ccrinc

Yeah, the EJ18 is a smaller bore. Everything else except pistons and therefore smaller rings, is the same between the EJ18 and the EJ22. They were designed to be swapped between the two. Everything from an EJ18 (intake, exhaust, accessories, etc.) fit an EJ22 and vice versa. HP difference: EJ218 = 115hp. EJ22 = 130-135hp.

Palm Harbor, as in Palm Harbor, FL? I grew up in St. Pete, just south of you!

GD, I'm sure that for you, it's no sweat. But this is just for general information. Like, you can't just take an entire engine out of a 2003 and put it into a 2000 without matching up these items. Yes, you can swap over the cam and crank sprocket, even switch out the breather tube. You may know this, and I may know this, but John Q. Public generally does NOT know this.

This is most likely an oil pressure or oil circulation problem. Circulation would be my guess. What happens is that the front main seal loses flexibility over time and sucks air, thereby reducing oil pressure. The screws on the backing plate can loosen up, causing the plate to back off and reducing oil circulation. Now, you can replace the front seal and replace the oil pump o-ring, Locktite the screws and tighten up the plate, OR: you can shim the oil pump. Remove that hex bolt on the side of the pump, add a shim (only 1) and replace the bolt. This will increase your oil pressure. Is this a permanent fix? Not really, but it's a good one for quite awhile. Let's face it: at 300,000 miles, sooner or later, the engine will need more than this.

As posted in a recent thread: These are the 5 things that absolutely MUST match up. You can use any year from 2000-2004 2.5 SOHC North American engine as long as these things match the original engine (don't even think JDM-the "plumbing" is all different): Left cam sprocket Crank sprocket EGR? (or not) breather tube on block (there are 3 styles) oil pump for automatic or manual Once you get into 2005, changes took place involving exhaust ports, PZEV, and more. And people wonder why we custom build every engine.

That engine has solid lifters. I would suggest the problem is that you need a valve adjust. They can make an awful noise when they get too tight. Emily www.ccrengines.com

These are the 5 things that absolutely MUST match up. You can use any year from 2000-2004 2.5 SOHC North American engine as long as these things match the original engine (don't even think JDM-the "plumbing" is all different): Left cam sprocket Crank sprocket EGR? (or not) breather tube on block (there are 3 styles) oil pump for automatic or manual Once you get into 2005, changes took place involving exhaust ports, PZEV, and more. And people wonder why we custom build every engine.

Do you know how many people in the USA would kill to have your setup? Many, believe me. I'm going to assume it's because fuel prices are much heftier "down under" . However, I think you'd have to save a LOT of fuel to justify the cost and PITA factor of doing such a major change. I see it's two stage: wouldn't keeping your foot out of it accomplish the same end?

"Reasonable" is a relative term. You will need the ECU, wiring harness, all the sensors, intake, exhaust (you'll need to modify that some), plus the complete engine. You will need to modify the wiring harness, since that harness has redundant wiring for practically everything electronic or electrical in the car (think brake lights, head lights, etc.) There's a good write up on http://www.awdpirates.net of just such a swap. Frankly, it's more work than I ever want to do!

After several head gasket issues on 2000-up engines, we stopped using the gaskets that come with the engine gasket kit and now only use turbo head gaskets on all newer style engines. It costs us a bit more, but we have had exactly zero issues since then. My advice is to make sure to only use the turbo head gaskets. The "recommended" gaskets are too thin and flimsy. If I was actually at work today (home sick), I'd post the part number for you. I'll do that when I get back to the office where our build sheets with part numbers are. ps: We DID offer to warranty the engine for you. That much oil loss was bound to cause problems.

Aside from all the other issues electrically/electronically, the simplest thing to do is retain the 2.2 intake manifold, but swap all the wiring from the 2.5 manifold to the 2.2 manifold. This works: I know. That said, I have yet to meet or talk to anyone who has done a successful swap of the kind you are considering. There were so many changes between '95 and 2000. While the crank gear will probably fit, I'm doubtful that the left cam gear will even bolt on. Then you have to consider the fact that the timing belt is different: will it fit the right cam gear, plus the idlers and tensioners, and it is the correct length? You have to use the correct ECU for the engine wiring. And no, the 2.2 wiring won't plug into the 2.5 wiring. Wiring wise: it's pretty much all or nothing. Back to your 2000 engine: you say it "blew" due to rod bearing. Did it throw a rod? Or just spin the bearing? If you didn't throw a rod, my suggestion would be to have your shortblock gone through. You're setting yourself up for more frustration than I can even begin to imagine and more than I'm sure you can imagine. If by some miracle, you do manage to frankenstein this all together, you'd better provide a ton of pics and documentation for future reference!

That would be a wheel bearing if the noise doesn't go away after it's been driven.

No. The EA82 is a much wider engine. At least, I've never seen one fit.

There are a ton of other issues to address in trying to put an EJ22 where an EJ20 was. Wiring, sensors, exhaust, ECU: none of these match. Oh, and it won't mate up to the tranny properly either. IF somebody really wanted to put a 160 hp engine where 260+hp engine was, they'd be looking at practically rewiring everything. GD, I don't doubt that you do good work, and you're always one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum, but we couldn't touch that price: we put more than $1000 in parts alone into an EJ20. Emily

After talking to the above poster, he's got a ton of experience on Subarus, and while the valves can cause a problem, it seems a lot easier to me to do the NSW fix first.

This is such a common problem. Thanks to a mutual colleague who's on this forum, we found out it's probably in need of a valve adjust. I had a '97 Outback Limited with that issue and found out about "the cure" just after I sold it.

It's called a Forester XT. The engine is basically identical to an STi engine: a 2.5L turbocharged engine, same internals, same horsepower. The main difference is that the Forester style doesn't have some of the "extra" performance items that the STi does.

I rarely respond to criticisms and complaints on this, or any other, board because any business is going to have some complaints and I look at it as being a part (although an unpleasant part) of doing business. This one I am going to respond to however because of half-truths and downright lies which I am sure he wholeheartedly believes. Jeff leaves out that he demanded we re-use his oil pump initially because it was low mileage. He got a new, Subaru Genuine pump when he returned the engine to us, as he would have from the beginning if he had not demanded his original oil pump back. While we don't like it, it is possible that the crank might have had bearings it shouldn't have. Our crank grinding vendor usually stamps them: we have found a couple that were either not stamped at all or stamped incorrectly. We do not want to use cranks that will not turn .10/.10. The bearings were definitely .25 NDC bearings. We have communicated our displeasure to them and are hopeful this will never happen again. Jeff assumes the engine was not torn down because the new heads were not put on it, in error. Rick admitted to this as his personal error and offered to pay the other shop to do the work. Two of the pistons were brand new, two were good used, within Subaru specs. These pistons are simply not available anymore except a very few of the right side ones because they were the ones which were most frequently damaged. His threats of calling the police had nothing whatsoever with our decision to give this man his money and get him out of our hair. This was not a criminal matter, it was civil and they would not have done anything anyway unless he took us to court. I'm sorry: I've been a member of this board for something like 15 years and have many friends here. I don't usually take these kind of posts personally, but this time I am. For those of you who also own shops, you know what I mean. This OCD customer came in with unusual demands, my secretary got to where she positively refused to talk to him in any way, he would call as many as 5 times in a day, talk for 45 minutes, and change his mind about this or that. I listened, took notes, and we tried to make him happy. We did make a mistake, possibly two, but we tried to make it right, only to have him call me, and Rick, liars, thieves, cheats, dishonest, incompetent, etc. It was worth the refund to not to ever have to deal with him again! His words were "you pay me this and you'll never hear from me again." Right: posting like this IS hearing from him again and is dangerously close to libel. We haven't been in business 17 years and have the A+ BBB rating we have by being sloppy and dishonest liars. We sincerely hope Jeff's engine is all good now and that he and his Subaru will live happily ever after. Without us.

San Francisco Auto Repair Center. (415) 285-8588. Owner's name is Gary. In Portland: Superior Import Repair (RichieRich's place). (503) 288-8634. Emily http://www.ccrengines.com

That is the way any car should be driven anyway. 10 seconds is a very short time to spend to make sure all the juices are flowing in the right places and under the correct pressure. I know I've been guilty of start up and take off, but I got in the habit when my '01 Forester developed some piston slap. It's been beneficial to my '97 Outback with the hydraulic clutch which can be sluggish to respond on cold Colorado mornings too!

It's actually a printed Service Bulletin we got from GO Subaru West.

I found this Service Bulletin which may answer some of the questions regarding hesitation on acceleration. Number 11-53-98, dated 1/5/99 HESITATION ON ACCELERATION - 11-53-98 (2/99) Applicability: 97-98 Legacy, Impreza, and Forester Manual Transmission Vehicles with 2.5l and 2.2l engines. In the event you encounter a customer complaint of a slight engine hesitation between 1500-2500 rpm's when the engine is cold or hot, perform the following Eliminate all external influences, such as an incorrect or dirty air filter, loose or tracked intake duct, dirty fuel filter, low fuel pressure, PVC system, or low engine vacuum that would indicate an external leak or an internal engine component. If all external components are confirmed to be operating within vehicle specifications, the hesitation may be caused by the ignition control logic in the ECM. Under certain low rpm driving patterns, the ignition control system can pick up engine vibrations through the knock sensor and may retard the ignition timing. This ignition timing is learned by the ECM and placed in memory. NOTE: This area of memory can not be viewed by using the Select Monitor. When the vehicle is driven uinder these conditions, the timing may be retarded and could cause the engine to hesitate on acceleration. To confirm this condition, road test the vehicle while viewing the Knock Sensor Signal on the Select Monitor. If you duplicate the hesitation, and the reading on the monitor is around -10 degrees, you will need to change the ECM to correct the concern. [my note: this is an enhanced ECM, not a replacement with the same component. NOTE: Some vehicles (shown on the following two charts) were produced with different emission systems during the same model year. To identify which system you have, look at the Vehicle Identification Number. Refer to the chart to identify which system you have on the 98MY Forester and the 97MY Impreza vehicles and choose the correct part number from the following page. There are a couple of charts, but they are not complete. They also do not mention (in the charts) the Outback, just Legacy. Of course, in those years, the Outback was referred to as a Legacy Outback. The bulletin also does not specifically mention that god-awful CEL which so many of us have, including myself. But, given what the bulletin is saying, and the fact that Subaru has not addressed the CEL issue at all, I infer that using the enhanced system and ECM will correct both problems. Hope this helps. Emily http://www.ccrengines.com

The cam and left crank sprocket must be exactly right in all 2.5 SOHC engines or the engine will not start. If I was still involved in engine tear down every day, I could give you the exact stats. It boils down to the number of "teeth" on the crank sprocket sending the correct signal to the crank angle sensor and the number of cam pickups sending the correct signal to the cam angle sensor. We always get the VIN of any car we do these engines for so that we can verify which combination is correct. There are only 2 configurations. That said, there is still the occasional oddball (usually around 2005) where what "should" be and what is, are different. Swapping the 2 sprockets was exactly the correct thing to do. Emily http://www.ccrengines.com

I admit that there are probably cars of which this statement is true. In the case of my car, those have all been addressed, and whenever I am doing about 65mph on a highway the CEL will flash and then remain lit. When you've done every test and fixed every possible issue, what remains must be true. Paraphrasing Occam's Razor.

I talked to a guy who is the Assistant Service Manager at a major Subaru dealer here in Denver, hoping to see if Subaru has come up with any resolution to the problem, because it's all over the internet. And because that CEL lit up on my dash is annoying me too. He told me that he has seen it repeatedly and "wishes Subaru would come up with a software upgrade" to fix it. It is interesting to note that SOA says the fix is to replace the ECU, but many people have done that and it's no help. It appears that the problem is not (usually) with the plug wires, sensors, fuel, plugs or any of the other commonly replaced parts, but a far bigger issue with the programming of that model year ECU. If you research this problem thoroughly, there are thousands of complaints and NOBODY has any idea how to permanently fix it. Subaru has no reason to try to address the issue because the cars are over 10 years old and way out of warranty. It's electronic guys. You can keep throwing money at it or live with it. That's what I personally am going to do on my car. Emily http://www.ccrengines.com