New 98 Legacy GT owner

Hi all, I just bought a 98 Leggy GT as my first Subaru. Most of my wrenching experience has been on classic Fords and random late models that I've owned but this is my first boxer engine. I picked up this Legacy with 97,000 miles on it and it's super clean. The previous owner brought the car up to Wisconsin from either Nebraska or Oklahoma so there is no rust on the car (cars here in MN are usually rotted out from the salt on the roads in the winter).

Previous owner supposedly did the head gaskets, timing belt, and water pump before I bought it.

There has been a bit of an oil leak and it blows out the tailpipe over 3000 rpm. I was hoping it was a pcv valve issue. Then last night it started overheating on my way home. I limped it back without getting over the H designation on the temp gauge. This morning my fears were realized when the radiator is empty and the crankcase is full. It's not a tan sludge, but it is very thin. Looks like I get to tear this damned thing apart.

I'm assuming that I'm going to have to pull the motor, is there anything that I should be aware of when jumping into this? I probably won't get to it until after finals in the first week of December but I'd like to start budgeting for it now. I wouldn't mind adding some horsepower if that's a possibility. I know that there isn't a whole lot that can be done with the 2.5 but I'm open to suggestions. Alternatively would a 3.0 from a later model drop in or is that just out of the question?

Thanks for any and all advice as I start along the Subaru and boxer motor path.

-Ninjabot

So from what I've gathered over the last 24 hours, the 3.0 would be a pita to install into the 98. I'm torn between buying a junkyard motor, having the block and heads inspected and rebuilding it myself; pulling the motor I have, disassemble it and then have the block and heads checked before rebuilding it; or buying a rebuilt motor for $1500. I have a well sorted garage and I'm not discouraged by any of these options. Having the motor out will allow me better access to do the motor mounts that are shot and the steering rack.

What are your thoughts? Is one of these options better in your mind?

Ninjabot

Pretty much all of the swap that you can do are a pita, but they are possible. Mightycarmods on youtube did a 3.0 turbo swap but it's tons of wiring and fabrication. I'm going to be pulling my motor and rebuilding it here in December and I have a lot more miles on mine so I'm replacing a lot of things that probably don't need to be replaced. I got rebuilt heads, master engine gasket set from Subaru, engine mounts, new oil pump and water pump and new plugs as well as other odds and ends. I'm not going to split the block or even touch the bottom end just because I don't want to. I'm just going to yank the motor out, take the top end off, clean it all up and slap it back together over my christmas break, I expect about 2-3 weeks to do this with my OCD meticulous methods. Just in parts I'm about $500 into it and I'm doing all the labor myself.

You aren't going to find a similar build date junkyard/donor motor with lower mileage than you already have so throwing in a different motor would be a bad idea in my opinion. Most motors you find are 120k+ so I wouldn't go that route. Also most shops in my area charge $300 just the pull the motor and my local subaru guru shop quoted me about $1700 to do what I plan to do myself. So again, either befriend a Subaru guru to help you in their free time or do it yourself.

Alternatively, you can leave the motor in the car and take the heads and intake off and just clean it up as best as you can and then just slap new head gaskets on it. I did this and it wasn't fun but it only took 2 days of halfass working on it.

Thanks for this perspective. The only reason I'm considering a donor motor is because I believe the previous owner bought this car as a non runner before doing the head gaskets and timing belt. This leads me to believe they either:

a) didn't do any work

b) did a shitty job

c) did the work but there was a cracked head or block that they didn't notice

I would rather keep this motor but between the blowing smoke over 3k rpm and now this I'm concerned.

Thanks for the perspective here.

I got rebuilt heads

How much did the rebuilt heads run you?

The only reason I'm considering a donor motor is because I believe the previous owner bought this car as a non runner before doing the head gaskets and timing belt. This leads me to believe they either:

a) didn't do any work

b) did a shitty job

c) did the work but there was a cracked head or block that they didn't notice

I would rather keep this motor but between the blowing smoke over 3k rpm and now this I'm concerned.

I got the heads off Ebay from Northwest Cylinder Heads in WA. When they post them to ebay they are $279 I think but they didn't have any posted at the time so I called them, they had a camless set on the shelf and I got them for $195. The master gasket set was $260 and the other parts were what went into the difference to $500. I am not doing my timing belt stuff for this engine pull since I did it just a couple thousand miles ago.

As far as the engine goes, it sounds like they did crappy work or they threw in a different motor, find the vin on the motor and make sure it matches you car, if it doesn't then look for a donor motor to fix up and throw in. In my opinion I'd find a 2.2L instead of a 2.5 donor They are much more durable and is a basically pain free swap at the cost of about 15hp less

Thanks for the info on the heads.

In my opinion I'd find a 2.2L instead of a 2.5 donor They are much more durable and is a basically pain free swap at the cost of about 15hp less

Is there anything sensible I could do to make up that 15 hp? Or more hp in general if the 2.5 is in decent nick? I've read some of the stickied mod stuff up top as a bit of a primmer, but it seems like most of the advice is to put the money into handling. I'd like to stay away from a turbo application for now and I'd rather build this motor once. I need it to be reliable for the next three or so years as I commute to school and work (36 miles per day) and then it will be tuned into an autocross warrior after I get my J.D.

In defense of the 2.2, I have 4.11 gears and I run up and down mountains all the time and it handles itself fine, so I don't think 15hp will help much, I would like a 5th gear though.

With electronically controlled motors theres not A WHOLE lot you can do to gain power without a tuneable ecu, you can usually squeeze a little power from doing a different intake and a less restrictive exhaust system. I have a grounding kit and a lightweight crank, both of which will give you sharper throttle response and a little quicker pick up. I also have extra heat protection around my fuel lines (the ones running over the top of the block), my intake tube is wrapped in heat tape and I have intake spacers, all of which keep the fuel and air cooler which in theory means it's more condensed and you can burn more of it. If you do NGK plugs & wires with a MSD coil you gain a little power cause again, in theory you are getting a stronger spark. But besides that stuff theres nothing else you can do without needing to tune the ecu.

In my experience with Subaru, as long as you take care of them, they'll run until the world stops spinning. I have never once been broken down besides when it was something of my own doing, and like I said, I do 200miles trips up and down mountains a few times a month.

Thanks for that. The car has uel headers, a "stage 2" clutch, and an msd coil. Those are the only performance parts on it now. I'm leaning towards rebuilding the motor I've got right now. As with anything I work on, I'm looking to eek out a little more power and responsiveness. Are there any decent head/cam options or should I focus on air/fuel inlet temp control, and maybe a piggyback for the ecu?

Thanks again for your help, not new to wrenching, but this is a motor type I've never messed with.

You can have old cams "ground" or you can get new cams and I've looked into it just because lumpy cams are awesome but that'll set you back a good bit of money and you will have to wire in a piggyback ECU or replace the ECU with a programmable one. All in all it's not worth it for a daily driver on a motor you can get anywhere. It's not like the old days where everything was a mechanical adjustment, you have to make the computer happy in order for it to run worth a damn.

In my opinion I think it's just worth it to get the car to run as good as it possibly can and get to use all the power it has to offer. I try to focus on basic stuff like cooling down the air and fuel in, keeping the motor running cool with higher quality fluid and frequent replacement.The grounding kit helps a lot with throttle response and overall happiness of the car, as long as you put them in the right places. I also have a catch can for the valve cover vents because I don't like the idea of putting hot oily air back into my engine.

If you are dead set on doing a piggyback ecu you have tons of options but when I priced it all out, its a ton of money and at the end of the day it's a suped up lesbo wagon. I'd rather keep mine happy and running and dump my money into a dedicated fun car instead of compromising my daily.

I'm torn between buying a junkyard motor, having the block and heads inspected and rebuilding it myself; pulling the motor I have, disassemble it and then have the block and heads checked before rebuilding it; or buying a rebuilt motor for $1500.

i have a 96 LGT with the 2.5 and i chose to rebuild. went pretty well, i got a lot of other stuff done at the same time while the engine was out too. i prefer that method mostly due to the fact that i now know exactly what shape my motor is in, as opposed to buying another and putting it in.

at some point i will shoehorn a 3.0 into my 95 wagon tho.

In my opinion I'd find a 2.2L instead of a 2.5 donor They are much more durable and is a basically pain free swap at the cost of about 15hp less

30ish HP, not 15. and about same in TQ. if its a 97-99 its 40ish HP difference, pretty large deficit. but youre right, probably a wash considering the maintenance issue

i have a 96 LGT with the 2.5 and i chose to rebuild. went pretty well, i got a lot of other stuff done at the same time while the engine was out too.

I read your build thread, sounds like you got a lot done on multiple cars! I've decided to rebuild the motor that is in the car. I am going to have the block and heads checked out before reassembly just for piece of mind. While the motor is out I'm going to do the desperately needed motor mounts and steering rack. When reassembling I believe that I'll go with the lightweight crank pulley and the upgraded grounds.

It sounds like you've rebuilt a handful of motors Twisty, is there anything I, as a neanderthal (read American v8) motor wrench, should know or watch out for with that background?

It sounds like you've rebuilt a handful of motors Twisty, is there anything I, as a neanderthal (read American v8) motor wrench, should know or watch out for with that background?

its true, ive broken as many as ive fixed probably, lol. i cant think of any real specific things to watch out for. well, maybe the small bolts are apparently made of some sort of aluminium foil and the heads will twist off without much warning.

seriously tho, these motors are fairly easy to rebuild, not much in the way of tricky or surprises in there.