Adam

Called in to see the printer on the way home from work and he has ONE copy left. I'll PM you details... If you're quick you get a chance to enjoy my trusty GL as she is Miss January this year!!

I can probably get you a Legacy one... A friend of mine prints them for the Legacy Owners Club. He normally sells out very quickly so I'll need to make enquires on stock.

Have you been able to identify exactly where it is coming out?

No history sorry, I acquired them as job-lot when a Subaru garage closed down. I have 3, maybe 4 pairs of version 5/6 so I'll get photos of all of them so you can choose which ones you think look best. I'll also look into shipping costs before I get back to you.

And you will be coming this time!

The GT-B has been SORN for about a year. The head gaskets have failed and a year ago I took it off the road with the plan to do the work "next month". However, a whole string of problems mostly with work resulted in the work never being done :( A few weeks ago I decided it was time to do something with the car as it was just rotting away on the driveway. So after buying a some new fuel-lines as the old ones had cracked, fitting them and another few jobs, the car went for an MOT yesterday and I'm please to say it passed. It was close on the emissions as it was right on the boarder-line (only one of the two cats are fitted), but after three or four goes it got through. Taxed it on-line and all is good. Stanton500 came round this morning to buy some Impreza seats from me, so as soon as he left I went directly to the petrol station and treated it to a full tank of 99RON. It still needs a good clean but alas that will have to wait for a while as I don't have the time, but overall I'm a happy bunny at the moment :) The head gaskets still need fixing but as long as I stay off boost there isn't a problem. I just need to hold myself back until the job is done. I am saving hard, so hopefully by Spring time I will be able to take her to TAG Motors in Coventry so Bip and Tlag can work their magic. The plan is to have her back on the Nurburgring by the end of May :D

Genuine ones are quite long and run from the wing mirror to the rear-door windows. See photo... These are from a Gen 2 car, so no use to you. I would imagine Gen 4 versions are still available from Subaru (at huge cost) but should also be available from other places such as Import Car Parts.

I have several pairs of Subaru Cylinder Heads. It's time I started to try to move these as I need my house back. Not all are shown in this photo, there are others dotted about the place! Most are Version 5/6 STi/P1 heads, but I also have a pair of Version 5/6 Turbo 2000, and a few pairs of AVCS heads, and maybe some Version 3/4 STi heads, but I will need to open boxes to confirm! All are single-turbo, so sorry no Twin-Turbo ones. Anyone interested? Adam.

Subarus have frames-less windows so wind noise can be a problem. Subaru made wind deflectors that were standard on cars sold in Japan so I have them on my GT-B. Maybe you could try and find a set to fit one you have the car.

Five.

That is a Generation 4 car, built 2003-2009 with a facelift in 2007.

Can't say I've ever needed to do that so don't know. However, may I suggest you put off the job until daylight just in case you have a problem... Surly it can't be that urgent?! I never work on cars in the dark unless I really really have to.

Top tip for changing the diff oil... Always undo the top plug first. Why? Well if you undo the bottom one first all the oil will come out. If you the find the top one is rusted solid and wont move you are left with an empty diff and no way of putting fresh oil in. Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people fall over on this one!

I've never heard it said the gearbox oil is for life, but then I've never worked on a Generation 5 car (model year 2010) so they may well have improved their design with the newest cars? The issue is that as the oil gets old the gear change will start to slow making it feel bumpy. As it gets older still you may hear a clunk as it changes, most noticeable from Neutral to First when pulling away from a standstill. Finally it will start dropping out of gear. There was a post on this forum a few months ago from an owner who lost all gears when a local non-Subaru garage put in the wrong oil, so that also gives an idea of how fussy they can be. The issue with changing the oil is that when you remove the sump plug and drain the old oil, a large amount (as much as 50% I think) stays in the torque converter. Therefore when you fill up with new oil you end up with a 50:50 mix of new and old oil. People without knowledge of the Subaru box will leave it at that and any of the above issues may still be there or soon come back. I have known people sell the car at this point at way below market value as they think they are looking at huge gearbox bills, but what you should do is drive the car normally for a couple of hundred miles to mix up the old and new oil, then change it again. The second change should clear up any issues, but if the old oil was really crap it may require a third. If the problems are still there after three changes, then sell the car quick!

If you are buying from a main dealer and the car is less than six years old you are very well protected. Head gasket issues can be hard to spot in the short time you have the car for a test drive unless they have failed badly, and that's unlikely from a main dealer. Once (if) you get the car keep an eye on the coolant level and water temp. If shouldn't loose any coolant at all and the temp should always be in the middle if the gauge. If this isn't the case go straight back to the dealer and get them to sort it. You pay a premium at a dealer so let them worry about it!! It's when you buy private you need to be more careful. As for the gearbox... If it has a full Subaru service history you will be OK. It's when you take it to a garage that doesn't know about the joys of Subaru autos that the problems can start. Just make sure the gearbox oil is changed when it says in the book and that whoever does the job knows what oil to use and how it's done. One other think I forgot to mention. Some top spec cars had air suspension. These rarely go wrong but if they do it can be a nightmare. Because they are so rare in the UK a lot of garages haven't seen them, I worked part-time at an independent Subaru garage for almost 3 years and we didn't have one come in. Therefore if they do go wrong you usually have to go back to Subaru and pay huge bills, or rip the whole lot out and fit standard suspension. That's not cheap either.

Ah yes, saw this thread while I was at work and said to myself I'll reply when I get home. Then forgot. Sorry :( Quickly as I'm at work again... 2.5 is famous for head gasket issues but that tends to be on older version and cars that have been abused. Still, check very carefully before you buy as replacement will cost over £1000. Subaru do not make good auto boxes so don't expect them to be as good as the ones from Germany cars etc. also they are very fussy about gearbox oil so make sure they have been serviced with the correct oil and using the correct procedure. A badly done service or old/wrong oil will make them a pig to drive.

Forgot to add... Another way air can get into the system is if one of the inlet manifold gaskets have failed, so test those too.

A failed MAF can sometimes do that, but it's more likely to be an air leak somewhere. Check all the hoses are nice and tight and there are no signs of any getting old and cracking before you spend money on a MAF.

Every heard that phrase; "Never meet your heros"? Well I've met Tlag...

Well it sounds like you know what you're doing, so I will also sit back and enjoy this one! Do you have a GT or GT-B? They made both from 1996-1998 and they are very similar to look at. However, there is an ESL board available for the GT-B ECU but I don't think you can get one for the GT ECU. If it's a GT-B it will have a "4G" ECU and you will be OK, as that's the one I have in my car and it's been upgraded by ESL and mapped. GT had EJ20H engine with 76mm inlet giving 250ps power before the facelift (BG5A) and 260ps after the facelift (BG5B or BG5C). GT-B had EJ20R engine with 90mm inlet giving 280ps power and was only available after the facelift (BG5B or BG5C). Both engines will fit "like-for-like" and should work fine, it's just the ECU that may give you a headache. Gearbox, diff, hubs and brakes will all be a direct swap. Just the prop shaft which wont as the Legacy is 4" longer. Edit... I should add that I haven't had any dealings with ESL for about 18 months so they may well have an upgrade for the GT now.

P1 has the gearbox from a 1999 Legacy GT-B (chassis type BH5B).

If your Turbo 2000 is version 5 or 6 then yes. If it's older then you may also need the rear shafts, depending on diff type on your car.

It will be a challenge all right, may not be a small one though. You will need the full engine, so short-motor, heads, manifold, all sensors etc. Exhaust system with both up-pipes, secondary turbo exhaust valve, two turbos and down pipes. Inlet with cross pipe and intercooler. Full loom and ECU. Solenoid box and vacuum hoses (all 10m of them). Which version classic is it? Some had rear drum brakes and all had small (266mm disc) front brakes so you will want to sort them too if you ever want to stop your new beast. I would also check the gearbox, rear diff and shafts... Some N/A Imprezas shared parts with the Turbo so you may be OK, but others had cheaper bit. If you have the Hi/Lo transfer box then that will need to go as it wont be strong enough. Enjoy!!

As Tlag said, it would be nice to be able to read error codes right now. Without codes, my first thought is a failed MAF.

Sorry for being a bit thick, but what am I looking at?