Here is my ej22e turbo recipe.

small edits made. More details added in a later post.

 

This is on a 97 ej22e. This seems doable for any second gen 22e and it may work on the 2.5's as well but I don't have one to test so I can't say 100%

 

Here's my recipe. There will be a couple set backs for those without a welder or tube bender. Most exhaust shops or metal fab shops know how to weld and will bend some tube for a small fee. I'm still working on details and adding stuff as I go with this setup but my car is running 100% reliable right now and any future improvements will just be fuel economy, idle speed, and boost pressure.

 

22t turbo bracket. Your 22e is already tapped to mount this to your car. Just bolts right in.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/mountingbracket_zpsf90d68ce.jpg

 

Turbo. I'm using a VF10/vf11 (same turbo. First Gen Legacy turbo). I'm sure a td04 would be about the same but I had some reasoning for going with this tiny little turbo. 1. Anyone that does any sort of tuning with 1st gen legacies immediately looks into turbo upgrades so they are cheap(less then $100 most times around here. I bought my last two vf11's for $20). 2. This turbo has a 5psi wastage which just makes all of this easier since I'm shooting for reliable boost to really just give this car more pep. 3. I know this turbo is unpowered but that just makes things feel a little safer to me. This turbo is small and if it does over boost then its going to be a small scale instead of massive boost spikes. No need to get greedy when I just want a safe DD.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/turbo_zpse4eaaa53.jpg

 

Up and Down Pipes. This is part of where the welding and tube bending come in to play on this build. Get the ej22t ones if you like. Thats what I used and they worked great. Your going to chop them up anyway so whatever is cheapest is what your looking for. The up pipe will have to be custom to get it to fit. If you have dual port heads then any tleg or 02-07 wrx header and uppipe will bolt right in(Also a part that can be had for next to nothing when people upgrade). In all honesty I think that one small part took as long as the rest of this build to get it just right. The down pipe will bolt right in to the rear of the turbo and the factory mounting location off the transmission will also fit it like its supposed to be there.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/upanddow_zps9d434a58.jpg

 

Exhaust. Right now I'm using the factory 22t exhaust. Its quieter then my old exhaust was even though I'm running cattless now. If you want louder go to 3 inch instead of 2.5. I Gutted both cats and bolted it all up with a 4 inch can in the rear. It has a nice tone to it but doesn't drone at all and is quiet enough to not draw too much attention. I had to add 3 inches of pipe to the mid pipe to make it mount up in our cars. Aside from that everything went right in and the hangers matched up.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/exhaust_zpse2be0071.jpg

 

Headers. This part is tricky. I will attach some photos below with the single port turbo headers that I made. They are far from perfect but they do the job and they don't leak. Plus now they are UEL so you get a nice rumble from them. You will need some 1.75 tubing to make these and two more flanges that mount to the head themselves. I went to the junkyard and just pulled two flanges from a scrap car but you can use whatever flanges you want as long as they meet up right. Again, if you have dual port heads just get a wrx or tleg header. They bolt right in.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/headers_zps3fbf6b44.jpg

 

IACV from a eg22t. The parts numbers don't match up but it fits and works. I have one in my car right now and it is actually working better then the stock one I had before it(mine needed a good cleaning I think). Instead of going straight up like the 22t one does yours comes straight out and it will hit the turbo once everything is bolted in place. Basically ours looks just like the 25d one.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/IACV_zpsa59089a6.jpg

 

Hoses. You will need 3/4 1/2 and 1/4 in various lengths. You will need to tap into your heater lines running from the intake manifold to the heater core. Just tee off of them and run those water lines to your turbo. Direction of flow doesn't really matter here. Water in from one side, out from the other. You will also have to move your head breather tubes. Depending on the intercooler you end up with some will have the breather hard line along the bottom of the cooler. You need to run both head breathers to that and then tap back into the cold side of the turbo. On the stock setup they run to the black box right above your throttle body. You also need to tee off your brake booster line for your boost gauge and your blow off valve so it seems vacuum and boost. The brake boost line is 1/2 so I used a brass 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/4 tee for this. You will also need one more 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 tee for the boost line and BOV line to tie together.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/brasstee_zpsdd515acd.jpg

 

Oil Filter Sandwich Plate. This will be your oil feed line for the turbo. I bought the Glow Shift Oil Adapter Plate with m20 p1.5 threads. It has three 1/8 npt ports and two plugs in the kit. It doesn't leak and feeds the turbo just fine. $25 bucks on ebay give or take.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/sandwich_zps65363db5.jpg

 

10an Oil Drain Return Plug. This is a part I had a hard time finding for a while but ended up with two of them in different styles when I was done with the build. If you have a welder and are confident to weld a oil pan the I would buy the 10an male threads weld on nut. It ran about $10 on ebay and its what I ended up using in my car. If you don't have a weld the other option is 10an drain nut that has a small O-ring built into it that should make it so you don't have to weld it to the pan. This wouldn't be my first option but it sounds like a lot of people have had success with both. You have to drill either your head or oil pan either way so pick whatever your comfortable with and drill a hole. The non weld one was somewhere about $20 bucks

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/oildrain_zpsb175346d.jpg

 

10an Double Braided Stainless Steel Hose. I bought 3 feet because that was the minimum order length to get free shipping. I might have used a foot and a half of it total. It would be much less if you tapped your head instead of your oil pan. This runs from your turbo oil drain to wherever you tapped your hole. I used a hose clamp on the turbo side and a fitting(see below) on the drain side. $10 give or take

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/oilline_zpscfca9e98.jpg

 

Straight -10an Swivel Oil Line Hose Fitting. Search that on ebay. You'll find it. I connects to the 10an hose and goes to your drain. It gives you a nice tight fitting and looks much cleaner then a hose clamp. Less the $10

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/10anfitting_zpseef4e7b0.jpg

 

Magnetic Oil Drain Plug. Not really part of the build per say but its a smart thing to have installed next time your doing an oil change. Especially since you just drilled your oil pan and most likely didn't get every single tiny piece of metal shaving out of the inside. I like the piece of mind.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/B-fdmbQEWkKGrHqZhIEzepO-5BM8w51w-w0_12_zps7742561f.jpg

 

Turbo Braided Oil Inlet Feed Line. (again, just search that on ebay). One side of the line I ordered is a male 1/8 npt fitting for the oil sandwich plate and the other side is threaded female m10x1.5. Thats the size you will need for the VF11. (I think the td04 is m10x1.25 but I don't want to spread the wrong info around so do your research) Line needs to be about 36" long. It could be a little shorter but I would rather have some extra length to work with. This kit came with a bunch of other fittings but I didn't use them. Less then $20 on ebay

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/oilfeedline_zps65c1e098.jpg

 

Oil feed Banjo Bolt. Tricky little part to find. 10mx1.5 to 4an Banjo Fitting Kit. Comes with your brass washers, banjo bolt, and banjo fitting for the turbo. This will fit the vf11 and works perfect. Check the thread size for td04 to be on the safe side. Under $10 on ebay.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/banjobolt_zps15b51372.jpg

 

Silicone Elbow. 2 inch to 3 inch. Needs to be 90* and try to find a nice tight bend. This is a spot where the TD04 will be much different. That turbo doesn't have the 90* fitting on the end that the VF11 does so you will have to route your intake a little different if you go with that turbo. About $20 on ebay.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/90elbow_zps1f65c107.jpg

 

Intake tubing. 3 inch. Needs 3 to 4 lines going into it depending on how you route everything. Crank case breather needs to go in here, head breather tubes also, and IAVC at a minimum. Depending on what you do for a BOV you can vent to atmosphere or vent into the cold side like the stock setup does. More on that in the BOV section.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/intakepipe_zpse7ebcd95.jpg

 

BOV. Edit: Read my newer posts for more info. You still can vent to atmosphere if you can't live without the BOV noise or you can set it up in a stock location back into the cold side. Some will probably want to yell at me about venting to atmosphere this but due to the fact that this car was never supposed to see boost anyway I really don't think that venting to atmosphere is going to hurt anything. The stock subaru bypass valves vent to atmosphere just fine by just not connecting them to the intake so don't go waste money on a noise maker if that is what you are looking for. I will post some videos when I get a chance sometime soon so you can hear how it sounds inside and outside of the car with just the factory valve. The other plus side is most people are trying to upgrade to an expensive noise maker so these can be had super cheap. (I'm now running a HKS SSQV4 so I ended up just adding a noise maker after all)

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/bov_zps4465bf85.jpg

 

Intercooler. Edit: Read my newer posts for more info Legacy GT 2005-2008 I believe. Forester XT 2004-2008. WRX 2006-2007. Stick to those for the least amount of headache. Yes the 02-05 wrx intercoolers will work but your going to be doing a lot more cutting and bashing or your firewall to get them in right. The early Forester intercoolers don't have a 45* on the BOV mount and the valve with hit your throttle cables. There are a few work arounds to get past that but they aren't the best option if you can't weld because you need to relocate the BOV to clear everything.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/intercooler_zps153d5199.jpg

 

Gauges. Boost, A/F, Oil Pressure, Coolent Temp. More to come on this. The only one I currently have in is the boost gauge. I haven't had my car above 4k since it has seen boost and it will stay low on the RPM's until I can at least monitor Air to Fuel ratios.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/gauges_zps961471f8.jpg

 

Notched crossmember. Buy a turbo one and swap it or notch yours and reinforce it. Either way works. One is much prettier then the other but they both seem to work. Google images will give you an idea on how most people do it. This photo is just for example. I did not have to pull the motor in order to notch the crossmember. I also have about 10k miles on a notched crossmember with no ill effects. I have a turbo crosssmember as well but the notch was just the easiest option at the time

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/crossmember_zps0c3b5890.jpg

 

Things still to come. This will come slowly over then next few months as I get more spending money for the car. Wideband. Manual Boost Controller, FMU 12:1(I'm going to be running the 12:1 with the manual boost controller tied in inline so I can limit the amount of boost the FMU sees in order to dial it in. EDIT: I may be going with an Emanage Blue now since one just popped up locally for a good price), Oil Pressure Gauge, Coolant Temp Gauge, 3 Pod Gauge cluster(still working on finding a good place to install these so they aren't out in the open but still easy to see. I might make a custom cluster to go in the extra din hole around the radio. The 3 pod single din thing you see on ebay doesn't fit. Not even close. Learn from my mistake and don't waste your money on it).

 

Ask away with any questions you have and I will gladly do my best to try and help as much as I can. I will also try and get that video made this weeks sometime so you can hear the BOV, exhaust, engine idle, and see it all in the car.

very nice

sweet

Nice write up! This is a great resource!

 

I figured the exhaust mani and the up pipe from the 22T would bolt right up and fit no problems. Why didn't it? Is it because your 22e is a phase 2?

Nice write up! This is a great resource!

 

I figured the exhaust mani and the up pipe from the 22T would bolt right up and fit no problems. Why didn't it? Is it because your 22e is a phase 2?

 

Mine is single port. First gen is dual port so the exhaust mani is completely different. I probably could have used the stock uppipe with a new flange welded onto the single ports but I had already chopped the uppipe so I just ran with what I had and made do. Stupid single port...

Very good writeup.

 

I will add that since the 22E is running 9.5:1 w/boost, it would be a good idea to run cold NGK Platinum or Iridium plugs with a .028 gap to keep things in the chambers as stable as possible.

Thanks DOHC, I knew I was forgetting something. As soon as I saw you posted on here I remembered what it was.

 

Spark Plugs. NGK BKR6E11 gapped to .032 - .028. One step colder then stock and the smaller gap keeps everything in check in the combustion chamber. Especially since there is no engine management on the car right now this is key to keeping everything running right. Also, stick with NGK plugs. Yes there are other options out there but there has been debates on legacycentral over which plugs work the best and everyone always comes to the conclusion that the NGK plugs give you more power and have overall better performance.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/31341_53028_zpsd82408f2.jpg

 

More to come on intercooler details in the next few days too. Things will have to get moved around a little bit to get it to fit right. I need to lower the AC line, remove the posts that hold up the stock air box, figure out the piping to the turbo, possible relocate some electronics, and figure out how to clear the throttle body at the BOV so they don't get stuck. Heres a shot of my first test fitment just to see what all I need to move.

When I install my 205/22T hybrid down the road I wanted to use a VF39 or equivalent and the XT tmic that I have now might not cut it for that application so I was thinking about using a STi tmic. I know people have done full STi swaps into a second gen engine bay. Perhaps the STi or WRX intake mani and tb allow more space for the tmic? Anyone know anything about that?

When I install my 205/22T hybrid down the road I wanted to use a VF39 or equivalent and the XT tmic that I have now might not cut it for that application so I was thinking about using a STi tmic. I know people have done full STi swaps into a second gen engine bay. Perhaps the STi or WRX intake mani and tb allow more space for the tmic? Anyone know anything about that?

 

Its not really the bay that is the issue. Its the throttle body and all the lines that run behind the body. And the VF-11 is much trickier then a VF39 or TD04. At least those two turbos were meant to have intercoolers on them. The main reason that this IC isnt the best is the BOV comes straight out. On the newer FXT and WRX ones the BOV is at an angle so it clears the throttle better. I'll find a fix and get it working, I might just have to get a little creative. But I'll document it along the way.

Gotcha, thanks. I must have the newer fxt tmic with the better bov angle. I forgot I read about the difference on bbs a year ago, lol.

Gotcha, thanks. I must have the newer fxt tmic with the better bov angle. I forgot I read about the difference on bbs a year ago, lol.

 

Not a problem. That little angle makes all the difference I guess. You will still have issues with a few hoses and lines but nothing that isn't a big deal to just relocate a little bit

Stenciled my intercooler since I have time waiting for my couplers to come in to get the stupid thing in the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, that's nice!! I bet if you cleaned up the engine bay a bit, painted the drive belt cover with a fresh coat of black, and painted the power steering reservoir, your engine bay would look brand new!!

How does it take to the intercooler?

I'm certain that the engine's internal temps have dropped a little bit.

Man, that's nice!! I bet if you cleaned up the engine bay a bit, painted the drive belt cover with a fresh coat of black, and painted the power steering reservoir, your engine bay would look brand new!!

 

Thats on the to do list. I want to get the whole thing nice and pretty. Just trying to get everything installed and running right first. Thank you...

 

How does it take to the intercooler?

I'm certain that the engine's internal temps have dropped a little bit.

 

It runs way better with the intercooler. The temps have come down, less backfires, and less sputtering from a slow start. Really made a world of difference. Now its just a matter of figuring out where to get a BOV. Evidently the 04/05 Forest XT intercoolers have a different flange then basically everything else.

Blow Off Valve: The Forester valve that I was using was too stiff. I was getting lots of turbo flutter and couldn't get the spring to open unless I was WOT and dumped the pedal above 3500 rpms. It also didn't clear the throttle cables. That problem is more related to the intercooler which I will get into below. Don't use the factory BPV that comes with the stock intercoolers. It doesn't work correctly with the amount of boost these engines can handle. I did find a perfect solution however. the 22t bpv works like a charm. The can be had brand new from the dealership for $80 or just get on legacycentral or a local forum and pick one up from a first gen guy. They never use them once going to an intercooler so you can pick them up for about $20 bucks. I have access to two more if anyone that is reading this needs one.

 

 

Intercooler: The factory bov that comes on the 04/05 forester has a flange that is different from all other subaru flanges. Avoid this intercooler unless you get some kind of crazy deal on it. (I got one of those deals so I made it work) I had to make a custom flange out of 1/4 steel that I cut with a die grinder and then welded on a tube to connect the 22t BPV to. It works and it clears the throttle cables now but its not the best option. The newer 06/07 intercoolers are the ones you want. They have the BOV at a 45* angle so it clears things a lot better and the flange is a standard subaru size so you can buy different BOV's depending on your setup. The other main problem I ran into was getting the y pipe connected to the turbo. I bought a 2inch to 1.75inch 90* silicone elbow and then cut it a little short to fit the two pieces together. Looking back at it, a 45* silicone coupler probably would have worked better but you can make do with either as long as yo can get a little creative. Cutting of the Y pipe and Silicone was required.

 

CUSTOM FLANGE PICTURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

FITTING INTERCOOLER.

Cruise control module needs to be moved. All hoses also need to get tucked as low as possible. Unbolt tranny brace and put all the hoses you can under this.

 

The brackets the hold the stock airbox up need to be removed. Just a couple 12mm on each side.

 

More pictures coming this weekend.

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/tree_zps65437432.jpg

 

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/blankdeluxe/tree_1_zps5a25c8fb.jpg

 

I'm planning on doing some engine bay cleaning this weekend followed by better pictures.

What kind of welder did you use? Wire feed Home Depot kind?

So is this a stock ej22e? What about engine management?

So is this a stock ej22e? What about engine management?

 

Bone stock 22E & he's relying on the 22E ECU to run everything, since it can handle 5psi. Seems to be going very well.

I'm assuming you used a MIG welder for that flange. A TIG welder would have been excellent for that, but it's completely understandable that access to one might have been difficult. The welds could have been better though with a MIG welder.

What kind of welder did you use? Wire feed Home Depot kind?

I have a Eastwood 135 mig. Its basically the same setup as the home depot ones. Running on gas though instead of flux core.

 

 

So is this a stock ej22e? What about engine management?

At 5psi the stock ecu runs everything fine. Anything more then this and I would need some sort of piggy back or standalone to run everything. Once I get my new motor built I will be running a Emanage Ultimate.

 

 

Bone stock 22E & he's relying on the 22E ECU to run everything, since it can handle 5psi. Seems to be going very well.

Yup.

 

 

I'm assuming you used a MIG welder for that flange. A TIG welder would have been excellent for that, but it's completely understandable that access to one might have been difficult. The welds could have been better though with a MIG welder.

MIG indeed. And yes things could have been much prettier. I didn't want to drive 50 miles to my buddies house to get him to TIG it and MIG is just fine for a project like this. And I agree, it could have been much cleaner and prettier welds but I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any pin holes so I booger welded over the top of my slightly better looking welds. And thin to thick wall makes it trickier and the tube is galvanized so I was in a rush since I was holding my breath during the welds and stepping away every minute or so. So basically, my real welds look better then what you see there but this looks like crap.

What trans are you running? I have a '96 legoback with ej22e and a 5MT but I was told my trans wouldnt handle and power.

What trans are you running? I have a '96 legoback with ej22e and a 5MT but I was told my trans wouldnt handle and power.

 

5mt. I wouldn't do launches with it but it holds the power fine. From a rolling start I got WOT to 4k at least once a day. No slipping, no issues.

 

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So how much power at the crank do you think you have? would this be a suitable option for a 2.5 short block with ej22 heads and intake hybrid motor? Very interested.