Club 80-90 Forums

right I have made the decision to go Subaru 2.5 quad cam (1998) power in my syncro as my 2.1 is screwed & I don't trust the engine wiring loom so the engine is coming out in 2 weeks!

I am going to ring rjes to get all the bits I need as I believe his compnants for the conversion look great, seem quality

what do I need to make it the most smooth transition, I am doing the work myself, I have done a 1y swap, an AAZ conversion before on other vans with good results!

my legacy is my daily driver & has been for 6 months!!!! I have already done cambelts/waterpump/servicing so I trust the legacy engine, I need to change the rocker cover gaskets as they are weeping, I may swap the headgaskets although I have had no issues in the Subaru!

is there anything I need to be weary off any hints/tips/tricks to help me along the way from people that have been there done it!

its took me a long time to make the jump!!! but I want to get it done before the cold wether comes in this winter! how long do you think it will take me, I have all the tools/engine hoist blah blah blah

I plan to get Richard to do my wiring loom as I am a complete retard with numbers/electrics! i'm fine with body/mechanicals & paint/donkey work

do I use the syncro fuel pump or upgrade it?

it seems a very neat engine to swap in!

I will do some pics & a build thread when I make a start!!!

Hi. Last year I went down the Subaru route and haven't looked back. I swapped out my knackered 1.9DG and bought a 2000 plate Impreza Sport with 89K on the clock. I drove the car for a couple of weeks to make sure everything was sweet and then took the plunge.

I'd advise to keep more of the donor than you would like to as I regretted weighing-in some of the parts like the hubs and suspension struts - the number of people I had contacting me, I could have recovered even more of my outlay. As it happens I still have a host of parts left over to eBay (If I can get my act together), but I'm still in profit and got an engine and electrics from it!

I too went for the RJES parts, the obvious ones are the bellhousing and the engine support bar, but I also bought the induction kit, coolant kit, shortened alternator belt, accelerator cable and had my coolant header reversed. I held off buying some of the later, but pricing up the various rubber hoses and and adaptors for both the coolant and induction pipework, Richard's solution was a no brainer and makes the whole installation look like a factory fit.

The main stumbling points for me were sorting the engine bay rust, retrieving the clutch release fork from the old bellhousing, an exhaust system and getting the engine to start. The rust was straight forward but time consuming to do it right. The exhaust I had fabricated at a local bespoke exhaust manufacturer (Pro-Speed, Cardiff), the pictures below show the single box system, I later had an additional box fitted for quieter cruising although I did enjoy turning heads. One more thing, I had a big problem with the exhaust studs and I ended up having to drill out and helicoil all six.

I converted the loom myself and was hopeful at first turnover having checked everything meticulously, but she failed to start and found I had an immobiliser fault. I taped the ignition key to the ignition barrel antenna but later found I had to include the ignition barrel itself, reading elsewhere I discovered which seems makes perfect sense, is that the induction loop setup by the active antenna of the immobiliser is highly dependent on the lump of metal of the key barrel. Fitting the barrel resulted in the engine starting straight away, it also provides a convenient place to keep the key which can easily be removed to immobilse the vehicle.

Another thing you'll have to address is the speed sensor to keep the ECU happy (VSS input), I fitted a A3144E hall effect sensor to the speedo where the cruise control speed pickup would be located.

One thing I haven't addressed is the sump. At the moment the sump sits at most about 5 inches off the ground which is fine (I guess) for a road going vehicle but there's always the cut'n'shut method with wings to maintain capacity or the Smallcar alloy sump, but I'm not sure if that works with the RJES engine mount.

The van has been given a new lease of life with the new engine and she drives so well. I may not have achieved the fuel economy I was hoping for, but then again I drive quite spritely and am going everywhere at 70 mph instead of 60. It's great to surprise the occasional driver at the lights - it really makes my day! Flooring the throttle from stand still results in the front of the van lifting - you'll be laughing with the extra torque of your 2.5L. Another nice thing is cruising at 70 needs very little throttle input unlike the flooring required with my old 1.9DG. One day I got the van up to 90 and there seemed to be plenty more go in her, but the my sense got the better of me, my van is comfortable for long drives but has the handling characteristics of a boat.

I know there'll be subtle differences with you converting a syncro but if there's anything you'd like to discuss, then let me know - I'll be happy to help!

Good Luck!



Here's a few snaps from my photobucket (http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/jpluc ... sion/story)

Oops - nearly forgot, my DG engine used a mechanical pump so I fitted an injection pump from eBay (Item: 181590296723). This is still fitted to the van but is a little bit noisy for my liking even though it's mounted in foam and cushioned from the chassis, so I may change this in the near future. You may like to try your existing pump as I suppose it was good for 112bhp so it may well work for your 2.5, but I'm sure there'll be someone who can advise you on this. One thing I did was to use a pre-strainer from the tank output before the pump and the Subaru fuel filter mounted in the engine bay with the Subaru mounting bracket which looks pretty neat.

I've a 2.5 SOHC fitted.
Best thing I ever did. Makes van drive like a modern vehicle (well kinda!)
2.1 fuel pump is fine.

CHILIFINGER!!! thankyou that's just the sort of response I was after, really really appreciated, i have been in two minds of what route to go engine wise with my van ie wether to Subaru or not, or keep my van original with a rebuilt/reconditioned original engine

humming & haaaarrrring but i think i will go Subaru, i have my legacy, been my daily since last year, its a genuine 60k from new FDSH cambelts i have had done including water pump & an oil pump modification at a local Subaru specialist! only thing not done is the head gaskets & i kno my rocker cove/cam cover gaskets are weeping a tiny bit of oil, not enough to make any difference on the oil mount between engine oil changes!

what would you say are the ESSENCIAL PARTS needed for a more or less straight swap from my current engine to my Subaru!

granted i have to remove my Subaru engine 1st & the loom, i think i would probably get Richard jones to mod the loom for me, i'm not the most confident with wiring, plus i want to make the conversion as hassle free as possible
really appreciate your reply!!!!!

Richard jones does something to do with the vss speed sensor i believe?

That's a prime transplant motor you have there!

Well the essential parts are of course the bellhousing and if you're not wanting to tackle the elctrics - the loom with a VSS pickup (Richard can add this to the loom for you), all the rest can be fashioned with what you already have. You haven't said whether it's an auto or not, if so, you would need the flywheel and starter from a manual Subaru.

The RJES extras like the reversed coolant manifold, induction and coolant plumbing kits make the whole installation look neat but you can fashion these from a variety of bends and tubing but the added risk of leaks etc put me off, plus by the time you add up the cost of all parts and jubilees etc, the kits don't seem such a bad idea and save any headaches.

The engine mount could be fashioned from your existing support bar, but the difficulty here is the under body protection of your syncro, I'm not sure how it would interfere with the Subaru sump and exhaust headers. Dai here on the forum has a Subaru 2.5 fitted to his syncro, I'm not sure what configuration he has used, but he's opted for the Smallcar sump and he manufactures a neat exhaust solution which all sits neatly up out of the way at the back of the engine.

I've pulled a few Subaru conversion docs together from when I was looking into the conversion, they're on my Google drive at the moment, let me know if you have any problems accessing it:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also added some modified sump photos - this is a project I have yet to tackle!

When I did my 2WD to Syncro conversion I also installed the EJ25 DOHC that came with the donor vehicle. In the main it was installed with RJES components which came on the donor van (reverse manifold, engine mount, speed sensor etc). The loom on the donor vehicle was in a poor state and practically unusable so Andy at Syncrosport made me a new one up, nice job too.

All I would add to what has already been said is get everything together as much as you can, so that it is all in a nice production line and ready to go in.

I found the conversion very easy to do, although that was probably because it was done alongside the Syncro conversion which was a little more challenging and gave me a bit more to think about at the time.

Also think about getting some other work done whilst you have the engine and gearbox out, i.e rust removal, paint and tank straps etc.

As already said your van will be transformed, good luck.

I documented my whole conversion including the engine swap in a YouTube playlist, which might be useful? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 2AU02Irzk8

although the gearbox has been rebuilt by aiden previously I am planning to get the box out & put it in the boot of the legacy & nip up with it to him to give it a check over! make sure its all up to spec & maybe get the benefit of his experiace to whip the clutch arm off!

my legacy is a manual, so that's a bonus!

currently I have a full 2.1 stainless system my plan was to use an ebay stainless Subaru manifold/downpipe (it was in the boot when I got the car) as the original is blowing at the 1st joint, I have fabbed exhausts before so was going to use both bits to make one good stainless system to sit behind the rear valance!

mark haligan I have watched ya vids & that's an impressive build fella! really enjoyed ya vids!

fortunately my van is basically rust free, just tatty looking! interior is ok, its a stock multivan syncro, twin diff locks, they both work, although the panel on the dash the lights are a bit iffy, sometimes they illuminate to show the difflock is engauged sometimes they don't, on the gravel I can feel the diff locks engauge & disengauge, would be nice to get the illumination panal to work properly though!

the front viscous works but is a little tight after a long drive, not sure what route to go with that yet? could do with some advice but the 1st job is to make her drive again under her own steam!

I have made a expedition type roof tray & part way through converting a Toyota swing out spare wheel carrier to fit the back of the van alongside a paul chen system bike rack & Budnik front bull bar! I have lifted the suspension already with 2wd front springs & the shocks that were on the van as they seem in good order! & MAD rear springs with new sachs OG syncro 14 shocks, a spacer or two where needed, also 16" merc steels

but it don't go no more so its gotta be done! miss driving it! I think I will be pulling the old 2.1 mv out in a week or two so once out the engine bay will get a tidy up

can you still get stainless tank straps????? & a sender unit for the tank????

also with the Subaru conversion do I use the OG 2.1 fuel pump????

now the engine & box is coming out I will probably give the mechanics a bit of a minor overhaul so I can trust the van again, lost some confidence in its reliability since the engine has lost its will to live! I suppose its confidence....? so need to rebuild my confidence in the vans reliability as well as sort the engine out!

i'll get pics of my carry-on with my van once I make a start, hopefully some of the issues I have/overcome may help others along with some advice from you lot!

Also found the fuel filter on my syncro today, its the OG filter from when the van was new!!!!! my van is a 1988 everything on the van seems to have been serviced fairly well apart from it getting a fuel filter-probably as access to the filter is a bit of a sod!

CamperVanCulture do the syncro fuel sender:

http://campervanculture.com/shop/vw-t25 ... nder-unit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm sure I've seen the straps on there before so it may well be worth an enquiry as they do a lot of the gowesty stuff.

Yes you can get s/s tank straps from BW and others but to be honest it's fead easy to repair the originals with strip steel or s/s if you like. Just keep both ends of each and template them for length.. spot weld or rivet. Its the lagging/padding stuff that holds moisture that corrides them usually.
I was always of the opinion that the syncro fuel pump is fine pressure and flow wise for the Subies. However check the body hasn't corroded badly.

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got my vw engine out today, I do have a 2nd hand but meant to be good runner from Mario so a am torn wether tojust drop a vw motor back in as I have it or go Subaru?

got the knackered engine n box out in 8 hrs on my norman bates, came out schweet, may do a bit of a build thread yet, forgot to take my camera phone so have to do pics next time I am on the van