Tlag

Good link. I like that. It's often forgotten that without the Legacy rally programme, there would probably have been no Impreza.

The inlet manifold stud pattern is different on Legacies too. Gen 2 legacy is the same as phase 1. gen 3 is the same as phase 2 I think. The inlet manifold has been the biggest headache up to now with my conversion. Using Gen 2 heads, I've had to use either a very early Impreza manifold (which I didn't have) or a gen 2 manifold (of which I have a few). Plus, the manifold electric loom needs to obviously fit the components on the block, heads and at either end, so that has to be the legacy loom. The idle control electrics are different on a legacy to an Impreza, as is the throttle control, so that narrowed it down to a legacy manifold. I've also gone for a parallel fuel rail conversion and a side feed to top feed conversion. This has meant altering the injector plugs, as side feed ones don't fit top feed injectors. Going single turbo, the turbo air inlet had to be from an Impreza, which means I have more spare vacuum and air vents than you can shake a stick at. Lots of capping required :). Hopefully, I'm reaching the end of the manifold headache, but it's not quite done yet. :)

These are gen 2 GTB heads. Shims over buckets. Tbh, no other reason to use them than I already had a set. If I'd used Impreza heads, I would have had less work to do due to the secondary turbo oil feeds.

Legacy heads but machined to match the 2.5 cylinder bores

Not the best looking rad in the world, but I've seen far worse that still worked well. Flush the rad through from both ends. Also, whilst the rad is out, flush through the whole engine, heater, etc. Is the water pump, the original? I wonder if it's become weak and preventing full flow.

It sounds like you have an air lock. It probably worth trying to bleed the coolant again.

As it's a 2.5 block, it has the extra un baffled crankcase breather. The heads are 2.0l heads and so only have the standard, single, baffled breathers. I've fitted the extra breather ports so they can simply link up with the crank case breather, which means that any pressure is evened out. I could have just capped the extra breather, but I know the 2.5 breaths quite heavily, so it's more 'belt and braces' than anything else.

+1 for the above advise. All the flat four Subaru engines can be a pain to bleed the air out of the coolant system when refilling them. Ideally, it needs to have the front of the car in the air. Fill with coolant and start the engine, with the filler cap off. Put the heater on full heat and aim the air at the windscreen so you can feel the temp with your had from outside. Keep topping up as required. You should see bubbles in the header tank that will eventually disappear. Just after that, the rad fans will come on and go off. At that point turn the engine off, let it settle and cool a little. Top up the coolant of required and replace the cap. Before you do that though. Just go for a drive. When you stop, open the cap of the overflow tank ( the one by the rad) and look inside. If you see bubbling and frothing, it's probably head gaskets. I know you just rebuilt it, bu did you get the heads skimmed?

Managed to get a few hours in today on the beast. Had a good morning. I got he timing belt on along with the cam covers, hotter spark plugs fitted for the extra power and drilled and taped the cam covers to install the new breathers. Shouldn't be too much longer now! Famous last words. :)

That's one clean Impreza. Glad to hear it's running ok too. Always good to hear a good end to a story.

Hi and welcome. Ignore the CEL. Check for codes manually. It's the only way to be sure and sometimes, the CEL blinks for a fraction of a second and it's easy to miss it. Only yesterday I had a running issue with my Legacy and no CEL. Checked for codes and got 23. (MAF). Always worth checking codes first. It could be a number of things from your description.

This is purely a guess but what about if the oil pump was on its last legs and was struggling to provide the pressure required to the systems extremities, which would be the turbo.

Sorry to hear of the situation you are in. When the insurance company originally agreed to the 10K value, didn't you have to supply an agreed valuation certificate or similar? Or was it a case that you simply filled a form in on line and put £10k as the value? If you have an agreed valuation, then you should have no problems. Other than that, I can't think of any way to get a valuation on it.

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you.

I keep finding dead links too. :( I have decided to install extra vent pipes on top of the cam covers. I will then, simply link the new vents to the large un baffled one on the crank case. That will solve that issue and any oil that comes out the crank vent will find its way back into the system. Next, i will get 2 x two port catch cans. One will be for the original cam cover vents and the other for the baffled crank case vent. This will mean deleting the PCV altogether and making the whole thing simpler. As I am going front mounted intercooler and deleting the air con, I should have plenty of space to make a tidy installation of the cans. That's the theory anyway. Any comments or advise greatly appreciated. :)

That sounds about right but....... I would still need to vent the cam covers some how.

I've no objection to two catch tanks. My main concern is that extra, central crankcase vent. Apparently, a lot of oil goes through it due to it being directly above the crank shaft and un baffled. It's main purpose is to balance the pressures between the crankcase and heads. I can't think of an easy solution to achieve that but I have seen a solution which requires me to have the cam covers drilled and a pipe welded on to each so I can achieve it. Two catch cans would then be an easy solution. Before I take that option, I want to explore everything else to see if I can resolve it without engineering work.

Thanks for that Pete. You seem to have discovered the minefield that I'm going through :) My main issue is that the 2.5's have two vents on the cam covers and the 2.0's only have one. The extra ones are supposed to be to balance the pressures between crankcase and cam covers using the extra vent on the crank case. The question is, what do I do with the extra one on the crank case. So far, I'm still looking.

I dont know the car but it looks tidy enough from that poor quality picture :) One thing to bear in mind though. Its automatic which is no problem in itself. However, depending on what you are towing, how far you intend towing it etc, you may need to fit a transmission cooler. Going with a manual one is potentially the better way to go for towing purposes. If you are going to look at it, check around the rear arches very carefully. That seems to be where they rust first, as well as inside the rear doors, at the nearest point to the arches. mechanically, it will probably have a bit of piston slap from cold until it gets a bit of warmth. Thats normal and nothing to worry about. If its still doing it when warm, walk away. Once warm, after a drive, engine still running, lift he bonnet. Pull open the yellow flap on the coolant overflow tank (attached to the rad) any signs of overflowing or lots of bubbles, walk away. The rear hub and link bar rings alarm bells. Has it slid into a kerb sideways or anything like that. Just be wary of any accident damage on that corner. Rear tie arms dont normally need replacing for anything.

I would think you will probably get the bits you need, some new some from a breaker for between £200-£300. I may actually have a tow bar around the workshop somewhere. I seem to recall removing one a few months ago. Brand new, Im not sure the cost of them. A cambelt replacement is fiddly, but easy enough and should take you half a day with plenty of advise from the guys on here. Belts are anything from about £40 and up. Has it failed an mot on some of these items. Is it for sale on the internet? do you have a link to it. Theres a chance I know the car.

As you may know, Im slowly building a high power engine and it will need a catch can set up. The problem I am having is the plumbing. The short motor is a 2.5 STI block and has two crankcase breather ports, effectively, one in front and one behind the inlet manifold. The heads are Legacy GTB and have one breather port on each head, wheras as the 2.5 avcs heads have 2 on each. The inlet manifold has a PCV valve directly under the throttle body. Catch cans, typically have 2 inlets for dirty air/oil and one outlet to allow the cleaned air back into the turbo inlet pipe. Some catch cans have 3 inlets and one outlet. So, how do I plumb it together? Ive read loads on the various websites and a lot of people have a lot of different opinions but I cant find a definitive answer.

Hi and welcome along, The cross pipe between manifolds is a fairly common place to rot throught and cause an exhaust leak. Its very easy to get to and is held with 2 bolts at either end. Its encased in a heat shield. You should be able to get a replacement quite easily. (I have a few around the workshop if it comes to it). The drop links are readily available, although better quality ones are about the same price as standard oem ones. The front arm rear bushes c an also be changed easily (changing them for an anti lift kit makes a world of difference though) The hub assembly and rear tie arm should be easily available. Whether its worth it or not comes down to how much of the work can be done yourself and how much the car is for sale for. Cambelt is worth doing at that mileage, especially if you dont know if its been done or not. Although, you can tell if its recent by taking a cover off. Towbar is a contraversial one. Ive seen and driven plenty of GTB's with tow bars. However, the car was never designed to have one and it was never on the options list which means the car was never tested for one. However, the UK Legacy was available with a tow bar, is the same chassis and type approved for it. Plus, the tow bar fits straight on

I'm thinking O2 sensor, otherwise known as lambda. They have two circuits. If one circuit goes down it can produce the symptoms you describe. It only throws an ecu code if both circuits go down. Having said that, I would check the MAF sensor first. Once you find it you can check it by pulling the plug off with the engine running. If the engine tries to stall or does stall, the MAF is good. If there is no change, it is faulty.

Hi and welcome. It's only mint if we see pictures of it ;)

Hi, could you find out a postage cost please, to Coventry. Thanks, Graham