RckyMtnLegacy's 93 Turbo...On the Road Finally!

Information about specific car builds.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

RckyMtnLegacy's 93 Turbo...On the Road Finally!

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

My third Legacy the 93 white turbo sedan is the one I have driven the least and spent the most money on sadly enough. I will do a quick remembrance post for my first two then get to my present wheels.

When my 1974 Gremlin was getting 9 mpg and my Toyota Tercel was uncool I found my first Subie which was a 1990 off-blue NA Sedan 5 speed bought from S-Wings in Denver, CO. I had fun with it went from this:
Image
To this:
Image
To this:
Image
Then while checking the rally course at the COG Rally in Steamboat for the drivers I totally lost 2nd gear and then she kinda went down hill.
My roommate needed a car so I convinced him to buy a 1993 Turbo sedan in Denver for $1900. I ran great and my idea was since he was not a Subaru guy (not racist but he is born in Jamaica and raised in Houston) I would buy it from him later on.
When he bought it:
Image

I was then on the lookout for a Turbo Subaru since all three of my roommates had a turbo (1992 240sx silvia, 1993 DSM, and the subie). So I found a White 1994 Turbo Wagon in Denver for $1400. When it got home I had already gotten the WRX rims from my first Subaru powder coated black so they immediately went on giving the wagon a whole new look and she because the 'Swagger Wagon'.
Here she is first night:
Image

Here is one just for fun (If you would like to see more I can make another thread else where just dont want to fill this with my other cars):
Image

Well now I didn't need to buy my roommate's car I had a nice Wagon with a Turbo! I did have thoughts of racing the sedan and have the Wagon as the Parts/Tow car that matched the race car. Things began to happen and one thing led to another and he owed me over $1200 in rent and the sedan blew a head gasket, after he overheated it 20+ times which melted the reservoir, and then the radiator which he couldn't afford at all.
Image
I then told him that I would wipe his debt from that moment back if he signed over the car. One pen stroke later I had 3 Subaru's in my driveway. Unfortunately while he owned it my other roommate spun out in a tunnel on ice and busted up the drivers side fender and front bumper of course being the hardest ones to find.

Image
Life changes kinda make having so many cars kinda hard. I graduated in CO and my girl in TX and she landed a big job with Lockheed so I chose to move there. I decided I wanted to rock the sedan because it looked sportier and I had ideas for it. I sold the blue sedan to my buddy for $600 and then a guy drove a long way and gave me $1350 cash for the wagon same day too which gave me a week to pack, get a truck and trailer, move out, and get the head gasket done before I left for TX. I did it with help from a friend in a weekend:
Image

Image
Put it all together and she drove great but had a coolant leak somewhere that I could not find along with an oil leak I figured it was a hose or a gasket somewhere that was toast from being overheated over and over. after the long drive south.


I got the coolant leak to stop but oil was still dripping. My knock sensor was throwing a code too but I planned to fix that later. One day just minding my own business and getting onto the highway a nice loud pop came from the SadPanda and she belted out white smoke all over the highway. I coasted to a parking lot and oil was everywhere. Fender, air filter, vac. lines for turbo, maf was caked. A guy stopped and helped me clean it up to get it started and we figured it was bad rings or my turbo had wanted out finally. We got here cleaned up and putted home where she puked all her oil out onto my driveway. I started taking bits off to see what was up. I figured it was inside the engine because white smoke would spew out of the oil dipstick tube when it was running so the crankcase was getting pressure. I did a compression test and and found the problem:

Image

More pics of my build soonI decided to go a little further than just fixing one problem. I will update soon.
Thanks
Last edited by RckyMtnLegacy on Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:22 pm, edited 13 times in total.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
Legacy777
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 27884
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 11:37 am
Location: Houston, Tx
Contact:

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by Legacy777 »

Nice build journal!
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

Thank you. I will add more soon just been so busy
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

Got the engine back into the car after a long wait. I had to pull it twice because I found a leak after I put it in the first time.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
SILINC3R
quasi-mod-o
quasi-mod-o
Posts: 2763
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 6:11 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by SILINC3R »

stayng tuned
Tony
90 LS Spec rio red sold
91 SS rio red R.I.P
90 Mazda Miata
2005 GT SWP
92ss satinsvoice wrote:LOL! that block was like F*** THIS! IM OUT!
mike-tracy wrote:Word. I'd love to get my hands on one of those trannies, but I just can't stomach the cost
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

So I took the engine apart finding oil in everything.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oil oil everywhere
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

After having the most fun pulling the engine

Image

Image

After taking it all apart and making my own tool to get the pins out I found an interesting problem I have never seen before (Not that I have taken many of these apart)

Image

The "sleeve" had spun. Everyone I talked to said these are not sleeved and I agree but how does something with no sleeve in it spin? I went over all kinds of scenarios to figure out why and if I could use this block again. I am still wondering if the block can be used since it did not show problems on this cylinder and it could have been like this since 1993 for all I know.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
cj91legss
Fifth Gear
Posts: 6322
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:17 am
Location: Lakewood, Wa 98439
Contact:

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by cj91legss »

wow...
91 L-TW Wagon with a full Swap -RIP
92 SS Prefaced, GD dash swapped, 22T/205 Hybrid 20 psi - BEAST!
93 SS Bone Stock Gone!
94 TW Bone Stock Gone!
91 SS 4EAT Sold!
98 LGT 4EAT
98 LGT Wagon 4EAT
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

Once it was completely in pieces this is the cause of the compression dropping to 0 and sharing oil with the rest of the engine

Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

It did not hurt the rest of the block but I was still worried that the spun sleeve could be a problem. So in the trunk I had another block I found in CO a few years before at a yard that hated Subarus and sold me a long block for 200 bucks (should have been a little more cautious but $200? I had too). I took the new block apart and it had four straight cylinders but it did have its own problem:

Image

And it had a crank that was toast. Pistons, 3 rods, cylinders, and heads were fine and the cylinders still showed cross hatching. No idea what happened to it maybe water in the cylinder? No idea but the rod looks great on my desk at work. I took the block and a ton of pieces to work for weeks and had them cleaned in our Cummins parts washer. It fit the entire block inside also.

Image
Image
Image

I got the blocks as clean as i could with some help:
Image
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I figured my heads were fine but I wanted them to be looked over and wanted to get the seats replaced since I got them in my kit

Image
Image

I took them into my machine shop and they cleaned them, replaced seats and decked the surface
Image

I took my crank into them because the clearance was too small for my liking.

While the machine shop had my parts I decided to paint some parts and clean things up before putting it all back it where it would be a lot harder to clean and paint.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

Once I got basically everything I needed I started putting it all back together. I knew I would forget where stuff goes so I took hundreds of pictures and loaded them onto my IPad and turned up Pandora so I could have music and a great reference. Plus I had WiFi with Legacy central in case I got stuck.

Image
Image
Putting pistons in was a small challenge but I made due with what i could find
Image
Couldn't turn the crank and look into the back at the same time
Image

Image

While trying to fit the heads on I found that the machine shop had put the dowels back in the wrong hole and messed it up so the block and the head had dowels in the same hole. I destroyed one dowel to get it out and just stole one from my old block to replace it.
Image
Image

I also added some ARP head studs to got from a member on here.
Image

I got a new oil pump and water pump even though they felt ok but I figured why not? I have done everything else to it and the price was not bad.
Image

Cleanest I have ever had an engine in my life. Almost don't want to put oil in it.
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I got a bunch of friends together and we put the engine in. I learned you don't need a lot of help but it is nice to BS with people while you bust knuckles.

Image

Some of my friends that are not as much of a gear head as I am. But as I put on my facebook event page "if you can screw in a light bulb, you can turn a wrench"
Image

(notice a problem?) I didn't
Image

Image
Image
Image
Image

Me hiding underneath trying to figure out what I missed.
Image

Also cheerleaders are a great help too.
Image
Image
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

After about an hour trying to get the engine to line up with the transmission I figured out that the STI engine mounts I put on, one was backwards and would not fit. This was a blessing in disguise because if you look back you can see I forgot to put something onto the engine before I fed it to the tranny.

Well at about 1am I figured out what I missed and without telling everyone what the problem was I called it a night and told everyone to go home.
In the morning one of them woke up and helped my finish. I had forgotten to put the plate onto the crank so I could bolt it to the torque converter. With the mounts on right and plate bolted it took 10 minutes (and a flat head screw driver with a mallet to line up the mounts) and the engine bolted right up.

Image
Image
Image

Then its time for plumbing my least favorite since its all busted or rusted.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

Image
Image

Replaced plugs
Image
Replaced sensors
Image
Image

Had a tough time figuring out which injector connector went where.
Image

I had to find another Subaru (which is hard in TX) to steal a few sensor harnesses off of since I stripped a few when I pulled the engine out.
Image

I found some busted hoses and connections which I have not yet fixed. Not sure if this is causing any of my hesitation problems now.
Image

Got some more help too
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I ordered a Perrin lightweight crank pulley and when it arrived
Image

It was not what I wanted. It was an oily Evo air filter. I emailed them and got one in the mail fast.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

After all kinds of fun timing and plumbing and fitting components on and fluids

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Had a little fun with some stuff laying around.
Image
Image
If you know much about cars you know its a bit much and not right but just a quick look really excites the senses.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I learned what brake cleaner can do
Image

And had to celebrate St. Patty's Day at midnight in between working on the car
Image

And had this idea for my plates
Image

sad though that they cost so much and they only last a few years.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

When I finally got the engine in and filled up the battery was dead and that same day my Mercedes puked tranny fluid everywhere so I could not go anywhere until late when my roommate came home and dragged me to the store in her BMW so I could get the battery (warranty rocks!!). Got the battery in and she started right up with the downpipe disconnected from the rest of the exhaust...mmmmmmmmm sounded so good!.
Image
Image

I drove her around and she ran ok but overheated but it was nice to be behind the wheel again after 7 months without her.
Last edited by RckyMtnLegacy on Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

With the overheating came an oil leak! So I decided to just take it out again because it looked like it was leaking at the rear seal.
Out she comes (again)
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I took her out and the seal seemed fine to me
Image
Image

The oil pan was not sealed right so I cleaned it up and also found that the mating surface one the pan was f'd up so I swapped pans with my other one that was a lot better
Image

And back in she went
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

She started up and had no leaks. The overheating was coming from none other than the plastic reservoir which caused my head gasket to go the first time when my roommate owned it, so I bought a metal one and used J-B weld to fix this one which has held up and I still have the metal one to install.

Image

She stopped overheating and she got a nice colorful bath
Image
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 1993 Turbo Sedan aka 'SadPanda'

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

She had been my DD for a while until a few weeks ago when I came out to go to work and the brake pedal fell to the floor. I never once had any problems with brakes until then. I had to leave to go to CO and then to Las Vegas for WusteFest20xi where I was promoting my new photography business ShutterSpeed. I got home and replaced the master cylinder and bled the brakes RF, LR, LF, RR a thousand times but it still didn't help. I found a problem with the LF bleeder which was clogged with metal bits but that still didn't help so I took it all apart and bought a vice to re-bleed the MC. Finally after bleeding it again it worked. Now she is back to being my DD but I have a weird hesitation but that can be discussed elsewhere.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47358
Sorry there is so much at once I go busy changing jobs and just collected my pictures up. Thanks I will hopefully have more stories.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
Legacy777
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 27884
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 11:37 am
Location: Houston, Tx
Contact:

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 93 Turbo Sedan 'SadPanda' Updated 6/28/1

Post by Legacy777 »

Excellent updates!

Gotta love working on engines in the house :)

I may have asked you before, but where in Texas are you living?
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
RckyMtnLegacy
Third Gear
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:25 am
Location: Littleton, CO

Re: RckyMtnLegacy's 93 Turbo Sedan 'SadPanda' Updated 6/28/1

Post by RckyMtnLegacy »

I am in Fort Worth right now. I am on DirtyImpreza.com trying to get a TX cruise going but like three people are up for it.
1993 Legacy Turbo Sedan SadPanda
1994 Legacy Turbo Wagon (Aspen)--SOLD
1990 2.2l Legacy--RIP
Keeping the Legacy's Legacy

"Straight roads are for fast cars. turning roads are for fast drivers"

Official Subaru Ambassador
Post Reply