My $800 craigslist Legacy 2.5i project.

[anarchyx34]

So a couple of weeks ago I was browsing Craigslist and came across a '05 Legacy wagon limited with an asking price of $1000, with the ad stating "just needs a timing belt". Now I was a Subaru tech back when these came out, and I have done plenty of EJ25 post timing belt failure valve jobs. I've been itching to pick up something to tinker with; just a project of any sort really. I always liked this generation Legacy too, and figure this will make a nice daily driver.

 

So I went to take a look at it. PO was an 18 y/o kid. It was his first car that he bought last year. He just put 4 brand new tires, new pads/rotors all around, and "new rear struts" before the t-belt crapped out.

 

The car itself is very clean, only has 113k miles, and the body/paint is pretty nice with the exception of some minor damage on the front. He accepted my offer of $800 and one hour later this shit was in my driveway.

 

After checking it out more thoroughly the next day I found that it needs the following:

• A/C Condensor has a hole in it & high-side schrader valve is mangled
  
• D/S window switch
  
• Rear end sits really low. I'm thinking he put the wrong struts/springs back there.
  
• New front bumper cover, d/s fender (slightly dented). The core support was beaten back into shape. Ugly but not bothering anything.
  

 

Not too bad. He also mentioned that he had new front calipers that he intended to have installed. Not sure what's wrong with the old ones yet.

 

I started pulling the motor apart, and discovered that the cause of failure was a failed timing belt tensioner bolt.

 

Somebody obviously fucked up. There was also evidence of hackery all over the engine bay. Missing bolts (like the air-duct bolts), loose heater hose clamps, etc.. Also noteworthy were all the new o2 sensors, something that always sets off a red flag in my mind.

 

So anyway I had the whole motor apart in 4 hours even though it's been like 10 years since I've touched one. I forgot how easy it is to work on these things. The only damage I found was 4 bent intake valves only on one of the heads. That's it. The engine itself seemed to be spotless and in great shape.

 

One thing I did find puzzling though was the pistons. Like I said, it's been a while, but I don't recall ever seeing pistons like this on a Subaru.

 

I went ahead and ordered the new valves, as well as 2 head gaskets, head bolts, and a timing belt/water pump kit. Later on in the day I was just standing around the garage lost in thought, when this caught my eye.

 

 

That looks really funny doesn't it? Almost like the exhaust ports on the heads are....fuuuuuuckkk.

 

This Legacy is equipped with the early version of CA/PZEV emissions in which they for some reason used single oval exhaust ports instead of the usual dual round ports. This engine obviously wasn't original. But could I get away with just swapping the heads? And besides, WTF is up with the pistons? I spent a good deal of time researching EJ25 pistons, coming up with nothing, and then I eventually spotted it.

 

LMAO it has the wrong fcking engine in it! Someone put a JDM EJ20 in it (seems a lot of salvage yards are selling JDM engines as a low-cost alternative), not realizing that it was never going to work right due to the different exhaust ports/emissions system. The thing was breathing through 2 drinking straws, running an ECM tune for an engine .5 liters bigger. It probably never ran right and he dumped it on this poor kid who probably had no idea. It would also explain all the new o2 sensors since that's like the go-to repair for people who don't know wtf they're doing. In all fairness this would leave even a seasoned Subaru tech scratching their head. Nobody would ever expect the car to have the wrong engine in it.

 

Fortunately I was able to cancel the parts order. So now I get to go engine shopping. Scouring through car-part.com had me shocked. Used EJ25's go for like $1k, even with 180k+ miles. Absurd. The best price I found was $800, but I decided to take my chances at the pick-n-pull.

 

I got lucky. Like I said the early PZEV cars were a bit of an oddball, but fortunately I found a matching donor in a 2004 Outback.

 

It was a bitch pulling the engine out by myself in the hot sun and rolling it to the checkout counter, but at the end of the day (and 5 hours of driving round trip) I only paid $200. I also managed to snag an a/c line and matching d/s fender.

 

With the new engine home, I wanted to thoroughly examine it's condition to determine if it's a viable candidate, and hopefully not needing a rebuild.

 

Firstly I ran a carfax on the donor vehicle's VIN#. Turns out it had 161k miles a month ago where it appears to have been traded in at a Subaru dealership, and then auctioned off to the pick-n-pull since it was a rusty shitbox. It probably was running fine.

 

 

I stuck a borescope down the spark plug holes and was delighted to see a still prominent factory crosshatch pattern.

 

The valvetrain is also spotless.

 

As well as the intake ports/valves. Not a spec of dirt/carbon or oil anywhere. This engine probably has little blowby if any at all.

 

And lastly I cut open the oil filter and was happy to see absolutely nothing inside.

I think I got lucky here! The motor needs nothing aside from valve cover gaskets, and a timing belt/water pump.

 

Right now I'm waiting on parts from Rockauto and Amazon. Hopefully I'll be able to perform the swap later this week, at which point I get to find out what's wrong with the rest of the car lol.

 

So that's my little project. Just felt like sharing.

Edited August 14, 2019 by anarchyx34

[weswing04]

Wow!I can’t even imagine how bad that thing ran with that exhaust mismatch! Nice find on the junkyard motor!

[Holla]

That exhaust setup