Doing it Myself FTW 05 LGT LTD Build Thread!!

So I have owned my Regal Blue Legacy GT Limited 5mt for about two years now and I finally decided to start documenting and sharing whats going on with my car. So first thing on the car was Koni Strut inserts for the front and Koni's for the rear combined with Tien H-tech springs with a set of RAYS G-games 18x8 38mm ofset.



I also did the ebay s402 front lip with a diy grill and tinted the windows. So that is how she stayed for quite some time, but after a dyno day and ripping around in my buddy's e85 vf39 id1000s ewg WRX i wanted more.

So about two weeks ago I was playing with an Integra and shortly following there was a horrible vibration that I could feel coming form the motor! Not knowing what was going on and it being so late I limped the car two miles back to the house. The next day I checked to see what codes I was throwing and I had a P0304 cylinder 4 misfire. I hooked up the data logger and the misfire was only happening at idle. So then i was thinking rod bearing and possible ringland failure.

Begin the tear down to see what is wrong!


First thing is first lets remove that battery. And yes I know that my engine bay is dirty. It has been a long winter.


Removed the intake.

Tmic Removal




Everything went well and it doesn't take long at all to get it out!

Now i got a little lazy with the camera and didn't want to get the iPhone all greasy so I might be skipping a lot of steps.

Car looks good but I have to ask, why are you posting these last 11 pics? This is more of a progress thread than a "how to" or "tear down" thread.

Just was posting pics as I progress. I am not a master Subaru Mechanic so a technical DIY thread isn't what I was going after. I have built my share of gas turbine engines that are far more technical than a ej255 so I was just hoping to inspire those who might not have the confidence to turn a wrench.

Clean your damn engine bay!

on a side note, your wheels are nice.

Originally Posted by Cone_Killer

Clean your damn engine bay!

on a side note, your wheels are nice.

Haha thanks and I will! I thought I put out a disclaimer about the cleanliness of the bay due to a harsh winter. I knew I was going to get some crap for that!

So there was a lot of work done this weekend. I got the motor out of the car. I was lucky enough that the hoist cleared the car with it being on jack stands. It was by no means easy at all getting the right angle by jacking the transmission up to slide the flywheel off the spindle. I did find out that someone had separated the two before and that I was missing a bolt that went through the starter. Everything else came off fairly easy with some pb blaster and a little elbow grease. I managed only to break two bolts off the turbo heat shield.

Found the culprit of the hellish vibration!!

Well you have the motor out now you might as well get into the motor and start replacing some things.

Yep that is the plan. I am going to get the block honed at the local machine shop and then go with forged pistons and rods. Most likely a gates racing timing belt kit. A 12mm sti oil pump and a new oem water pump. I am thinking that i should get a valve job done just to be on the safe side, but I haven't priced out the heads yet.

New updates on the build. I ordered Mahle forged pistons. They are made from a 4032 alloy and should increase the longevity of the motor vs. the 2618 alloy. Now I know that I am sacrificing some strength, but these should hold just fine with my power goals of 400whp.
Rods I went with Eagle H-beams rods and ACL Race rod and main bearings. Arp Fasteners will be holding everything together.

Parts List so far:

Mahle pistons standard bore 99.5mm
Eagle H-beam rods
ACL Bearings
Arp head studs
Subaru 12mm oil pump
Gates Racing water pump
Gates Racing timing belt tensioner
Gates Racing timing belt
Act HD street clutch
Act Streetlight flywheel

Import Image Racing Supplied all the goodies and has been extremely helpful getting me all the right parts. Gates put the wrong water pump in the box and it was shipped to me and Frankie has taken care of the issue very promptly. I would recommend them to anyone looking to hook up their ride.

Pics to follow in the AM!

Good luck with the build would love to see it when it's done.