dfenrick Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I've got a 97 Legacy Outback with just under 410k kms (approx. 250k miles) that has finally developed a head gasket leak. My son was driving the car and says that he didn't overheat it. Regardless, the heads will need to be checked, and I figure that while it's out, it a good time to replace the timing belt and water pump. That said, is that all I should do, or would it make sense to do a full rebuild -- bearings, pistons, rings, valves etc? Would I be better off replacing the engine? I've seen several threads about replacing the 2.5 with a 2.2. -- is that a better way to go? Just looking for some advice from a community that seems to know a bunch more than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 You've obviously maintained your car very well! If it was me, I'd put a '95 EJ22 into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The 2.5 is not a very forgiving engine, even if it's run just a little hot there can be bearing damage, and with high mileage I wouldn't take a chance. Find a 2.2 out of a 95 Legacy and drop it in. Its the lowest cost way to get the car back on the road with the maximum amount of reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 The 2.5 is not a very forgiving engine, even if it's run just a little hot there can be bearing damage, and with high mileage I wouldn't take a chance. Find a 2.2 out of a 95 Legacy and drop it in. Its the lowest cost way to get the car back on the road with the maximum amount of reliability. I agree with what has been written above. With 250K on a 2.5 motor, it has seen it's best days, and not worth repairing. I recently did the 2.5 to 2.2 motor switch. I put a 2.2 from a 95 Leggie, in my wife's 98 OBW. It is really a drop in swap with minimal swap issues. Lots written on this forum about doing the swap. You loose some horsepower, but it is not that noticeable. Check your local wrecking yards for a used motor. I found one with 145K miles for $400. I got lucky, the motor runs great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Another vote for a 95 2.2 (with EGR). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 i can see a scenario that isn't a bad fit for repair - if it honestly hasn't been overheated and you can do the work yourself - you got a good chance at another cheap 100,000 miles, that's definitely worth it for some folks. check out General Disorders thread on resurfacing your own heads - it's really easy and only takes a matter of minutes with readily available stuff. $70 headgaskets, $20 intake gaskets, $10 sand paper, $15 coolant. $115 to repair the head gaskets. any other maintenance you do - timing belts, seals, etc - should be done to a new motor as well - like an EJ22 swap - which is a great solution too. $115 and a day of work...that's a good fit for some folks. tip if you consider doing this - you can remove only 3 nuts and jack the engine up a few inches to do this job without pulling the engine. i just finished one up yesterday like that, easy. if you want a more sure future - then other options abound but at that kind of mileage we would be remiss to think the engine is the only liability on the vehicle. used is definitely something i generally avoid on EJ25's, unless the history of the motor is certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfenrick Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks everyone. I've put a couple of struts and a drive shaft in the car within the last couple of years, but other than that, not much has gone wrong. It really owes me nothing. I'll poke around to see if I can find a decent '95 EJ22. If not, I'll take this one apart and at least get the heads checked before I proceed. Anyway, thanks for the help, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ionlyhave3suubs Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 If you end up repairing the 2.5, make sure to use genuine subaru headgaskets. I highly recommend having the heads re-surfaced. Do your homework and call several machine shops. the first one I called wanted close to $100 just to resurface the heads, the shop that I went with only charged $30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 www.car-part.com is a good search for the yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 use it as a boat anchor. replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfenrick Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Lots of suggestions for putting in 2.2 from a '95, both in this thread as well as several other places that I've been snooping around. I've found a couple of 2.2L '95 legacy engines about 350 miles away but there is a 2.2L engine from a '97 impreza only about 100mi away that has only 81000 mi with the description... 155-160 COMP,2.2L,C-AOD,RAN GREAT Couple of questions. What is the magic behind a '95 Legacy engine? What the heck does the 'C-AOD' mean in the above description? Thanks again for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 the 97 Impreza will plug and play and bolt in and work just fine. You'll have two things to check into, read carefully i'm going to detail it all for you: *** simply put - if the 97 has EGR and you get the exhaust manifold then it's identical swap to the 95 automatic EJ22. details: 1. you need the exhaust manifold with it. they are identical in every way and interchange easily (TWO BOLTS, that's it). it bolts right up - but the EJ22 heads are single port exhaust and EJ25 are dual port exhaust. in 1995 they are dual port exhausts so it just bolts up to the EJ25 exhaust no problem. get the exhaust manifold with it and you're golden. 2. you need an engine that has an EGR valve on it as all EJ25's have EGR. not all EJ22's have EGR - but all 95 EJ22's did have EGR so that makes that an easy fit. i have not seen any rhyme or reason as to which engines have EGR - particularly with imprezas - i've seen 97's have EGR and some not have EGR and auto/manual doesn't matter in 97 imprezas anyway.....so you simply have to ask if it has an EGR valve on the back. that being said - everything still works, plugs up, and runs perfect regarldess of if it has EGR or not, it will just give you a check engine light that you can't get rid of if you get one without EGR. i intentionally installed a non-EGR set up in my vehicle so it has less parts to deal with, but i have a check engine light. doesn't matter where i live, they don't inspect that or check emissions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 What is the magic behind a '95 Legacy engine? The 1995, 2.2 motor plugs and plays into a 96-99 Subie, that came originally with a 2.5 motor. No modifications needed. 2.2 motors from other years require some minor modifications particularity with the exhaust hook up. I am driving a 98 OBW that came with the 2.5, but now has the 95 2.2 motor. It is a sweet conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 What is the magic behind a '95 Legacy engine? The '95 EJ22 is non-interference, the '97 would be an interference type. Not all '95 EJ22s had EGR--manual tranny models did not if I remember correctly. So you would need to find an EJ22 from an automatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 The '95 EJ22 is non-interference, the '97 would be an interference type. Not all '95 EJ22s had EGR--manual tranny models did not if I remember correctly. So you would need to find an EJ22 from an automatic. This is correct!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfenrick Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I've found a '95 2.2L out of an automatic with 127000km (around 78000mi). I'll poke around a little more, but this is likely the one I'll go for. Thanks again for all your help. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I've found a '95 2.2L out of an automatic with 127000km (around 78000mi).I'll poke around a little more, but this is likely the one I'll go for. Thanks again for all your help. Dennis Sounds good, that is low km for a 1995 motor. It is always better getting an engine out of a car that was recently wrecked. It at least tells you the car was being driven, and not just sitting around, because the car broke down for a year or two. Ask how the motor became available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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