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I don't know if it's possible or not,so that's why I'm asking.My brother has a '89 gl wagon that rusted out and fell apart.Mechanically it's great but the suspension fell out of it.He also has a early 90's Legacy[kind of forget exactly the year right now]with an auto tranny.Is it possible,at least reasonably possible to swap the dual range 5 speed into the Legacy and basically swap all the 4 wheel drive parts of the '89 wagon under the Legacy body hooked up to the 2.2 engine.I know people are swapping the EJ22 engines into the older subarus with an adapter so I didn't know if this was possible or not.Ideally he'd like to find a rust free body for his old wagon but where we're at the older subarus are pretty scarce.Anyway.it's probaly a dumb question but I don't know if I don't ask.

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I don't know if it's possible or not,so that's why I'm asking.My brother has a '89 gl wagon that rusted out and fell apart.Mechanically it's great but the suspension fell out of it.He also has a early 90's Legacy[kind of forget exactly the year right now]with an auto tranny.Is it possible,at least reasonably possible to swap the dual range 5 speed into the Legacy and basically swap all the 4 wheel drive parts of the '89 wagon under the Legacy body hooked up to the 2.2 engine.I know people are swapping the EJ22 engines into the older subarus with an adapter so I didn't know if this was possible or not.Ideally he'd like to find a rust free body for his old wagon but where we're at the older subarus are pretty scarce.Anyway.it's probaly a dumb question but I don't know if I don't ask.

 

Yes its possible to swap the d/r into the legacy but there is quite a few things that need to be done but someone else will know more and where to look for more info!

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People have put d/r 5 speeds in EJ cars before. I have not seen one personally, but I've looked into the swap.

 

The biggest hurdle I can see is the CV axles. If the GL is turbocharged, it will have the correct 25 spline stub shafts to match up with the Legacy axles. If it's non-turbo, it will have 23-spline stubs, in which case you would have to get custom axles...way cheaper to find the correct tranny out of a turbo car.

 

The rear driveshaft may need shortened or lengthened.

 

You will have to weld up some custom tranny mounts. Shouldn't be hard. I've put a Legacy tranny in a GL, and it was an easy fab job to attach the legacy mounts to the GL crossmembers. You should be able to do the same thing in reverse.

 

You will also need to swap the rear differential for one with the proper ratio. The one from the GL may fit. Again, when putting the legacy drivetrain in my GL, the Legacy diff bolted right up and you may be able to do it the other way around. (The legacy probably has a 4.11 ratio, and the GL will have a 3.9 ratio if it's non-turbo and a 3.7 if it's turbo.)

 

The gearshift linkage should be easy enough...may have to weld the GL stuff to the Legacy stuff. Not sure about mounting the 4wd shift lever, but it's been done.

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the biggest hurdle is the adapter plate. the bolt patterns are different and you need to either make or buy an adapter plate. they end up being expensive, so that's usually not what people are after.

 

the axles shouldn't be a problem. if it's a non-turbo there is a FWD impreza axle that is 23 spline, so that solves that.

 

driveshaft may need work like he said. have to check with a shop and see what they charge to do that. most likely going from auto to manual will require lengthening, which is harder and more expensive since you have to use material to lengthen the shaft.

 

though there may be other EJ shafts out there that are longer that might work better?

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