EJ22 Motor and tranny swap

[WeezWagon]

Hey guys I'm just doing a little research on revamping my 92 Loyale. It's got a EA82 with a 3spd auto, both with 230k on them. It still runs well but is progressively leaking more oil and is having a hard time staying cool when I have to drive over passes (2 or 3 times a week). I am just kinda testing the waters for suggestions on what would be the best course of action to swap an EJ22 into the car, and while I'm at it put a 5 speed transmission in there too. The thing is I love the car, and its about the perfect vehicle for me, I just want a little more power and some more modern engineering. I have been looking at a lot of the write up's on the subject and have almost convinced myself I can do the motor swap. The transmission is another story as I am not seeing too many people go from autos to manuals (most people seem to have manuals already at the time of the swap) is it as straight forward as the motor? Is a donor car the way to go for this type of thing? Or would I be better off buying parts separately? Also what 5 speed transmissions would be good candidates for this? Will there need to be custom drive shafts made or would there be a way to avoid that? Any tips/tricks on part gatherings would be great. Also if anyone knows good spots to look for EJ's in the Seattle area that would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

[brumby420]

Well youve come to the right place to find info on your swap. Are you looking for anything particularly performance or just a simple EJ22/5 speed swap? i know this is common thing on this forum and you can probly find step by step directions for the swap somewhere on this forum. good luck on your swap.

[Numbchux]

My former Loyale started life as a EA82 FWD 3AT. Since then it's had 2 different EJ22s in it, and 2 different 4WD 5MT transmisssions. It's more than possible.

 

 

You'll have to decide what transmission would best fit your needs. an EA82 one, or EJ. The EJ AWD will have infinitely better road manners, and snow. But you'll pay at the pump, also you'll be in for some custom work mounting it.

 

Or an EA82 Part-time 4WD one, you'll get the mileage (almost) of a FWD car, but still have 4WD when you want it.

 

 

the 5-speed swap is fairly simple. for an EA82 one, you'll just need the crossmember, shift linkage, clutch cable, starter, flywheel, clutch assembly, driveshaft and pedal assembly from a car with a manual. You may also want the center console and shift boot. Gauge cluster will be different, but not plug-and-play (the plugs are the same, but the wires are in different places. all kinds of goofy lights will come on), I decided not worth the trouble, just to get rid of the "PRND21" indicators.

 

swapping the pedal assembly is, by far, the hardest part of it. You'll want to un-bolt the steering column and lower it down, and then you should be able to sneak the old pedal box out and new one in.

 

I would grab this stuff from a junkyard, or member on here.

 

 

if you want an EJ transmission. your driveshaft will need to be modified. you'll need to use an EA82 one. An EA82 5MT shaft is 2" (I think? I've posted aobut it before, look for my post about the transmission swap in my '88 XT6) too long. but you might opt to just have your 3AT one lengthened, might be cheaper in the long run.

 

You'll need different transmission crossmembers. The EJ transmission mount is further back, and They use 3 mounts, 2 that span across under the transmission, and a third in between the first 2. If you get those 2 from a 5MT XT6, they'll bolt right in, and allow you to use the center section from a first-gen legacy. Or....go custom. For shift linkage, you can use the EA82 5MT linkage, and just re-mount it about an inch further back. or modify the EJ linkage.

 

 

 

Either way, I would ALWAYS recommend getting a donor car for the EJ swap (or any engine swap really). That way you know you have everything, and you can also verify that the engine runs like it should before you start. Which will greatly help if (when) it comes time to troubleshoot any problems with the swap.

 

 

 

And I would not recommend going to the trouble of the swap, and leaving the 3AT in there!!

[WeezWagon]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I have been thinking about the transmission options and I think a straight forward EA one will do the trick for me. Plus the gas mileage will be a nice bonus. I also like having the ability to manually switch in and out of 4wd in the snow/mud and what not, dunno why but I just like it that way. My question is will that transmission hold up to the increase in horse power? or do things start prematurely failing if an EA transmission is bolted to an EJ? Numbchux I have downloaded your PDF for the swap and am reading it a bit each day, also looked at your site for the wiring harnesses, I really like how your loyale turned out. That's a very nice ride... Should this come to fruition I am only in need of space I think, donor cars shouldn't be too hard to come by out here. I'm gonna keep doing research and hopefully get this thing moving this summer. Thanks again.

[Numbchux]

transmission "strength" is a very difficult topic. As how it's driven has a HUGE effect on how long it holds up.

 

 

A friend of mine bought a mostly stock (awful boy kit, and some LED interior lights....) with only about 100k miles on it. blown transmission AND rear diff.

 

there's a guy here in MN with a stage 1 '06 WRX wagon. original trans rebuilt twice, and now he's got a new one in it (that's right, 3 failures), with about 80k on the clock.

 

 

the RX (EA82, Full-time 4WD, Dual-Range) transmission in my loyale held up just fine, and definitely had close to 300k on it (I put about 40k on it, I know it had at least 150k on it when it came out of the original RX, and there was at least one car in between there). I wasn't exactly gentle on it, frequent autocrossing, rallycrossing, and ice racing. but always careful to be gentle on the shifter and clutch.

 

The 1-5 gears in EA82 transmissions are extremely similar to those in the EJs. The dual-range trannies have a 2-piece input shaft, that does present another failure point, but I don't think it becomes an issue unless you have quite a bit of tq (at least 250 or so at the flywheel), and/or drive it like an idiot.

 

 

 

 

Long story short, yea, an EA82 5MT trans should hold up just fine to stockish EJ22 power.

[GeneralDisorder]

renob123 has a 5MT D/R in the frankenbrat - light weight and big power. Probably wont last forever but it's been through basically a whole rally-x season and has been daily driven as well as road-tripped across the whole length of WA state countless times without a hitch so far. Definitely will depend on how you drive it. This was a used transmission with unknown mileage - probably north of 150k. The wheel slip when it's in 2WD probably is a good thing for it. It does not see 4WD except on dirt.

 

GD

[renob123]

The condition of the transmission you're putting in matters too, obviously. I think I got lucky by getting one that was used properly by the previous owner. The linkage was a disaster, but then again, just about every part of my swap was a disaster. It was worth it, though, for the poop-eating grin it provides:grin:

 

Jacob

[WeezWagon]

Awesome that makes me feel better about putting an EA one in there. I drive pretty easy on cars generally so I'm not too worried. Thanks guys.

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

+1 for what numbchux says

 

i have a RX 5spd DR FT4WD behind a EJ22....it has a massive amount of slop/slap in the gears....whines in 1st and 3rd....and i have never had any worrys about it giving me a "fail!... you walk".

 

if your pretty easy on things like you say(AKA don't drive like a muppet), don't hesitate to put a EA box behind your chosen noise maker