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Guide to Removing the Engine and Electrics from a Subaru
 

Introduction:

  This guide shows you what work is involved in removing the relevant components for a VW conversion from a donor Subaru. It is based on a 1995 Legacy RHD UK spec 2.0 nat asp. The basic principles are similar for all 1990 to current years, and varies very little whether the engine comes from a Legacy, Impreza or Forester. Turbo models are very similar, but have MAP sensors and boost control valves to be removed too.

Disclaimer:

 IMPORTANT NOTE: This guide is for your information only, to show the basic principles. It is not guaranteed to be right for any particular specification of Subaru. In particular, where this guide shows you that it’s OK to cut a harness as it contains no engine management wires, it should not be assumed correct. There are many many variations in Subaru harnesses. If you have any doubt, do not cut any harnesses, and remove more than you expect to need, even if it means dismantling more of the car than you anticipated. RJ Engineered Solutions will not be responsible if you cut wires you need or leave behind critical parts in the Subaru. It also assumes that you are competent working on cars, have at least a basic knowledge of what the main engine management components are, and have all the required tools. This guide assumes that you have already remove the engine from the donor Subaru, and have cut no wires in the process of doing so, although many of the pics show the engine still in for identification of the components.

IMPORTANT RULE:

   The most important rule is ‘If you are unsure whether you need a particular part, get it anyway’. It’s much easier to throw it away later than it is to track one down after the donor car has been scrapped. If you are removing parts at a breaker’s yard, most breaker’s are not too bothered how many extra bits and pieces you take once you have agreed a price for the engine, ECU and harness. If you have any doubt about what wiring is needed, you can’t go too far wrong if you remove all wiring from the front seats forward.

How big a Job is Removing all the Parts from a Donor Subaru?

   Naturally aspirated Subaru engines are very easy to remove. Getting the necessary wiring out of the donor car is not so easy, as it involves removing the dash and everything behind it such as the heater system. It looks a big job, but it’s not as bad as it looks. Almost everything in Subaru’s is held together with screws and blots, so no annoying hidden clips like Ford use. If you have not done one before, expect it to take about 2 hours to remove the engine, and 4 - 5 hours to remove the wiring. Once you are familiar with what is involved you can do it quite a bit quicker. It took two people (one with lots of experience, one with non) less than 3 hours to get everything out of the car shown, including taking about 100 photo’s

Bolt Sizes:
  If you’ve not worked on Japanese cars before, be aware that despite being metric many hexagon sizes will not be the ones you are familiar with for particular threads on VW’s. You’ll need all the in between sizes like 12, 14, 15mm, etc, which are rarely used on European products. Keeping all the fasteners you remove is a good idea - especially the M10 ones

Engine Removal

  

Exhaust and mounts Radiator Throttle cable & induction pipe Power Steering Fuel Hoses Heater Hoses Gearbox Mount Starter / Earth Wire Engine Connectors Check Torque Converter Bell Housing Fasteners Lift Engine Clear Release Bearing VIN Number

   Once the engine is removed, don’t forget to get the following parts from the engine bay:

• All fasteners removed, especially the M10 ones
• The air flow meter, if your donor Subaru has one
• The ignition module if your Subaru has one (centre of bulkhead)
• The induction pipe
• The starter motor (if the donor Subaru is manual)
• The clutch release bearing if you are considering reusing the Subaru clutch
• The turbo control valves (RH inner wing, just in front of strut)
• The lambda sensor
• The sheet metal flywheel cover under the bell housing
• The VIN number

   Also get any other engine bay components for other Subaru features which you may be considering using in your VW (including any relevant wiring), such as the following:

• Air filter box
• Exhaust manifold
• Air conditioning compressor, hoses, condensor, reciever drier and electrical connectors, etc
• Power steering pump, hoses and reservoir
• Cruise control servo, etc

Harness Removal Guide MY95 - MY99:

   Before the harness containing the engine management wiring can be removed from any Subaru, the dash and everything behind it must be removed:
  
  

Dashboard Removal  

Heater Removal

   The main chassis harness is mostly hidden behind the heater, so the heater has to be removed. Once the heater is loose, check that the heater (and air-conditioning, if fitted) hoses are removed from the matrix pipes which go through grommets into the engine bay. Slide the heater back to pull the matrix pipes through the bulkhead:

LH End of Heater Centre of Heater RH End of Heater Heater Removed

Chassis Harness Removal:

   When it comes to removing the chassis harness, the most important rule is don’t cut anything unless you are certain. If you are uncertain, remove more than you think you need.
   If you understand what is involved in removing all the non engine circuits to make an ‘engine only’ harness for a VW, you can speed the job up by cutting rather than disconnecting more of the harness, but doing so is very risky if you don’t understand what’s needed, or if you have an unusual spec Subaru.
   If you have any doubt as to whether any particular bit of wiring is required, get it anyway, or follow the ‘get everything electrical from the front seats forward’ rule

   From inside the car, the chassis harness looks like this:

Chassis Harness Layout Under Dash in MY95 - MY99 Models:

      Key:
        1.  Branch to Main Fuse Box, and Engine Connectors on all '90 - '94 and all Turbo
        2.  Branch to Air Flow Meter, Ign Module, and Turbo Controls
        3.  Branch to Gearbox, and Engine Connectors on '95 --> NON Turbo
        4.  Engine Relay Connectors
        5.  ECU Connectors
        6.  Diagnostic Connectors
        7.  Steering Column Connectors
        8.  SMJ Connectors

   The photo’s below show a UK spec MY95 Legacy GL 2.2, and are MY95 - MY99 modela are all very similar. The general locations of most parts are similar on other model years, even when comparing        Impreza, Legacy and Forester models. The major exceptions to this are the following:

• ECU Location - MY90 - MY94 model Legacies have the ECU in the dash rather then the passenger foot well
• Engine Connector Location - MY90 - MY94 Legacies all have two or three multi pin engine connectors located near the LH rocker cover. All turbo’s have the main engine connectors located here too. For MY95 --> (as shown here) they moved to the bell housing (opposite the starter motor) on naturally aspirated models only. Some models have one multi pin engine connector near the RH rocker cover too.

   Once you have removed all the wiring, make sure you have all the electrical components needed for the conversion, including:

• The chassis harness
• The ECU
• All immobiliser components, if fitted
• All relays, especially the ones with green and brown connectors
• At least the alternator connectors (with as much wire attached as possible) from the front harness

   Also get the electrical components and their connectors for other Subaru features which you may be considering using in your VW (including any relevant wiring), such as the following:

• Cruise control ECU, switches, etc
• Instruments
• UK only - the Cat 1 alarm / immobiliser system
• Air conditioning evaporator, temperature sensor, etc

   All the parts required for a conversion removed. Also shown are some other parts (such as the washer bottle, heater matrix and radiator) which probably won’t be required, but this customer had them anyway, just in case:

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 Inventors of the Subaru - VW conversion bell housing using Subaru flywheel, clutch and starter

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