CovertRussian's 05 LGT Build Thread

When are you going to upgrade the turbo?

 

Not anytime soon unless my turbo blows. I do have a VF39 just in case...

PCV Valve replacement should take about 5 minutes on most cars, sadly that's not the case on turbo Subaru's. Set aside about an hour...

 

It's hidden under the intercooler and intake manifold

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0469.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0470.jpg

 

Unplug all of the intercooler parts

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0471.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0474.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0476.jpg

 

After the IC is out you will gain access to the PCV valve assembly

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0479.jpg

 

Unplug the intake manifold end

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0481.jpg

 

And start undoing the pesky unique clamps that are impossible to put back on.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0485.jpg

 

PCV valve out, notice the white goo, the whole valve is covered in it, which caused the valve to stick open/closed. Not 100% sure on what causes the white goo, someone said that it might be from water evaporating from too much city driving.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0487.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0486.jpg

 

Engine side looked mostly clean

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0488.jpg

 

Got a new PCV valve from eBay, this one is for the Forester XT, it was $10 shipped so hard to beat. Aftermarket metal valve only (no plastic assembly) is $12! Subaru OEM parts are VERY well priced.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0489.jpg

 

Here is the clips and how they should work, good luck getting them to work...

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0490.jpg

 

New valve installed

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0493.jpg

 

I gave up trying to reuse the two clamps and just used zip ties.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0494.jpg

 

EDIT: Finally got the Click-R Type Pliers and reclamped it

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG1163.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG1189.jpg

 

Finally installed everything and tightened all of the intercooler clamps down. I noticed the throttle body one was rather too loose.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/Engine/General/PCV%20Valve/CIMG0496.jpg

Edited December 30, 2014 by covertrussian

Where is your heat shield over the turbo charger ?

 

You'll want to get one or a blanket.

 

I have the stock shield taped with gold foil on the under side. I got it from Pegasus auto racing. com

 

 

Would just like to ad, you are great at taking and posting pictures...hey, do you do weddings...LOL

 

Becareful with the TB body clamp. Try and never remove the hose from the TB. There is a clocking of it that must be exact, otherwise it can be a nightmare to get the tmic to seal there.

Where is your heat shield over the turbo charger ?

 

You'll want to get one or a blanket.

 

I have the stock shield taped with gold foil on the under side. I got it from Pegasus auto racing. com

 

I pulled it off while I was fitting an STI downpipe and playing around with disconnecting the wastegate for highway runs.

 

Would just like to ad, you are great at taking and posting pictures...hey, do you do weddings...LOL

 

Sure, as long as the couple is named Subaru, Nissan, Toyota, or Honda, I don't do that domestic or hella flush stuff

 

Becareful with the TB body clamp. Try and never remove the hose from the TB. There is a clocking of it that must be exact, otherwise it can be a nightmare to get the tmic to seal there.

 

That's why I tightened it only after the TMIC was installed, figured it would be a pain to get the angle right otherwise.

 

Just got back from a 1k mile trip, car got between 24.5 to high 27mpg, but I was driving up and down the mountains on 81. I did play with the tune a little bit, adding some AVCS degrees seemed to have helped, but it's a little inconclusive since mountains kill a good comparison.

 

On another news I tried Valvoline synthetic blend, and I think the car ate it up more then full synthetic. Will check the levels when I get home, looks like Rotela will be going in sooner then later.

Little tune update, had a 1k mile trip this weekend and got to play with the tune a little bit. Main thing I wanted to see is if filling the AVCS map hole would improve or reduce gas mileage. In short, AVCS control the intake cam advance/retard based on oil pressure, by giving advance to the intake cam, you can increase the valve overlap.

 

Stock:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/AVCS/05LGTStockAVCS.png~original

 

Generally speaking on restrictive turbo setups, you don't want too much overlap because it causes reversion. But at low throttle your back pressure is much less, thus overlap might be able to help you out. First map shows the "emissions" hole in the map at cruising speeds on the highway, second is me filling that hole up.

 

AVCS at 10*, fixing the emissions hole

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/AVCS/AVCS10.png~original

 

Results

I expected gas mileage loss due to fresh charge contamination from overlap/possible reversion. But results were otherwise, bone stock I got 24.60mpg (which has been about my average highway MPG lately). After filling the AVCS hole, I got 26.14mpg! I know 1.5mpg is not much to brag home about, but on this car I will take every MPG I can grab. Keep in mind this is actual MPG, not gauge MPG which is -5% to 15% inaccurate!

Edited August 7, 2014 by covertrussian

Wow, great thread, I just picked up my 05 lgt and am doing a bunch of work myself, you have given me some more ideas to work on.

Also for the life of me I couldn't find my pcv until I read this

There is some buried stuff on these motors.

Yup, I would LOVE to put an SR20 into this car and keep the AWD trans. Inline 4's are so much easier to work on. I will have to give it to Subaru though, turbo is dirty easy to get to...

What is an SR20??

SR20 is a DOHC16 valve Nissan engine. (googled.)

What is an SR20??

 

SR20 is a Nissan 4 cylinder motor, stock built for turbo. USA never got the stock Turbo versions, but they did get a slightly weaker FWD NA version which could still put down 400whp on stock block.

 

RWD SR20 might fight right in though...

http://image.modified.com/f/features/modp-0904-1998-nissan-240sx/26193367/modp_0904_07_o%2B1998_nissan_240sx%2Bstroked_sr20det.jpg

Upgraded to the A2WC522N bin, was at A2WC510N, since I was going back to a 100% stock tune, figured I would play with CL to OL Delays.

 

Closed Loop to Open Loop Delay is found on USDM's mainly (it's believed that it's there for emissions reasons), JDM tunes that I've looked at had it disabled. What it does is keep the ECU in closed loop while you are flooring the car for set amount of time, aka lean while in boost! This leads to burnt valves on bone stock cars. Going to any stage 1 tune should disable CL to OL Delay (by zeroing out the values).

 

Lets take a look at the VD graph, look at AFR's.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=258216&stc=1&d=1510676384

 

As you can see with the 100% stock tune, you are staying at high 13 AFR's while pushing 12ish PSI. This is also happening while you are at peak torque, where the engine is the most susceptible to knock.

 

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=258217&stc=1&d=1510676384

 

By disabling Closed Loop to Open Loop Delay (by setting it to all 0's), the AFR's just about instantly dip to 11's, now stock O2 sensor is very inaccurate below 12:1 AFR, thus take it with a grain of salt. But as you can see the engine welcomes the richer AFR's by gaining you 20ft-lbs of torque.

 

Do notice the peak horsepower is "down", which I would blame a slight road inaccuracy for, thus nothing to sweat about.

 

Moral of the story: ALL TURBO SUBARU's should have closed loop to open loop delay disabled if they want to save their valves and gain some power while they are at it!

Edited November 14, 2017 by covertrussian

I've been monkeying with the tune trying to see how much I can squeeze out of the car fairly bone stock (catless uppipe), before I do the downpipe and other money wasters.

 

I wanted to play with running higher AVCS degrees, but I noticed my left head would jump from 0* to 50*, while right head would be at 30* steady. I would say this is due to a clogged banjo filter and low oil pressure at 3k rpm, because at WOT both heads are in sync. Instead I played with target boost tables, wastegate duty cycle, and EGT scaling tables.

 

http://images.rvsmods.com/var/albums/Cars/LGT/Engine/ECU/Tuning/MPG-Tuning/MPGTuneV2.PNG?m=1392181679

 

The target boost table and wastegate tables make the car be slightly less peppy at lower throttles, but that's fine on the highway I don't care about peppiness at low throttles. AVCS hole is filled with 10's, which is a known gain to MPG so I incorporated it in this tune. Finally the EGT part, I'm running a 2.2k-ohm resistor, which would make the ECU think the EGT's were 1292*F. I rescaled the EGT table to make it think it's 700*F at all ranges, which is around the degrees the stock catted up pipe setup was running at highway speeds.

 

With this setup, 26.9mpg roundtrip, this is the highest I've gotten it since I did the uppipe/new o2! For a while I was stuck at 24-25mpg on 100% stock tune with up pipe and new O2 sensor. I want to play more with AVCS, but looks like I will need to pull the banjo filter first (and do the timing belt while I'm at it).

 

Edit: With further testing I'm not positive this configuration alone netted an MPG improvement, I think the terrain difference made the bigger difference. I've reverted to stock boost tables for better drive-ability.

Edited May 30, 2014 by covertrussian

If your in the area of the timing belt, you might want to grind the head off the front banjo bolt and pull that filter too.

 

Good info in the two post above. I give you guy's lot of credit for understanding all that stuff.

That's the plan, problem is, unless you remove the cams the plastic still is in the way. Now I was thinking about doing the cam seals and crank seal while I'm in there. What's the usual failure rate of the cam and crank seals?

 

Thanks for your help

You can grind the high spot on the head of the banjo bolt off, as HAMMERDOWN did when he removed his. I think he has a DIY here.

 

I never replaced my seals and they still were not leaking at 154,000 miles. I think overall the average seals last a long time. THere have been a few that leak.

 

I have a local member PM'ed me last night about his leaking at 115,000 miles.

You can grind the high spot on the head of the banjo bolt off, as HAMMERDOWN did when he removed his. I think he has a DIY here.

 

I never replaced my seals and they still were not leaking at 154,000 miles.

 

It's still not enough, my 04 Forester had a different bolt (no high spot). It still was a royal pita to get it out. Here are some pics....

 

This is with the timing belt off, and bottom bolt unscrewed from the plastic

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0020.JPG?m=1389658370

 

Unscrewed as far as it would go

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0046.JPG?m=1389658374

 

Took a screw driver to it and started forcing it out

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0047.JPG?m=1389658375

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0048.JPG?m=1389658376

 

Since it was under 30*F plastic was a little brittle and did crack, I was so pissed at it I didn't care...

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0050.JPG?m=1389658379

 

Getting it back in wasn't too bad

olddeadsite/var/albums/Cars/FXT/Engine/Banjo-Filters/CIMG0051.JPG?m=1389658380

Edited May 9, 2016 by covertrussian

You don't recall our's being that hard to get out, PM HAMMERDOWN if you want and ask him.

Yeah I saw his post, thing is he shaved it down, which made it shorter then the stock one on the forester, hence easier to remove .

That's how I did mine. FWIW at 130K my cam seals have just barely started leaking.

Gah, better part of me says I should replace them, I'm just not 100% sure this motor will last to bother though, maybe I'll do a compression test first...

I wanted to test how much was too much with AVCS. Top map is what got me 26.9mpg, bottom map the AVCS advance maxed out.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/AVCS/AVCS30Cruise.png~original

 

Looks like 30* is definitively too much advance/overlap for stock turbo and downpipe. The car lost power cruising, and was at 3/4 tank by 80 miles, usually it's at 110-120, filled up 23.17mpg...

 

Here are some learning views, this one is from the 10* map

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/AVCS/LWAVCS10Cruise130miles.jpg~original

 

Here is the 30* map, lots of knocking...

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/AVCS/LWAVCS30Cruise130miles.jpg~original

 

I will try 15-20* next time I go on a highway drive.

Edited July 31, 2014 by covertrussian

 

OEM bushings are notorious for ripping easily, usually last around 40k miles. I don't know why Subaru decided to switch to horizontal bushings, the arm needs movement to avoid binding otherwise the bushing rips. 04 FXT/Impreza's have a vertical bushing, which allows the arm to move a little more freely without ripping the bushing.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253935&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

I was torn between AVO bushing and the Whiteline one, I found the Whiteline one cheaper, plus on the fly adjustable caster is really cool actually.

Part number: Whiteline KCA334

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253934&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Unbolt Front bushing

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253936&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Unbolt the anti-swaybar end links

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253937&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Unbolt rear

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253938&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Used a prybar to pull it off

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253939&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Getting the control arm off the lower ball joint is a pain. I had to resort to the ball joint puller, which pretty much always damages the ball joint boot. Which means a new ball joint is needed, or at least a boot.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253940&stc=1&d=1502334150

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253941&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Control arm finally off

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253942&stc=1&d=1502334150

 

Fun part was getting the stock bushing off

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253943&stc=1&d=1502334150

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253944&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Then press the new one in

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253945&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Put it all together and set the bushing to add caster by making the holes point to the inside of the car. I also marked where the caster setting should be so I can see where to adjust it while on the car.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253946&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Passenger side installed and adjusted for maximum caster. To gain caster, you want the back of the arm to stick out towards the outside of the car. For that to happen with this arm design, you have to increase the distance between the mount stud and the center point of the arm. Thus you need to rotate the cam, so that the thinner part of the cam faces towards the center of the car.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253952&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Rear stud goes directly into the body of the car, Subaru doesn't use a subframe like Nissan does, which means the road noise/vibrations go directly into the body. Will see how much NVH is transmitted with these solid bushings.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253953&stc=1&d=1502334711

 

Ready to be bolted back up, which takes a few tries...

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253947&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

The rear bushing will deform a bit since the suspension is at full droop.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253948&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

All suspension bushings, just like anti-swaybars, should be tightened with full weight on them, this avoids bushing preload. Drive on ramps to the rescue, snuck them under the wheels and lowered the jackstands on them.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253949&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Now the rearward bushing is looking better

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253950&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Torque everything down and your done. Front nut should be torqued to 81.1ft-lbs, the rear two bolts should be torqued to 110.6ft-lbs. If your on a Legacy, make sure to install the washer (my kit didn't have it, but Whiteline provided it free of charge).

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=253951&stc=1&d=1502334209

 

Driving Impressions

These bushings rock! The car handles great after the bushing install, even though I installed them to remove caster instead of add by accident! Front end has a ton more traction now, also feels like turning radius at speed has been greatly reduced too (not that this car needed it with an awesome 35 foot turning circle!).

 

NVH barely increased, not all that noticeable, but I am on 100k mile stock suspension so other creeks could be masking it.

Edited January 24, 2019 by covertrussian

05 Legacy key is big and bulky, then you add the fob which is huge too. Luckily subaru switched to a key & fob combo for 09 legacy's that we can use for ourselves.

 

Information about the new key:

Part Number: 57497AG48A

FCC ID: CWTWBU766

IC: 1788D-FWBU766

 

New styled key on the left (from 09 Legacy), old key on right

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220975&stc=1&d=1449591467

 

New styled key on top, it's bigger then the actual key but overall smaller then old key and fob.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220976&stc=1&d=1449591467

 

 

Note: It's a good idea to try to program car key to your car before you get the key cut. This way if your car refuses to accept the key, you can return it. Key programming steps can be found at the bottom of this post.

 

 

Take the new key apart and you will find the fob, transponder and actual key

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220977&stc=1&d=1449591504

 

You can take the key to the dealer, pay $80 to get your ECU repogramed for it. Or you can salvage one of your current keys and steal the transponder from it. I decided to take the transponder from my valet key.

 

On a non valet key it's easy to find which side the transponder sits, on valet key it's a guessing game.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220978&stc=1&d=1449591504

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220979&stc=1&d=1449591536

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220980&stc=1&d=1449591536

 

Pulled the current transponder out, keep it just in case, put new transponder in (don't mix them up!)

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220977&stc=1&d=1449591504

 

Next take apart the fob part, there will be a white paper with two 8 digit codes. You need the top code to program the key. Take a picture of it/write it down.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220981&stc=1&d=1449591782

 

Put the key together and go to your car.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220982&stc=1&d=1449591782

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=220983&stc=1&d=1449591809

 

Programming the Fob

Programing the fob is annoying and overly difficult on the Legacy. On the 04 Forester (and my Nissan's), you put a car into programming mode, press a key on the key fob and done. But no on the legacy you have to punch in the 8 digit code into the car twice using your lock and unlock button!

 

1. Get in the drivers seat and make sure all of the doors are closed
   
2. Open and close the driver's door
   
3. Insert key into ignition and twist it from LOCK to ON 10 times within 15 seconds, leave the key in ON position.
   
4. Open and close the drive's door again, you should hear electronic beep and continues buzzer along with interior light will flash.
   
5. You have 45 seconds to enter the 8 digit code in using your lock/unlock door button
   
6. Press lock the amount of times you see the first digit for, then pres unlock to move to the next digit. In my example pic code (12345678) you would press lock once, unlock once, lock twice, unlock once, lock 3 times, unlock... until you type all of the digits in.
   
7. Once you have entered the 8 digits there will another sound, now you need to reenter the number the same way you did it before.
   
8. If the two codes match there should be a beep and doors will lock and unlock
   
9. Press lock and unlock on the key fob
   
10. Then take your key out of the ignition and wait for relay to click
    
11. Open and close the driver's door
    
12. Wait a little and the key fob should now be working
    

 

More details on the steps an example video can be found here.

Edited August 10, 2017 by covertrussian

love this thread! I do have a question though. I cleaned my MAF sensor and the Subie is idling a little rough. Do I just disconnect the battery and reconnect it to reset the computer?