kanurys Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 I know the DOHC won't fit in my 1987 GL wagon without notching the frame. Would a 2.5 SOHC fit without much modification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 DOHC fits fine in a EA82 engine bay, as will the 2.5l SOCH, which is right about as big as a DOHC head anyway. The small SOHC heads are the phase one 2.2l and 1.8l EJ heads, and have the headbolts external to the valvecover. They are the only heads that fit between EA81 (early 80's) subaru framerails without notching. EA82 (later 80's) frame rails are wide enough to stuff any subaru engine between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 there's an 88 RX in Colorado with a SOHC EJ25 running around for years now. member over at subaruxt.com installed it and has posted info/pictures of it over there in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Thanks guys. I think my confusion in memory was between the ea81 and ea82. I'll look up the RX, thanks for the info. Does anybody have pics of a 2.5 SOHC in an EA82 body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 i am just finishing up this swap. let me go get you a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 not the best pic but it gives the idea, the stock airbox sits kinda cockeyed on the TB because of the strut bar or whatever it is that goes across the rear of the engine bay. my other camera is out in the garage, i'll trek out and get it. its got some more better pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Nice! Was it a pretty standard engine swap for you or were there any unforeseen hurdles? Thanks for the pics. I'll be doing this on a wagon with 3" sub frame drop blocks, so i'll have to figure out something for the airbox. Maybe this is another reason the off-road guys use the ej22. Does yours have a lift or is it stock? Edited August 31, 2011 by kanurys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 well. the whole swap was a hurdle because i had never swapped anything before. LOL! in all honesty, it was fairly straight forward. you cant really follow the EA2EJ guide from Numbchux page by page, but the principles are the same. i didnt think stripping down the harness was too hard. just time consuming more so since i didnt label anything when i took it out of the car (2000 Outback), but i have (and printed out) the entire 2000 legacy fsm (its 8 2" binders) plus i got some tips from Tosh,GD, Eulogious, and a few others on some things but for the most part it wasnt bad. Tosh has a picture of the few wires from the ecu needed for the thing to run, but there are a few other wires needed depending how you plan on doin it. the only thing i am not 100% sure on is the alternator wiring, i wired it in to the EA alternator connector it seems fine but the alternator heats up a little bit. but it doesnt over charge as far as i can tell. if you are gonna do the swap, definately have the EA fsm and EJ fsm handy to use. it was much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) here are a bunch of other pics... this all took course from about the middle of july till now, pretty much only having a few hours after work in the evening to do anything. (click to enlarge) Edited August 31, 2011 by xbeerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Nice! Was it a pretty standard engine swap for you or were there any unforeseen hurdles? Thanks for the pics. I'll be doing this on a wagon with 3" sub frame drop blocks, so i'll have to figure out something for the airbox. Maybe this is another reason the off-road guys use the ej22. Does yours have a lift or is it stock? i have a 2" lift from Bill (beast i drive), so the cross member is still in its stock location. i am gonna replace that airbox, and get an intake off of ebay for $30 shipped, comes with the pipe and cone filter. some people just cut off the spare tire mount. im also going to put the 2000 Outbacks crossmember blocks on the car (same spacing as far as i can tell), should drop the crossmember about 1" or so. my axles will thank me, my mushy suspension lets the front end raise up a bit when on the gas hard, and i tore my axle boot on my 2 month old EMPI axle. :/ im also not to thrilled about the flexible coolant hose, but im getting an EJ radiator from a guy with the hoses that should fit better. Edited August 31, 2011 by xbeerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 not the best pic but it gives the idea, the stock airbox sits kinda cockeyed on the TB because of the strut bar or whatever it is that goes across the rear of the engine bay. that bar is only there to support the spare tire. Ditch it an EA82 engine bay is plenty wide enough for any EJ engine, including phase II SOHC, and DOHC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 now it supports the airbox. LOL! i was pretty sure it wasnt much more than that. just didnt look into it that closely. but then, yeah, that would be a pretty ************ty strut bar. hahah!!:lol: it almost seems that the ej is slightly narrower than the ea82 was. i could be wrong tho. could just be because there is less in the engine bay now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Thanks for your input, guys. Originally, I was only looking at ej22's, but now my options have expanded. When a deal comes by, I'm ready to pounce on it and then do a rebuild. I have a DOHC in my legacy outback, which has convinced me that it will be the only one I ever own. From working on so many SOHC subaru engines, EA and EJ, I know I'd like a solid lifter engine. If the 2.2 comes my way I'll put torque cams in it. If a 2.5 comes my way I'll keep it stock. This vehicle is mostly a crawler/jeep trail car. I've found several spots up high in CO where I have plenty of grip at 3+ tires but the weber'ed EA82 simply runs out of grunt - especially above 10,000 ft. The weber is jetted for high altitude and runs best around 9,000-10,000. This tells me that, up high, displacement and fuel delivery counts for a lot. Hence, interest in the EJ25 On that note, I was actually surprised when I road tripped my EJ25D down to sea level in Oregon. The power increase was huge. I could actually accelerate up a hill in 5th. It feels like it's running at about 75% full power up here in Durango. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) yeah, i like being able to use 5th gear on the hwy now. and actually accellerate or just keep my speed in general on a hill. i'd have to be at like 70+mph in 5th to keep my speed up on an incline. atleast with the 3at and ea motor, you are already up at like 4300 rpms at those speeds so its not as bad. Edited August 31, 2011 by xbeerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I burnt a valve on my EJ22 swapped lifted wagon, so I unplugged the injector to that cylinder. It could still do 90 on the highway with 29" tires on it in 3 cyl mode. I never tested to see how high it would go with a healthy engine. The powering out of the EA engine on steep climbs was always a complaint of mine. If you don't have the gearing, you need the torque to make up for it and an EA can't deliver. A 2.5l should help massively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 im also going to put the 2000 Outbacks crossmember blocks on the car (same spacing as far as i can tell), should drop the crossmember about 1" or so. my axles will thank me, my mushy suspension lets the front end raise up a bit when on the gas hard, and i tore my axle boot on my 2 month old EMPI axle. :/ Off topic, I undid the cv boot band and slid the small end of the boot up 1-1.5 cm to relive the strain on the boot on the lifted rig, then reinstalled the band. a hose clamp works, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 i did that too on the new axle. not by choice, it slid up on its own, and then i said.. hey, thats a good idea! regardless, my boot still tore. :/ but it was probably because it was really extended yet, and part of it was popped in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 So when it comes to ej25 SOHC's am I correct in assuming all of them have to single pig-tail of wires instead of the split pig tail like the early ej22's (90-?)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 (edited) i assume you mean as far as the wiring going thru the firewall to the engine? yeah. i just drilled 2 1.5" holes in the firewall so the stock rubber thing would fit. (idea courtesy of MilesFox) you can 'kinda' see it in this pic as far as what you'll be lookin at after stripped down. and i dont know why i didnt run the main relay wiring along with the obd2/fuelpump relay wiring etc. that would have made too much sense. also, ignore that thing about the ign relay there that i twirled out. Edited September 1, 2011 by xbeerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 looks good, xbeerd. What all does it take to pull the dash? I've always kind of shied away from such projects, though I know I can do it, just because of laziness. I'd do it for an EJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 i found it easiest to pull the dash by... -remove lower panel under steering shaft -pull steering wheel -remove steering shaft bolts to it hangs free -unplug all 8 million different connectors in the drivers side and passenger side corners and vacuum lines/hvac hoses. take note of the AC/Vent control on the left of the dash, as well as the HVAC hot/cold control that connects next to the gas pedal to flip that. -there's like 7 screws holding the actual dash up. 3 across the top, 2 on the lower corners, and then 2 more i believe in the center under the cig lighter area (have to pull the center console dependin which console you have) the dash hangs on a little hook thing by the center top screw, once all is loose you can lift it up and pull it out. you'll find quickly if you forgot to unplug something. it would help to have a friend to assist with this part. i did it myself, it was a ***************. i think thats about it. im told the swap can be done without pullin the dash out. which i do believe, but found out AFTER i pulled it. althouh the extra space while working was nice. if i did it all again, i'd try without pullin the dash. if you want to remove the ac and mount the ecu where i did,behind where the ac was, you can remove the glove box and lower bracket it mounts to and gain all the space you need. also to note. i found it easier to wire the tach and vss into the ECU plugs leading up to the wiring harness, rather than takin the gauge cluster out. the wires are just twisted to a point, and soldered and stuck in there, and secured with some e-tape. it should hold fine, if it comes out. i'll address it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 right on. Pulling the dash sounds like kind of like a pain in any car. I will probably just pull the cluster and lower panels and do it that way. I'm not sure if I want to keep/rebuild the A/C or not. I'm not much of a comfort creature, nor vein. It will probably go. Any thoughts, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 thoughts: my AC worked like it was brand new... now its in a pile. because i removed the unit and because of where i put the ecu, i have to make a duct to go between the blower and the heater core box, its a work in progress to be completed by late fall at the latest. LOL. i think i used it twice, once to see if it worked, and one other time just to see if it still worked. im a windows-open kinda guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 also, how do you like the exhaust routing you did with the header and output by the rear wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 eh, its ok. my original plan is to have a Y pipe after that glasspack and have a pipe coming off of each side of the car. i think i wanna take that glass pack off and weld in a piece of pipe instead, im not 100% on the sound with that glass pack in. its a 'thrush' glasspack i got from fleetfarm, i think a cherry bomb would have better sound. also thinking of drillin out the baffles on the thrush glasspack to see how that goes. once i get a pipe bender, i'm gonna make a Y pipe. hopefully in the comin weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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