My Subaru adventures

[the Teuton]

So, I think it's about time to explain what I'm doing.? About two weeks ago, my car died 120 miles away from home when the engine block cracked on the old 1.8 liter engine with almost 159k on the clock.? I was left without a car at home, as my brother was driving it to check out an apartment.

So I researched what would fit without much work, and the EJ25 DOHC engine from the 1996-99 Legacies and Imprezas came to mind.? Apparently it's almost a clean swap, as it can even use the EJ18 ECU to operate on (albeit it will run a little rich and it will cut off at 6000 rpm instead of 6500 rpm in the 2.5 RS and Legacy GT).

But I picked up the engine, with the recommendation that with any swap the timing belt and head gaskets be changed before the new engine is installed in the car.? I started work on it--the first mechanical experience of my life with an engine other than changing the oil.? I took off part of the big, black plastic shield (what you see in my pic) only to find that the timing belt looked almost new and it was nearly spotless in there--no dirt, and even some of the texture left on the belt.? It looked as if the belt had been changed already.? Good for me, or so I think (opinions, please).

Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to change the head gaskets--which will be done no matter what.? I have a DYI manual for the Legacy (from Autozone) for the engine, and a lot of patience.?

Also, my car just came home on a flatbed truck on Thursday night at 9.? The swap will be coming soon.? I am having my brother's friend (a mechanic) install it.? I was wondering if I should go the easy route and install it using the EJ18 ECU (which will work with it) or use the EJ25 ECU.? Keep in mind that while I do have college to pay for, I am planning on starting to modify the car in the summer, as a turbocharger and forged internals are not too far away for me, so a lot of stuff will be coming out and getting rebuilt in the summer.? I am planning on keeping the EJ18 to learn how to build the engine (which is very similar to the EJ25) and also for spare parts.

Any thoughts?? Also, the engine and ECU are from automatic cars going into an automatic car with the same transmission.

[Soup DeVille]

So, I think it's about time to explain what I'm doing.? About two weeks ago, my car died 120 miles away from home when the engine block cracked on the old 1.8 liter engine with almost 159k on the clock.? I was left without a car at home, as my brother was driving it to check out an apartment.

So I researched what would fit without much work, and the EJ25 DOHC engine from the 1996-99 Legacies and Imprezas came to mind.? Apparently it's almost a clean swap, as it can even use the EJ18 ECU to operate on (albeit it will run a little rich and it will cut off at 6000 rpm instead of 6500 rpm in the 2.5 RS and Legacy GT).

But I picked up the engine, with the recommendation that with any swap the timing belt and head gaskets be changed before the new engine is installed in the car.? I started work on it--the first mechanical experience of my life with an engine other than changing the oil.? I took off part of the big, black plastic shield (what you see in my pic) only to find that the timing belt looked almost new and it was nearly spotless in there--no dirt, and even some of the texture left on the belt.? It looked as if the belt had been changed already.? Good for me, or so I think (opinions, please).

Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to change the head gaskets--which will be done no matter what.? I have a DYI manual for the Legacy (from Autozone) for the engine, and a lot of patience.?

Also, my car just came home on a flatbed truck on Thursday night at 9.? The swap will be coming soon.? I am having my brother's friend (a mechanic) install it.? I was wondering if I should go the easy route and install it using the EJ18 ECU (which will work with it) or use the EJ25 ECU.? Keep in mind that while I do have college to pay for, I am planning on starting to modify the car in the summer, as a turbocharger and forged internals are not too far away for me, so a lot of stuff will be coming out and getting rebuilt in the summer.? I am planning on keeping the EJ18 to learn how to build the engine (which is very similar to the EJ25) and also for spare parts.

Any thoughts?? Also, the engine and ECU are from automatic cars going into an automatic car with the same transmission.

Why are you changing the headgaskets again? Head gaskets are either good or bad with no inbetween; and it doesn't matter how many miles are on them either.

[the Teuton]

Why are you changing the headgaskets again? Head gaskets are either good or bad with no inbetween; and it doesn't matter how many miles are on them either.

The engine is notorious for head gasket problems and it is also a fairly used engine from a 1998 car, so I want to do it now rather than later when it could become problematic.  It's basically just preventative maintanence for a known problem.

[TBR]

Great engine, I love the 2.5l H4 in my mom's 04 Outback (though it's too quiet for my tastes). But you really need a proper transmission

[ro51092]

I'm assuming your mom's car is a 5MT?

[sparkplug]

Sounds like something that might work. Is the transmission's compatible to the engine.

Don't forget to lubricate the cup holder. hehe

[S204STi]

The ECU from a 2.5 may have a different harness connector, in which case you can either hack it or install a new main harness which is a lot of trouble either way.  Check it out though before you give up, they may be the same.

Also, I agree that head gaskets are a good idea.  May as well while you have it out of the car.  Also, consider doing the front main and the two cam seals if they haven't already been done, along with the water pump.  Of course, they may have done the water pump with the newish timing belt, so take a look at it and see if you see any orange liquid gasket seeping out of the seams.  That would indicate that somebody put a new one in.

[TBR]

I'm assuming your mom's car is a 5MT?

Yeah, and the transmission sucks. Oh well, it is otherwise a real nice car (handles surprisingly well considering the ride height).

[Soup DeVille]

The engine is notorious for head gasket problems and it is also a fairly used engine from a 1998 car, so I want to do it now rather than later when it could become problematic.? It's basically just preventative maintanence for a known problem.

OK, then change the timing belt and the tensioner while you're at it. I don't care what it looks like!

[TBR]

Yeah, I figure that any time the engine is out you might as well change the belt, the expensive part (both time and money) is in getting to the timing belt, not changing it.

[the Teuton]

Like I said, the timing belt is newish, so I'm not going to mess with it.  Also, I looked at the diagrams in the manual I bought for the head gasket, and I felt overwhelmed.  Seriously, this isn't a small block V8.  So I'm going to have the person who's installing the engine see what he can do.  Most likely, though, if the person who took the engine out was smart enough to change the timing belt and put an EJ20 turbo into their car, I'm not extremely worried.  I'm back in college now, though, so I have to coordinate all of this from 130 miles away from home.

[the Teuton]

Here's an engine shot.  Obviously the pulleys have some rust on them and there's a lot of dust and some dirt from sitting in a garage for 6 months, but the engine really looks pretty good.

[Soup DeVille]

Like I said, the timing belt is newish, so I'm not going to mess with it.? Also, I looked at the diagrams in the manual I bought for the head gasket, and I felt overwhelmed.? Seriously, this isn't a small block V8.? So I'm going to have the person who's installing the engine see what he can do.? Most likely, though, if the person who took the engine out was smart enough to change the timing belt and put an EJ20 turbo into their car, I'm not extremely worried.? I'm back in college now, though, so I have to coordinate all of this from 130 miles away from home.

But if you're gonna change the headgaskets, you have to mess with the timing belt. (Like you said, its not a SBC)

[the Teuton]

The way how this engine is set up, the timing belt and water pump are together under the big plastic cover in the front.  The head gaskets are under the camshafts, which are on either side (so they're not really "under" them as they are on the inside of them).  Once you take those off, I think the headgaskets are down ther somewhere.  The engine block in this car isn't actually a block--it's two big chunks of metal bolted together.  I've never seen anything like it.  And the engine doesn't have two cams, as you'd think in a double overhead cam engine--it has 4, two per side.  It's a lot more confusing to get to the head gaskets than you'd think.  So I'm probably going to come home to finish that up, or try my luck with the head gaskets as they are.

[Soup DeVille]

The way how this engine is set up, the timing belt and water pump are together under the big plastic cover in the front.? The head gaskets are under the camshafts, which are on either side (so they're not really "under" them as they are on the inside of them).? Once you take those off, I think the headgaskets are down ther somewhere.? The engine block in this car isn't actually a block--it's two big chunks of metal bolted together.? I've never seen anything like it.? And the engine doesn't have two cams, as you'd think in a double overhead cam engine--it has 4, two per side.? It's a lot more confusing to get to the head gaskets than you'd think.? So I'm probably going to come home to finish that up, or try my luck with the head gaskets as they are.

Yes, all two bank OHC engines, flats or vees have a cam for each bank, so dual cam engines have 4. And I know where these things are: I used to build sandrail VW engines (which are also flat fours, but not only have a split crankcase like the subies but also have seperate cylinders.

Regardless: the cams are on the heads. To get the heads off, the cams come off too. To get the cams off, the timing belt comes off.

So: if you're replacing headgaskets, you may as well replace the timing belt!

P.S: the headgaskets are not under the cams, they are between the top of the cylinder deck and the bottom of the heads. The cams are on the top of the heads. Regardles of the type of engine, the crank is the 'bottom' and the cam covers are the 'top'. I think you made a good call having the work done for you.

[the Teuton]

Soup, I'm saving my EJ18 not only for parts, but also to tear the thing apart and see how it works so I can do this myself next time.

[S204STi]

Soup, I'm saving my EJ18 not only for parts, but also to tear the thing apart and see how it works so I can do this myself next time.

Afterwards see if someone at Ultimatesubaru.org wants it.  I'm sure you'll find a taker.

[Soup DeVille]

Soup, I'm saving my EJ18 not only for parts, but also to tear the thing apart and see how it works so I can do this myself next time.

cool.

[the Teuton]

Afterwards see if someone at Ultimatesubaru.org wants it.? I'm sure you'll find a taker.

Cracked block and all?  You think so?

I am saving some of the useful parts, though, such as the water pump, because it is interchangeable with the one in the new engine.

[S204STi]

Cracked block and all?  You think so?

I am saving some of the useful parts, though, such as the water pump, because it is interchangeable with the one in the new engine.

Oh, nevermind the block then, I forgot it was cracked, but the heads might be useful to somebody, along with the cam sprockets and intake manifold.

[the Teuton]

OK, low and behold my problem is finally getting fixed.  I just dropped my car off at the house of a mechanic who does work for the local Subaru club.  Here's the ensuing adventure:

So I'm transporting it to the mechanic's place to work on it. My car is an auto and I couldn't shift it out of park because the linkage is electronically activated and the battery was dead. The truck driver said that he didn't have time for this and wanted to break my shift linkage or drag it in park to get it on the truck. After my dad convinced him differently, we pulled our van back in the driveway and gave it enough juice to pop it into neutral.

Then, we gave him directions to the house, which was about 30 miles away and helps with all of the cars from the local Subaru club. We got there, he hadn't shown up. When he did, he just got done dropping off all the parts in the garage for the mech. to work with. The truck driver proceeded to tell me that he was given the wrong directions, even though we used the same set to get there. Then, he pulled right up to the garage when we had it ready for him to put in the car and then he pulled 50 ft. away and left the car to sit in the middle of the stone driveway for us to push it in the garage. Pardon my French, but the truck driver was an absolute douchebag.

Now it's just a waiting game.  I gave him some writeups I found from other people who've done the swap before, so all I can do is cross my fingers now.

[the Teuton]

UPDATE:?

As I posted last Saturday, my car is waiting to be picked up, but it is running.? I get to speak with the mechanic tomorrow, but he said that the EJ25 wasn't as clean of a swap as most people would have your joe schmoe Subaru community believe.? Apparently there were some clearance issue, but the engine fits like a charm now and does run.? The mechanic told my dad today that because there was some coolant in in the lines when the old engine blew (autotopsy still pending), the car runs with white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe for the time being.? He said it should pass.? He also had to cap some wires (pending phone call tomorrow) but it does run.?

I can't wait to see the thing.? I'm scared half to death that something will go wrong, but this person specializes in repairing flat engine cars, so it's going to be an interesting conversation.? Thoughts?

[Raghavan]

Make it a 5 speed!!!

[the Teuton]

Make it a 5 speed!!!

I wish I had $1,500 to blow on the transmission and driveshafts, but I don't.  I just bought a 2.5 RS grille tonight, and I'm planning on updating my wagon for my summer project.  That's a $500-600 project versus almost a grand more.

[Raghavan]

What are these updates all about?
I'd rather spend the 1.5 grand on the drivetrain before other things, but you know your car better than anyone else.

[the Teuton]

This is my car:


This is what it should look like by the end of the summer:


That's why I'm doing what I'm doing.  Also, this means that my car officially has no resale value anymore.  What would I sell it as?  1993 Impreza 2.5 L wagon?  If all estimates are right, this car should be about 5 seconds faster from 0-60 than it was, or about 7.5 seconds.

[Raghavan]

I thought your car was blue.

[the Teuton]

I thought your car was blue.

The new hood is...and the car might be within the next year or two.  I'm going to be skimping just to color match the new parts to the car and cover over the bondo that will be there so I don't look completely ricey and then it's on to repainting the car something other than rental car white.  I have a friend who works in a shop who volunteered his services for help, so I'm going to take him up on it, I guess.

[Raghavan]

Wow, you have a lot going on there.
Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy a WRX?

[the Teuton]

Wow, you have a lot going on there.
Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy a WRX?

If I told you how much money I'm not spending on this project, you'd be surprised.  Like I said, minus paint, I can get the whole front end done for under $600.  I'm a bargain hunter, and unlike what they tell you with restorations that if you skimp you'll see the costs come back and bite you in the butt, it doesn't quite work that way with newer cars. 

My new hood:  free
the new grille:  $30
the side skirts: $50

I go junk yard diving, and there are a lot of wrecked car partouts online.

So this, not including an EJ20 or a manual swap, will probably cost about $1,500 total to do the body and suspension just right.  That's a bit cheaper and about 400 lbs. lighter than a WRX.