Blair Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 So I have a friend who wrecked his 98 Outback and its totaled. We just did both head gaskets and heads AND timing belt. It is basically a new engine. I want to buy this engine from him and find a shell with a bad engine and put together a nice Subaru for cheap! Like I said it is a 98 Outback with the four cam 2.5 liter. The car is an automatic and I will be trying to find a five speed. My question to you guys is what cars can I put this engine in with limited modifications to make it go in? I have a theory that I can put it in most anything. I am heading for a Forester but I would like to get a 2001 or so body style Forester. Is that an option? That or an Impreza Outback sport are my first choices. Thanks guys for all your expertise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 The only Forester it's plug and play into is 1998. it is plug and play into: 95-98 EJ22 or EJ25 equipped Legacy, Impreza, and Forester 1999 Outback 1999 Legacy's with 2.5's The EJ25 changes significantly in 1999/2000 (depending on model) Phase I: Your EJ25D (DOHC 2.5 liter) and all 1996-1998 EJ25's, and 99 Legacy/Outbacks. Phase II: 99 EJ22's and 99 Forester & Impreza EJ25's and all 2000+ EJ25's. A Phase I engine is not plug and play into the Phase II engines. Gloyale has mentioned swapping the wiring harness - swap the Phase II wiring harness onto your older Phase I EJ25 DOHC and then it is plug and play. I haven't tried it yet but with some searching you'd find a thread where he's already mentioned it. The idling mechanisms I believe are different though, I'm unsure of the work around for that...swap throttle bodies maybe...i'd find his mention of it previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Ok, so if I find a Forester OR Impreza Outback Sport I can just put it right in if it is between 95 and 98? Even if the Impreza Outback I find has a 2.2 in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Wait that is basically any Subaru between 95-98 haha, also, thank you very much for the information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Ok, so if I find a Forester OR Impreza Outback Sport I can just put it right in if it is between 95 and 98? Even if the Impreza Outback I find has a 2.2 in it? Yep. Drops right in. That DOHC is a great power upgrade. Just know that head gasket failure was a common issue - often recurring - in the DOHC 2.5 motors. There's a coolant additive that helps extend the life of it. And just keep a close eye on temp gauge etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Ok, so if I find a Forester OR Impreza Outback Sport I can just put it right in if it is between 95 and 98? Even if the Impreza Outback I find has a 2.2 in it? Correct , between 95-98 EJ22 and EJ25's are completely interchangeable - plug and play. There are a couple notes: 1. 96-98 EJ22's have single port exhaust so you'll need the DOHC exhaust manifold for the 2.5 - but it's all bolt on and simple swap and the exhaust has to come of the heads/engine anyway to swap so it's not any extra work. 1995 EJ22's have dual port exhaust that bolts right up to the EJ25. 2. not all EJ22's have EGR but your EJ25 probably does so it'll just go unused on the EJ22. i block them off and remove the system, i suppose you can just leave it too. either way it's not an issue - car runs and drives fine no matter the EGR - it's just a matter of check engine lights. 3. swap the EJ22 flexplate or flywheel onto the EJ25 Foresters started in 1998 so you only have one year. OBS's are simple, fantastic platforms for driving and high miles. Wait that is basically any Subaru between 95-98 haha, also, thank you very much for the information Yes - except SVX and EJ18 imprezas. You could probably figure out how to put it in an EJ18 impreza if you wanted though - swap the impreza intake manifold harness onto the EJ25 possibly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 There's a coolant additive that helps extend the life of it. And just keep a close eye on temp gauge etc. The coolant additive is intended for Phase II engines, I don't know that it does anything for the internally blowing Phase I's? Probably can't hurt of course to try it if every other Phase II is running around with the stuff in it, might be a good idea. I try to avoid the 90's stuff due to rust around here, they're not worth my time usually so I'm drifting away from them fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Wow, you guys are great! Immensely helpful. My dad owns a shop working on Asian cars and the reason I am focusing on this EJ25 from my buddies car is we JUST did the head gaskets and had the heads refreshed before the accident. The engine has probably 5,000 miles on it. Brand new. It is good to know I have a lot of options! It looks like I can put the exact car together that I want. I can't decide between a Forester or an Outback sport. I thought for sure the 2.2 and 2.5 ECUs would be different though, you guys are a big help! Also to go a little further, didn't someone come out with a redesigned head gasket that fixes the problem with the EJ25? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 nope, ECU doesn't matter. the OBS is probably a tad smaller in space than the foresters so if space is a concern - hobbies, family, work, travel...you'll likely want the forester. www.car-101.com has storage/space specs if you want to compare. probably much easier to find a 1995-1998 OBS than a one year 98 forester, but if you expand your search you'll surely find both. as to headgaskets: ivansimports, GD, Gloyale, Shawn...folks with extensive experience would probably be best to comment on head gasket options. there are COMETIC and Six Star head gaskets, i'm uncertain if they are considered full "cures" to the head gasket issue, particularly the EJ25 DOHC head gasket which is the worst of the varieties. for Phase II headgaskets there are MLS varieties from Subaru that are preferred. And the Turbo engines do not blow headgaskets and some folks are using those on non-turbo engines. but correlation does not mean causation so whether the gaskets or the differences in blocks help the head gaskets to hold better i'm unsure of. The best bet for a head gasket job is to properly do the job and resurface the heads and block (ivansimports does that to them all) to get the best possible seal you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 (edited) Ok cool, thank you. What was different about all the other Foresters that I cant use but one year? Edit: Is this the same motor they put in the first RS? If I found a blown 98 RS, could I drop in my motor and have an RS?! That would be exciting! Edited December 5, 2013 by Blair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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