My Subaru adventures

[the Teuton]

Well, I'm sure you've heard of the 22B STi...

It's a different engine, but definitely the right idea.  The EJ22E is very closely related to the EJ22T in the Legacy Turbo.  The EJ22K is the 22B model, which is a bored out EJ20, but I was just reading about someone who reliably turbocharged an EJ22E to 300 hp.  There's a chance that that will happen at some point.  The EJ22 is just naturally a far more reliable engine than the EJ25 from any 1996-2001 Subaru.  I can't speak for the newer ones, but it will last once it gets thrown in there, and I might just recycle those forged rods in my EJ18 for this engine.

I'll update the more I find out.

[S204STi]

Didn't know that about the engine differences.  Tell me, will your EJ22 accept the DOHC heads out of a WRX?  Because at that point a whole new world of performance opens up to you (along with the turbo of course).

[the Teuton]

Didn't know that about the engine differences.? Tell me, will your EJ22 accept the DOHC heads out of a WRX?? Because at that point a whole new world of performance opens up to you (along with the turbo of course).

It should.  Tomorrow will be a new day to find a new engine.  Wish me luck.

[J86]

bonne chance, mon ami...

[the Teuton]

Update:  I've decided and today I'm buying a 1.8 liter replacement engine.  Over the summer, I'm going to ask the same friends that I've worked with on the BMW M3 and the 240SX to help me with the EJ25 swap.  I've cleared this with my parents that I still want to make my car a 2.5 L car, but right now I need my DD back...desperately.  It will be done next week.

[S204STi]

If it has to be...at least you still have the car, so that later down the road you can accomplish this goal!

[the Teuton]

I'm not selling the EJ25 anymore then, but I'm probably going to need to save up for a new exhaust system to handle the greater flow of exhaust.  Still, I only budgeted about $600 for the summer in additional projects which means that a) I'm not getting my 2.5 RS bumper quite yet, b) I'm not upgrading my suspension this summer  , c) the Nikon D50 will need to be dropped from my birthday list, or d) I need to get a better job.

[J86]

e) put car money towards beer money, drown sorrows

[the Teuton]

How true, but I'd probably go with liquor.  It has a bit more kick to it.  I'm going to sell the broken EJ18, though, or at least see what is really wrong with it.  I think it's good for $100-200 in parts.

[J86]

If you ever come across a turbo from my gen Legacy, lemme know...I might be tempted to do something stupid

[the Teuton]

If you ever come across a turbo from my gen Legacy, lemme know...I might be tempted to do something stupid

There was one in Western Pennsylvania for $900 a while back.  Want me to email the owner to see what happened to it if I still have their address?

[J86]

There was one in Western Pennsylvania for $900 a while back.? Want me to email the owner to see what happened to it if I still have their address?

Nah, too much money!  This is more of a "Oh look what I happened upon in the junkyard type thing" rather than a serious, planned expenditure.

Extra $$$ goes towards regatta fees and fiberglass...

[the Teuton]

If you mean a turbocharger and not a car (the car was $900), then there's a TD04 from a WRX on RS25.com right now for $100.  You'd need some other parts, but it's pretty cheap to turbocharge (relatively speaking).

[J86]

Ha, don't tell me these things!

[AutobahnSHO]

I didn't have money or would have been tempted to look at an early 90s Legacy wagon with rear body damage in NC.  $500, said it ran well.

[S204STi]

Will,

Hold out for a 97 or later Legacy.  You'll be glad you did in the long run.   So much more aftermarket (still not nearly what there is for the WRX, but much better than the first generation cars) and much more pleasing in their initial state.

[the Teuton]

I just dropped off a new 1.8 liter engine with the techie today.  It came from a manual car, but it should work just fine with the auto clutch plate.  Also,  I found a junk yard in Ohio that has Subarus, many, many Subarus.  They had a WRX, an STi, and two dead Evos sitting in front of their office.  That makes me really happy. 

In this thread, I'm going to be chronicling the 2.5 conversion come this summer and the body redux.

[S204STi]

Cool!  Keep us posted.

[the Teuton]

It's alive!  It's alive!

After 5 months of hell, I have my car back home.  I got a call on my answering machine at home saying that I could come and pick up my car.  I called the techie back and drove 40 miles in the middle of nowhere and picked it up.  Turns out that the 1.8 liter engine I bought was from California, so it has an extra valve on engine that is supposed to go to the air box.  I have to call the junk yard I bought the engine from to get the California box because my car makes a sucking noise for the first minute it's on.

Also, the corner lights don't work, the tail lights don't work, and the dash lights don't work.  You're wondering how I drove it home without getting pulled over, aren't you?  My friend who drove me out there followed behind me and when it was time to get on Route 30, he directed me to ghetto Canton, Ohio, where I saw cops all over the place.  Following behind me again, I drove home with no sight of the spedometer.  But sitting behind my house right now is my lovely little white wagon in desperate need of a carwash, some electronic fixings, a new wheel bearing sometime soon, some new tires, and a few more issues, some more immediate than others.  I, however, am finally satisfied.  You don't know how good it feels to finally have my car back.

[Raghavan]

Congrats! When's the manual swap?

[the Teuton]

Congrats! When's the manual swap?

Probably in the next 2 years, to be honest.  Mind you, I'm planning on keeping the car forever.

[J86]

Congrats!

Any 90-94 legacy turbos in that lot? I need a new hood.

[Secret Chimp]

I'm guessing the California sucky-valve impedes performance a bit. There's probably some way to plug it or feed it back in to the normal vacuum somewhere.

[JYODER240]

Fortunantly for you Canton police have enough violence to deal with that they probably don't care about non-working lights. North Canton on the other hand...

[S204STi]

Sucky valve?  Weird...I have no idea what would do that.

[the Teuton]

Congrats!

Any 90-94 legacy turbos in that lot? I need a new hood.

I just got back into town, but I'm going to be calling the junkyards after memorial day to get some parts and get my car working right again.  Seriously, though, I live something like 550-600 miles away from you.  What if I did find a new hood?

I'm guessing the California sucky-valve impedes performance a bit. There's probably some way to plug it or feed it back in to the normal vacuum somewhere.

Yeah, I have to call the junkyard to pick up the California-spec airbox.  The car doesn't feel as torquey when the throttle kicks down, but it's not horrible.  I can live with it for the time being.

Fortunantly for you Canton police have enough violence to deal with that they probably don't care about non-working lights. North Canton on the other hand...

I work right on the edge of Canton and North Canton.  I'm scared half to death because I get off in the evening when it will be dark.  I have headlights and turn signals, but until I can mess around with the wiring, I'm going to be driving home with my emergency blinkers on.  I have to drive 3 miles to get home but I'm worried that the cops here will try to pull me over as they have nothing better to do in this miserable city.

[J86]

I was being mostly not being serious...the girl who hit me is paying to replace it!

[the Teuton]

I was being mostly not being serious...the girl who hit me is paying to replace it!

Is she finding you a turbo hood?  They're kinda rare unless she buys you a Subaru OEM hood new for about $500.

Also, I now have tail lights.  For some odd reason, the mechanic wired them to my parking lights, so I have to turn my parking lights on to turn my tail lights on seperately from my headlights.  Surprisingly, after tearing apart my entire dashboard, I still have no gauge lights.  Tomorrow, I have to fix all of that.

[J86]

Is she finding you a turbo hood?? They're kinda rare unless she buys you a Subaru OEM hood new for about $500.

Also, I now have tail lights.? For some odd reason, the mechanic wired them to my parking lights, so I have to turn my parking lights on to turn my tail lights on seperately from my headlights.? Surprisingly, after tearing apart my entire dashboard, I still have no gauge lights.? Tomorrow, I have to fix all of that.

Creative lighting

Nah, just goin thru insurance, body shop is gonna take care of it.

Bill's gonna be about what the car is worth

[the Teuton]

General Subaru complaint of the day:

I'm trying to start to part out and sell some of my Subaru stuff to make money and not irk my parents for having two engines in the back yard, so I found a guy online who needed new SOHC timing belt covers.  I took the plastic covers off the EJ18 to see in small print:

EJ18
EJ20
EJ22

Why?!?!  Why would Subaru tease the American public back in 1993 with the designation "EJ20" on the timing belt covers when we never got it here?  It's a slap in the face that Subaru is only now making up for with the WRX.  But since 1992 the WRX's EJ20 graced Subaru engine bays and American mechanics and DYI'ers probably all wondered, "Why don't we get that here?"

[/rant]

Also, Josh or anyone else with a phase 1 SOHC EJ series engine, if you need any engine parts, just ask.  The EJ18 is godawfully similar to the EJ22.  Ask and ye shall receive for a severely discounted price.