50 replies to this topic

[Maverick187]

Hey guys,

Im a newbie to the forum, so hello! Ive done some research through the forums for some of my questions, and had a bit answered, but still would like some help from some B4 owners, so I do apologise in advance if any of these have been asked a lot before.

Long story short, My partner and I are looking at a wagon to purchase. Ive owned a lot of imports previously, and the compromise is that I get something Japanese and performance orientated, as long as its a wagon and auto. Our price bracket is modest at $10k.

Came across a 2001 JDM B4 Wagon on carsales for $9k, done 145000km. Went out and had a look and took it for a drive, and quite enjoyed it. No mods, seemed quite well looked after. However after reading the forums here and on Club Liberty, it seems its a fairly maligned model which worries me. Whatever we purchase will be driven maybe every 2nd or 3rd day max. So I have the following questions:

1. What kind of things do I need to look for as warning signs from this car? From what Ive heard its can be prone to knock in stock form? This is an import, so Im assuming MAY be a bit better?

2. How reliable is the TT motor and setup really? A lot of people seem to bag it, but the few that own these seem to sing their praises. Keep in mind its not going to be a balls to the wall performance car, just a cruiser with a bit of extra stick for my own enjoyment. I'm not going to go down the route of a single turbo conversion.

3. I'm located in the inner west of Melbourne. Is there anyone reputable fairly close that can work on the car? I used to take my R33 to Chasers motorworks in Footscray.

4. Mod wise Id be looking at the following:
- Turbo back exhaust. Any recommendations on who to go to? Im assuming its a custom job? From what i've read, best is 2.5" out of first turbo, 3" out of second, 4" hi flow cat, 3" to the back and muffler. Is this the case? And anyones personal experience with cost.
- Tune. I believe its a reflash which is helpful. Same as above, idea of cost and person/people to see? Will be looking to increase boost as well, whats a safe psi threshold?
- Any thing else that would need replacing? is the stock cooler still economic at that power level? same with fuel pump? tranny cooler etc, Do I need to look at a CAI or is that just pedantic?

5. Finally, in B4 owners experience, is this a car to seriously consider purchasing? Like I said its going to be driven maybe every couple of days, and just to cruise. Will be doing a few light mods for myself, but thats as far as its going to go. Im in the market for Legnums and Stageas as well. Drove a Legnum and it felt a lot heavier and less nimble to the Liberty, on top of the fact the Liberty is far better appointed in terms of comforts too. Am I better waiting it out for a really nice example of a Legnum or Stagea instead?

Thanks for the patience guys, and sorry again if these questions have been asked before.


Cheers
Michael

[RX25SE]

I can't comment on the TT setup other than you are in the right place, plenty of TT knowledge on this forum.

[Maverick187]

Thanks mate! hopefully some knowledgeable people can give me a bit of a heads up, as its definitely the front runner in what weve looked at so far.

[CRUISN]

Ive got no issues with my Gen3 auto TT Legacy and its daily driven. I quite enjoy it as a comfortable cruiser.

Would be nice to see another Legacy on the west side. Im in Werribee.

[cowie165]

1. What kind of things do I need to look for as warning signs from this car? From what Ive heard its can be prone to knock in stock form? This is an import, so Im assuming MAY be a bit better?

2. How reliable is the TT motor and setup really? A lot of people seem to bag it, but the few that own these seem to sing their praises. Keep in mind its not going to be a balls to the wall performance car, just a cruiser with a bit of extra stick for my own enjoyment. I'm not going to go down the route of a single turbo conversion.

3. I'm located in the inner west of Melbourne. Is there anyone reputable fairly close that can work on the car? I used to take my R33 to Chasers motorworks in Footscray.

4. Mod wise Id be looking at the following:
- Turbo back exhaust. Any recommendations on who to go to? Im assuming its a custom job? From what i've read, best is 2.5" out of first turbo, 3" out of second, 4" hi flow cat, 3" to the back and muffler. Is this the case? And anyones personal experience with cost.
- Tune. I believe its a reflash which is helpful. Same as above, idea of cost and person/people to see? Will be looking to increase boost as well, whats a safe psi threshold?
- Any thing else that would need replacing? is the stock cooler still economic at that power level? same with fuel pump? tranny cooler etc, Do I need to look at a CAI or is that just pedantic?

5. Finally, in B4 owners experience, is this a car to seriously consider purchasing? Like I said its going to be driven maybe every couple of days, and just to cruise. Will be doing a few light mods for myself, but thats as far as its going to go. Im in the market for Legnums and Stageas as well. Drove a Legnum and it felt a lot heavier and less nimble to the Liberty, on top of the fact the Liberty is far better appointed in terms of comforts too. Am I better waiting it out for a really nice example of a Legnum or Stagea instead?

 

Hi Michael, and welcome to SC. I'm an ex-BNR32 owner and very glad I moved to a Legacy.

 

1. Aside from the normal stuff when buying a used car, it's the TT system you'll be more interested in. How does the car drive? Does it pull nicely from a rolling start? Does it change to the secondary smoothly? You'll notice the VOD when the primary runs out of puff, but then the secondary will pull you quite noticeably. If the car has a boost gauge, take note of the max pressure for both turbos. I have an import Legacy too and haven't had any knocking issues (with 98RON). Does it idle smoothly without hunting? When in normal auto mode and you put your foot down, does it downshift smoothly or can you hear a clunk?

 

2. I've owned mine for 18 months and haven't had an issue. I've done a lot of preventative maintenance (followed the guides in these forums) and it has been great. When people don't bother learning how things work, they often do the wrong thing. Silly stuff like putting a t-piece in to change the boost, and then whinging because they stuff their car. I've found mine easy to work on, and there are LOTS of smart guys here that are happy to help.

 

3. I'm NSW, but anything other than fault-finding on the TT system you can go to just about anyone.

 

4. Diff back is cheap and easy to import yourself. The rest will probably be custom unless you like to live on YahooJP.

Your title says MY02 but post says 2001 model. If it's a 2001 then a reflash isn't easy. You'd need something like ECUlabs to then tune it with Tactrix or something similar. $400 for ECULabs. $400 for someone like KidoTuning to do a mail-order tune. Dyno time is the same as for your R33.

Boost: a couple of easy mods to the vac system will have you boosting around 12/16 on pri/sec. That'll pull nicely and is safe for daily on 15yr old turbos. I don't have experience going higher, but there's guys that run higher with a tune, pump, E85, etc.

Stock cooler is fine for what you want. Same with fuel pump, tranny cooler. I'm in the same boat as you. The induction side has been proven to be fine - no sig restriction so it's just bling factor (and performance downgrade if you just put an unshielded pod in there).

 

5. Legnums are a genuine barge and Stageas look like arse. You're on the money with a JDM Legacy. LOTS of easy parts to swap if you're that way inclined. Brakes, engines, gearboxes, seats, wheels, etc. can all be grabbed from WRX for a good price. The parts compatibility with AU Libertys can't be understated - random stuff like interior trims, boot rubber, gearshift surrounds, etc can all be picked up cheaply from a wrecked AU car. Can't say the same for Legnum or Stagea.

 

You're down the right road. Be patient and find the right car. I'm no expert but I hope this waffle is of some help.

 

Regards,

Mark

[Maverick187]

Thanks heaps for the info guys, really appreciate it!  Any places in particular around Melbourne you would recommend for tuning/servicing etc?

[Jimbo]

My first question is what exactly have you looked at?

Is it a personal import with an affixed yellow plate in the engine bay, or something else? I'm not doubting what you're saying but we may see things that you don't, Do you have any photos or a link to it or anything?

The title you posted "MY02 B4 Wagon" has me concerned slightly that someone may not be describing it to you correctly, or it's not what it says it is.

[patttyfox]

Just had a similar thought..

Unless it's been converted Jim?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jimbo]

Found it.

I don't like it, smells off. Rear ended badly at some point?

Rear garnish isn't JDM, badges are all cockeyed. B4 interior which is too late a year for it to be optioned on a Rev-C so placed into the car (fair enough).

Everything else seems genuine GTB.

Shame about the plates ....

http://www.carsales....D-3532354/?Cr=3

[Jimbo]

I probably just sounded like a jerk. Sorry, shit day running on no sleep.

What I probably should have said...

There are a couple of things that aren't original and the interior isn't to everyone's taste, however, it's the real deal and looks to be a fine specimen.

[Robert]

Vin number says it's an import

Least it's not a conversion

[duncanm]

'05 compliance date also suggests same.

Looks pretty untampered with - nothing bling in the engine bay except the intake bendy bit - which is a good sign.

Does it come with those shitty roof racks?

Ask about the rear garnish - may have been replaced for genuine reasons, but as Jim says, may indicate a rear-ender at some point (major or minor). Will also indicate if the seller knows anything about the car.

[Maverick187]

Yep thats the car I had a look at. Im only going off the ads description, so you guys would know better the true year spec/model. He listed it as manual as well, so im not surprised if theres details left out or incorrect.

No offence taken at all! I am pretty embarassed in the fact that my knowledge on Subaru is pretty rudimentary, so all this really does help me. Yep as above, has Personal import plate which is what I first looked for under the bonnet. Engine has been unmodified which is a sell to me, however he did mention something about turbos being changed, so before I even consider this one Im going to need to see all his receipts etc to get a better idea of the cars history. 

Haha yep roof racks do come with the car, Im actually a fan! Makes it a bit more of a sleeper to me! 

Huge tip on the rear garnish, thanks for that! Ill ask that question for sure. IMO would indicate some kind of rear end damage, whether it be a collision or not, so ill keep that in mind.

[CRUISN]

That interior is a factory option for the wagon although I thought only D and E Rev.

Roof racks are factory. Fixing the badges and replacing the tailgate garnish is simple.

Plates are silly though. Otherwise looks good.

[Maverick187]

haha yeah thought the plates were really good on first inspection, but now I know its a GTB instead, theyre a bummer!

[Maverick187]

Car was built on 30-3.01.

 

Applied model code is BH5C5CT.

 

Its a considered a "C" revision car.

Can you explain a little more please? I understand the model code and its definition, but to confirm that makes it a GT-B E tune correct?

What entails the C revision in that year model?

[duncanm]

This may help

 http://homepages.ihu...leggymodels.htm

 

 

BH5

GT-B E-tune

BH5C5CT

C type(05/00-04/01)

AT

Y8

190

EJ206

BH5

GT-VDC

BH5C59P

C type(05/00-04/01)

AT

Y8

190

EJ206