GeneralDisorder Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 The pistons are different between '96 and '97. The single port heads are not the cause of the interferance. The ONLY way to tell if a single-port engine is interferance or not is to look for the solid-lifter/roller rocker setup under the valve covers. In '99 the EJ22 went over to phase-II like the '99 Forester/2.5RS EJ251. That continued till '01 - after that the EJ22 was discontinued from the US market. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericcroll Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 According to John and the VIN code, this is a '98 model (W). Apparently, it had already been swapped out of the car by the time I got to it (it was in a 96 Legacy). In any case, since I am now going to be heading back to the JY this weekend to get myself another engine, do any of you have any suggestions? I was thinking about looking for another 96 (with the hopes of actually finding one this time). I like the idea of non-interference (even more so after looking at those pistons) as opposed to the 98 model type. I already had the exhaust modified from the original dual port for the 2.5 to the single port, so I'm not sure that switching back to a dual port engine would be the greatest of ideas, although I'm not a welder so what do I know? Now that I know where the VIN is, I can feel pretty confident that I won't get duped again. There was a pretty large selection last time, so I think that I can get just about whatever I'm looking for. Suggestions? Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 a 96 2.2 should match the exhaust you currently have and it is non-interference. but the interference is a non-issue if you change the timing belt and all components on schedule. $125 for timing parts every 60k miles in nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericcroll Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 Yeah, well my timing belt just went at about 10,000 mi., and took the top end with it. Hence my new love for the non-interference engine! I was just curious if there were any advantages to the 98 (interference) model vs. the older non-interference. Obviously, the 98 model bolts right up to my exhaust, so that shouldn't really be an issue. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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