Jump to content
LegacyGT.com

The LGT Wagon Journey


Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

I have been creeping these forums ever since I got my 2005 wagon back in December '18. I've been contemplating posting this in the engine rebuild forums or 4th gen forums, but this will be longer than just a rebuild and most likely will be the master thread for my journey.

Edited by A.n.bastaki
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 124
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Back Story:

 

I've owned a 2004 WRX for 1 year and 9 months, before I decided I'm fed up with all the issues and always being broke as a college student. I decided to sell the WRX and look for an NA Forester and a Honda Project.

 

The WRX had 145k miles on the body and around 60k on JDM swap, been through a lot with that car, but the engine was never an issue. The low miles Ej205 was always strong.

 

1.thumb.png.b9ba451ecb7f1b2f9aa8500cdf29a745.png

 

After selling the WRX, i was browsing craigslist for an NA Forester or any reliable daily when i realized Subarus are the only cars that make sense because of the support I have for them and the experience I gained from being the first car I wrenched on. I came across a 2005 GRP Legacy GT Wagon with 198k Miles. I have only seen 1 LGT Wagon before, and never thought i would come across a LGT wagon, let alone one priced lower than what i sold the WRX for a few hours ago.

 

Other than the high miles, it had everything I wanted:

1. Color: always wanted a red car since I'm a sucker for black accents and think red is the perfect match. I was actually thinking of painting my WRX red before I sold it.

2. Manual : WRX was my first stick shift, and I never want to go back.

3. Wagon : I need a bigger car than the WRX to fit a full size Dog crate for when I take my dog to training.

 

14.thumb.png.8adf0fe45720e14855d5ea05d19c1f61.png

 

theres more reasons why, but those are what made the car the right one. got instantly attached and texted the guy at 1am, by 9am we were on the phone agreeing on a deal, at noon i picked up the rental to drive 4 hours north to grab the car, and by midnight the wagon was in my garage.

 

- my biggest mistake was i got attached, because I never thought I would come across a LGT wagon, I didn't spend the time to search for other LGT wagons, or remembered that I sold my WRX because I wanted a more affordable daily.

 

11.png.71b3a114751ea38c35fe8648bff8d44a.png

5.thumb.png.17f4d325b9c3ce7e71accad15c289ece.png

6.thumb.png.646b36b91a7084cc3a4b01e5bd242e87.png

Edited by A.n.bastaki
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Problems Begin.

 

Keep in mind I drove normally right away and didn’t break it in to experience any problems it may have had. I’m a heavy foot so… here we go.

 

Day 1(12/27/2018) : Bough the Car with 2 codes P0037 & P1491, O2 sensor and PCV valve, I was ok with the O2 sensor code since its fully catless, and the pcv valve was something I will look into since I’ve seen that code on my WRX too.

 

Day 3 : Drove to Madison and back with no problems. (from Milwaukee)

 

Day 4 : There was something very weird about the car, it would die if you go into neutral after speeding in 4th or 5th gear. Changed the DIY cold air to the stock intake, and the problem went away. Also got ride of the P0171(fuel system lean) Code that popped up.

 

This was paired with a Cylinder4 Misfire that happened at low loads or idle.

In hindsight I should have paid way more attention to P0171.

 

Day 7 : joined my fellow brothers chasing the infamous Cylinder 4 Misfire, swapping coils didn’t work, so I decided to put the stock heat range plugs that the previous owner gave me. The car had a step colder plug in it.

 

This is where the regret started, cylinder 1 was cross threaded, couldn’t put the new plug in and the old plug gave just as much resistance. Against common sense, I forced the old plug back in and now I have 3 new plugs and 1 old plug. Cylinder 4 misfire persisted but surprisingly cylinder 1 didn’t misfire, so I was glad I didn’t break the plug while forcing it in and that it actually went in far enough.

 

Day 13: bought 4 gallons of Rotella because AutoZone was selling 2 gallons for 20$ couldn’t pass that up! Got a fuel injector cleaner too just incase that’ll help my cylinder 4 misfire, car is still driven daily and driven like there’s no problem with it.

Went snow drifting, was fun with no issues.

 

(1/23/2019): against better judgement decided to park on a snowbank since that was the only spot available, clutch took a beating no doubt.

 

(1/25/2019) : after hanging with a friend, on the way back home on the highway I noticed the clutch started to slip. And by noon next day the clutch had zero bite.

Had my friend in a Bugeye WRX pull me home, was half a mile away.

 

Now the oh F*** moment when I must get the money to do the clutch, knowing that cylinder 1 was cross threaded and valve covers slightly leaking, I knew I will need to redo the gaskets and rethread cylinder 1 with a helicoil.

Between getting the money together, ignoring the car and focusing on Final exams, and going home for vacation. The car sat for a bit.

 

(3/26/2019): Car finally together and running. Exedy Oem Clutch replacement kit with flywheel, PDM TSK3 snout repair kit, clutch fork and pivot, valve cover gaskets and cylinder 1 tapped and helicoil installed and ofcourse new flywheel bolts since I knew I’ll strip atleast 1 of the Torx Pluses , which I did. so glad I don’t have to take the bus anymore especially with how cold Wisconsin has been.

P0171 pops up again, but Ignore it considering at this point the Accessport has been removed and im getting tuned in 2 days.

 

(3/31/2019) : foolishly decided to floor it on a base map, and at 120mph the legacy showed me whose boss. CEL flashing Cylinder 1 misfire, car struggles to start, will barely move until its above 2k rpms then drives normally.

 

(4/2/2019): checked the piston looks fine, but sparkplug is melted. After getting a new insert and plug, cylinder 1 still is misfiring, only at low loads, cruising and idle, when in boost the car performs very well. So at this point I’m assuming my injectors got messed up when the cylinder got too hot.

 

7.thumb.png.1849cdd6421730c19aa48556bef3e012.png

 

(4/5/2019) : swapped injectors around from cylinder 1 and cylinder 2. And now the car struggles to start even more, runs super rich smoking everywhere, too rich to the point where you can ignite the smoke with a lighter.

 

(4/14/2019) : borescoped the cylinders, all looked fine, cylinder 1 stood out because it was really clean, all cylinders showed cross hatching. As much as you can see with an affordable borescope from amazon. But cylinder one had some fuel sitting on the piston. At this point my oil smelled more like fuel than oil.

 

10.png.167414fc1293e3075759278eb8f41786.png

 

5/4/2019: Leakdown and compression test done.

Compression 100 psi on cylinders 2,3,4. Zero on cylinder 1.

Leakdown only done on 1 and 3, cylinder 3 was around 5%, cylinder 1 will not hold more than 15psi. 60-90psi in, and only holds 15psi, turning the crank has no effect. The air sounds like it’s going out of the same place its going in, so valve cover area. I’m assuming it’s the valves. Not mixing any coolant & oil so that’s good news. I did also realize that the o2 sensor wires were sheered which I think happened during the clutch install I asked around if that could have been my problem, they said it could have contributed but couldn’t have been the only problem.

8.png.be74956bf26430b108b798e48495a106.png

9.png.2da2dae635ec67b4e9be1eaea6fee6b6.png

Edited by A.n.bastaki
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Next Step:

 

From what I can tell, my heads will have to come off and that’s probably my problem, I refuse to do headwork alone because the bottom end has 198k miles and the heads have been done 30k miles ago but the bottom end has not been touched. When I checked the oil there was no metal in there so that’s good.

 

Week of 5/20 – 5/24 I have final exams, after that I will have time to attended to this car.

 

I have 5 options :

 

1. New shortblock and send my heads to the machine shop if they are rebuildable.

 

2. Friend’s old shortblock, has 50k miles on it, compression and leakdown numbers were great, he pulled it out to put an IAG block in, wants 400$ for the shortblock which I think is a good deal.

 

3. Same as option 1 but with a Staged Block.

 

4. Jdm swap, this is my less likely option because I haven’t found any well put information for doing this the right way. Even though it’s the most affordable option, all I know is I need to swap my intake manifold and exhaust cams according to one person, and that’s as much solid information as I was able to gather. Plus, I dislike my vin numbers giving me different parts than what my motor has. Found this out the hard way when I discovered for my 04 WRX there are like 7 different PCV valve and hose assemblies.

 

5. Used built long block. This is my most likely option, the seller is offering to do the swap saving me a few hundred dollars in getting the tools I’m missing, and considering it’s a long block I’ll be getting rid of all of high mileage parts that will break if I try to swap them over in option 1 and 2. The seller is asking 2,000$ and is offering a payment plan, which is great because if I go with options 1,2, or 3 , I won’t have the money to do that until mid or end of summer.

 

Info on longblock is as follows: (copied from what he sent, I believe the shortblock was rebuilt and the following is the rebuild.)

 

- 35-40k miles no issues

- Leakdown at 5% all around

- Compression at 120psi all around

- Motor built by him, tune by him will be included, and EWG is included

- New STI crank

- 11mm oil pump

- Tig werks oil pickup

- Killer bee windage tray

- Arp head studs

- Oem headgaskets and rebuild gasket kit

- New avcs gears and solenoids

- Gsc titanium valve springs and retainers

- Gsc ss valves

- Heads were cleaned and milled and assembled by local shop (Extreme speed)

- ACL race bearing mains/rods

- Manley H-tuff Rods good for 800hp

- CP Pistons 8.2:1 CR with rings gapped to .0028 mid-range boost 23-32psi build

- Air pump deletes tig werks

- Diy welded tgv deletes

- Newer timing belt with 8k miles on it

- New plugs

- HKS bov

- Claims motor will rev upper 8k no problem, valves will handle 9300.

 

Everyone I’ve talked to says if the motor checks out, it’s a great deal and I shouldn’t pass it up. He has been a tech for 13 years and built and tuned a few Subarus. One friend says he knows his shit, the other friend said his motor is solid I was there when the tests were done, but he built this motor because this is his toy and he built it tough to beat on it.

 

I rode along in his car and the motor is good, my friend will be looking at it before the swap and if my friend approves, we will be proceeding with option 5.

 

I would love to hear people’s thoughts and opinions, and which route to go for. I am not necessarily looking for more power. My ideal setup is having something that I can drive hard and beat on, and not break my bad. I know as soon as you read that sentence you started typing a LGT is not the right car for you.

 

I check my oil every fill up, change my oil every 3k or earlier, I let the car warm up and cool down, I don’t beat on it in first, and downshift instead of bogging the engine in 5th, no launches, etc. my wrx’s engine has been strong and took a beating and I maintained the engine well. I am a heavy foot and enjoy driving the car hard, granted its not every single drive or every single day, but I do enjoy going through 3rd and sometimes 4th from 3k to redline.

 

With how rough its been having this car down for so long, I will not be as hard on it when its back running. But when considering options, I want to know what is the best setup that will take the most beating given that its well maintained.

 

Which option would you say will be the most reliable and the one that will most likely be able to be driven at 10/10ths.

 

13.png.bb40c3a522a17588f66f4e9f4c1b9125.png

12.png.fba1d860e81b4a0ab44b30f6119f486c.png

Edited by A.n.bastaki
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Option 5.

 

Change over to a 07-09 single mass FW and stage 2 type clutch. get hex head FW bolts.

 

I'm also not a big fan of "letting the car warm up" I start mine and drive drive it. I 'll try and coast the last i/4 mile or so before I shut it off. The water cooled turbo will be fine.

Edited by Max Capacity

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

Option 5.

 

Change over to a 07-09 single mass FW and stage 2 type clutch. get hex head FW bolts.

 

 

 

Even with clutch & flywheel having less than a 1000 miles on them right?

 

Clutch : FJK1001 (Exedy OEM replacement)

Flywheel : TYF001 (Exedy OEM replacement)

 

The thought crossed my mine that those won’t hold the added power from the option 5. IIRC the guy mentioned using his setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I'm also not a big fan of "letting the car warm up" I start mine and drive drive it. I 'll try and coast the last i/4 mile or so before I shut it off. The water cooled turbo will be fine.

 

 

 

So just turn it on and go , making sure to take it easy/noboost until all fluids are up to temps ?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, even in VT when it's -20F, I start it, clean off the windows and drive it easy for the first few miles. It's only a mile to the ski hill from the house. Back home on the DD if its the same temps I do the same process start it clean it drive it easy.

 

over 120.000 trouble free miles on the ej257 short block tuned at 21psi on stock fueling.

 

It's all in the Tune.

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

Yes, even in VT when it's -20F, I start it, clean off the windows and drive it easy for the first few miles. It's only a mile to the ski hill from the house. Back home on the DD if its the same temps I do the same process start it clean it drive it easy.

 

over 120.000 trouble free miles on the ej257 short block tuned at 21psi on stock fueling.

 

It's all in the Tune.

 

 

 

Sounds good thank you.

 

It’s currently tuned by him in his car, and he will be tuning it when its goes in mine.

 

I have revisited your rebuild thread many times and was the reason i was leaning towards getting a new short-block and have a lot of faith in that option. option 5 just came up a week ago and can’t pass it up.

 

If it falls through i will be pulling the engine by the end of next week to see what went wrong. Mainly to see if my heads are usable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’d personally go for option #1. My car was rebuilt about 70k ago, oem short block vf-52, stock fueling, makes decent power and has been extremely reliable.

 

The more aftermarket parts you have, the more issues you’re going to be constantly chasing. Is this a project car or you’re main transportation? If this guy took all this time and effort to build this great short block, why is he selling it? What turbo do you plan on running with this built short block? Being a broke college student, I’d really recommend keeping it simple.

 

My car is in Milwaukee too btw if you want to see a stock vf-52 setup in an lgt wagon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’d personally go for option #1. My car was rebuilt about 70k ago, oem short block vf-52, stock fueling, makes decent power and has been extremely reliable.

 

The more aftermarket parts you have, the more issues you’re going to be constantly chasing. Is this a project car or you’re main transportation? If this guy took all this time and effort to build this great short block, why is he selling it? What turbo do you plan on running with this built short block? Being a broke college student, I’d really recommend keeping it simple.

 

My car is in Milwaukee too btw if you want to see a stock vf-52 setup in an lgt wagon.

 

 

 

He blew first gear and will be junking it.

This is my main transportation, but idk if i can say that since I’ve been taking the bus since February. We plan on inspecting which turbo is in better condition then going with that, its from an 08 wrx so he has the td04. I’d like to eventually move to a vf52, but right i want it to be reliable.

 

Not saying that i want to be spending all my money on the car, but i’m broke cause its been none stop of spending all my money on the car with nothing to show for it.

 

What i’m looking for is something reliable while still handling my spirited driving. I want to be at a point where i’m saving up for upgrades instead of over-drafting to fix her. If that makes sense.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He blew first gear and will be junking it.

This is my main transportation, but idk if i can say that since I’ve been taking the bus since February. We plan on inspecting which turbo is in better condition then going with that, its from an 08 wrx so he has the td04. I’d like to eventually move to a vf52, but right i want it to be reliable.

 

Not saying that i want to be spending all my money on the car, but i’m broke cause its been none stop of spending all my money on the car with nothing to show for it.

 

What i’m looking for is something reliable while still handling my spirited driving. I want to be at a point where i’m saving up for upgrades instead of over-drafting to fix her. If that makes sense.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'd still be hesitant to put in a used motor. I feel like you're going to be back here shortly with the same predicament. I had missed that it was actually a long block you were looking at buying though. So for 2k you'd be getting the motor installed and fully running? If that really is the case, that's a tough deal to pass up but it also sounds too good to be true. A normal oem rebuild is normally triple that.

 

All I can say is I followed the Max Capacity plan almost 8 years ago and have zero regrets about it. The only power mods my car has is a vf-52, down pipe, tmic, intake and a pro tune. It does also have a Spec B 6MT swap so the gearing is quite a bit shorter than the 5MT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Option #5 for $2000 sounds like a deal.

If you pass up on it let me know and send me the seller's info :)

 

 

 

Hey, the deal fell through, i’ll pm you the info if your interested.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd still be hesitant to put in a used motor. I feel like you're going to be back here shortly with the same predicament. I had missed that it was actually a long block you were looking at buying though. So for 2k you'd be getting the motor installed and fully running? If that really is the case, that's a tough deal to pass up but it also sounds too good to be true. A normal oem rebuild is normally triple that.

 

 

 

All I can say is I followed the Max Capacity plan almost 8 years ago and have zero regrets about it. The only power mods my car has is a vf-52, down pipe, tmic, intake and a pro tune. It does also have a Spec B 6MT swap so the gearing is quite a bit shorter than the 5MT.

 

 

 

Yes its a longblock and thats why i was thinking its a great deal, since my 200k engine has the typical deteriorating fuel lines and such.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Midweek update : buddy told me to not buy a hoist and grab his, I didn’t ask in the first place because i know this will be a long project and don’t want to have his hoist here for a while. For someone who went with an IAG block a couple months ago, he reassured me he won’t need it and if he did he’ll wrap the car around a tree instead[emoji23][emoji23]

 

Now have to figure out how to get it to my garage, and how to use it with the low ceilings.

 

Sidenote: saw a perrin turbo inlet posted in one of the local groups, might snag as i’m sure mine is junk and almost all rebuild threads have recommended a new inlet.

 

IMG_3980.jpg.1f1e8a406741c2877928d14b44f40cc4.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Replacing the inlet is a good idea for two reasons:

1) the stock inlet is 14 years old, and probably close to needing replaced anyways

2) replacing the inlet is a piece of cake while the motor is out (vs. a nightmare when the intake is still attached)

 

I can't tell much from that photo other than your turbo isn't obviously destroyed.

Feeling the shaft play (in/out and side/side) is a better way to get an idea of how your turbo is doing, but close up pics can be helpful if you're not ready to take off the exhaust and inlet.

Edited by StkmltS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Replacing the inlet is a good idea for two reasons:

1) the stock inlet is 14 years old, and probably close to needing replaced anyways

2) replacing the inlet is a piece of cake while the motor is out (vs. a nightmare when the intake is still attached)

 

I can't tell much from that photo other than your turbo isn't obviously destroyed.

Feeling the shaft play (in/out and side/side) is a better way to get an idea of how your turbo is doing, but close up pics can be helpful if you're not ready to take off the exhaust and inlet.

 

its not the stock inlet, but there is a minor tare on it that is not all the way through, but like you said, if the motor is out its so much easier to do it then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Motor pull was postponed because of some issues with school and being worried that i won’t be here for long. After catching a break to think and evaluate everything, everything should be alright and i’ll be proceeding with the engine pull, just need to pickup the hoist from my buddy and we’ll be good to go

 

A few things :

 

I’m worried about the garage clearance and having trouble pulling the motor, but i think if i line up the car right i shouldn’t have a problem.

 

After doing the leak down and compression i noticed i’m missing the ground wire on the passenger side, from what i’ve been told this could have been the reason my motor went. I added a make-shift wire and decided to drive the car a bit. The car started up normally, drives as if theres no problem. Noticed the steering wheel shakes a lot anything over 50mph, so i’m not sure why thats happening. Still have cylinder#1 misfire and still smells like its running rich. Unfortunately With the compression & leak down numbers, theres no hope for it being a minor issue, so the engine has to come out either way :(

 

Looking back ; when the motor went in after the clutch instal, it was super rough and the drive side ground wire was the issue, it wasn’t hooked up correctly. When i fixed that, it ran well, and didn’t think to check the passenger side. Poor car probably had a lot of life in her before i messed it up.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Theres another thing that i’d like to hear your guys opinion on.

 

Since at the very least the heads will be coming off, how should i pull the motor? Should i pull it like the last time with the least parts removed? Or should i start taking off stuff then pull it out?

 

Last time the exhaust manifold & turbo were left on, i’m think i would take those off, and look up a few different guides and see what other things people took off before pulling the motor, i don’t know if anything makes a difference besides the turbo&headers since i remember them being a PITA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use