting heights on my parts turbo and the N/A wagon (and the parts car is long gone), but the turbo radiator is 17.25" and the N/A 16" tall. The hood on my N/A won't come close to closing with the turbo radiator.

The tranny cooler is only on the autos.

That is good to know.

What is needed to modify an NA body to fit a turbo radiator? I assume it is only the lower mount but isnt this part welded/painted to the car? I'm very interested in the koyo radiator someone recently reviewed.

I am sick and tired of the crap OE radiator end tanks cracking. I'd bet that more Legacys die of cracked radiators than any other cause (including accidents)

Yeah, my replacement N/A is only 4 years old and crumbling so I don't want to trust it with the turbo, but the turbo radiator I have won't fit, so that's one reason the car's been sitting for a couple years.

There's a double-skin lower mount welded in place, which is why I'm reluctant to modify it. Any time you cut metal up here, you're looking for corrosion issues. Looks like there's only about a half inch to gain anyway by removing the upper skin.

That's why I was wondering if the Impreza one fits, possibly being shorter than the turbo Legacy.

I bet we could contact the manufacturer of it (or a similar unit) and get the specifications. I have only found one all metal radiator for the NA Legacy and it was a little too soft for my liking. I almost broke the filler neck clean off the first time I replaced the cap.

Are the NA and turbo chassis different in every model year, or just in 1990 or just in 1990 and 1991?

evolutionmovement wrote:
That's why I was wondering if the Impreza one fits, possibly being shorter than the turbo Legacy.

My impression while looking for myself a KOYO was the turbo legs and the GC impreza were the same. I am really interested now, since that is the next item on the shopping list

check out this thread

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=32409

vrg3 wrote:Are the NA and turbo chassis different in every model year, or just in 1990 or just in 1990 and 1991?

All of the NA Legacys have the same size radiators, and same space from bottom to top in the chassis, and all the turbos have larger radiators, and larger space.

So people who have swapped to a Turbo engine in a non-turbo legacy can't use Turbo radiators? Can the N/A radiators handle that task?

livestrong14 wrote:So people who have swapped to a Turbo engine in a non-turbo legacy can't use Turbo radiators? Can the N/A radiators handle that task?

No, they can...Jake Talbot (Jake15) knows how to modify the radiator to make it fit in a NA chassis (as his began life NA)...NA Radiators can handle the task to an extent, but from what I have seen, they tend to run a wee bit hotter.

How do you go about modifying it? What has to be done?

I dont think the radiator was modified. I cant see how you can make it an inch shorter

Thanks, SemperGuard. I was wondering if it was a 1990 thing because the only evidence I heard of before was from 1990 models, which just happens to be the one year that there was no turbo model.

You have to cut and weld the lower radiator support. As was said, the NA radiator is fine to an extent. Track it and it overheats.

So do the N/A Imprezas have the same size as the turbo Legacy's? Would seem to make sense, I guess, as the shell was used for the Impreza turbo/WRX.

No, only 90-99 NA legacys have the small radiator, and small size. But it's not all bad. I have an idea that I want to confirm 100% before I post anything. Impreza, Forester, 00+ Leg/BAJA all have larger rad and size.

Bump from the dead, does anyone have photos of how they modified their NA crossmember to fit a turbo radiator? I have a means of fabricating and cutting but id like to see how others have done it (if they have) before I buy a turbo rad and commit to cutting stuff up. Thanks!

I know there is a small handful of people that have modified the lower radiator support so hopefully they took pictures and can chime in. However, as I understand it, the entire lower core support is just lower. The turbo support's bends that attach to the chassis are longer so the horizontal part of the core support sits lower to accommodate the taller radiator.

Here's my story for informational purposes. I have a 95 Impreza with an EJ22t swap done by me in 2003. I installed the correct legacy turbo radiator, and it fit like crap. It was too big so I angled it back slightly at the bottom which also made the fans come within about a quater inch of the front engine accessories. A year ago the LH tank cracked. I went through our inventory or radiators at the shop and noticed how the 04-08 FXT aluminum Koyo radiator had everything in the right places. Almost fits like a glove. I did have to buy the FXT style upper support brackets. I used an FXT cooling fan shroud and blades, and legacy fan motors. I have an engine bay shot in my "AWIC folks..." thread.

Sooo, based on what you guys are saying, it sounds to me like the n/a legacy and n/a impreza are closer in dimensions.

If you need to buy a new radiator anyway I would look in to a gt radiator with a thicker core, it fits the n/a opening and has more cooling. I have a new oem one going in my car when I do the motor swap.

For your viewing pleasure.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=48162

Thankyou everyone for your input/suggestions! Looks like I'll be opting for the gt radiator, Josh is spectra the brand of radiator you're running? Or just oem? If spectra have you had any issues in the long term with it? i think I'll just spring for a 96-97 gt spectra model! Thanks again everyone, I know this has been covered a lot lol.

EDIT: I ordered up the spectra legacy gt radiator. $102 with tax and free shipping from amazon. For anyone referencing this for info the SPECTRA part number is "CU2082"

I ended up getting a Subaru OEM GT radiator.

Let us know how the Spectra radiator is and if you don't mind sharing some pictures that would be great.