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Budget WRX Swapped 2.5RS

5K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  Taiyou 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey everyone,

Sold my last car and now I'm on the quest to build a swapped 2.5RS. My last car was in awesome shape, but I couldn't get over the fact that it wasn't an RS. I really wanted a sunroof and didn't want to track down all the interior pieces to have it look like an RS.

New Car!
As I'm browsing FB Marketplace one day looking for an RS, I see one about four hours from home posted for cheap, so I called my sister in law who lives nearby to buy it for me. She knows nothing about cars, but I had her buy it since the car was selling for so cheap. If I didn't like it, I could just resell it and get my money back. He was selling the car because he didn't drive it and he just gotten a DUI. I believe he had just bought it but didn't have time to toy with it.

When I drive down to see the car, it's obvious the car has been neglected. Issues I notice upon inspection of the car:

-Flashing C.E.L. (9 codes stored)
-Mystery noise from rear of car (LR wheel bearing?)
-Dead battery (replaced with new)
-Super dirty (detailed it that day :sunny:)
-Speaker wire everywhere (removed all wiring :crazy:)
-rubber trim pieces around door falling off (temporarily fixed)
-trunk latch not working (fixed)
-SPT stickers/other random stickers (removed)
-Rough body overall, doors beat up and rust on sunroof area
-Corny carbon fiber wrap on hood

So I put a battery in the car and started her up. Once started, the car had a flashing check engine light. The seller told me this, but wasn't sure what the issue was. I didn't have my code reader on me, so I drove down the street to the auto parts store and it had the following codes:

-p0500a
-p1540
-p1590
-p1591
-p1518
-p0512
-p0136
-p0483
-p0420

I realized the fans were cycling and someone had the two green connectors under the dash plugged in. :crazy:. I unplugged them and voila, codes disappeared!

Once that was done I was able to take it on a test drive after topping off the fluids. The car didn't overheat and drove pretty straight. It had a pretty bad noise coming from the drivers side rear of the car. The car also has some oil leaking that made its way down to the exhaust, so the car is a smoker. I decided to take the risk and drive the car over Vail pass back home. Other than the noise from the rear, the car drove great!

Here are some pics of the day I first saw it:



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#2 ·
Bigger Picture Goals
WRX Swap (harness by iWire, manual transmission conversion)
300WHP
Fix all bodywork and have car resprayed
Keep it clean!

My goal is to try and keep the swap part of the build as cheap as possible. I'm keeping a running spreadsheet to track costs. Goal is to sell stuff from my swap car to pay for the longblock, wiring harness, crossmember, turboback, etc..

I might try and learn how to do paint and rust repair on my own. I'm sure I'll screw it up, but I don't mind redoing it when that happens. If I get overly frustrated I'll hand her off to a shop.

Heres what the car looks like now:




Rain makes it look better than it actually is. Was going to resell this car, but I'm really starting to like it.



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#3 ·
SWAP CAR PURCHASED

Purchased a swap car off of FB Marketplace. Ended up getting a pretty good deal on the car. Its an 03 manual bugeye. Had a C.E.L and the dude was tired of dumping money into it. I pulled the codes and it had a misfire in cylinder 4. Did a compression test and the cylinder is basically dead. Gonna get the engine pulled out then decide what needs fixed. Plan is for the car to be a reliable DD so I'll base my build off of that. Gonna sell all the stuff I don't need to recoup costs.






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#5 ·
Thank you! I definitely will. Do you have a favorite website I could read up on? Or a favorite DIY I could read that someone has written up?

Also:

Went wingless tonight. I temporarily just cleaned the holes and covered them with electrical tape. The car came with these tail lights too. Not a fan. Just gonna wait and see if I can pick some up in Japan this summer or have my father in law send some to me.





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#6 ·
Hey guys, looking for some help. I'm slowly ripping parts off this wagon and want to make sure I get everything I need off this car before sending off to the crusher or selling it to someone for the shell.


Needed Swap Parts:
-Motor
-Crossmember
-Front Sway Bar
-Full Exhaust
-Fuel Pump
-Fuel Pump Controller
-Full Wiring Harness
-WRX MAF sensor
-WRX o2 sensors
-WRX ECM
-WRX Powersteering assembly
-WRX throttle cable
-Boost Control

What will I need to take from it for the auto to manual conversion? Other than the transmission and clutch?
 
#8 ·
Rear diff has to match the transmission.



Are you wanting white tail lights? Or are you good with amber?


Good to know! Will I also need to take the axles front and rear?

Do you have some for sale? I hate these lights, but I’m holding out for some cheap OEM ones. If not, I’ll wait until I go to Japan this summer.


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#9 ·
Since you guys like pics....made some progress tonight:

Pulled the carpet out of my swap car and put it in my RS.


Before, when I bought the car:





I swapped over the bugeye front seats and some 04wrx rear seats. I have the fronts but need brackets.






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#10 ·
More updates!

Big thing happened today. Bought an engine hoist from harbor freight. Engine should hopefully he coming out in the next day or so.

Also, got the rear diff and aches removed from the WRX wagon. Wasn’t too bad of a job at all. Fist time I had removed a diff.


Once that was done, I took the spare tires from my car and my donor car. I want to keep the no name wheels on the WRX. They look nice


Last thing I did today was make as much progress as I could on the dash removal. Not sure what they’re called, but i need a certain star bit to take off the airbag module. I think that’s what preventing me from taking off the crash bar.


Goal is to have everything I need for my swap out of this car by the end of the week. Challenge is on.


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#11 ·
The bolts the hold the airbag module on are called security torx. Its a torx with a post int he center(This will block a normal torx bit from going in). There is a couple ways to deal with this.

Easiest: bust out a vise grip pliers and grab the head of the bolt and break em loose with that.

Or: If you have the correct regular torx you can use a small flat bladed screw driver and a hammer and chisel the little pin out of the center(it will break off easy) then un screw via normal torx bit


Lastly buy the correct size security torx bit.
 
#16 ·
Thank you! I’m pretty sure I’m just stumbling my way through this but I’ll figure it out eventually.

Made some more progress today! I just want this bugeye out of my garage.

These are both the harnesses that I need to send to iWire, correct?




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#18 ·
Really hoping I can keep this momentum up, but we’ll see. Made some more progress tonight.

Engine and transmission are out!




Next goal is to get everything else out needed for the swap so I can get rid of this wagon. I’ll make a list of the things I need and anyone can chime in and help make corrections.


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#23 ·
Made a little more progress today.

Got the power steering pump stuff off:



Got the fuel pump controller off. If this isn’t the fuel pump controller please let me know before I look like an idiot and sent this to iWire.


Lastly, got the power steering rack disconnected and all the bolts for the crossmember. Is there a trick to taking this thing off? I have everything disconnected and it doesn’t move much. Any advice?





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#24 ·
I'm in the same boot as you and have a 2000 rs2.5 with a gutted engine bay . Looking for a sti engine to drop in her, have limited knowledge on the whole process would be bad ass if anyone in Central Valley cali could lend ideas or want to help me on the build :)


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#25 ·
My advice to you. Buy a cheap WRX as a donor. I’m keeping track of all my costs in a spreadsheet and I’m pretty sure I’ll eventually have the swap components all for $0 once I finish parting out the car.


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#27 ·
Update!

I’ve been tired and for some reason it didn’t occur to me to loosen the subframe to remove the crossmember. Oh well, live and learn. Glad I’m gaining all this experience on the car that I just have to unbolt stuff on.

It’s not in too bad of shape. Little oil, not too much. I’ll probably still decrease it and clean her up.



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#28 ·
I have the following things to remove for my swap:
Fuel pump
WRX throttle cable

I also have to finish removing these things for my auto to manual swap:
Driveshaft
Clutch master cylinder
Pedals

Do I need to remove all 3 pedals for my auto to manual swap? Thanks guys!

I’m using this thread...
DIY: Auto To Manual Swap - Subaru Impreza GC8 & RS Forum & Community: RS25.com

And this thread as reference
Parts List for USDM WRX/STI Swap - Subaru Impreza GC8 & RS Forum & Community: RS25.com

Appreciate you guys reading it and appreciate any advice you can offer!


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