B4 Legacy Buying Tips

[flange]

Hey guys

I'm looking into buying a B4 rsk Legacy after I sell a car and am wondering a few things.

I've used the search function but still have a few Qs.

If I buy a higher KM car (160-200k) are there any usual problems these cars have? My flatmate has a turbo Forester with over 200k on it and it runs fine...

There's a few on Trademe for 5.5k or less that I'm interested in (manual ones). I've been in and around cars for years so have no problems with performing substantial services if I pick one up. Would it be wise to pick one of these up if they've got nothing wrong with them? What sort of servicing should I be looking at if the car is 190km+

Pretty excited to get into something different so just looking to hear from people that use the cars and live with maintenance and costs.

Cheers

[D-Style]

Luck of the draw with these cars....

I would try and go for a 2002 rev "D" model if you can afford.

Whatever B4 you buy, drop the sump and give the oil pick-up and the turbo feed lines a clean out.

[Kiwiflyboy]

I agree with dstyle on the rev d model. However I got a tidy rev c and have had no problems with it other than a knock sensor that was broken.

Make sure you get what ever one you chose fully checked over by someone that has worked on these cars as they can tell you exactly what you could be in for.

[Jord]

Service history! As they get cheaper thats when people start skipping oil changes and cutting corners with maintainence. I would look for ones with minimal mods too, though its normally pretty easy to pick which ones have been owned by a idiot.

Let it warm up then give it a bootful on the motorway to 6.5k rpm to check both turbos are operating. Can be problematic trying to sort out boost issues on these if you arent familiar with the system.

Do a couple of full lock turns to test for any unusual noises, it wont make a happy noise if the centre diff is poked.

Apart from that just the normal checks you would do when buy a secondhand car.

They are great cars if well maintained and can be had for a tidy price if you keep eye out. Enjoy!

[Cloud]

Great cars. Just make sure both turbos are working

[Wiretap]

Best avoid anything with any more than an axle/diff-back exhaust. They tend to be a bit picky.

RevD is well worth it, since they can be re-tuned without ECUTek.

[flange]

Awesome, exactly the kind of info I'm after.

What is the difference between Rev C, Rev D etc..

Does this have to do with the year of the car and the engine?

I'm slowly building a list of things that should be checked or replaced if I get one:

Check:

O2 sensor

knock sensor

correct boost pressure for both primary and secondary turbo

Clean oil pick up and turbo feed and return lines

Clean air filter out

Oils (Engine, Box, Diffs)

Are there any seals or anything that tend to let go after a while?

Do they run average or damage the engine/turbos with turbos back exhaust?

Not really looking for something that's fast, just after something that's better than your average daily. I'm fairly sure the b4 is going to be this car.

Sorry for the amount of questions. Will help to know what I'm getting myself into. haha

[Wiretap]

 flange said:

Awesome, exactly the kind of info I'm after.

What is the difference between Rev C, Rev D etc..

Does this have to do with the year of the car and the engine?

I'm slowly building a list of things that should be checked or replaced if I get one:

Check:

O2 sensor

knock sensor

correct boost pressure for both primary and secondary turbo

Clean oil pick up and turbo feed and return lines

Clean air filter out

Oils (Engine, Box, Diffs)

Are there any seals or anything that tend to let go after a while?

Do they run average or damage the engine/turbos with turbos back exhaust?

Not really looking for something that's fast, just after something that's better than your average daily. I'm fairly sure the b4 is going to be this car.

Sorry for the amount of questions. Will help to know what I'm getting myself into. haha

Exhaust mods cause overboosting and/or detonation issues (mine was boosting 1.3-1.4bar until the ECU was swapped to a Prova tuned one, supposed to run 1.0bar)

Revision is the model of the car, it's easier than referring to them by year. BE5A = RevA, 1998-1999; BE5B = RevB, 1999-2000, etc... Check the Applied Model Code under the hood for these, you're only interested in the first four digits.

These things are fuel-hungry to say the least, are you concerned about gas mileage, if so I'd suggest you might want to look at the RS30 instead.

[Kiwiflyboy]

The rocker cover gaskets with age harden and start leaking straight into the exhaust manifold. Bitch of job to replace as well. Easy to tell if it is leaking drive the car and get it hit u will smell the oil burning. As for the fuel consumption I would say its ok depending on how u drive it. Open road I get 10l/100km around town 12.5l/100km

[Wiretap]

 Kiwiflyboy said:

The rocker cover gaskets with age harden and start leaking straight into the exhaust manifold. Bitch of job to replace as well. Easy to tell if it is leaking drive the car and get it hit u will smell the oil burning. As for the fuel consumption I would say its ok depending on how u drive it. Open road I get 10l/100km around town 12.5l/100km

I used to get between 15l/100km open road and 19l/100km around town No wonder the dealers were so keen to be rid of it.

[flange]

Oh ok. Should have assumed it would have been over boosting issues. Will using a electronic boost controller fix this?

So are the later Rev C/Rev D models that much better than the Rev B model?

Wont be looking to get it re-tuned in the time I anticipate owning it

The fuel consumption is my biggest hold back about this car, but is it that bad?

I'm using the car mainly for long journeys and short runs around town.

Probably 100km a week on general driving and 250km long trips every couple of weeks.

What sort of km do these get off a tank? and how big are the tanks?

Wont be heavy on the foot unless I need to, up hill or overtaking/merging

[Wiretap]

 flange said:

Oh ok. Should have assumed it would have been over boosting issues. Will using a electronic boost controller fix this?

So are the later Rev C/Rev D models that much better than the Rev B model?

Wont be looking to get it re-tuned in the time I anticipate owning it

The fuel consumption is my biggest hold back about this car, but is it that bad?

I'm using the car mainly for long journeys and short runs around town.

Probably 100km a week on general driving and 250km long trips every couple of weeks.

What sort of km do these get off a tank? and how big are the tanks?

Wont be heavy on the foot unless I need to, up hill or overtaking/merging

Don't use an EBC on TTs, they get confused and you end up with massive boost spikes as the secondary comes in, it'll eventually pop...

Rev A/B/C are mostly the same, RevD is the facelift with the newer headlights and the smarter ECU (blackout cluster, clear side indicators, etc)

The high fuel consumption was as a result of having a different exhaust (dealer fitted in japan , it'd had these issues a long time) messing with the air metering (don't ask, complicated) and yes also the overboosting.

They run a 64L tank, I've seen around 350L from a tank but I haven't done any long distance drivign since swapping ECUs, I'm getting around 11.2l/100km now around town by my calculations.

If fuel economy is a concern, don't buy a TT

[flange]

 Wiretap said:

Don't use an EBC on TTs, they get confused and you end up with massive boost spikes as the secondary comes in, it'll eventually pop...

Rev A/B/C are mostly the same, RevD is the facelift with the newer headlights and the smarter ECU (blackout cluster, clear side indicators, etc)

The high fuel consumption was as a result of having a different exhaust (dealer fitted in japan , it'd had these issues a long time) messing with the air metering (don't ask, complicated) and yes also the overboosting.

They run a 64L tank, I've seen around 350L from a tank but I haven't done any long distance drivign since swapping ECUs, I'm getting around 11.2l/100km now around town by my calculations.

If fuel economy is a concern, don't buy a TT

Oh o.k makes sense again,

So the Rev D is the best but not too much difference between them huh?

Well that's good to know. Fitting up a diff back exhaust system just to get the car sounding better doesn't affect boost or fuel issues?

Oh sweet as, it's not too much of a concern. Seems fairly similar fuel consumption to the car I'm using now. 300km+ haha plus the car is much newer which should mean its more efficient. It sounds like its worth paying the extra comfort and power on tap.

Anyone running 240km+ in their ej20 and still running strong?

[Wiretap]

 flange']

[quote name='Wiretap said:

Don't use an EBC on TTs, they get confused and you end up with massive boost spikes as the secondary comes in, it'll eventually pop...

Rev A/B/C are mostly the same, RevD is the facelift with the newer headlights and the smarter ECU (blackout cluster, clear side indicators, etc)

The high fuel consumption was as a result of having a different exhaust (dealer fitted in japan , it'd had these issues a long time) messing with the air metering (don't ask, complicated) and yes also the overboosting.

They run a 64L tank, I've seen around 350L from a tank but I haven't done any long distance drivign since swapping ECUs, I'm getting around 11.2l/100km now around town by my calculations.

If fuel economy is a concern, don't buy a TT

/quote]

Oh o.k makes sense again,

So the Rev D is the best but not too much difference between them huh?

Well that's good to know. Fitting up a diff back exhaust system just to get the car sounding better doesn't affect boost or fuel issues?

Oh sweet as, it's not too much of a concern. Seems fairly similar fuel consumption to the car I'm using now. 300km+ haha plus the car is much newer which should mean its more efficient. It sounds like its worth paying the extra comfort and power on tap.

Anyone running 240km+ in their ej20 and still running strong?

My exhaust system is only diff-back, and that's the troubles it caused, any more and it'll be much worse.

I know of a BF5 that is running mint on its original engine at well over 300,000km by now.

[D-Style]

Have you ever driven a TT legacy? must sure you can get used to living with the VOD.....

[Kiwiflyboy]

where in the country are you from flange? if you around chch you can come around and ill show ya what mine goes like stock and u can see what VOD is and give you a few tips on what to look for?

[flange]

Oh really, seems strange that even an exhaust tip can change boost levels and economy. Does it make it that much worse?

Na I haven't experienced the VOD yet D-Style I think I can understand the points where you don't want to change etc so should be all good

Cheers Kiwiflyboy but I'm up in Hamilton. I really want to have a close look and chat with someone that ones one go for a ride etc. so if anyone in this area could, let me know.

Where do oil leaks tend to be on ej20s?

[Marky]

Wiretap sounds like you got short changed or drive like Dom Toretto

My BH's (B4 shape wagon) economy was pretty much a case of if we got less than 450km to a tank, wifey figured I'd been fanging it. Had a 3" Y-pipe back exhaust and 16-18psi boost.

My current older one is similar, has gotten better mileage with bigger exhaust and runs 16psi on primary and secondary.

As everyone has said - usual stuff, just pay particular attention to the TT system working properly, try and start it from cold if you can - I'm always a little wary of any test drive where the owner has warmed it up "for me" - dodgy AFM / etc problems or knocky engines always show signs when cold which may be masked when warm.

Comes down to how much you fix yourself as well - knock sensor / afm problems while common aren't hard fixes or pricey.

You could pick up the factory standard car with meticulous servicing which got fanged from cold by the owners son every weekend, or you could get the boganed up one with big wheels and loud muffler which has been babied everywhere as wifeys daily driver. Can never really tell for 100% sure.

[Jord]

My car runs 2.5'' turbo back into 3'' tail section with hi-flow cats. Runs 15psi rock solid,no spikes. Around town fuel consumption is pretty bad but open road is pretty good, I did Wellington to Hamilton with just under 1/3 tank left. 98 octane helps with consumption.

[Wiretap]

 Jord said:

My car runs 2.5'' turbo back into 3'' tail section with hi-flow cats. Runs 15psi rock solid,no spikes. Around town fuel consumption is pretty bad but open road is pretty good, I did Wellington to Hamilton with just under 1/3 tank left. 98 octane helps with consumption.

In reality one should never run anything BUT 98 in these fussy things. 100 octane may be a myth, but the requirement for 98 in the B4 and STi isn't.

[Jord]

Oh I agree, only had 95 available when I lived in Nelson.