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00 2.5rs WRX swap slowly turn into a track car. Project#shitbox

11K views 52 replies 8 participants last post by  anthony12052 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATED PAGE 4

owned this 2.5rs for about 7 years. Rushed to get it after selling my 08 wrx. Did not do a carfax on it, i just bought it with no research.
Later found out it was involved in an accident or 2, was pretty bummed about that. but i finally got a 2.5rs like i've always wanted.
fast forward to may 2018 i got a idea to put a turbo motor in it. Started searching for a wrx/sti motor.
Found a wrecked wrx close by and started making a deal.
The swap took about 3.5-4 months from pulling the 2.5 to starting the wrx motor.
i had a faulty ground inside the car or else it would have started first try.
fixed the grounds and fired right up.
I did not take a lot of pictures because i didnt plan on documenting it. But what the hell.. here goes

CAR:
2000 2.5rs
miles @ time of swap ~208k

MODS:
ej205 out of 05 wrx/ stock wrx ecu/wire harness merge done by me.
VF48 out of 2015 sti
GR top mount
STI pink injectors
Perrin turbo inlet
Grimspeed 3 port EBCS
ebay 3 inch downpipe
mishimoto ancillary hose kit
Exedy oem style clutch
Kartboy pitch stop

SUSPENSION:
kyb struts
H&R springs? i cannot remember if thats correct.
stock front sway
no rear sway yet
GroupN transmission mount
Kartyboy shifter bushing
Kartyboy trans crossmember bushings

MISC:
STI stock catback
sti front/rear seats


Car as she sits, taken yesterday 10/27/2018, pictures will be in no order at all
Yes she needs a lot of TLC on the outside

MISC pics of the swap

motor waiting to go in

labeling the wire harness for the merge

the merge is happening. wrx harness on top/RS harnes on bottom

trying to figure out how to wire fuel pump controller to fuel pump assembly.

when i started the merge i wasn't thinking and accidentally cut a wire off the WRX harness. i immediately knew i messed up, i tried searching for a new plug until 2 weeks later i realized i could just sauter it together...

wire harness finished product

putting it back into the car. I made the ecu part a little shorter than planned and was a little tough getting put in place correctly.
 

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#31 ·
While the car sits waiting for quotes for the build/rebuild, i'll be doing work on the body/misc stuff on the car.
making the tmic splitter
cutting out the trunk padding/deadening stuff, sanding trunk.
cant wait to get it to a shop in portland to get this motor going!!!




 
#32 ·
Got the mockup of the TMIC air splitter done. well mostly, still got to figure out how to do the cushion/rubber around the intercooler.
But i think it looks decent, and i'm sure will help some. who knows.
Mostly did this project because i'm bored until the car goes gets a new heart.



 
#33 ·
Iag shortblock is getting built, heads port matched to 2.5l. Everything is getting built the right way.
Did some sanding on the fender to get rid of the flaky clearcoat.
One thing led to another and sanded to much....
Cleaned it up and sprayed primer.
Put on the jdm tails.
 
#37 · (Edited)
UPDATE!!!!!!
after waiting since March i was able to pick the car up this last weekend.
First impressions: engine sounds a little louder than a stock one, but i like it.
Looks pretty good also

LIST:
IAG stage 2 block
killer b pickup
ej205 heads were machined to match/other work
everything off the ej205 was swapped over
FXT radiator

drove it 94 miles home and no hiccups at all. Got a 1k mile break-in then go back for a power tune.

Time to slowly turn it into a wannabe track car.




 
#38 ·
picked up a set of snowflakes from a legacy
New tires, alignment.
BUUUUT
now the pass. rear tire is rubbing the 1/4 panel on hard turns.
The space between the tire and the panel is less on the pass, than it is on the driver side.
Unsure why.... i'm going to try and bend that flap up and see if that helps..

any suggestions would be great.
Pic of new wheels/tires.
 
#40 ·
i found out what it is. i had made a small bracket that i rivetted into the bumper because the hole was broken.
The bracket rubs on the tire. so i bent it up for now. will cut off a piece this weekend.

I got an alignment. isn't only the fronts that get work? since nothing in the back is adjustable.
 
#41 ·
got about 700 miles on the break in. did the first oil change. Pretty glittery, had to email the shop to make sure that was normal.
Been doing some work on her.

Took out the rear deck, the giant holes were looking ugly with no speakers.


Doesn't look the greatest, maybe a sand and paint will change my mind.

made a simple bracket for the extinguisher. i'm digging it. Pretty sturdy


went to upullit last week and picked up a few things
goodbye crusty shift knob



TRYING to make a rear "firewall" panel, but i'm not liking how its turning out.
i'm going to have to make another one, this will be a ruff draft.
 
#42 ·
Less than 80 miles left of break-in. Cannot wait to see what power she makes!!!

also needing to do some brake mods/upgrades.

i found this Subaru Impreza 2.5RS - Best Inexpensive Brake Upgrade
Has anyone done this or something similar? my brake pedal feels terrible and i want better stopping power.

Did the grounding "mod" my idle was super low and caused everything to vibrate like crazy. Added some ground points that lead back to the battery and now she idles like normal. The AF learning on the AP is more active i noticed after doing that.

*will be slicing and crimping longer wires to put the FPR into the trunk. I should of done that to begin with.
*got fluids for diff/trans flush and refill
*The hood is uneven when its closed. Driver side sticks up a good 3/4". Cannot figure out why, it didn't used to do this. Gonna take off the alternator cover and disconnect the hood struts.
 
#43 ·
HELP! the OEM RS upper radiator hose got a tear in it. got a replacement at oreillys. but it fits like crap and the PS line was making it kink pretty good.
got a good hydraulic hose to replace the PS hose.
and got a new OEM RS upper rad hose.
this is the new PS hose with oreillys RAD hose.

BEFORE:


the small kink in the first pic ok?
 
#46 ·
SOOOO got the coolant hose issue figured out. i just needed to turn it around and it got rid of the kink stupid
filled it with coolant, drove it 5 miles and all seems fine.

I need to put 300 miles and do an oil change before saturday morning for the tune!

i'm a little curious about the engine idle shaking. Hoppefully surgeline will be able to help mee with that, i wonder if the Group N motor mounts are somehow backwards?
 
#48 ·
The tune didnt go as planned. The line end check wasnt cooperating.
When he was telling me the problem they were saying there was no continuity from obd plug to ECU. On the RS its looped through the green test connectors.

The real problem was that there wasnt 12v on that wire. So everything I read online is that people jump a 12v wire to make the car able to flash.

It worked

Also did the rear diff and trans fluids.
Rear clunk went away and shifting feels better


 
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