Swap an 03 Legacy?

I have a Legacy Sedan L and was curious about putting a turbo in it, but I've read up and from what I've seen, it's a pretty difficult task to turbo one. Is there a compatible engine I could find somewhere to swap into it with the minimal about of fab work that is already set up for a turbo?

You can bolt almost any 2.5 turbo Subaru engine in the car. That is the easy part the hard part is the wiring and electronics

 

 

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Don't turbo a N/A single cam. You can if you want lower the compression and run 6lbs of boost. a turbo 2.5 Dohc is always a better option.

Don't turbo a N/A single cam. You can if you want lower the compression and run 6lbs of boost. a turbo 2.5 Dohc is always a better option.

Right, so would any 2.5 fit or should I specifically look for something? Ebay has a listing for a ej25de out of a legacy forester, would that be an engine to consider?

If it is a usdm legacy, look into a v8 complete swap from an STI. You can usually find a complete swap (engine, trans, diff, drive shaft, axles, wiring) for about 6-8 thousand, and then roughly 2000$ from a reputable shop to do the swap.

 

The ej25d is from a gen 2 legacy gt, I wouldn't recommend them for boost as they run into the same issues, as well as a poo storm of wiring. It's way easier, and cheaper in the long run to just get an sti, or wrx engine and swap that in.

If it is a jdm legacy, find a ej208, easy swap over.

I have a question, myself.. I own a 2003 legacy L with the 2.5l 4 cylinder h-4 DOHC 16 valve 176hp non-turbo engine. I have a rod bearing that needs fixed as well as a possible leaky head gasket(gasket not confirmed). I have a bearing in the transmission in very bad shape and my synchrodes are not good, either. I'm going to be replacing the transmission soon, and putting in the new clutch kit I have that boasts good performance at 25 hp above stock for this model(not sure if they were including my specialty model). My question is, since I plan on putting in a new transmission, clutch kit, and a new engine while I'm at it... What is the strongest engine that is swappable with my car?

 

Earlier this year I already replaced the driveline, all four wheel Hun assemblies+bearings+rotors+brakes(including drum for e-brake), as well as the tail shaft housing for the transmission(which sucks), hood, door, inside door panel, belts, spark plugs+wires, etc etc etc, so I have already committed to rebuilding this car to last quite the many more miles, instead of buying a new one. I'm having a hard time finding my engine online anywhere, so I figure I might as well upgrade as well as add a reinforced head gasket. Any advice or suggestions?

And of I chose a turbo engine, what extra work am I creating for myself, and what can I expect from the life of my engine?

The simple answer at the end of the day is, if it is an NA f4, do not boost it. NA blocks are not build to handle boost and are high compression engines. The common way to turbo an NA legacy is with a turbo engine out of a turbo car.

 

Subaru was very intelligent with their car designs, most blocks are roughly the same size, most top ends are roughly the same size. A H6 can fit comfortably and properly in a h4 shell with very minimal work. A 2.0 H4 can fit in a 2.5H4 area with zero modification, and vice versa. Spacing does not effect subaru swaps in 90% of the car to car changes. You can run any subaru engine in just about any subaru car, the issues arise with wiring, there are multiphases to the same engine. If you took a 96 LGT engine and tried to put it into a 99 LGT, you would have wiring issues, even though it's the same gen, and same engine.

 

As for the life of the engine, it would last just as long in a legacy shell as it would an sti shell.

 

For the strongest engine that would require the least work, find a v8 USDM STi, or a v7 JDM STi.

 

Cost and parts explained above.

Please post whats needed for this to be done

Parts needed in an STi swap:

 

STi V7/V8 engine, complete

STi V7/V8 Trans, complete (Flywheel, clutch)

STi ecu

STi Harness

Turbo subframe (Gen 4 USDM GT subframe works)

Accompanying diff for trans

Axles

Custom made downpipe back exhaust

Turbo hood/front mount intercooler

 

The harness from the sti and your car need to be merged, this will take around 20 hours of labour roughly from a shop that knows what they are doing.

 

The engine, trans, diff, and axles all mount fine. (Trans brace may be needed for auto to six speed swaps, same for rear subframe)

 

The subframe MUST be a turbo subframe, gen 1 USDMs do work, so do JDM. 4th gen gts are the most common. XTs of the same era may work as well. Baja turbos will work too, but good luck finding one.

 

A turbo hood is required unless you want to spend days cutting and fitting a frontmount behind your bumper.

 

It's best to get the ecu that was originally attached to your transplant engine.

 

A custom turboback/downpipe back is required due to sizing issues/mounting issues with an sti dp back exhaust. I recommend replicating the exhaust from your donor car to negate any issues.

 

You cannot use any of your original driveline except your prop shaft. USDM legacies were built with 200hp max out in mind. My tranny and diff are already having problems with my car at 192WHP. You will break stuff.

 

For auto to 6 speed swaps, you need, a peddle box from a manual legacy gen 3, a clutch master from a legacy gen 3, a prop shaft from a legacy manual gen 3, and either the ecu from a gen 3 manual, or your donor car. (Some shops may be able to use auto trans if they are skilled enough) USE THE SAME BODY CAR TO GET THESE PARTS! WAGON PARTS MAY NOT FIT SEDANS VICE VERSA

 

IN FUTURE. Please look around the forums, I've posted this list a few times.

Parts needed in an STi swap:

 

STi V7/V8 engine, complete

STi V7/V8 Trans, complete (Flywheel, clutch)

STi ecu

STi Harness

Turbo subframe (Gen M GT subframe works)

Accompanying diff for trans

Axles

Custom made downpipe back exhaust

Turbo hood/front mount intercooler

 

The harness from the sti and your car need to be merged, this will take around 20 hours of labour roughly from a shop that knows what they are doing.

 

The engine, trans, diff, and axles all mount fine. (Trans brace may be needed for auto to six speed swaps, same for rear subframe)

 

The subframe MUST be a turbo subframe, gen Ms do work, so do JDM. 4th gen gts are the most common. XTs of the same era may work as well. Baja turbos will work too, but good luck finding one.

 

A turbo hood is required unless you want to spend days cutting and fitting a frontmount behind your bumper.

 

It's best to get the ecu that was originally attached to your transplant engine.

 

A custom turboback/downpipe back is required due to sizing issues/mounting issues with an sti dp back exhaust. I recommend replicating the exhaust from your donor car to negate any issues.

 

You cannot use any of your original driveline except your prop shaft. USDM legacies were built with 200hp max out in mind. My tranny and diff are already having problems with my car at 192WHP. You will break stuff.

 

For auto to 6 speed swaps, you need, a peddle box from a manual legacy gen 3, a clutch master from a legacy gen 3, a prop shaft from a legacy manual gen 3, and either the ecu from a gen 3 manual, or your donor car. (Some shops may be able to use auto trans if they are skilled enough) USE THE SAME BODY CAR TO GET THESE PARTS! WAGON PARTS MAY NOT FIT SEDANS VICE VERSA

 

IN FUTURE. Please look around the forums, I've posted this list a few times.

 

I didn't get this Cant we fit a Gen 3 Twinturbo SUbframe ? And we will need to change the steering rack as well right ?

The subframe MUST be a turbo subframe, gen Ms do work, so do JDM. 4th gen gts are the most common. XTs of the same era may work as well. Baja turbos will work too, but good luck finding one.

JDM subframes out of a twin turbo car do work for the swap, the stock USDM does not. You can use your original steering rack, most people take the one out of the swap car.