cdowling_bm

Hi Folks, I'm back on the forum after being away for 8 years and looking to get back into the Subaru scene. It seems very quiet on here now but I'm hoping to catch up and meet old and new friends. Are there any meets or events coming up soon? Thanks. Charles.

Finally! Another GTB owner. Which oil? Anything good to be honest. I've tried Mobile 1 (10W 30), Redline (10W 40) and Motul 300v (5w 40). I was very happy with the Redline oil and am currently using Motul. I used Mobil 1 once and that was just before my engine decided it didn't like the big end bearings very much. Since the engine rebuild, I ran the engine in with Castrol GTX and replaced it with Motul. I bought 6litres and have a bit left over and it cost me £60. Out of curiosity, which model do you have? Mine is a GTB (BG5-B 96-97). Hope that helps.

Hi Gents/Gentettes, It's been ages since I've been on the forum (mostly due to me not having a working scooby). Yes, for all of you who still know me, it's still off the road and I'm still trying to get it running again. Anyway, I'm after a bit of advice and answers. First question I've had my engine rebuilt with new oil and water pumps. When I got it back, there was no crank position sensor with the new oil pump. I tried to get a replacement so I went to Subaru and ordered a new part from Japan. The black topped one came in and I tried to fit it. It didn't fit (too wide for the hole). I figured I had ordered the wrong one and managed to get a different one from a Subaru breaker. This time a brown topped one just like the one that was on the engine before it went of to get rebuilt. That one doesn't fit either (again, too wide). I thought I had the correct part but clearly I don't. I'm worried that I've had the wrong oil pump fitted as well. What's the deal with these things? How many different types of crank position sensor are there? Any of you guys got a clue? Second question On Sunday, me and a couple of mates donned the overalls and tried to put the rebuilt engine back in the Legacy. After a couple of hours grunting, sweating and collective tuorettes, we called it a night. No matter what we did, we could not get the engine to slot in. The bottom guide bolts slipped in no problem, the clutch was aligned ok (we think), transmission jacked up slightly to try to clear the mounting holes in the subframe but the engine still wasn't playing. Initially, I thought it was because the clutch inspection plate was slightly bent so I removed it, reshaped it, reinstalled it and tried again. Still no joy. We rotated the engine slightly to ensure the splines of the tranny and clutch would match up but it still didn't go in. Can anybody offer some advice on how to get the bloody thing back in the car? Surely it can't be that difficult. It came out easilly enough (after releasing the clutch fork pin). I'm desperate to get the thing back on the road for 2007. It's been off the road for all of 2006 and most of 2005 so it's well overdue. Thanks. Chazz.

I'll be there spectating with my kid on his Birthday. Scooby mad already and just turned 8. Anybody want to take the wee blighter around the track as a passenger (not too mad a lap though - don't want the kid to soil his trousers in your front seat [])? Chazz.

Hey Folks, Long time no post. It's been a while since my Legacy graced the streets of Scotchland but the return of the big blue is iminent. My engine has been rebuilt and is waiting to go in. That and a few jobs to get the car through its MOT and that's it, back on the road. There's one small thing holding up the works and that is a timing belt cover. Mine got damaged so I need a replacement. eBay's a bit dry just now so I was wondering if anybody had one they wanted to sell or knew where I could get one fairly cheaply. Cheers, Charles.

Hi Chaps, I've already put this in the for sale section of SIDC but I thought I'd put it here as well. I've got a '99+ twin turbo engine I need to sell. It came from Import Car Parts/Japanesecarimports.net from a car they are breaking because the owner could not get a model report for the car. It was advertised on their website as having done only 14,000 miles. The engine is still on the palette it was delivered on so transporting it should not be a problem. It is complete with everything but the turbos. I bought the engine to replace my 97 GTB engine with busted big ends. After looking at the two engines and seeing so many differences, I've decided to have my original engine to rebuilt. That way everything will fit as it came out of the car. No hassles with manifold and wiring loom incompatibilities. So that's it. If you or anybody you know wants it let me know. I paid £1400 for it and I need to get my money back. By the way, can anybody recommend someone who can rebuild my engine at a reasonable price? The engine is out of the car so I can take it to the builder in question and pick it up when it's done. Thanks. Chazz.

The falling leaves and dropping temperatures have increased my motivation to get my car back on the road. Cycling to and from work just isn't doing it for me anymore. Anyway, I've got a replacement engine for the legacy but there are a few challenges still ahead. The engine I got came from low mileage 1999 B4. It's still a twin-turbo engine but there are differences in the wiring, fuel pipes and intake manifold. All these differences mean I need to swap the manifold, wiring and heads from the broken block to the new engine. I'm hoping the new block will accept the older heads. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I've taken all the bits off the old engine except for the heads (intake/exhaust manifolds, timing belt. This sounds like it should be pretty simple but after taking the cam cover off, I got a bit worried. I'll be honest and say this is what I was trying to avoid in the first place because engine rebuilding is not my forte. So finally the questions. What is involved in removing the heads? I.e. do I have to remove the camshafts and all the other fiddly bits before I can part the head from the block? Is there anything else I need to consider when doing this? Any advice is welcome. Charles.

I finally got the engine out! As you all said, it's a piece of p155 to get out once the thrust fork pivot pin is out. The engine was out and on the workbench within 30 minutes of pulling out the pin. Thanks very much for the advice. Now for a bit of tidy up and we should be back on the road very soon. Charles.

Absolutely! I'll be at the next one even without a car. Dennis, make sure you remind me cos I'm forgetful like that. Oh yeah, can I get a lift off you as well? Unless there's a kind soul in Kirkcaldy that will give me a lift..... Charles.

Thanks for the advice guys. Hopefully nothing's been damaged from all the pulling and levering. Craig mate, I suppose I didn't try dropping the engine because it looked like it would be easier to lift it and not have to concern myself with removing ball joints, track rod ends, driveshafts and prop shaft. The other reason is that I've never done this before. Charles.

Hi folks, I've been trying to swap out an engine in my 97 (BG5B) GTB but didn't succeed. The big ends went on it a couple of months ago so I thought I would save myself some cash and educate myself by buying a low mileage twin-turbo block doing the swap myself. How hard could it be right ? With the wonders of modern technology (Internet search) and Visa, I managed to source a low mileage 98+ (BH5/BE5) TT engine from Import Car Parts. It looks a bit different but I'm confident it will work with my car . Anyway, I disconnected everything and drained everything that needed drained and attempted to hoist the engine out of the car. Four hours of tugging, pulling and lifting, saw us split the engine away from the transmission by only about 3/4" . It didn't help that the four guys helping me were all Vauxhall men (Non of them are Burberry fashion models by the way). So far I haven't managed to convince them that a Subaru is the way to go. They've all done engine swaps in their Novas, Corsas and Calibras but have never had Touretts like with the Subaru. My other half has already done the "I told you so" thing and all of a sudden that price I was quoted by those good chaps in Perth doesn't seem so high after all. Sp peeps, anybody got any words of wisdom? How do I get the engine out? Please don't say pull harder. We did that and nearly pulled the car off the axle stands. In the mean time, I'll keep scratching my head, and try not to look for bargains on cars beginning with 'V'. Cheers, Charles. PS. God I miss the burble!!!!

UKLegacies? Don't know anything about them and a Google search didn't come up with much. Aside from swapping out the engine, I'm just renewing a few things and tidying up a few others (brake discs + pads, caliper reconditioning, respraying the front and rear bumpers to tidy up the stone chips (maybe even the bonnet if the bumpers come out ok), fix aircon. All the little jobs I should have done a while ago but never got to. I'm not doing any performance modifications just yet but a single turbo conversion and ECU replacement is tempting. The problem with doing the single turbo route is that the car will be off the road longer than I'd like it to be. We'll see.

Chesney, finally, there are more of us. Duncan, nice to see you've come out of the woodwork. I've got a '97 GTB (see avatar) but is resting at the moment. The big ends went a couple of months ago so she's off the road. I've got a replacement engine going in as soon as I get my finger out and I'm also taking the opportunity to carry out a few odd jobs as well. Hopefully she should look and drive like brand new when I'm done. I'm hoping to have the car ready for the AWD open day so maybe we can meet up. Welcome aboard anyway. Charles.

Really hope to be there for this one. Fingers crossed the Legacy will be out of hibernation.

I'm not entirely sure since I only heard it from the passenger seat. To me it sounded like it was more top end but maybe I'm trying to be optimistic for him. I'd have to listen to it again. Unfortunately, my mate has stopped driving the car because he doesn't want to make things worse than they are.