Rose628 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 I have a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5I limited, A week ago the motor went out. There is a hole in the block, and two of the connecting rods are snapped. I would like to do the Legacy GT motor instead of the original, I found a complete motor along with wiring harness and ECU. How hard is the swap? I was told it is relatively easy, but really how is it. How feasible is it? How much do I have to tear out to replace wiring harness? The GT motor is from a 2005, with the automatic. My car is an automatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Wow, after 15 years, somebody still asks this every week without fail. Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose628 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 I just want to know, because I am new to the Subaru world. I thought it would make a cool swap, and to give me a bit of a challenge to learn more about these cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 It's more work than it's worth, generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleides Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 You'd need to swap the ECU, harness, heads, shortblock, and spend thousands of man hours more than you'd really want. The far more cost-effective route is to sell the car as-is and buy an LGT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 As said, it's not worth the effort. If the body is in great shape, buy a rebuilt engine from some place like Jaspers if they are still in business, or ask google where to get a 25i engine or a ej253. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_talk Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 As they said, not worth the effort. The wiring harness alone requires gutting the entire dash down to the firewall, included the whole HVAC system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeInOregon Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 If you want to do a swap with this much work would be awesome in a much older legacy or gl wagon, 90's Impreza excetera Legacy GTs are worth very little right now, better approach to getting a running legacy gt and some wrench time would be to buy a gt with a blown motor and a do a rebuild Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMahFromTheU Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 Isn't there a turbo kit for the N/A motor? I remember seeing this somewhere on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted May 19, 2022 Share Posted May 19, 2022 If you want to do a swap with this much work would be awesome in a much older legacy or gl wagon, 90's Impreza excetera Legacy GTs are worth very little right now, better approach to getting a running legacy gt and some wrench time would be to buy a gt with a blown motor and a do a rebuild Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk Interesting. Is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeInOregon Posted May 19, 2022 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Interesting. Is that true?Yes I see them all the time for less than 2k with blown motors , and you really don't want to swap in a used 2.5 turbo as they have a lot of failures. So new short block at least would be a good idea. Not my first choice but a JDM 2.0 turbo is a much and option with a legacy GT and doesn't require all that much work Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted May 19, 2022 Share Posted May 19, 2022 complete engine with ecu & wiring harness? from what car? did you get the biu & steering column & keys & rest of the wiring harness? you'll want the brakes too probably the transmission too doing the engine swap is pretty easy. harbor freight crane and a couple of jack stands. basic set of tools. some drip pans and buckets for water & oil. getting the wiring pulled and connected is a pain but not impossible. iwire services has a number of wire harness options to make the swap easier. it's been 17-18 years since an mt lgt was made. about half have been crushed. finding one in running condition is getting harder. 7000-15000 for one in good condition. doing this swap if you've never worked on cars before is going to be difficult. however ppl do it all the time. Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted May 19, 2022 Share Posted May 19, 2022 i'd do it just so i could post about what a pain in the ass it was on this forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Yes I see them all the time for less than 2k with blown motors , and you really don't want to swap in a used 2.5 turbo as they have a lot of failures. So new short block at least would be a good idea. Not my first choice but a JDM 2.0 turbo is a much and option with a legacy GT and doesn't require all that much work Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk Oh okay. With a blown engine. Having a car almost be worthless if it doesn't have a working engine is not unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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