ScottAust

Hello all, I have a 1998 Gen 2 outback wagon which I'm about to do some work on and would like a little advice. I bought it a few months ago cheap as it needed some work. Main things being a EJ25D with a blown head gasket which is now replaced with a EJ22E and cv shafts on the front. Next step is the front shafts. I though while I'm at it I will do the suspension as that is also getting old too. I have ordered raised King Springs for all 4 corners and now need to order new struts. As the point of doing a spring lift is to put some taller tyres on my question is what struts are best? Standard struts for that model outback or another model / year ? ( For example do struts off say a 2004 forester will give better tyre clearance) Thanks Scott

The 95 car has very nice full leather interior. All alloy block that could be polished up. Mmmmm .... a "top gear" style coffee table and lounge set for the man cave ??

Thatt hasn't been cleaned after the swap yet ! Both engine bays were cleaned before the swap so I xould work on them without getting covers in grease and dirt. Being a first timer I wanted the see and feel everything.

Too late your an expert now! Hahsha But ..... I do now have a EJ 25 sitting there in need of a rebuild and while reading these posts a frankenmotor did get my interest !

The EJ25 is sitting on a spare wheel in the shed. I can't pick it up but I can move it around on a hand trolley.

See like a bought one.

I don't plan on removing engines as a hobby ! I was quoted $2500 to fix the EJ25 by a mechanic so when I found and then bought the whole 95 car for $400 the idea of swapping the engines myself was a no brainer. The extra $60 for hoist hire was nothing in the big scheme.

When I say I only used basic hand tools I should clarify that I have a full upright tool box. This is a top quality Sidchtome set (cost $2000 about 5 years ago) so has everything like long and short sockets in 1/2 and 3/8 drive in 12 point and a set of 6 point as well. For example there are slot of 14mm nuts so I have about 6 different spanners in that size, open end, ring, offset ring, a set of ratchet ring spanners. The point being I had a tool to fit all the tight spots. The engine hoist was from the local hire shop. $62 hire for half a day,

Got home from work and with a torch looked down through the maze of wires and tubes and there was the little brown conection sitting all by its lonesome ! Plugged it back in ( that was a story of contortion and swearing ) and turned the key to on. No fans ! Hit the key and it fired straight up. It's been an adventure for a novice but it looks and runs just like a bought one !! Thanks to all for the help.

Got home from work and with a torch looked down through the maze of wires and tubes and there was the little brown conection sitting all by its lonesome ! Plugged it back in ( that was a story of contortion and swearing ) and turned the key to on. No fans ! Hit the key and it fired straight up. It's been an adventure for a novice but it looks and runs just like a bought one !! Thanks to all for the help.

Ok that makes sense. I know now that redish brown connector is the problem. All the other connectors clicked when they went back together. That one just pushed in. I didn't think much of it at the time other than it seemed a bit loose. I'll put money on that has comie off when putting the manifold back on !

Ok my mistake with the oil sender. Don't know about any fault codes yet. Yes all the vac hoses are connected. But I know now that redish brown connector is the problem. All the other connectors clicked when they went back together. That one just pushed in. I didn't think much of it at the time other than it seemed a bit loose. I'll put money on that coming off !

I know there is one temp sender on the top front of the block between the alt and P/S pump ( give or take ) where is the other one ?

Which one is the ECT ?i have no idea what all these bits are called or are for ! There were 3 conections in that area, one brown plug going to the water pipe (that goes on a diagonal to the top radiator hose) . A single spade conevtion going to the block And another plug (think it was blue) going to a thing on the manifold directly above these 2 I did connect all of them but maybe one came off when I put the manifold back on ?

Hello all, I have just done the 25 to 22 swap and it was very easy in the end. I have a 98 outback wagon and the donor car was a 95 Liberty ( Legacy ). I had a bit of confusion with the wiring and that was sorted out in a previous post -" EJ25D to EJ22E wiring issues" if you want to check out the background to help me with this question. The 22 is in and runs beautifully once it is warm. When it is cold it is hard to start and takes about 10 seconds of winding over with the starter. Once it does fire it only does about 300 or 400 revs for about 10 seconds then it goes up to normal idle. When it is hot it starts perfectly, it will fire within 1 or 2 seconds on the starter and goes straight to about 1500 revs and then back to idle like it should every time. The other issue is the thermo fans come on as soon as you turn the key on. I don't know if these 2 things are related or maybe they are symptoms pointing to the obvious problem or part that isn't working. As I saod I have only just finished the swap so have only run it in the shed for 15 mins or so a couple of times then test driven it for a few miles the next morning. In the afternoon I ran it and unplugged the fans and let it get to temp then plugged the fans back in and let it run for half an hour. I guess the ECU would not of had time to learn the differences as yet. Both cars were working as normal before the swap and didn't have either issue.

The swap is done and the 22 is running. Thank you to all that made comments here and in general on this site. Just about everything I needed to know I searched and found the answer. Considering I am not a mechanic, only have basic tools and have never removed an engine by myself before, I am very pleased with myself ! 25 out of the outback, 22 out of the donor, 22 into the outback then put all the right parts strewn around the shed back together, all in 3 days. Just to clarify that- a day being 4 to 6 hours in between other things like kids and other household duties. So 1 day each to strip the motors ready to be pulled. On the third day it took 2 hours to pull both motors and put one back ( amazed myself how easy this actually went) then about 6 hours to put everything back together. Only real problem was I bent the metal cover on the bottom that covers the flywheel etc. And it was touching. So when I started it up it sounded like world war three and frightened the s••• out of me. I was able to undo the engine mounts and Jack it up enought to straighten it out. There are a couple of hiccups which I will start another post for. ( cold start and thermo fans staying on ) when for a short drive and it runs perfectly. Also worth mentioning the 25 had a bad head gasket and seemed tired with 205,000 kms on it. The 22 has only done 80,000 kms and been properly maintained by a Subaru dealer every 5000 kms. I know people say the 22 lakes powerin comparison but not in this case. Maybe just the difference between a good and bad motor ? My message here is if I can do it .... It can't be that hard.

It's done ! To answer my own question from the start of this thred (and thanks to those who commented) yes just swap the wiring over and all the plugs fit where they should. The only difference was the 25 had an extra thingo that the 22 didnt, a round black thing with a wire coming off it and a bolt going through the middle. It was bolted on the block just near the heater hose connections. I just bolted it on so whatever it does it must be doing it.

Thanks for that info. Just to clear a couple of those questions- I have tried to keep the right hand vs left hand drive confusion out of it by not using drivers or passenger side references. When sitting in the car looking forward The battery is on the left side, the 2 o'clock reference is the same. The donor car is complete so I have the correct manifold for it already. Interesting more for you lot in the US neither of them have the EGR pipe. As for the inspection, engineering and mod problems here, this is not an issue. If I was putting a 350 chev in it it would be. It's just a standard car otherwise so as long as it all looks "factory" under the bonnet, If someone looks at at unless they know it won't be questioned

Hello all, I need some help with a ej25 to ej22 swap. Before I get into my problem I will say that I know the obvious answer - yes I am in Australia so yes that is why the wiring is upside down. My wife's 9th month 1998 gen2 Outback EJ25 DOHC has the head gasket problem and a knock starting in the bottom end. I am up to the point of removing all the accessories etc and unbolting and the engine is sitting there ready to come out. After reading all the posts on doing a swap for a EJ22 this seemed like a better option and far cheaper than rebuilding. Everything just fell into place as I found (just up the road no less) a 1st month 1995 Liberty gen 2 (that's what a legacy is called here) with EJ22 auto that has less than 50,000 miles. So every post I have read says what I have got is the ideal set up. I've seen the quotes over again that its a direct plug and play swap and the only issue is the power steering line bracket. Right ? NO WRONG !! well at least for my definition of direct swap. There are a few minor issues with vacuum hoses but nothing to cause a problem. I have this motor ready for removal too but as I was pulling everything off I noticed the wiring issues. (note - I have taken the intake manifolds off both to get at the 4 flex plate bolts easily ) Issue 1 - On the donor car there are 3 square plugs. a 16 pin, 12 pin and a 6 pin. These were on the bell housing at the 2 o'clock position. On the outback the 16 and 12 pin plugs are near the battery so nearly 2 foot away ! there is no 6 pin plug there? Issue 2 - There is another round plug with 8 pins on the outback, it comes from the manifold and plugs into a socket bolted on the front of the right hand strut tower. This one is not on the donor car at all. Is it the same as the extra 6 pin square plug on the donor ? I don't really want to cut up the harness and extend it to fit so what I am thinking is to swap all the wiring from the EJ25 manifold to the EJ22 as it looks all the same except for where the connectors go to the body. Hopefully someone who has done one of these swaps can help me on this. So the basic question is will that work? Thanks