Kilroy

3" DP from both turbos down to a 2.5" Y pipe. 3" from the Y all the way to the back, no cats. Nice low rumble and not too loud.

Don't cut the stock wiring harness off. Once you have a wiring diagram (I have a manual in PDF, but it's 32MB), simply put spade connectors on the radio side connections and then cut the spade connectors down the center with wire cutters to make them half as wide. Plug them into the appropriate plugs on the harness (they should fit quite tight if you cut them properly) and you are done. This way you can put the stock stereo back into the vehicle when you sell it and it will take you no time at all. If you have a way that I can get 32MB to you, let me know and I'll send you the entire manual.

I made this short video yesterday to send to people who have been asking me exactly what/where the noise was and things went from bad to worse. You'll notice it idles nicely at the beginning, but at the end it's a constant knocking now.

Who's your friend in Edmonton? I used William at JDM Connection to handle importing my vehicle. I've read that the EJ20H (and EJ20R) are quite reliable engines as long as you keep the oil topped up (and changed regularily) and don't over-detonate. I would think that a rebuild with all new forged internals and cleaned passageways should take care of any reliability issues, no?

From reading info on this and other Soob boards, the single turbo is the way to go. I'm just concerned about what is required as far as the wiring goes. I've been trying to find an aftermarket ECU (current ECU is VERY limiting) and I read that this motor already has forged pistons (THAT really surprised me).

I'm looking at doing a rebuild on the motor in my '94 JDM Legacy GT Wagon (EJ20H) and I've been quoted roughly $5K to do the job including pulling and reinstalling the engine. The motor starts knocking badly once I hit 2000 RPM, so I'm thinking it spun a bearing, but until we get in there there's no real way to tell. I've crawled all over the engine top and bottom trying to nail down where the sound is coming from, but there is no real way to tell even with a stethoscope. I was originally going to pull the motor and tear it down myself, but I only have experience with EJ22 engines and this twin turbo setup could be a real monster. Even changing spark plugs is a PITA, you have to remove pipes and wires just to get at them. :-\ I'm looking for other options to spend my $5K on while the motor is out and perhaps increase the HP numbers and still have a reliable vehicle. Any options other than just a rebuild (different engine, switching to single turbo, etc.) will have to include rewiring, which could be a nightmare. I considered purchasing another EJ20H and dropping it in, but then I have no idea what kind of shape the inside of the motor is in and I'm back to square one. The work will all be done at a performance shop which has extensive experience with Subaru engines. Thoughts? Options?

Hit that paint with some Turtle Wax Color Back and watch the oxidation disappear. I restored the original paint on a 1964 Rambler Classic with Color Back (the car was originally bought by a great-uncle, never garaged) and it looked like new paint when I was done.

MAF. Sounds exactly the same as the problems I had with my 1990 Leggy w/auto. and replacing the MAF fixed it.

I'm not sure about the accent (the only Canadians that say 'aboot' are those damned frenchies to the east), but I notice now and then that I say 'eh?' quite a bit to change a sentence from a statement to a question. I didn't really notice until I was visiting a friend in Seattle and I asked him if I was using it a lot, turns out I was. :-\ I still haven't found the wax I want (Turtle Wax Color Cure). It turns out it has been discontinued and replaced by their 'ICE' line of products. I used the Color Cure on my Acura RL and it's phenominal for hiding small scratches as it comes with a little lipstick tube of hard wax that you run across your scratches to fill them in and then you use the colored liquid wax over them. Voila! No more scratch. Zymol is supposed to be (arguably) the best wax on the market and I have tried it, but it is light blue and every little nick or scratch is filled with it and turned light blue. Not good on a deep red (or deep green, as my RL was) vehicle. I've purchased the ICE wax and cleaner ($40!!) and will give it a shot soon, but it's been raining on and off here several times a day for the last few days. 5 minute rain, add dust/pollen and your vehicle looks like crap again. I went out to check the spark plugs on the car yesterday, figuring it would be a simple procedure as most cars are. I couldn't even see the damned things, let alone find them! That engine bay is packed tighter than a flamer on gay pride day! And good luck finding a manual for the car/engine. Any manual I would be able to find would probably be in Japanese anyways.

Nice. Very nice. I wish I could find a place like that with a great backdrop in my area. I'll have to settle for pics of my car with chicks and titties all over it.

Yes, I am in Canada. My vehicle was 15 years old and legal to import on April 1/09, I believe they have to be 25 years old to import to the US. You may be able to get around this by purchasing a JDM vehicle in Canada and bringing it into the US, but make sure you contact the proper authorities before you attempt this just to be sure. I received my car about 2 weeks ago and it passed the out-of-province inspection and was registered/plated yesterday. I must say it's a blast to drive. I was originally looking for a manual, but they can't be had in the EJ20H engine until 1996 (when it changes to an EJ20R and 276HP). I got a nice surprise when I was inspecting it and changing/checking all my fluids. It has coilovers!! My 17s fit perfectly and it handles like it's on rails, completely flat cornering. My sound system took me 4 days to install (I'm very picky) and I'm heading outside to add some Dynamat to the trunk door as dual 12s cause some vibration at higher SPLs. I'll add some pics once I've completed the detailing, but I'm having a hell of a time finding the wax I want to use on the car. With regards to the 'valley of death', I don't really notice it unless I am watching for it under moderate-hard acceleration, but it's definitely there. At ~65 MPH it seems to be the sweet spot for cruising and the boost comes on instantly for quick passing. It pulls like a bull up to 100MPH (that's as fast as I have had it). The speedo tops out at 180 km/h (as do all other JDMs up to 2003) and apparently there is a 190 km/h limiter, but I don't intend to find out. Other little unique touches that I can't get in a 1994 North America spec car: Power mirrors that fold flat to the car with the touch of a button (for tight parking spaces) Heated mirrors Heated wiper fluid A winter traction mode? (Keeps the transmission in the current gear, button says HOLD AT and has a snowflake icon) Dual sunroofs Tweeters in the front doors by the mirrors and in the rear firing forwards (not down) in the ceiling just inside the hatch.

That's the way to do it. I pull both the engine and transmission together. It makes it much easier separating the transmission from the engine when it is hanging in the air as the alignment pins can really bind. When you have the whole thing in front of you it makes the separation much easier. You should be able to do the whole pull in under 2 hours, even if it's your first time.

That's exactly what it is, the time from the first turbo to max out and the second to spool up. I contacted a guy in the area who imports vehicles from Japan and has people in Japan to do his inspections and cleanup before exporting. He forwards me potential vehicles coming to auction and I review them and let him know if there are any I am interested in. My requirements were pretty high, so it took a couple of months to find one that I liked.

I've been doing some reading on a few other Subaru boards and some say the turbo lag is quite bad while others say it's not too bad. It seems there is at least a way to minimize the lag with a good boost controller, so I am looking for an Apexi AVC-R right now. I've got to take it easy on the spending though as I just purchased a Yamaha R1 and the wife isn't too pleased. Here's a couple pics of the Subaru in Japan before they shipped it. I've got to put on my wheels and give it a good waxing and I'll post more pics.

I think you are getting close john, but it's not usually the kids....it's the wife.

I've found reference to this in another post, but no solution. My '94 JDM Legacy Twin Turbo Wagon (123,000 km) will arrive in port in about 2 weeks and I am concerned about the reported lag between the first turbo and second turbo. Has anyone here owned or currently owns one of these and had success with minimizing the lag? If so, to what lengths did you have to go to do it? The car will be a daily driver for me, but I do like to give it a push now and then and would like the vehicle to run as smoothly as possible without having to drop a bunch of $$ into it.

According to Kelly Blue Book, $8900 is right on the private party book value for this model with this mileage in good condition, so you should have some wiggle roof on the price. I've test driven the auto and manual 2005 GT Wagons and liked the manual gearbox much better, it just seemed to be much more responsive. Make sure you do a THOROUGH inspection before purchasing, all kinds of things can go wrong with that much distance travelled in a short time.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9910 That poor little engine!

So after all this talk of tightening wheel lugs, what is the proper torque required for an EJ? Is there any difference in torque specs for other vehicles or are they all the same?

The reason I stated $4k-$5k for a '93 Legacy TT is as follows. I've done my homework and viewed Japanese auction house websites using Bablefish to translate and checked a list of over 29,000 past auctions to see what price the '93 Legacy TTs have been going for in their respective conditions over the previous 6 months. I am expecting the prices may go higher due to other interested parties and higher demand come next fall. $500 - The fee for having a company forward me information about upcoming vehicles that match my criteria and then put in the bid and purchase the vehicle for me. They then have it taken to their garage and give it a thorough inspection and forward me detailed photos as well as videos of the vehicle running. I have 3 days to decide if this is the vehicle that I want, at that point I can say no and they take it back to the auction house to be put back on the market. We move onto more potential vehicles at that point. Their fee includes taking it to the shipyard. ~$800 The price of having it shipped to Vancouver where I pick it up, this includes $10,000 in shipping insurance. The shipping fee is based on the size of the vehicle. One should always be ready to see damage on the vehicle from shipping and pay the extra $$$ for insurance to cover it. ~$2300 This is the average price for a 3.5 rated '93 Legacy TT (as of my research in July of this year) with 80,000 km or less. Add another $500-$1000 for a 4.0 rating and lower mileage. 4.5 ratings of this year are very rare and the price goes up considerably. I've budgeted another $1000-$1500 for repairs and have no trouble paying more if the vehicle has a higher rating. The auction house inspectors that do the ratings on the vehicles are very thorough, so you know what you are getting as far as the interior and exterior condition before the sale. My biggest reason for owning one is how unique the car will be in my area. I see Skylines absolutely everywhere, nothing new about those. 280-300 HP in a light car such as this would be pure fun without having to break the bank. I don't expect to take it to the track, but I wouldn't mind seeing a head or two turn.

If I had the space to pull apart, I would absolutely jump at the chance. Like it was stated, at this point you have nothing to lose and everything to learn. I have wanted to do this with my Legacy on many occasions, but it runs very well and there was just no point to doing it. :-\

I plan on purchasing a Legacy Wagon Spec-B TT next fall when they become legal to import. I will pay somewhere in the $4k-$5k range (including shipping), depending on the condition it is in at the auction. That's what I would pay for a toy with the TT in it.

2nd cat? Are there 2 catalytic converters on U.S. cars?

I added a larger 2.5" exhaust and totally took out the cat on my '90 Legacy (180,000 km) and put on a 'racing' muffler. Other than it being louder, I didn't notice any power difference. Has anyone verified that doing this on a 2.2L NA makes any difference?