Just picked up an '06 LGT wagon (5EAT)

Picked up an '06 Pearl White wagon (5EAT) with a total mileage of ~92000 but motor has about ~60000 on it with all records/receipts for the everything back to brand new. Motor has some nice preventative maintenance stuff (forged pistons, Killer B pan and pickup, rebuilt heads with +1mm Ferrea valves, Grimmspeed TMIC and EBCS, Invidia uppipe and catted downpipe). Came with an older AccessPort with all tunes available preloaded. Currently running on a Cobb OTS Stage 2 tune...it had a custom tune but it was running really rich (I think it was tuned near Palm Springs...I live in Wyoming at around 7000 feet of altitude).

 

Had a Q300 cat back on it but it was too loud for my liking so I found a nice used stock one locally and sold the Q300 for what I paid for the stocker...sounds much better now and I can't tell the difference!

 

Car is in excellent shape...car spent all of life in CA, AZ, and CO so no rust, paint is almost perfect, interior same. Recently tinted windows and a new set of Yakima cross bars.

 

Contemplating upgrading the stock turbo to a BNR EVOIII 16G.

 

The radio signal was crap but I fixed a sheared wire to the amplifier between the body and rear hatch.

 

Also swapped out the brake pads...had Hawk HP+ pads...squealed like a school bus. Went to the HP Street ones...much better now! Car also has StopTech rotors and stainless flex lines.

 

Coming from an '05 Sabbaru with the EJ205 and a stick...I miss the stick to be honest but this is just my DD so it's not a big deal. It's definitely a much nicer car inside and out.

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by hutchenc

Sorry for the multiple posts...trying to get to 15 which I think this one gets me

 

Always wanted one of these wagons. Wanted a 5 speed stick, but the GF can't drive stick and we wanted a road trip car both of us could drive and this fits the bill!

soon to be classic... nice

Congrats on the score. From one AT owner to another, these cars are still tons of fun w/out a stick. To quote a recent car F/S thread, the 5eat is nearly bulletproof. Enjoy your new ride!

Yeah...the auto is growing on me. I miss rowing the gears, but I have a few classic cars (including a convertible 1967 Corvette) with 4 speeds to fill that void. it's the first time in my life I've had a DD with an automatic (and I'm 45).

 

It is a really nice car though. Much nicer than my Saabaru in terms of fit, finish, comfort, noise, etc.

Another 5EAT owner here. They have their days but I have to agree....for the intended purpose (daily/knock-around) as well as others driving the car here and there I am glad it has the slushbox.

 

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Congrats on your wagon. Looks like a steal - great condition and rust free!

Congrats on the find! 05 auto wagon owner too. Didn’t think they made the wagon in 06, though it was only 05?Miss the 3rd pedal but for a daily, can’t complain. Keep it out of sport mode and you’ll barely notice not shifting with a stick. Mine can always put a smile on my face. Also when I’m sitting in traffic makes me appreciate it more…

Fun fact: LGT wagons were made from 2005 - 2007. Only 2005MY come in manual, save for a very small handful of 2006MY that were only made in Canada.

I thought they made the LGT wagons from 2005-2009. Is that incorrect?

 

I definitely don't see them very often if at all. I see Outback XT's of the same generation fairly frequently, but not the GT wagons.

 

Really starting to like the car. It had this custom tune on it and frankly kinda ran like crap. I flashed the ECU to a Cobb OTS Stage II tune and now that I've driven it for a few hundred miles it's really running a lot better. It's also much quieter than my 92X Aero...I think the car just has more sound deadening. The GF really likes it too.

 

I do think I'm gonna upgrade the turbo to a BNR EVO III 16G...it runs outta wind above 5000 RPM pretty quickly. Might just do a VF52...haven't decided yet. I'm gonna upgrade the stereo first...it sucks!

 

I definitely miss the mileage my little EJ205 in my 92X Aero got...I was knocking down 26mpg in mixed city/highway with that car and 30mpg on pure highway runs...I'm guessing I'll be lucky to see 22mpg with the LGT wagon in mixed city/highway driving. It did get around 24MPG on a pure highway run but that was with the old custom tune (rich) and with my brother driving it 80MPH the whole way. I rarely drive much over 72 on the highway these days...hang out in the right lane a lot. Just not in a hurry.

I thought they made the LGT wagons from 2005-2009. Is that incorrect?

 

 

Febreze is right, only Legacy wagons 2005-2007. In 08-09 had legacy sedans and outbacks. You can confirm on cars101.com for those years.

Hutchenc and Febreezeme thanks for the info (insert “thanks for that useful post” here haha). Good to have clarified info.

I thought they made the LGT wagons from 2005-2009. Is that incorrect?

 

I definitely don't see them very often if at all. I see Outback XT's of the same generation fairly frequently, but not the GT wagons.

 

Really starting to like the car. It had this custom tune on it and frankly kinda ran like crap. I flashed the ECU to a Cobb OTS Stage II tune and now that I've driven it for a few hundred miles it's really running a lot better. It's also much quieter than my 92X Aero...I think the car just has more sound deadening. The GF really likes it too.

 

I do think I'm gonna upgrade the turbo to a BNR EVO III 16G...it runs outta wind above 5000 RPM pretty quickly. Might just do a VF52...haven't decided yet. I'm gonna upgrade the stereo first...it sucks!

 

I definitely miss the mileage my little EJ205 in my 92X Aero got...I was knocking down 26mpg in mixed city/highway with that car and 30mpg on pure highway runs...I'm guessing I'll be lucky to see 22mpg with the LGT wagon in mixed city/highway driving. It did get around 24MPG on a pure highway run but that was with the old custom tune (rich) and with my brother driving it 80MPH the whole way. I rarely drive much over 72 on the highway these days...hang out in the right lane a lot. Just not in a hurry.

 

If you think it's quiet now, wait until you feel it with brand-new high-performance all-season tires and all new suspension bushings! If you haven't done the bushings yet then I can guarantee you that they're all trashed just based on age alone, plus 92K on them. The front LCAs and trailing arms will both need new bushings. Might as well do all of them in every suspension arm if you plan to keep the car a long time so you can skip multiple alignments. It'll quiet the car down some and make it handle+ride better too!

 

Although these cars are a far cry from my old Honda Civic in terms of MPG, it's possible to get 25 MPG without a crazy amount of effort with proper pedal control or cruise control plus lower speeds. I have averaged 25.2 on my current tank with 200 miles on it according to the center screen. It's usually accurate within +/- .3 MPG. I drive almost exclusively on the freeway. Our speed limits are 55 for most of my drive, so the car sees some pretty easy miles.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Pleides

If you think it's quiet now, wait until you feel it with brand-new high-performance all-season tires and all new suspension bushings! If you haven't done the bushings yet then I can guarantee you that they're all trashed just based on age alone, plus 92K on them. The front LCAs and trailing arms will both need new bushings. Might as well do all of them in every suspension arm if you plan to keep the car a long time so you can skip multiple alignments. It'll quiet the car down some and make it handle+ride better too!

 

Although these cars are a far cry from my old Honda Civic in terms of MPG, it's possible to get 25 MPG without a crazy amount of effort with proper pedal control or cruise control plus lower speeds. I have averaged 25.2 on my current tank with 200 miles on it according to the center screen. It's usually accurate within +/- .3 MPG. I drive almost exclusively on the freeway. Our speed limits are 55 for most of my drive, so the car sees some pretty easy miles.

 

How difficult is it to do the bushings on the upper and lower control arms in the front? I'm guessing the rears aren't that bad to do.

 

I do have a 20 ton hydraulic press.

How difficult is it to do the bushings on the upper and lower control arms in the front? I'm guessing the rears aren't that bad to do.

 

I do have a 20 ton hydraulic press.

 

If you've got a press then you're golden man. Nothing is hard to remove suspension-wise on this car compared to newer stuff with 4 knuckles per corner. If you have bad ball joints or anything like that that needs to come off then it might honestly be more time and cost-effective to just replace the arms entirely (maybe pony up for some nice aluminum Spec B arms) with new ones.

 

I went with OEM bushings in the front control arms and the trailing arms and did polyurethane bushings in the rest of the car. The poly bushings have some squeaking after two years and I'm not looking forward to having to take the arms off to lube the bushings again. If sharper handling, more feedback, and longer life (if lubed regularly) at the expense of more NVH and maintenance sounds good to you, get some new bushings from Whiteline. If you want it all factory and don't plan on doing much suspension modification, go with the OEM rubber.

I decided to get some aluminum LCA's from Mevotech with the upgraded STi style bushings. They weren't that much more than the steel ones in the end and come with new balljoints and bushings...the time savings alone is worth it. The pair was under $250 delivered to my door. I'm guessing the time savings on the bushings is upwards of 3 hours per side...and I'm not sure I even have the fittings to do them (in the press) right now. I got all sorts of stuff for old American iron, but nothing for this thing. I can feel that the lower rear LCA bushings are shot when going over bumps at low speed...recently did the front brake pads and noticed that those rear LCA bushings were torn anyway so I figured why not. Also just noticed that my front rotors, despite having new pads now, are not wearing evenly and have a big lip on the edge so I gotta take half this shit apart anyhow...may as well do the LCAs and the brakes (again) at the same time. Bleh. I shoulda bought new rotors before I did the pads...oh well. Guess I'll do that all again...yay!

 

Kinda pissed at myself for not noticing that huge lip on my front rotors when I replaced the pads...is what it is I guess.

Edited July 11, 2022 by hutchenc

While you’re at it, sway bars are great bang for buck to tighten up the whale tail in the rear at the very least. Prior owners may have replaced, if so endlinks and bushings can update/upgrade handling considerably. And it sounds like you’re of the “do it once do it right” mindset, Avo rear sway bay mount reinforcements are worth it. Since yer wallet’s open and all. I waited a while on sways and regret time spent sliding thru turns. And +1 for whiteline bushings all round, their custy service is top notch.

I damn near have Whiteline's entire catalog underneath, +1 from me too. Very happy with how connected everything feels between bushings and the RSB. I do not have RSB mount brackets though - perhaps someday soon!

What size are the sway bars on the Legacy GT wagons stock?  Seems like the front is 21mm and a lot of the aftermarket ones are 22mm...meh.  Don't think that's worth it.  Rear seems to be undersized to keep the car understeering? 

I won't do urethane bushings on suspension parts.  Too many poor experiences with them including ovalizing, squeaking like there's no tomorrow, and just outright falling apart after very little time.  It's not worth it to me on a DD.  OEM rubber or delrin only.  And no one makes delrin bushings for these things so OEM rubber it is.

I believe the sway bar sizes are in the teens in mm on our cars from the factory. I noticed a monumental improvement on my car having done a 22 mm Whiteline front bar on my car after absolutely everything else. Way less body roll transfer to the rear. The rear 20mm bar was probably the biggest improvement in handling overall, though. I did Kartboy endlinks all around.

 

I'd second your preference for no polyurethane. My bushings are all squeaking now in the suspension and diff and I'm getting quite sick of them. Not really sure I wanna go though the whole car to grease them again.

Everything I'm seeing says 21mm on the from and 16mm on the rear.  I agree that the rear might be a little undersized and it was probably done on purpose by Subaru to keep the car from oversteering.  What you're saying about the rear bar offering the most noticeable difference makes sense.  I might swap in a bigger one...gotta get through this front suspension and brake stuff first.  I am gonna replace my endlinks and sway bar bushings front/rear.  It's cheap enough that I'm not too worried about it.

And yeah...poly is nice when it works, but it doesn't last.  I put some in the front suspension of my '67 Corvette and well...it's coming out.  I can't even roll through a grocery store parking lot without it alerting everyone that I'm coming from blocks away it squeaks so bad over speed bumps.  Not looking forward to that job...bleh.  I have Delrin/aluminum bushings in my 1956 Chevy Belair (with fourth gen Corvette suspension, brakes/steering).  Delrin is the tits (it's self lubricating so it doesn't squeak at all...and the aluminum housings have grease fittings so you can just grease it with a gun) but it was a bitch to install that stuff!