Tlag

So, today engine building started First, all the con rods were cleaned and checked over. Then the new bearings fitted with a good dose of paste Next, each Conroe was fitted to the crankshaft, ensuring they are the correct way around The bolts were the. Tightened to the specified torque. Once all 4 are bolted up and feel good, attention turns to the crank case. Already thoroughly cleaned, it just needs a blast of compressed air to blow out any dust That's collected. Then the bearings are fitted and paste applied New o rings are fitted along with the crank assembly Then the bearings and paste are fitted to the other half. A very thin layer of sealant is applied to the flat surfaces and the two halves put together. Then it's time to put the bolts in. This is all the bolts just for the crankcase That took most of the day. It dosnt seem a lot of work, but everything is dry fitted and measured several times before actually fitting.

So it's not very much above what a 5 door family estate car could do. The theory makes sense

The problem with the vac system is that it is controlled by the ecu. It's only recently that it's been a. Possibility to map the ecu, and only then with the addition of a daughterboard. I suspect that in time, altering the vac system may be a possibility but with the cars getting increasingly older and the twin turbo evolving to a twin scroll turbo, I suspect the R&D costs would outweigh the number of people who would take it up.

Post didn't arrive until after 4 so no build fun today. I did collect me heads though and I'm very impressed with the work. Hers a before and after shot: Before: After: And a close up of the work: In the parcel, along with seals and minor stuff was this too :) I am however, in a position to commence the build tomorrow morning :)

That would be the holy grail to be honest. The twin turbo system was designed by Porsche, for Subaru. We know that they didn't want a 5 dr family estate car to be quicker than the 911 of its day. For that reason, we think it was probably a deliberate attempt to inhibit the turbos. I don't know what the performance figures were of the 911 of the early 90's but a twin turbo Legacy, according to the literature would get to 60 in just over 5 seconds and go on to 172 mph. The turbo control system is stupidly complicated with over 9 metres of vac hose.

It's a bit more complicated than that. The Turbo oil feeds on one head need blocking off, the entire vacuum system needs ripping out and an Impreza one fitted, the entire exhaust system is different, the wiring loom needs modifying as the legacy ecu won't work with only one turbo. Is it worth it? Good question. A standard classic type turbo Impreza has what from the factory? 220-240bhp? A standard twin turbo Legacy has 280bhp although they are Jap import only. With a lot of work, the maximum you can get from a Legacy will be 330-340 bhp. Whereas as an Impreza can be made to push out double that. The other BIG downside with the legacy is the VOD (valley of death). The primary turbo comes in quite early at about 1500rpm and runs out of steam at about 3800-4000rpm. The secondary turbo, comes on line at about 4300rpm. That gap of 300-500rpm is known as the VOD. It's fine when pushing on through the gears. You just feel it as a 'pause for breath' and it's no problem. The big issue is when you drop down a cog to overtake. If you are relatively new to the VOD, it comes as a bit of a wake up call, when you have indicated to pull out, moved over the white line, dropped the gear, and .......... No power. You have just dropped into that rev range that offers no boost. You learn to live with it and drive around it. It can also be mapped out to certain extent which rings us on to another problem with the twin turbo set up. In standard form, the ecu cannot be mapped. In fact, it's only in the last 2yrs that a solution has been found for this. A company will adapt the ecu to allow it to be mapped. So, is it worth it? If you want a standard, 280bhp car the it's probably a cheaper to buy option than an Impreza. If you want to get more performance, converting to single will cost a lot but the gains are potentially great. The cheaper option to performance is buy an Impreza and upgrade parts accordingly. For me, I'm lucky at the moment in that I have a mildly tuned twin turbo legacy and I have a project on the go (see the projects section) which will be single turbo. Best of both worlds. :)

Being a UK car, it should be opitomised for 95 octane regular petrol. Using 97 BP stuff maybe of benefit and shouldn't harm the car. Maybe worth a tankful every 5th one for instance, just to keep the system cleaned through. I wouldn't bother with vpower or tesco 99. It costs more with little benefit over the 97. JDM cars should only be ran on 99. In Japan, the cheap nasty fuel is 102 octane and that's what they are designed to run on. 99 is our nearest, unless you live near a race track :)

Originally I wanted an Impreza turbo. However, as a family man, I knew I would have to get a wagon version, which I have never found too appealing, so I looked at what else was out there. At that point I came across the Legacy range and settled on a 2.0L normally aspirated estate. Loved it to bits and joined a forum to figure out how it worked. (My first foray into flat fours). Ended up going to an organised meet in Wales. Mine was the only normally aspirated there. (At that time, I didn't even know about the turbo versions). At that point the search started for a suitable twin turbo Legacy. I figured if an Impreza has a single turbo, a twin turbo Legacy must be better. Despite needing an estate, I ended up changing the wife's car to an estate family car so I could get a twin turbo legacy saloon. Not looked back since. Had the twin turbos ever since. I just think they are more of a sleeper than an Impreza, plus, from the factory they have more power but are less tuneable. Hence my current project :)

It's been a quiet day today on the build :(. I have, however found my stash of parts that I put away over a year ago :) Mainly gaskets and seals and stuff so not very exciting to photograph. I did get a couple of phone calls today that were very welcome. One from a supplier to tell me that my order will be with me tomorrow. The second from my machine shop to say I can collect the heads in the morning. That means, depending on the postal delivery time, the build can start tomorrow afternoon :) pics of that will follow.

All information gratefully accepted. :) I hadnt considered using a gasket on the sump, so thats a good one to know. Likewise the info on the valves stem seals. It may be quiet for a few days now until bits arrive, I need to spend time searching the workshop for some build bits that I put safe a long time ago. So safe, I no longer know where they are

Some actual work done today, plus parts ordered and money spent. Today I stripped the short motor in order to clean it all throughout and fit new bearings. It started on the engine stand, loosening bolts and a general inspection. Next, it was transferred to the strip down bench and pistone removed. Then the block halves were split. Unusually, they almost fell apart. They dont normally like being split. :) The crank was then removed and examined. The con rods were removed from the crank and examined. Everything looks spot on, although for peace of mind, I was always going to change the bearings anyway. I dropped the crankcase halves off to have a very light skim and to be totally cleaned up. I can collect those tomorrow. I then dropped in to my suppliers and picked these up. I have also ordered an oil pump, (10mm modified should be fine), a RCM sump baffle plate, a set of valve stem seals and a rear cranck oil seal. :) Yesterday, I also bought this. I think I may need to clean that blood off before I use it though.

Jay, there's less room under a Legacy bonnet than an Impreza, so there's less room for heat dissipation. The later Imprezas don't have the two smaller vents, so I suspect they are purely aesthetic.

The main scoop is generally thought to only be effective for cooling up to around 60mph if i remember correctly. However, I think you may run into overheating issues if you go for a scoopless bonnet. The cooler the air into the engine from the intercooler the better. As soon as you start pushing warm air around, you will get reduced boost and potentially running issues. The way to get around it is to fit a front mount intercooler. Not exactly subtle but if you painted it black, you may get away with it. The air vent over the turbo will help with turbo temps. The Legacy twin turbo dosnt have those vents so I cant see it making that much difference.

Thanks for the offer Savage, I may be in touch re the 3 port. I may be able to get a rad locally and I'm going FMIC anyway.

It appears that in the UK, we will not get the saloon legacy anymore! only the wagon version.

I used to get pulled regularly when driving home at 3.30 am. Then I just used to see the Police cars in the same spot I got pulled but they would just look up and smile after they got used to the car. Although I have changed car a few times over the years, the type of car hasn't changed and I've not been pulled for a long time. I live in coventry, West Midlands but travel through Warwickshire and Leicestershire to work.

I got a phone call first thing this morning from the machine shop who are going to do my heads. They were just making sure they had the right information and that I was happy with what they were doing. For me, that's great customer service and it also means they probably started work on them today. :)

It's still one of the most stolen cars in the UK. It probably isn't you that they target, it's probably the actual car model. The other thing is that a while ago! a proportion of Subarus were driven by what can best be described as not so caring drivers, if you get my drift. unfortunately, that has left the cars with a bit of a stigma. It's like most things, a very small minority have ruined it for the rest of us.

I've not played with a newer model but on all the older ones you hold the great stick through the gaiter and unscrew the knob.

Welcome along fella. Sorry to hear of the bad luck you have had so far I appreciate the weather you have at the moment, but Subarus are right at home in the snow. Put some pictures up when you get chance. :)

I've spent loads of time in Devon. On Dartmoor particularly. Fantastic scenery and great pubs :)

Good work on the console. Not to my personal taste but I appreciate the work that goes in to things like that. Looks super smooth.

The oil pump is a tough decision. I have heard so many different schools of thought on different sizes. Whichever option I look at, I see arguments for and against. I may just have to go with what I feel is right, which would be the 11mm. The plan at this stage is go fmic from the start. I don't have one yet but I don't have a single entry tmic either so I may as well go front mount. I also need to get an Impreza style radiator and expansion tank. In fact, I still have quite a few smaller items to get.

Hahaha. Yep, plenty of pictures to come. :)

What time I have between now and when the heads come back, I will refresh the short motor and fit the new pistons and head studs. Plenty to be getting on with. I must remember to buy some new valve stem seals too.