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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
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![vwkdad[1]](../assets/images/vwkdad_1_.gif "vwkdad[1]")
