My first Subaru Legacy

[Guest]

Ok so I just got my first Subaru Legacy on the weekend, Its a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT-B 100% stock fresh import. Anyways I had some questions I was hoping some people could help me with.

First one was how do I tell if its a facelift model?

Also since this is my first turbo car what kind of maintenance should I be doing?

Third I want to get a turbo timer for the car, whats a good kind? anyone got any good online suppliers?

Cheers for any help anyone can offer

[Joker]

would not stress about timer, just drive nice for last km

[Divine]

Post a photo, then we can tell if its FL

Make sure it always has good oil in it.

If you are wanting parts for your vehicle, like Turbo Timers, I would recommend trying www.fortyone.co.nz , there NZ based and all parts are genuine, also if you become a ClubSUB member, you can get discounts off their products!

[funkytown]

maintenance wise a oil change and service every 5000kms and run it on 98 always. Dont beat it when its cold, and treat it nice (no boosting) a few minutes before you want to shut it down.

Face lift or not, post up and exterior pic and one of the tag on the passenger side strut tower. If it says BH5Dxxx then its facelift, if its BH5a/b/c its not.

and welcomes along lots of info here.

[Guest]

welcome

[gazzy2000]

welcome mate, keep an eye on the centre diff on those, they are prone to crap out, the way to test it is a long hot drive in a 100km zone then find a quiet street to do lock to lock turns and listen/feel for any binding.

If it is crook It feels and sounds like all your CVs are stuffed. I have a thread with a very cheap fix if it does crap out.. youd need to knw how to swing a spanner pretty good though, but either way you can avoid a $1500 bill

enjoy your stay!

[GravelBen]

2002 will be Rev-D facelift as they brought that out mid-01.

Maintenance-wise pretty much what others have said - don't drive it hard until properly warmed up, feed it 98 if possible, don't worry about turbotimer just drive gently/off boost the last minute or two of a trip.

Use fully synthetic oil, I prefer 5w40 but some people go for 5w30. Factory schedule is every 10k but if you drive it hard often you may way to change it every 5k instead - generally I do oil every 5k and filter every 10k.

[Guest]

Hey thanks for all the replies, Here are some photos of the car and a photo of the plate on the passenger side strut tower. There are a few things I wanna tidy up on the car and it needs a good wash/polish but yeah I've been very happy with it since I brought it. Also very glad I found this forum some awesome stuff on here.

 gazzy2000 said:

welcome mate, keep an eye on the centre diff on those, they are prone to crap out, the way to test it is a long hot drive in a 100km zone then find a quiet street to do lock to lock turns and listen/feel for any binding.

If it is crook It feels and sounds like all your CVs are stuffed. I have a thread with a very cheap fix if it does crap out.. youd need to knw how to swing a spanner pretty good though, but either way you can avoid a $1500 bill

enjoy your stay!

Thanks for the tip I will check this out this weekend.

Was reading your single turbo conversation thread last night gazzy2000, Im pretty keen to do the some at some later stage but for now I need a good reliable car.

Would it pay to do a full service on it? since its a fresh import? like radiator flush, gearbox oil etc etc? Also I was warming it up this morning and heard a strange bubbling sound when I turned off the stereo in the car? kind of like when an oil heater is warming up is this something I should be worried about/get checked soon?

[Kiwi_Fozze]

model bh5d... so its a revision d, and therefore a facelift?

[BlkPnthr]

Yup it's a Rev D and therefore facelift, that was the last of that shape. Also looks like it's an E-Tune too so a tiny bit more friendly on gas than previous models

[Kiwi_Fozze]

and a reflashable ecu

[webup]

 Sign said:

Ok so I just got my first Subaru Legacy on the weekend, Its a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT-B 100% stock fresh import. Anyways I had some questions I was hoping some people could help me with.

First one was how do I tell if its a facelift model?

Also since this is my first turbo car what kind of maintenance should I be doing?

Third I want to get a turbo timer for the car, whats a good kind? anyone got any good online suppliers?

Cheers for any help anyone can offer

Congrats on the car but I would question why you would buy the BH twin turbo? these things are the dog of the Subaru family in as much as Subaru had more problems with these than almost any other model.

The 4th Gen is light years ahead of the BH could you not have opted for the newer model with higher kms?

[Lampard]

Nice wagon you got there!

Was wondering if you imported it yourself?

[Guest]

nice touring wagon

dont listen to what people say power wise, you obviously got it for comfort and style rather than brute power

[GravelBen]

 webup said:

Congrats on the car but I would question why you would buy the BH twin turbo? these things are the dog of the Subaru family in as much as Subaru had more problems with these than almost any other model.

Whats with the BH-hate on here? Sure the 4th-gen might be a bit better but its not like they're bad cars, much better than BG's for a start! And yes I like the TT setup too, smooth linear power delivery from 2000rpm right through to 7500.

As for problems, the only one I've had in 40,000km is a dud MAP sensor which I replaced for $40.

[BlkPnthr]

I think people hate on them if they've experienced troubles with them in the past. No doubt the BP/BL is a nicer car, but so are generally all newer models. Nothing wrong with BH's if you treat them nicely, which is the same with all Subarus IMO

[whatchain]

great looking car you got there. i have a BE5 which is a sedan version of yours. it goes great. but the only thing is that there are not many aftermarket parts you can get for it.

[Guest]

 BlkPnthr said:

I think people hate on them if they've experienced troubles with them in the past. No doubt the BP/BL is a nicer car, but so are generally all newer models. Nothing wrong with BH's if you treat them nicely, which is the same with all Subarus IMO

all cars IMO

[webup]

 GravelBen']

[quote name='webup said:

Congrats on the car but I would question why you would buy the BH twin turbo? these things are the dog of the Subaru family in as much as Subaru had more problems with these than almost any other model.

/quote]

Whats with the BH-hate on here? Sure the 4th-gen might be a bit better but its not like they're bad cars, much better than BG's for a start! And yes I like the TT setup too, smooth linear power delivery from 2000rpm right through to 7500.

As for problems, the only one I've had in 40,000km is a dud MAP sensor which I replaced for $40.

Perhaps you're right I should have worded it differently.

Nice cars especially in their first 4 years of life but these 3rd gen cars were keeping mechanics busy

[legacy666]

yeah get a full service done including fuel filter

[Guest]

 webup']

Ok so I just got my first Subaru Legacy on the weekend, Its a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT-B 100% stock fresh import. Anyways I had some questions I was hoping some people could help me with.

First one was how do I tell if its a facelift model?

Also since this is my first turbo car what kind of maintenance should I be doing?

Third I want to get a turbo timer for the car, whats a good kind? anyone got any good online suppliers?

Cheers for any help anyone can offer

Congrats on the car but I would question why you would buy the BH twin turbo? these things are the dog of the Subaru family in as much as Subaru had more problems with these than almost any other model.

The 4th Gen is light years ahead of the BH could you not have opted for the newer model with higher kms?

Tbh I went into this abit blind, was abit of a rush purchase. My neighbour is an importer and I got the car at around $6g, Which after a quick search on trade me it seemed to be a good price. Im learning alot about the car now doing my research, doesnt seem to bad.

yeah get a full service done including fuel filter

Yeah I figured this was the case, Its on list to do asap, gotta find a free weekend though

[quote name='BF5GT90 said:

nice touring wagon

dont listen to what people say power wise, you obviously got it for comfort and style rather than brute power

Yeah I really love the comfort of the car, I came from a BMW and this car is as comfy if not smoother and more comfy than my BMW.

No one have any ideas on the bubbling sound I hear when the car is warming up? My brother reckons its just what subys do having air in the lines or something?

[Lampard]

I want a wagon now lol. =D

[GravelBen]

 Sign said:

No one have any ideas on the bubbling sound I hear when the car is warming up? My brother reckons its just what subys do having air in the lines or something?

A few bubbling/gurgling noises from the heater are pretty common and nothing to worry about AFAIK.

[Jord]

6k landed and complied? Damn thats cheap! how many ks on the clock?

[gazzy2000]

regarding the bubbling noise - i'd be inclined to change the coolant anyways if it hasnt been done. Lot of imported cars taht are coming up 10y/o always seem to have the original jap coolant (unless well serviced in japan - and if there is no proof who knows) and coolant looses its anti corrossive properties after 3 -5 years. SO it is very much worth changing and that gives you the chance to bleed the cooling system properly to get rid of the bubbling noise.

May as well do a thermostat too, and if your real keen take the radiator out and get it professionally flushed and also fit nice new silcone hoses.. piece of mind brrrooo.

Cant help but think that alot of cars that crack heads may have not had their coolant changed enough or at all, prados come to mind here.

Pro-active is the keyword here i.e. dont wait for it to sh1t itself.