EJ25 NA into EJ18 car swap....

[left footed whooten]

Hey folks, its been a while but school is back in and that means im back in front of the computer dorking around with car stuff instead of studying
Got a question that im sure has been asked a plenty, but didnt know the good search words:
Am i correct in thinking that an NA ej25 will swap into an ej18 car without changing the harness; just bolt the sucker up and go? Thought I read that somewhere but just cant remember. I imagine that I will need to swap up the exhaust, as the ej18 is just tiny, but 50 more horsies would be nice without the huge expense of the wrx swap that i want to do later. Can anyone confirm or deny these allegations for me?

[tysonK]

PM Kostamojen on here or I-Club or Nasioc.

[Kevin M]

There's a big long thread stickied about this in the i-club NA forum. Lots of detailed info about NA engine swaps.

[left footed whooten]

Okay, I think baseline info has been found, but was wondering who's been getting their engines from whom? Starting to snoop around for a stage I dohc ej25 and was wondering whos been good to deal with and who has not been so good. Tried subarusuzukiparts to start, anyone know a good supplier within ~100-150 mi from reno? ...or does anyone have one of said engines for sale? Cant seem to find anyone in reno who deals in these that I would give my money too, but i havent been here for long.

[Kevin M]

Not a lot of Phase 1 EJ25s to go around. MY98 is the only one you really want, and they only came in about 3000 RSs and how ever many Foresters were sold that year. The MY96 Legacy EJ25 sucked ass (runs on 91, makes a meager 145 hp. Or close, Aaron knows it exactly. ) and the '97 was okay but again, rare, and not as good as the '98.

[LetItRev]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Not a lot of Phase 1 EJ25s to go around. MY98 is the only one you really want, and they only came in about 3000 RSs and how ever many Foresters were sold that year. The MY96 Legacy EJ25 sucked ass (runs on 91, makes a meager 145 hp. Or close, Aaron knows it exactly. ) and the '97 was okay but again, rare, and not as good as the '98.

Is this the same 2.5 that was used in the 98 outbacks? If so, I've got news for you.

[Kevin M]

Ah, true. I should have said "...and however many Foresters and 2.5L Legacies were sold that year..."

[sperry]

Originally Posted by LetItRev

Is this the same 2.5 that was used in the 98 outbacks? If so, I've got news for you.

I thought all the <'02 Outbacks had the 2.2L motor, or was that just the Outback Sport model?

[LetItRev]

Originally Posted by sperry

I thought all the <'02 Outbacks had the 2.2L motor, or was that just the Outback Sport model?

Here's what I know...

I had a '98 Outback with the dual cam 2.5l. As the millage approached 90,000, it began to show signs of bad head gaskets.

Research showed that this engine did indeed have problems and prompted Subaru to go to a single cam design for the next model year, if not the later part of the '98 run. There were many reports of blown head gaskets etc.

I would do further research on this before I bought this engine. I sold my outback because of this "problem."

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by sperry

I thought all the <'02 Outbacks had the 2.2L motor, or was that just the Outback Sport model?

Just the OBS. Aaron's wagon has the DOHC 2.5 too.

[sybir]

Alright, checking in.

Here's the deal.
95 Legacy OB's had a 2.2. Bombproof.
96 Legacy OB's/2.5GT's had a DOHC EJ25. Made 155hp/156tq, required premium fuel.
97-99 Legacy OB's/2.5GT's had a Phase 1 DOHC EJ25, the modern EJ25. 165/165, runs on 87. Prone to HG failures (fails internally, leaking oil into coolant and vice versa), and short skirts led to piston slap when cold even at low mileage.
98 RS's had the phase 2 block for all of production, IIRC. Not any better for HG's, but different piston skirt design for less slap.
Random 98-99 Legacies had DOHC heads on Phase 2 blocks.
98 and up Foresters, 99 and up RS's, and 2000-up Legacies had the SOHC Phase 2, which had no piston slap isses, but still had HG issues, in lesser numbers. These HG's tend to fail externally, causing an external coolant leak most of the time, and an occasional oil leak.

All 02+ Imprezas that didn't have the EJ20 got the SOHC EJ25.
Subaru hass gone through 5 or 6 HG revisions, finally coming up with a metal sandwich that fixed the issue on the DOHC cars. Very few DOHC 2.5's make it past 100k without a HG leak, it's not if, it's when. Mine made it to 120 being beat on, some people get to almost 200....just plan for it. If you're doing a motor swap, do yourself a favor, swap it out for the new gaskets when it's on a stand, and bleed the system correctly, as that's the #1 HG killer; you get an air bubble, then a hot spot, then the HG is gone. I've seen people go through 3 HG sets in 1k miles becuase the shop doing them didn't bleed the system correctly.

The only Imprezas that had the DOHC motors were the 98's, and it was a Legacy motor and intake system, with a hot-wire MAF. The 99 Impreza was SOHC, with a hot-film MAF that is susceptible to vibration. 2000-2001 SOHC RS's had a MAP setup.

I think that's it

[left footed whooten]

Yeah, i figured it would be more difficult to find, and I definitely figured on upgrading the headgasket while it was out. One engine company claimed to have one of these next week, I told him the dohc ej25 from a 1998 Impreza 2.5rs, and he still claimed to have one on the way. Is there a number I can check to check the year, or do any of the phase I variations look different from one another? The guy was giving a steepish price, but thats what it costs to buy someone to take your bad engine back to if need be. Just want to make sure that I get what I ask for and know how to tell it apart. Thanks.

[Kevin M]

Thanks Aaron. I thought the '98 Forester was Phase 1 DOHC like the RS, but I'll say that we should probably all listen to the guy who works at the actual Subaru repair shop on that one.

Also, Redline Water Wetter is the second best way to help prevent the HG issues. ASSuming you get your coolant system bled properly, the WW will help to prevent bubbles from forming and causing the hot spots by changing the surface tension of the water/coolant mixture. There's a write-up of how and why it works here. That author references Redline's White Paper here. Just about all of us who read this will benefit by adding it to our cars.

[left footed whooten]

So, is there a number, serial code, or anything that I can use to distinguish the 98 engine from the earlier less powerful models? I just dont trust used engine companies to give me what I ask for, Im used to getting the closest thing they could pass of and still make the sale, especially considering the shipping charge and cost of the thing itself, I want to be able to verify in a concrete way that I am getting a MY98 and not a runner-up.

[sybir]

Nope. You can check VIN's, but that's about it. Phase 2's lack some identifying hash marks around the EJ25 stamp on the top of the motor, IIRC< but I can't confirm that nad I might have it backwards.

Some decent info here.
http://www.ultimatesubaru.net/forum/...hp/t-7927.html