dahoseman

Oof. That is what I feared. If it's that big of a mess, I'll keep looking. The Forester is currently complete, but with a serious engine knock and sitting on a trailer in someone's back yard. The guy doesn't want to mess with it and just wants to get rid of it. I don't have much experience with the NA Subaru's, so I wasn't sure what is compatible between NA and turbo models

The STi swap into the Outback was pretty straight forward. I wasn't sure how different the NA models are from the turbo. What needs to be done?

sorry for posting in the wrong area. I'm using a phone and it's hard to read. Boxkita, I need to see what the STi drivetrain is worth

I have all of the electronics from my outback XT. Are the NA harnesses a direct plugin for a XT model? I can plug in my ECU and do some minor mods, but I have to deal with electrical reworing, forget about it.

I have all of the electronics from my outback XT. Are the NA harnesses a direct plugin for a XT model? I can plug in my ECU and do some minor mods, but I have to deal with electrical reworing, forget about it.

I didn't see a satisfying answer to this already. I have a 2005 Outback XT with an STI drivetrain. The body has taken a real beating over the years and a lot of suspension and body parts have been falling apart, so I was already thinking of swapping my drive train into a Forester XT. Several parts crapped out recently, so it's time to abandon XT. I recently found a similar generation 5sp Forester that had an engine failure, which would be a good 'shell'. Does anyone know how difficult it would be to swap a turbo drivetrain into a NA vehicle? Are the wiring harnesses compatible?

I read part of this thread and couldn't help but read more. It's like watching Tiger King with Exotic Joe explaining that facts, reason, and science are for pencil pushers. I got a great kick out of it. Thank you to everyone for the interesting read and thread-theatre. Things I have learned on this thread: 1. A Semi-truck would benefit from replacing it's heavy "heat sink" radiator with a Honda Civic radiator because it can heat up/down faster (ignoring surface area of the larger radiator) and the larger radiator only acts as a heat sink. Having the smallest possible volume of water in a radiator is superior because the temperature can change more quickly, which is a good thing. A radiator the size of Lake Michigan would only act as a heat sink with consistent temperatures, which is bad. Temperatures that swing the most wildly are preferable. 2. Each individual cm^2 of an IC does not transfer thermal energy equally if one intercooler is 10 inches long compared to one that is 20 inches long because the metal is self aware. The metal used in larger intercoolers is quite lazy, per unit of area, and does not work as hard as the same unit area of metal in smaller intercoolers. 3. 10cm^2 of a smaller intercooler will cool air better than 10cm^2 of a larger intercooler. In fact, if a person were able to take an aftermarket IC and then cut it down to the size of the stock size, it would work better, but not as good as the stock IC. 4. Plastic end caps are great insulators, which means they protect against heat transfer. 5. Surface area is the enemy of heat transfer 6. If intake air has more channels to flow through with greater internal fin structure as well as greater external surface transfer to the same airflow, that is bad. Somehow. 7. Stock is always best. Manufacturers tune their vehicles to the best possible performance and reliability for that specific vehicle, without other production concerns, internal politics, and external factors. 8. A person that is 6'4" driving a Subaru would add way too much off-center mass above the center of gravity compared to a person that is 5'8". In fact, the car would be nearly undriveable and may flip or slide off the road, ignoring off center changes in stereo weights, speakers, windshield changes in weight, and other factors that changed pounds of weight in ceiling mass. There is no way that a taller person could beat a shorter person around a track. In fact, if a car has an empty roof rack, the same car without a roof rack would beat it every time. 9. R&D departments are pointless, especially aftermarket competitors and race and rally teams. 10. Science, evidence, facts, and controlled testing are for people that don't "believe". Anyway, thanks everyone. I have to imagine that a lot of people were just egging each other on with their arguments. In any case, this put a smile on my face in our weird times.

to revive ..... I'm still curious if anyone has installed installed a verticooler in an OBXT (or LGT). It doesn't seem like rocket science to make it work. I thought that the idea of the verticooler wasn't completely that it intercooled any better, but that it was less prone to under-hood heat transfer in stop-and-go traffic. Am I wrong about that?

So this thread is now 25 pages and there is a lot of "heresay" discussion through a lot of the pages. Any consolidation of bullet points from someone that read this thread and then did this upgrade?

I ran my 08 STI pro-tuned @21 PSI on the stock longblock with a Dom1.5XTR turbo + ID 1000cc injectors + exhaust. After many thousands of miles, I sold it with >90,000 miles before doing the 90,000 mile service. I never tracked it or ran it incredibly hard, but I ran it to redline and drove it "like a teenager" frequently without any engine problems

That's awesome. Nice work. I will be happy to leave Long Island (No offense to any members from NY). Getting any work done is so incredibly tedious and expensive. I'm looking forward to returning to the west soon where prices and fees don't have the decimal in the wrong place.

It actually came from an 07 legacy wagon 4EAT. Whether the driveshaft or drivetrain was replaced with other parts on that particular car or there was a screw-up with pulling it from the wrong car, I don't know. It's not going to fail because of that. My former DSS driveshaft on my 5MT didn't even have a sliding flex joint in the center. It's not really necessary. In fact, I would rather delete it again on this one. I drove around 120 miles today. No problems and the "pinging" is gone. Perhaps my photos aren't great shots. ----> All I did was move the "resting" point of the joint about an inch. It's meant to slide a bit, which is the purpose of the joint. Nothing is actually touching the shaft itself. It just has exhaust rubber clamped to the surrounding bearing that does not rotate or really do anything active. In fact, I would like to delete the joint altogether if i replace the shaft with aftermarket, like I did previously with my 5MT. It still floats freely in all directions and can still pass back through if you give it enough oomph. The joint behind the center bearing still has play in both directions. I'm a big fan of simple fixes. It doesn't have to look good. It just has to work. Chris and OB2.5XT, I wouldn't mind longer 5th and 6th gears. If you're already doing the swap, I would say it's worth it to go ahead swap in new gearing.

Nice build! I like it.

My "fix" for the driveshaft length. Previously, that groove was resting in the center of the bearing housing and the driveshaft input was sitting about an inch further back hanging out of the dust cap. OB2.5XT, I've never driven a spec B, so I'm not exactly sure how much of a difference it makes. The gear spacing is a bit short, but not terribly. If I remember correctly, it's shorter in subsequent generations, which I would not like. In 6th gear, the JDM 2005 6MT that I have is actually essentially identically speed matched to 5th gear from my OBXT 5MT. I certainly wouldn't mind having 5th and 6th be a longer gear for cruising, but I'm OK with the current setup.

All done. loving it. Unfortunately, I was not able to beat the $3000 mark. $2,100 - 6MT with supports + DCCD $380 - Lightly used Spec B rear axles $70 - 4EAT Legacy driveshaft ~$200 - various peripherals $1,380 - Labor at a shop. Yikes. _______________ $4,130 If I was anywhere near "home", I would have borrowed a garage or shed and done the install myself. Anything involving manual labor in NY is outrageous, I've come to realize.

No kidding. Lucky find with that clutch combo. It was replaced with OEM a few years ago and looks like it has plenty of life. Now I need to source a 4EAT shaft and figure out the spline-count on the rear axles so that I can order SuberDave's conversion kit. I'm going to see if I can beat the $3000 6MT swap record

Ah, so being a 2005 STI transmission, the shifter linkage that comes with the transmission should work in my Outback? I found a local guy who is modding his 2005 STI (lightened flywheel, stronger clutch) and selling the OEM-replaced clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel for $100. I think I might just opt for that. I can't imagine the conversion kit would be shipped and cheaper than that.

I think I can deal with an ugly clutch lever. If someone can drive it and not really know the difference, then I don't care. I'm comnfused on shifters now. So the shifter linkage on this 2005 STI 6MT will actually work in my OBXT? I would rather just 'mod' it and nit replace it if I don't need to. Sorry' what are GDB and SG acronyms? I think I'm going to order Suberdave's hybrid kit. I'm a little worried about the axle handling the increased load from the 6mt rear bias, but we'll see

No flywheel with the tranny, unfortunately. My consideration is just doing the pull-to-push conversion so that I can leave everything as it is with my current setup. If I decided to change my mind in the future and install a STI flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, I can always do that. http://competitionclutch.com/tech/PUB-15028-1.pdf Subaru used to sell their own conversion kit, but they no longer do, according to Infamous. Also, I don't see any threads. Has anyone used SuberDave's hybrid axle kit for the R180? http://wordpress.suberdave.com/?page_id=278 http://wordpress.suberdave.com/?page_id=275

I'm considering it. Has anyone else done this? It looks like some WRX owners have kept their aftermarket FW and clutches from their 5MT's when swapping to 6MT's. Considering that the difference in the clutches is only 1cm larger diameter for the STI, I'm not sure it's worth dropping another $1k on additional parts for that 1cm additional surface contact. My spec 2+ is essentially brand new and is quite grippy. I'm not sure it's even officially broken in yet. I suspect that the extra grip might might have had something to do with the demise of my 5MT front diff. Here are some photos of the setup I'm buying. I think I may have been looking at the wrong front axles. These in the photo look like they're "female" fronts. The shifter linkage is simply too low to be used in our cars? Did I miss anything important? Does anyone see anything that I should be aware of? Any suggestions for changes? http://i.imgur.com/iDpspor.jpg http://i.imgur.com/SYM86bg.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ocnADn4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GOIMWYH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/arNCLSp.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IFIoj17.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ehmLKyI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7Ix0DT3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EEuIDlw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Eu2Vkrg.jpg http://i.imgur.com/njDrWFi.jpg

That interesting that there is one case of the 5MT starter not mating up. I was planning on cannibalizing as much as possible from my current drivetrain. I didn't really think about it, but I guess I can leave my WRX flywheel and Spec 2+ clutch as it is. I got sick of the Clutch Masters failures and decided to try the Spec. It's barely been on the car for 1000 miles, so it would be a shame to buy another clutch. After looking around for shifter linkages, I think I might just have to bite the bullet and order the Cobb short-throw setup for the Spec.B

Thanks to all of the contributors for experimenting, failing, trying again, collecting data, and collecting this wealth of knowledge. I have a 2005 OBXT with a grenaded front diff (still drivable at the moment, but scary in any turns or uneven roads). After weighing the costs of replacing parts, I decided to just go ahead and swap in a 6MT that I happened to run across for "cheap". The previous owner was planning on swapping it into a WRX, until the car got totaled. I'm about to go through with this, but I want to make sure I have the ingredient-list correct for my recipe. I can't afford a long downtime on the car (I know, I know), so I want to have everything as prepared as possible for the swap. Transmission: JDM 2005 model year STI 6MT Model: TY856WB4KA Contents from the 2005 JDM STI and parts include: -JDM 6MT with shifter linkage and male front axles. No "stubs" on transmission. -Rear R180 diff with cradle -Driveshaft -Transmission cross member -4 male axles -4 knuckles -DCCD-Pro controller – already wired up and ready to install. From what I undersand through this thread, I will need: -clutch - OEM takeoff should be fine? -2005+ 2.5i 4EAT driveshaft or spec.b -Rear axles 07-09 SpecB (P/N 28421AG03B), axle seals (P/N 806732200) -Reverse lockout cable – 35060AG010 -Tail shaft seal 806735210 -R180 diff mount from the spec B - 41310AG040 (not strictly necessary, but click here for some info) **05 STi 6MT front half shaft seals: - Which of these is correct? ---Old# L\H 806735240 New# L\H 806735290 ---Old# R/H 806735230 New# R/H 806735300 ---Output Shaft Oil Seal (oil seal for the driveshaft interface) - 806735210 - $11.50 *6MT spec.B shift linkage ----- Are any of these redundant? -Spec B Shifter Rod: 35041AG020 -Spec B Shifter Stay: 35031AG020 -6MT clutch fork – 30530AA050 -6MT clutch fork spring - 30546AA060 - $5.20 -6MT clutch release shaft – 30532AA020 -6MT clutch release plug - 30550AA000 -6MT clutch slave cylinder - 30620AA172 - alternate:30620AA173 -6MT clutch hose --- what is this? -6MT throw-out bearing For DCCD: “You need to tap one wire at the ECU from the TPS sensor (it's in the manual which plug it is on, and which color), and one wire at the handbrake switch. “ Keep your 5MT neutral sensor switch, put it in the 6MT. From what I understand, I don't really need the knuckles from the STI. I can simply use my current FRONT axles with new seals and install REAR spec.b axles? Is that correct? Is there anywhere to buy the complete shift linkage instead of piece by piece?

I forgot what decisions had been finalized. Was there going to be an adapter hose for running STi-style outlets? I'm currently using an STi-style turbo with (embarrassing to say) Process West knockoff with the adapter hose.

any news on the final results?

Agreed. After moving from out west, I skied at 5 eastern resorts while living in KY and TN, mostly out of desperation for a winter sports fix if I only had a day off. Each time I thought, "why did I come here?". On trip #1, ski patrol stopped me for going through the trees, which is apparently not allowed. Neither patroller was familiar with telemark skis and told me I was using "illegal" equipment. As the old phrase follows, "head west, young man." Outside of Japan, it doesn't get much fluffier and consistent than Utah or Wyoming. And unlike the Appalachian 'powder' days, an SLC-region powder day means you may need to bring a snorkel. Nice build, by the way. Following. Congrats on everything coming together. Do you do any diesel performance racing/modifications? I miss my old 12V modded cummins, but I'm blown away by the power the new trucks are putting down.