Hello there! So, I'm working on a 2005 Legacy GT that I picked up recently for a great price. Haven't decided for certain if I'm going to keep it, but since it has 55,000 miles on it, I thought I'd do some preventative maintenance. Gives me peace of mind, and is a good selling point, regardless. Anyway, first thing I did was pull the banjo bolts on the front/top of the heads to remove the much maligned AVCS screens. I was in luck there; someone had already removed them. Then I moved on to the even more notorious pre-turbo screen on the back of the passenger side head. It WAS there, but I was relieved to see the screen was spotless- apparently the car was extremely well maintained. I removed that filter too, though, just to be safe. All that being said, here’s my first question. There’s one more filter left on the front of the driver’s side head. Removing it is a royal pain, and standard procedure requires removing the timing belt and cams so I can in turn remove the rear cover to get to it. That’s obviously a huge PIA, and I’m wondering if there is really ANY point in going through all that trouble. Is anyone aware of that one remaining filter ever creating a problem on a well maintained turbo 2.5? And now my second question… I noticed the car has a catted upipe. I already have a gutted stock up pipe from a 2.0 WRX sitting in my basement, and I’m tempted to go ahead and throw that on there IF it will fit. Anyone know if it will? And finally… Since I’d have to jack the engine off its mounts to install the upipe, I’m tempted to address another known issue with these engines: the oil pickup tube. I can get a Covert Performance pickup for $120 or a Moroso for like $80. Do you think it’s really worth the trouble to switch the stock one out for one of those, or is that whole issue grossly exaggerated? That pretty well covers it. Of course I’m going to do the other basics like plugs, coolant with conditioner, trans and diff fluids, etc. Apologies in advance if the above questions seem dumb. My Subaru experiences have been with EJ205 turbos and non turbo 2.5s. This is the first 2.5 turbo that I’ve owned, and the many horror stories revolving around this engine put me on edge. Then again, EVERYONE complains on the internets, and I’ve got admit this car is as smooth as silk. No issues, and I’d like to keep it that way. Any recommendations are appreciated, and many thanks if you took the time to actually read this wall o’ text.
^^^ Appreciate the information! If it does in fact fit, I think I'll go ahead and install the up pipe this weekend. I'm assuming on 05 2.5 engines placing a resistor in the stock EGT harness plug will still take care of the CEL I would get from removing the sensor, correct? Still debating the oil pickup tube. That's not pocket change when you consider the cost of the new tube and gaskets for that job, but then again, I'd end up undoing most of the stuff needed for that job when doing the up-pipe, anyway. I'm certain I'll sell the car within the next six months, though, as the Legacy still doesn't meet the "get something my wife can drive comfortably" criteria since it is a manual. Hmmmmmm.