Senseless1's 1998 Subaru Legacy GT 2.2 NA-T Build

[doublechaz]

Mmmm smooth. Best way to be for intakes and ladies.

[Senseless1]

Ugh need to work up the motivation to get moving on this subframe/suspension swap, might reseal the oil pan and rebuild the ps pump as well. I'm changing out the front subframe with a 94 legacyss subframr, have new steering rack, sti aluminum front lower control arms with ball joints, sti sway bar end links, white line strut bar and 4 camber bolts to try and bring my slammed coilovers setup with 17x9 +35mm offset (at least an inch of poke in the front without sti control arms) BRZ wheels back to some semblance of streetable camber.

Car doesn't run currently.Also trying to simultaneously do and oil and filter and trans fluid and filter change on my vw rabbit daily driver. With the new social distancing recommendations nobody should be bothering me for doing this at an apt complex lmao

 

I'm hoping for more poke in the front than the rear with the current wheel setup, because I plan to do a custom widebody at some point.

I found some 99impreza idesign rear widebody fenders on clearance because they're discontinued and neither the side skirts not front fenders are available to buy.

I then went with a more curved style for the fronts, which were also clearance items I got for cheap. The fronts will be flipped 240sx widebody rear fenders.

 

Of course nothing fits, lol, so I'm going to section them into peices and use them for the overall shape hand laying the rest so I don't have to fabricate any high visibility lines. I can just continue existing lines.

I plant to build the mechanically fastened structure out of some sort aluminum maybe plain old mesh or possibly aluminum honeycomb filled with some kind of spray foam. The aluminum would be riveted to the body and fiberglass bonded to aluminum much like the skin of aircraft. I can't think of anything lighter I can afford to mess with. I may end up going a little wider in the rear prior to widebody, but I'm not sure the extra rear track width is necessary on a wagon. I should be able to have the front a little wider and use chassis stiffening and spring rates to get enough balance and rotation.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

Mmmm smooth. Best way to be for intakes and ladies.

 

I'm pretty sure I left one side not visible, the short side, rough cut with the aluminum carbide , but even if I took it to 100 it would have a definitive grain at a 90* angle to the airflow to attempt a tumbling effect to help with fuel atomization vs a full polish.

[Senseless1]

Mmmm smooth. Best way to be for intakes and ladies.

 

I'm pretty sure I left one side not visible, the short side, rough cut with the aluminum carbide , but even if I took it to 100 it would have a definitive grain at a 90* angle to the airflow to attempt a tumbling effect to help with fuel atomization vs a full polish. I also went gasket matched and ported everything. Intake manifold throttle body. Even knife edged the butterfly valve. I had 40 hours of porting and polishing everything. Turbo was ported as well.

[doublechaz]

Good work. "Polish" isn't quite the right word since it has a little texture. My NA has all of those including the runners in the head. It wasn't +200 HP, but it spits and pops like a rally car, and it was enough to feel the difference.

[Senseless1]

Yeah I mean it was so much time that it's really implausible for the common man to pay a machine shop for. Machinist can make so much more money running machines, that it's a terrible price per $ mod. A labor of love if you will.

But I was fortunate enough at the time to be able to just afford the tools lol.

 

1994 legacy ss turbo subframe and sti aluminum control arms are in. Steering rack and sway bras +endlinos on hold for when I can find my turbo sway bar lol I forgot the sway bar mounting brackets are different. I'm going to have to buy at least new tie rod ends as my boots were shot. Time to pony up the money for the white line drop kit.

Company 23's ball joint removal tool works like a dream with some bahco pipe wrench pliers.

I did shave down the forward bushing inner sleeve and still had a small fight going together. As a tech though this kind of fight is just part for the course. Actually these are pretty easy setups to work on with the ball joint tool.

 

I forgot my circlip pliers so the power steering pump rebuild will have to wait. I also don't have any orings to reassembly the new rack with. I also resealed the oil pan and checked rod bearings for obvious bearing play. Doesn't seem too bad. No metal or sludge.

Looks like I have an oil leak from one of my valve covers too. I need to inspect the cams anyways as I ran them with improper valve lash.

 

Still need alignment tires and swap the camber bolts in the front.

Once the front suspension is squared away I'm going to invest in an aftermarket ecu and ej20x engine.

I want to run the ej20x heads with an ej222 block and sti oil pump and keep the dual avcs. Keep my 18g billet wheel turbo and see about maxing out the stock injectors. Sure would be great to at least get the ej20x in and running for boxerfest in september

[Senseless1]

So I am hopefully picking up a donor Forester xt next week. I guess I'll just get the swap working and worry about getting my 18gxt in later.

I still have 8 yellow top side feeds I want to decap and send out to witchhunter for cleaning and flow testing, then with my generic pierburg hopefully I can figure out how to tune enough to find out what an ej255 w/ decapped 740ccish injectors, walbro 255, ported vf39 upgraded with billet 11 blade 18gtx compressor wheel and larger compressor cover (rebalanced), and I guess a stock Forester tmic unless I can throw together a front mount by then. Lots up in the air now

[Senseless1]

Double post Flex because I just put a deposit down on a Forester xt donor car. I will now have 3 full sets of sti injectors to play with decapping, an open source tuneable ecu, walbro 255 and 18gtx turbo with full exhaust, and a couple 3 port BCSs laying around.

I've heard the yellow top side feeds flow 740cc decapped. I can get ethanol, but I think I can make more power using 93 and spraying methanol at least until I go front mount.

I've been toying with the idea getting a cheap China fuel cell and knockoff walbro 255 to plumb up a methanol injection system. Injection method is TBD. I'm not comfortable spraying with just 1 nozzle. I'd rather come up with a cost effective nozzle that can be fastened directly to each runner. Probably need an fpr and inline fuel filter safe for meth to keep my nozzles clean. Also have not even considered tuning.

I'm new to tuning, so I'll need some time to overcome that learning curve.

I'm thinking I have an easy 330awhp with this combo without even needing a fmic as long as I can spray it with meth.

Should be enough to grenade an r160 or 5mt right? Will be running 245/40/17 square tires.

[Senseless1]

Ok excitement worn off temporarily. Now I'm realizing my donor is an auto, so I will be doing a harness merge and auto to manual wiring, which if without looking at the wiring diagrams to confirm I should have already in my 98 lgt manual harness or most of, AND a DBW pedal assembly. Do I just need the Accel pedal?

 

My next concern is that the '04 FXT ej255 is dbw ECU controlled.

I'll have a brand new throttle cable and ported and polished DBC throttle body available after this I guess...

But which pedal boxes have the right sensors for the '04 FXT ecu? Right now the LGT has a hydraulic clutch & brake pedal assembly from a junkyard~1998- 2000's forester I think. Sensors were plug and play then, so maybe I just need a dbw accelerator pedal+sensor+connector pigtail. I guess some opposed forces or Subaru parts catalogue investigation is needed to find out which model years have a manual dbw clutch and brake pedal assbly I can use in my '98 LGT.

Doublechaz you're an encyclopedia lol any leads for me?

Okay back to stress reading Bryson's merge thread and visualizing the parts inside the FXT chassis...

Edited April 12, 2020 by Senseless1

[doublechaz]

I'm more of an encyclopedia limited to 95ish manual non-turbo. Setnev is sooo much more knowledgeable about crossing and mixing.

 

If I had to guess I would expect the mechanism parts in the pedal box to be the same, just with different sensors and probably different holes drilled to mount those sensors, but I don't know from experience on that.

 

On my parts car I found that 95 has the brake and clutch in one module and the accel in a separate one. So maybe you can just bring the DBW accel across from the donor.

[Senseless1]

I can see the 04-06 wrx sti Accel pedal has a different connector than the 06-07 wrx sti and Forester.

 

I'm gonna hit the junk yard tomorrow and see if I can find a non turbo pedal with the same connector since I can only find 1 pedal on eBay right now and they want $100...

 

The NA 2004 Forester definitely has a dbc throttle body. 04-06 sti Accel pedal has a 6 pin connector with the old school electromechanical position sensor whereas the 06-07 look like a 2 pin connector canbus module. From what I can see from eBay photos.

I wonder if iwire provides the connector pigtail for this in their auto to manual wiring kit. I might just wire to the pedal connector pins and shrinkwrap the whole pin. Idk I doubt I can find one in the junkyard on short notice. And budget along with Amazon ship times are killing me.

 

Next scheme is gonna be turning tricks for a fluidamper

Edited April 13, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

So I feel pretty dumb, but I now realize the Accel pedal should swap over fine. I was confusing the brake and clutch assembly being separated from the Accel pedal. I just hope the sensors on the existing NA manual Forester pedal box are correct. From looking at photos they appear the same.

 

Ok now to address which pin needs ground for auto ecu to run a manual. I'm curious if it's just the circuit to send Park/nuetral position signal.

I'm going to compare ECU pinouts to hopefully give me some indication of which extra spot has a pin on the auto ECU and/or look at the shift interlock circuit.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

So the 04fxt ecu has a 12v batt+ wire running to ecu pin D9 labeled AT only. This wire ties pin D9 to the AT inhibitor switch through the switch and back to ecu pin D8. This circuit is completed when the gear shift selector is in either the park or neutral position.

 

Ecu pin D9 goes to neutral position switch then ground for MT only

 

Ecu pin A34 gets ground with MT only

 

So I read people say you need to leave the TCU connected in addition to grounding this mystery pin (I'm leaning towards the A34 pin, but still thinking I may need to keep the AT only circuits happy at the ecu.

 

Ok next up combination meter/instrument cluster wiring answers.

 

Looking at the nearby pin architecture ecu pin A32 goes to the wastegate solenoid valve and A33 goes to the front oxygen sensor. That's a nice little cluster of data you would need to maintain idle fueling when clutching in with a manual transmission interesting... Maybe pin A34 signals a logic chip to catch this MT only driving phenomena.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

Helicoil install for my 94 legacy ss turbo subframe done yesterday. Going to put the rack back in today in a bit. I wanted to give the red loctite time to set up. I think I'm going to blue loctite the bolts. I don't really think it's appropriate to helicoil something as important as a steering rack, but I bought this turbo subframe years ago no returning it now. I should've checked the threads when I bought it.

 

Idk I might just red loctite everything to the subframe. I guess I'm posting on IG again... @senselesstuning not sure how long that'll last.

[doublechaz]

Helicoil will be fine in that application. I agree to the threadlock.

 

My fun one was the welded nut blind inside the frame rail where the trans cradle bolts in. I had to locate and drill a hole in the driver's floor to get a deep socket and regular nut in there.

[Senseless1]

Helicoil will be fine in that application. I agree to the threadlock.

 

My fun one was the welded nut blind inside the frame rail where the trans cradle bolts in. I had to locate and drill a hole in the driver's floor to get a deep socket and regular nut in there.

 

Funny you should mention that. I had the car on a lift so we ended up cutting a window in the frame RIP.

Witnessing my certified tech buddy ruin that and the subsequent carnage has condition Ned me to start all bolts by hand no matter what at work. I don't turn as many hours, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna be that tech that just slams everything home as fast as possible.

Those guys in my shop are clearing 6 figures, but I just can't bring myself to be that unethical.

The more I learn about and having been in the field professionally now I take things much more seriously. Now being a tech we know what we can and can't get away with on our own cars, but I just can't wake up everyday and look myself in the mirror with work like I've seen from professionals

[Senseless1]

Alright starting to line ducks up in a row. Storage unit reserved and getting keys tomorrow am first thing then travelling to my tools to transport them and set up a quick shop. Travelling down to VA to get the Forester, then hoping to take the engine out by the end of day tomorrow. It has a bad oil leak by the oil control valve area. I went ahead and purchased one. The crank pulley looks shot so hopefully my other pulley fits fine. I assume they're all the same.

It needs timing belt etc, but I'll catch all the maintenance up later.

Can we do this in 30 days for the first month free storage unit??? Clock is about to start.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

Non stop busy day, securing storage unit and tools, and car from quite a ways away.

[Senseless1]

Building a spreadsheet since we got a random cold snap. The Forester ecu has 103 pins... I was able to use some gift cards and secure an oil control valve and timing belt water pump kit. I have a spare ej pulley. What I don't have is an sti cam sprocket tool, so its up in the air as to whether I'll do the timing during the swap at this point. Need more measurable progress.

[Senseless1]

Might take a break and start hitting the car.

Does anybody know if the hood scoop can be swapped over? Also does anyone need any Forester XT parts?

[Senseless1]

04 Forester XT Bulkhead harness, Accel pedal, and ecu out. I just trashed the interior. Probably trashing the whole donor. It took me a little over 3 hours. It's nice to not have to worry about putting it back together LOL this poor Forester...

[Senseless1]

Dear god this harness stuff sucks.

I am in the process of alternating between removing tape and pairing down what I know I don't need from the 04 FXT harness and building a spreadsheet out from what I've labeled of the forester ecu.

Although i'm getting burned out with each activity, it seems like building the spreadsheet from the two sets of wire harnesses is far less physically and mentally taxing than cutting up the harness. The pile of extra wire is growing and number of 98 legacy pins to look up is shrinking. It's like working in mud for my ADHD though.

 

If I haven't mentioned already the 1998 legacy ECU uses 3 wire O2 sensors, but the FXT ecu uses 4 wire. I'm just using the entire FXT O2 wiring all the way to the ecu, but if you didn't have a whole donor car this would be something to consider.

 

Also all the pinouts I can find for swaps are WRX's or imprezas 99+ I did find a 95-99 ej25d ecu pinout which was kind of helpful, but doesn't list all the info I want in my spreadsheet.

I'm learning right away all the model years are going to have different wiring, so this spreadsheet will really only be useful to people swapping an 04 FXT auto ecu into a 98 legacy gt. Also this wiring is heavy AF, so I'm not going to waste time recreating the auto electrical circuits and keeping the TCU. I'm going to remove all that wiring during the merge.

 

Also I'm noticing small things like the 04 FXT ecu wiring for the malfunction indicator lamp is controlled from the opposite polarity than the 98 lgt, so I will need to Take 98LGT connector B1-Black wire at cluster and instead of grounding it run it to Pin A17 at the FXt ecu.

 

Looks like the cruise control wiring is too complicated than I care to want, especially considering It was deleted from the legacy already.

 

ugh back at it.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

To give a little insight into my spreadsheet I have been building it out in stages. I couldn't find a pinout I/O chart so I'm going throigh the engine electrical diagram to get all the pins, what they do , where they go, and what color.

First pass was just to get all the pins. Then I sorted ascending to get them somewhat alphabetized.

Then I went through getting the what they do and where they go.

Now I'm going through legacy diagrams trying to copy circuits using the legacy sensors and harnesses.

 

I should've done the last two steps together or have the diagrams printed. I let my wife borrow my second monitor never to be seen again, so it's too much back and forth with diagrams on one screen to be efficient and I'm looking up FXT diagrams twice unnecessarily now. Driving me nuts. And the Harness is just a bastard. I pulled the entire bulkhead and full body harness except door wiring.

[Senseless1]

Another noteworthy comment. The Bryson merge harness thread uses a wrx harness with a big grey SMJ connector. Of course the Forester is completely different. I'll need to cross reference the smj plug diagram he used to the connectors I have. I have seen enough wrx - 04 fxt inconsistency to want to double check as I pare down. I need the Accel pedal circuit, O2, circuits and then I need to double check how I had decided to use the legacy MT only circuit to create the FXT MT only circuit. I think that's pretty much it. I need the front brakes, inner tie rod jamb nuts (woops lol), scoop and inner piece, battery, alt, power steering system. Drain coolant and washer fluid. Unbolt accessories for engine removal.

I want to pull the diff, driveshaft,and trans. I think those are worth saving to try and recoup some money. I might pull headlights and tail lights. I kept cupholder and upper cubby. Kept most modules. Separated out heated seat wiring and have heated front seats. I hate scrapping these 16" wrx wheels, but unless I have a buyer with trade it needs to roll out lol.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Senseless1

[Senseless1]

Took a break and went to the junkyard to g ab swaybar mounting brackets off an 2002 NA forester, so I can mount my ej22t front swaybar to my ej22t front subframe tomorrow.

The junkyard offered me $50 for the shell...