I have this thread going on mitsustyle.com already but figured since it's a Subaru I would post it here as well A little about the car, I bought it from a non active member here for $2700. The main issue with it, is the body has some major rust which I'll be taking care of. Other than that the interior and frame was in perfect shape. I've been a Subaru enthusiast for about 12 years now and this is my 7th Subaru. I've owned 5 Legacys, 1 GL-10 Turbo and now this impreza. I even used to own www.mnsubaru.com back in the 90's but never had the desire to maintain a website like this so I let it laps. Swap parts I've secured. 1.) EJ255 out of a 2006 Legacy 2.5GT @ 26k miles 2.) 3" X-Over Pipe (Brand?) 3.) 3" TBE (Brand?) 4.) STi Injectors 5.) '04 STi ECU 6.) '06 STi Gas Tank with Pump 7.) '06 WRX Gauge Cluster (Fully Functional) until I can justify an STi 8.) '04 STi Brembo Brakes 9.) '04 STi 6 Speed Transmission + '04 STi Rear Diff 10.) Polyurethane bushings 11.) STi Pedals 12.) Centerforce Clutch 13.) '04 STi Hubs 14.) '04 STi Lower Control Arms 15.) '04 STi Struts 16.) '04 STi Dashboard + center console 17.) '04 STi Seats 18.) '04 STi Momo Steering Wheel with air bag 19.) Custom FMIC with Ebay piping. 20.) 1G Crush BOV I'm still trying to get everything to fit together and research. Plan on deleting my charcoal canister this week and pouring polyurethane into the old engine/transmission mounts. My biggest concern is the wiring. I have a modifed GC8 wiring harness into the STi wiring harness and I also have a STOCK full STi wiring harness. I'm assuming I can use most of the stock wiring harness since I'm doing a dash/fuel tank/engine/transmission/hvac swap but I need to spend the time to figure that out. Now for some pics of my current progress...
The car the day I bought it. The beginning of the build. My DS Spring broke... not sure how the car drove ok? What's left of the bumper plate... I think. Beginning of dash tear down. Dash and carpet out. About an inch of sand below the carpet. Rear suspension off, rear diff on it's way out. New Engine with badass headers/up pipe Rear cross beam nut broke INSIDE the chassis, we're in the process of welding the new one on, had to cut a hole in the chassis. Old tank vs STi tank. Organizing old wires as I disconnect them. Dash, wiring, everything out = week one.
Box of parts. Anothe box of parts. Old engine out! Wearing the wiring harness. Old cross member out! Starting to fit the STi dash beam. Simple green to the engine bay and new cross member in. STi dash + center console FINALLY in with new heatercore/blower motor. Battle One complete. Next step is to figure out the wiring and start bolting the rear suspension back on. Once the wiring is figured out and the rear of the car is plugged back in I'll drop the engine in and get the front suspension bolted back on. Sounds easy right?
nice. for the wiring, you just have to splice on the correct connectors for the exterior lights on the front of the car, and wiring for the front doors and dome light. Then strip the fuel pump controller and fuel tank wiring out of the rear half of the harness. and then splice the STi bulkhead harness to the GC rear harness under the passenger seat. it's a project, but it's doable if you've got good diagrams.
So is this car dedicated to all the Sarah's?....I have an HKS boost gauge/pod. Otherwise looks an easy job doing all that work
Chux you make this seem so easy Have you done this project before? I got the new gas tank, gas tank nozzle installed tonight along with the rear cross member. Tomorrow installing the rear knuckles/control arms and test fitting the rear STi struts. Also will be installing the STi drive by wire gas pedal, will need to drill holes in the firewall.
Very nice! Trust me I feel your pain with the wires... I have a similar project of my own I'm nearly done with http://www.oksubaru.com/gallery/v/Car+Work/97+Legacy+Outback/EJ257/Chassis+Prep/CIMG1844.JPG.html http://oksubaru.com/gallery/v/Car+Work/97+Legacy+Outback/EJ257/Chassis+Prep/CIMG2041.JPG.html
Nice Chux! Hopefully I get it all figured out! Threshld1 thanks for the links, I'll be using your diagrams for sure. If you ever need help with anything I love working on cars and meeting new people. I'm in South Minneapolis so not too far away from SLP. Honestly your pics make me a little scared I'm hoping there will be less splicing for me since I have the dash, gas tank, etc. But we'll see.
Gas Tank Tube installed also showing the terrible fender condition right now. Stock RS Tranny Mount pulled ready for polyurethane. Hole cut in rear of the chassis for the nut that had the weld break off Swapping STi pedal to the Legacy pedal assembly Pedal Assembly installed. Rear suspension test fit with '04 STi struts. Tomorrow we're welding the new nut to the chassis, welding the hole shut and coating it. I'll also probably get the rear suspension installed so that I can throw the new rear diff in when I get it and call it done. It's nice to finally be putting parts back on the car
Haha don't fret too much, your Impreza is much easier to do this in than my Outback is... Still not sure why I decided to go through with it haha! I just decided to keep the Outback front and rear harnesses for lights since the Impreza lengths and connectors are completely different. The only splicing I had to do for the dash was the steering column and power to the HVAC system which I made independent of the bulkhead harness. Everything else was front lights, doors, and rear lights/def I'm actually using the new harness for the fuel tank so that was direct plug and play. Surprisingly I only have 3 CEL's right now when I fire it up, all of which are for the unplugged/non-existent rear canister. Glad you found the diagrams, if you need any more for either car let me know I have it all. What did you do for the pedal adapter? I drew one up in Solidworks and was going to have my machinist buddy cut one out. Kent
Hah, yeah I'm hoping since I went with the new dash and new HVAC stuff it'll be easier. I'm mostly worried about security stuff, but I've been told since it's an '04 STi ECU it's a bit easier to deal with. For the pedal, I used the stock assembly from the Legacy which mounted it to the left of the two hole mounting area for the old assembly. I tested to make sure it wouldn't obstruct the area for the steering shaft and then drilled two holes for the assembly and bolted it to the fire wall (have to be careful of the brake lines on the other side). I'll take pics of what I did tonight and post them. I then used washers to kind of "tune" the pedal position for heal tow and everyday driving and I'm quite happy with the outcome. It's about 1.75 inches from the brake pedal compared to the Evo's 2.25 inches and very solid. What all did you cap off for the rear canister? That's something I still have to figure out do you have any pictures or anything?
Security Immobilizer is not the issue everyone makes it out to be if you have all the parts (BIM, ECU, Immobilizer module, tumbler w/ sensor, and the key). I'm running all the 06 parts I got and it fired/ran first time no issues, and it will kill it right away if I unplug the key sensor. The 04 ECU will also work to bypass the Immobilizer if your missing parts. Let me know when you get pics of the pedal mount. If i can just order the LGT bracket and modify it to work that would be awesome. Note when your setting the pedal position mind where your mechanical stop is for it. If you go over something like 105% throttle the ECU will go into limp mode. As for the canister my ancient 97 Outback was the last year before they went to the rear canister setup. So my stock canister was up front where the P/S bottle now resides. I just took it out, left all the connectors for the rear canister setup (all on the tank harness) unplugged and everything appears to work fine. Just the 3-4 Evap codes I'm gonna force off once I reflash.
I feel your pain. I own a 04 RSTI and have done several other swaps. The end product will be so worth it, trust me!
Thanks for the inspiration bikerboy. I had two more bolts break the welded nuts inside the frame tonight on the DS trailing arm. FML Zombie, tell your roomate I found his 20 euro cents under the rear seats if he wants it back
Hey Threshld1, sorry I didn't get the pics last night. I was busy packing to go to Dallas and struggling with the effin' rear trailing arm bolts being broken... argh. I'll get some pics Monday night and PM them to you. BTW I'm typing this from a plane @ 36,000 feet. Technology FTW!
Nice! Yeah no worries, whenever you get a chance. I looked up the LGT pedal and discovered the extra piece i saw is part of the pedal assembly, not a separate piece, so it won't help me. I just need to either make the adapter plate or drill some holes in the firewall. It wouldn't be a project if you didn't have rusty broken bolts haha.... Grrrrr
Got my turbo yesterday along with my STi springs/sway bars. The turbo was a close call, had to race someone from Hudson to Apple Valley, but he was delayed due to drinking in the bar. Thankfully the greatest weakness of a Wisconsinite is they're drunks. Also got the trailing arms figured out for the most part and mounted. Along with rear sway bar mounted and bolted up to the new hubs. Just need to swap out the top hats onto my new STi struts with the springs and then the rear suspension should be done tonight! Rear stock RS 18mm sway bar vs new rear STi 20mm sway bar IHI VF39 turbo for stage 3 WRX setup. Close up of pedal mount. Another Close up
Been a while since I've updated everyone. Made a LOT of progress. I got the rear differential finally and got that installed. I also got the fuel pump/lines figured out and the rest of the rear suspension all done, with the axels in place. Below is the best way to take a stud out I found, works like a charm. Needed to swap the studs from the RS to the STi since the RS' was longer, as informed by Fuji. I then decided to get the transmission/engine installed. Below is the shot of the clutch Engine dangling I'll have to get a shot of the engine installed. At any rate, got the engine/transmission bolted in. Went to install my STi shifter base and noticed it was too long. I'm at a loss right now why this would be because everyone tells me this SHOULD work. So I'll be going home and figuring this out tonight. Other than that I have to source a drive shaft now, because apparently the RS half shaft (I think that's the proper term for it) is 2" too far back since my 6MT is 10" behind the mounting points vs the 8" behind the mounting points on the 5MT. Someone told me the RS would work if I swapped the mount plate on the rear diff, but this is not the case.
+100. this is so true. I have a similar setup. EJ20 & STi 6 speed and I love it. On a side note, you may want to look into a DCCDPro controller for the transmission. I have the Auto one, and it was a breeze to install (compared to swapping over all of the stuff needed for the stock auto mode to work) and it works like a charm.
As promised, here's a shot of the engine installed. Not very fancy yet, but I got the FMIC paid for today. I also "cheated" and bought an STi engine wiring harness for the Legacy/WRX motor. I figured it would all just plug in and I was right. Got the wiring diagram and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. So now all I need to do is plug in the internal wiring harness to the engine. I got the rear end of the car figured out as far as wiring and wired/soldered into the STi wiring harness. I also took out all extra wiring/insulation I didn't need to save weight (you laugh but every bit helps) and reduce complexity. After that I routed the wiring and zip tied everything down in the stock wiring position. Other than that I've spent a lot of time pulling parts/stuff off of the car I don't need to save weight. Rear Charcoal canister, all sound material on the floorboard, electrical tape, whatever I can find to reduce weight. So far I think I've got around 40-50lb's in misc things pulled out. As far as this week, I plan on figuring out the head lights and ignition system and getting the main wiring harness installed. Along with doing some tweaks to my powersteering lines and radiator so I can put all the fluids in the car. I'm also waiting on the '05 STi drive shaft and shifter linkage. I'm hoping a couple of weeks and she'll be on the road! Not bad for a few months of solid work/research. Also thanks Dynapar, it's posts like that, that keep me going at after 14 hours of solid work on the weekend, I'm hoping this car will be worth it after it's all said and done! I have the manual DCCDPro controller but plan on getting the automatic one, it's good to hear they work as advertised.
Yea, I have the manual DCCDPro controller and I'm not happy with it. Gonna buy the auto one for sure.
What "banjos"? Haha. I took out the turbo oil feed filter, I also got rid of the PCV bridge lines, those things were terrible and bulky.
Been a while since I've posted (again). I'll be posting a lot of pics. But the good news is after about 30 hours or so of fixing broken wires on my wiring harness I acquired and mating it to the chassis. It turns over, has a working stereo, primes the fuel pump, has working door locks and windows, has working turn signals/brake lights/etc. The STi HVAC controls even work! Hell even the clock on the dash works, even though that's getting replaced with an ATi gauge pod. At any rate, after a very rough week of digging through 2 wiring diagrams it seems to have paid off. The wiring harness was soldered, heat shrinked, zip tied and then electrical taped on every wire I swapped/spliced. So it should be good for a long time Anyway off to bed, tomorrow morning I'll get some gas in the tank to see if actually runs.
glad to hear its all coming together man, I'm excited to see the pics of the final product, sounds like a great build.
very nice, sounds like you could be out enjoying the perfect weather for a sunday drive if you wanted to today
Wiring harness when I pulled it into the chassis... Swapping ECU pins for my '04 ECU on the '05 Harness Finished product, before taping with rest of the wires. The cluster eff of wires I had to organize. Basically went through pulled all of them tight, checked for broken wires, then zip tied a few inches at a time. Wiring job on the door harness. After securing wires of the door harness. Initial routing of the wires, keep in mind I have NONE of the brackets for fuse/relay box, etc. Close to final routing of the wires, using only zip ties. I've secured all boxes, etc to make sure nothing rattles. And the payoff... close to final product. Yeah... booiiiii
Some updates... First pics The car itself for the most part is complete. I'm fixing a few bugs, for instance my front toe in is way off so I need to fix that before driving it. The biggest thing I'm dealing with is a rough idle/start. I plan on doing a boost leak test and getting a full tank of fresh gas to see if this smooths things out. I would think it's a sensor issue but I have an STi MAP sensor and a brand new front O2 sensor installed The only codes I get are the following: P1446 FUEL TANK SENSOR CONTROL CIRCUIT LOW P0447 EVAP VENT CONTROL CIRCUIT OPEN P0037 REAR O2 SENSOR LOW INPUT P0245 WASTEGATE SOLENOID A LOW Which is all emissions crap + the BCS, so I'm not sure what to do next.
Well after a few days of trying to figure out what was wrong with the Subaru, first things that came to mind was sensors/etc. We realized that it didn't have an FPR It's amazing that it even ran as well as it did. I got an AEM universal and some fittings for it and piped it in and the damn thing ran fine! I get fuel cut at 8PSi still but I'm somewhat certain it's MAF scaling or something with the tune, due to the fact I'm using a Legacy GT MAF sensor with an STi ECU/Tune. I don't want to boost it much anyway and will be babying it until it gets a tune. Tomorrow it's going to Jeff the Alignment guy for an alignment, this weekend I'll be touching up some things and Monday she goes to Shane at DB for it's tune and then it's done. Which brings me to my bad news, my Evo on Friday (when leaving MAP to pick up a part for the Suby) had the transmission fork break off =/ So I guess I know what my next project will be! Effin' cars.
For sure! I think I'll be doing a 5 speed swap, still have to talk to MAP about it, which they have been very helpful with. Some more info about the Subaru not having an FPR, I would have called it out sooner but on most Subarus, including the STi and GC8 the FPR is bolted to the rail under the intake manifold. The odd thing about the 06 Legacy engine is it's where the fuel dampeners are normally so we didn't even think twice about the FPR. When I took the fuel lines off and there was NO pressure after the car had been off, it sort of clicked that I didn't have an FPR.
Video of the car doing a pull, this is lower boost so it doesn't sound as cool, I'll try to get a video of that tonight. Final shot of the dash with my D80 Shot of the front today before it went to the dyno Phase one of the project is done. Car made 257AWHP @ DB today, roughly 285AWHP @ RS. I have about 300 Miles or so on it and the car for the most part hasn't given me any issues at all. Been a wild couple of months!
