Hello everyone! Got a steal; I'm a LGT guy now!

[bergs]

Power steering pump seepage might be due to aging of the o-ring located at the top of the pump. It's a $3 item that takes all of 5 minutes to replace.

[Dschmale]

Power steering pump seepage might be due to aging of the o-ring located at the top of the pump. It's a $3 item that takes all of 5 minutes to replace.

 

Thanks! It definitely looks like it's right on top. I had hoped I wouldn't have to replace the whole supply hose. Glad to hear you can just get the o ring.

[Betelgeuse]

I'm just like you. I also came into a Legacy after failing to find a 5MT FXT that suited me after mine was totaled.

[relative4]

Power steering pump seepage might be due to aging of the o-ring located at the top of the pump. It's a $3 item that takes all of 5 minutes to replace.

 

When the O-ring goes bad, it lets air in the fluid, causing moaning and foaming (insert off-color joke here).

 

Leaking at the top of the pump is generally caused by the supply hose. No worries, it's only a $30 part.

[Dschmale]

I immediately regret the 20mm rear sway bar. Should've gone larger. I'll have to put some miles on it to be sure but the 22mm seems like a better fit, especially if I go to change the front bar some day. It's an improvement though, for sure. I've gotten so used to driving modified MINIs that maybe I just need to chill. The ride quality is excellent after all.

 

 

Bigger is better.

[Dschmale]

My $50 unbranded uppipe came in today as well. The welds look good and the flanges look thick enough; just shy of 3/8". I ran an eBay special in my WRX and never had problems, so I ain't scared. I have everything I need to go "stage 2" sitting in my garage. Just need 3-4 hours to make that happen.

 

[Dschmale]

MINI is sold! Profited $2250... and drove it for a year. The profits will fully fund the projects that the legacy "needs." Wife points: +1000

 

[JmP6889928]

This is what I did to my hood and scoop. Everyone seems to think it looks good. I used Satin Black for the paint.

[Dschmale]

That does look really good. I wonder if it would be too much contrast against the brilliant silver though? Worth a try. If nothing else, that would make a fine basecoat if I don't like it. Thanks.

[JmP6889928]

Do it with Plasti-Dip. You can peel it if you don't like it plus you could try other colors. Dark grey might look better against the silver.

[Dschmale]

I love my legacy. I'm committed to fixing the front end damage now after seeing a clean white legacy the other day. I thought I'd be ok with it looking a little beat up but for $200 and some elbow grease - I planned to pull the bumper to sand the headlights anyway - it will be a very nice looking car.

 

Loving the slight ground clearance advantage over other sedans. Most cars scrape going in and out of my driveway but the leggy is fine until I sit three people in it. The little things are adding up to make me love this car more and more; though I'm not in love with the 16mpg I got on the last tank. Gotta lean into the Go pedal a little less frequently.

 

The sway bay has worked out nicely. It's an improvement though not as drastic as sticking one in a mini or VW. Love the stock wheels too. They'll get some attention in the spring. Something about the simple five spoke design gets me. They look very similar to the wheels I swapped onto my wife's clubman.

 

 

Anyway, just gushing about my new toy. Planning to swap the up and down pipes in this coming Saturday, after Thanksgiving. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

[wbrawley]

That looks like most the Legacy for sale here but with 280K miles for $9K and no history outside of whatever carfax reports.

 

Luckily when I got my LGT back in Manassas, Va it was 1 owner and the entire life of the car was documented here.

$9k? I'd sell mine for that with 212k miles new HG, vf52, TMIC, DP,UP, etc. lol I paid $2k for it a year ago with leaking HG.

[Max Capacity]

Have to agree, I really like the 5 spoke wheels on these cars.

[Dschmale]

So, I undertook the up and downpipe replacement today. It was a bear. One nut on the downpipe was particularly frozen and probably added an hour to the job going off and back on. The whole thing took me about 5 hours with lots of cutting and breaking of things. I wouldn't recommend this process to the timid or inexperienced. I replaced an uppipe ten years ago on my WRX but all the hardware came off easily. Once these things get some time and miles on them, the game changes.

 

Modified the heat shield to fit over the new downpipe:

 

Dramatic difference in flow out of the turbo:

 

The uppipe is more than slightly less restrictive:

 

The increase in sound is dramatic. WAY more exhaust rumble, more volume everywhere. I wish it would've remained quiet but that's asking too much. I do have a leak at the cat-back junction. I bought the Grimmspeed adapter but foolishly thought I could reuse the donut gasket. Hopefully it quiets down a bit once that is settled, though I doubt it will.

 

Flashed to Cobb's stage 2 ots map and am enjoying how quickly the turbo comes on. Roll into the throttle over 2k and it just goes!

[Dschmale]

Man, how loud should I expect a catless set up to be on the stock cat back? It's really loud. I'm certain I have a leak at the cat-back junction but it's louder than just a leak. It's almost as loud as if I left an oxygen sensor out, or something. Hopefully it quiets down when I install the adapter donut gasket.

[Max Capacity]

I'm currently on a Invidia catless DP and stock exhaust, the car is not much if any louder than stock. Really, it is that quiet. She, (GF) no longer hears me pull into the driveway. We live in a very quiet area, dead end street.

 

I run a stock mid pipe most of the time on the wagon, any other exhaust with the catless DP is way to loud. Even with Pro Lab tuning mufflers, straight through, its to loud for a long drive this time of year.

[Wasted Potential]

Just make sure you don't have a leak at the up pipe on either end. A lot of fumes...

[Dschmale]

Yeah, I've got to get it undressed and inspect for leaks once the donut gasket arrives. Something is wrong. Hopefully it's just leaking there. Thanks for the replies. It would be sweet to get it back nearly as quiet as stock.

[Dschmale]

Success! Installed the missing donut gasket on the cat-back adapter and the engine quieted down to stock - or as near as makes no difference after driving with the loud boxer rumble for a week. I'm sooooo pleased. That was stressing me out. It's amazing how quiet it is given the killer bump in low-to-mid torque.

 

I pulled the heat shield earlier in the week and found no leaks so I was encouraged but didn't expect such a dramatic change. It doesn't take much of a leak before the midpipe to turn the volume up to 11 on this thing, apparently.

[amm203]

Welcome! As far as bumper replacement goes I've had good luck using http://www.car-part.com. Just doing a quick search in Alexandria for '05 front bumpers got me THIS. 80 miles and $250 isn't bad for what seems like a good condition color-matched bumper. (Might be able to snag that hood while you're at it!)

[Knapp]

Welcome to the club, i picked my 08 GT limted for $7500 with a branded title. $1500 later and shes a great car..still a PITA. Very..very finicky cars and some parts ive found are hard to find used. It took me 9 months to find a used clockspring with VDC. Again, PITA. Hope you love your new ride! Their worth most of the trouble!