Subaru conversion

[Jilldub]

Sorry to bore you more experienced guys with what’s probably a common question .
 I have looked for hours at several posts on here but still don’t fully understand what I’m doing .
 I’m thinking about doing a Subaru conversion and wondering
1: What parts I need .
2: What is the most cost effective way to do it ?
 I would like to stay with petrol non turbocharged.
My current engine is a 1.9DG.
Also, Can anyone please tell me what a 6 ribbed gearbox is ? Would the linkage exit from the side of the gearbox OR does it exit from the rear of the gearbox?

[multisi]

Buy a running subaru car like a legacy made before 2003  that way you know the engine works ok and the year can be important due to the electrics getting complicated. Take the engine out and ecu and wiring out without cutting the loom and send the loom and ecu to RJES who will have all the conversion parts you need. You keep your gearbox. Look at the RJES website for more info.

[slowcoach]

Some places might supply the engine and wiring loom on a pallet - I did that some years ago, contact HDC Subaru in hebden bridge and explain what you're wanting to do. Agree to reading up on the RJES website!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[Jilldub]

Multisi and slowcoach.
Thank you for replying, I will start making contact with rjes and hdc.

[ManicGTI]

Nick at Subaru Surgery is also helpful, I used a combination of his and RJES parts.

I found a doner car, Nick broke it for me and shipped me engine and modified loom/ECU on a pallet.   Well worth it.

Pre~2003 cars avoid the added complexity of Canbus looms and sticks to cable throttle.

RJES site has a wealth of infomation, have a read through it.

[J P]

Sorry to bore you more experienced guys with what’s probably a common question .
 I have looked for hours at several posts on here but still don’t fully understand what I’m doing .
 I’m thinking about doing a Subaru conversion and wondering
1: What parts I need .
2: What is the most cost effective way to do it ?
 I would like to stay with petrol non turbocharged.
My current engine is a 1.9DG.
Also, Can anyone please tell me what a 6 ribbed gearbox is ? Would the linkage exit from the side of the gearbox OR does it exit from the rear of the gearbox?

Hi

I'm in the process of converting my camper to a syncro and will be looking to replace the Subaru 2.0 with a 2.5 or 3.0 Subaru engine to cope with bigger wheels and extra weight. I also have a syncro pickup with a 2.5 Subaru CAN bus engine which given the larger wheels requires the extra oomph.

I currently have a MY 2000 Subaru Impreza NA 2.0L engine in the camper. The engine has a reversed coolant manifold performed by RJES. In May last year I replaced the timing belt, idlers and water pump. The oil pump was also inspected and did not require replacement, it had suffered loosening of the backplate screws which is a common Subaru fault but these are now adequately secured. Also in April 2022, I fitted a new clutch.

Coupled with this is a custom made stainless steel exhaust made by Pro-Speed Exhausts here in Cardiff and came with a lifetime warranty. It's a 4-2-1 design with 4 equal length initial header pipes which merge either side of the gearbox, forward of the gearbox a further merge then on to a large silencer under the left floor pan. This then returns to the rear left where a further silencer is fitted. The overall length of the exhaust may seem extensive but provides provides maximum torque unlike the short rear of the engine designs some people fabricate. I forget the tube dimensions but the wall thickness is considerable and is of solid design. 

The Subaru Impreza the engine was removed from had 89K on the clock and since fitting the engine back in 2015 has covered 33K in my camper, so in total 121K miles. The engine has been regularly serviced and with the recent cam belt change is good for many years. 

The wiring loom is neat and comes with a speed pickup fitted to the speedo. Two Subaru keys are provided although I've only ever left the one key in the ignition barrel close to the ECU.

The engine is still fitted but will be removed very soon. If you are interested, then you are welcome to to take it for a test drive before removal. Below are some pictures from when I fitted the engine. I will find some pictures of the exhaust. The package will include:

2.0 EJ20 Impreza NA Engine MY2000, with recent timing belt (April 2022)
Solid flywheel with recent clutch (April 2022)
Starter Motor
Adapted wiring loom with wiring diagrams
ECU, Ignition Barrel with Imm Module, 2 Keys
Reversed Coolant Manifold - RJES


You will need to buy from RJES a bellhousing, coolant kit and air induction kit.

The engine absolutely transformed the camper which is quite a sleeper and has shocked numerous other drivers. With the soft suspension, the front end does lift a little when accelerating. Any searching between third and fourth on all but the worst of hills is eliminated. It really is a joy to drive.

PS As with all Subaru conversion, the oil sump hangs low and I have been intending to change this as it has a small dent. I will include a spare - which I had intended to shorten but never got round to it. It's fine as it is but you could put a shortened sump on your shopping list or just bolt on the spare.

Cheers

[Jilldub]

JP. Thank you. PM sent.

[DoubleOSeven]

Nice write up - looks good.

Stick some Bilstein B6’s up front - to reduce the lift.

https://brickwerks.co.uk/product/damper ... -b6-sport/

[ManicGTI]

 

Hi

I'm in the process of converting my camper to a syncro and will be looking to replace the Subaru 2.0 with a 2.5 or 3.0 Subaru engine to cope with bigger wheels and extra weight. I also have a syncro pickup with a 2.5 Subaru CAN bus engine which given the larger wheels requires the extra oomph.

Nice clean install!

Out of interest, what year/spec was the doner car you used for the 2.5 Canbus conversion?  - And what solution did you go for sorting the canbus emulation etc?  Or did you ditch the OEM ECU and go fully aftermarket?

I was in conversation with AGT in Australia to sort out a canbus loom for me as I was close to buying a 2008 2.5 Legacy....then came across a 2001 2.5 (SOHC) doner which made my life a lot easier.  AGT have a neat solution to some of the later engine loom complexities.

Shortened sump also makes the install a load easier, just jack it up on the falt sump!  Nick at Subaru Surgery did mine.

[J P]

Nice write up - looks good.

Stick some Bilstein B6’s up front - to reduce the lift.

https://brickwerks.co.uk/product/damper ... -b6-sport/

Thanks, I've got a pair ready for the rebuild funnily enough. I'll have to start a thread soon to document the build
 

[J P]

 

Hi

I'm in the process of converting my camper to a syncro and will be looking to replace the Subaru 2.0 with a 2.5 or 3.0 Subaru engine to cope with bigger wheels and extra weight. I also have a syncro pickup with a 2.5 Subaru CAN bus engine which given the larger wheels requires the extra oomph.

Nice clean install!

Out of interest, what year/spec was the doner car you used for the 2.5 Canbus conversion?  - And what solution did you go for sorting the canbus emulation etc?  Or did you ditch the OEM ECU and go fully aftermarket?

I was in conversation with AGT in Australia to sort out a canbus loom for me as I was close to buying a 2008 2.5 Legacy....then came across a 2001 2.5 (SOHC) doner which made my life a lot easier.  AGT have a neat solution to some of the later engine loom complexities.

Shortened sump also makes the install a load easier, just jack it up on the falt sump!  Nick at Subaru Surgery did mine.

Thanks mate. The engine was from a 2004 MK4 Legacy 2.5 for my syncro pickup. I shortened the sump myself to be no lower than the RJES crossmember. I sorted the CAN bus myself and had a PCB manufactured to keep everything neat, this sorted the ABS emulation and also added signal generation for to run the Corsa EPAS.

You can see the build when I was still investigating the electrics here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KddRcLUPjWo