Rebuild or swap?

[CornPap]

I've got a '99 Outback Legacy Limited with the 2.5 DOHC in it. It had been overheating off and on and long story short, blew out the head gasket. What would be the best suggestion from this point? Do I (a) rebuild the motor without knowing the extent of internal damages (est $2000-$2400 @shop, half if I do myself), or ( look into a rebuilt motor swap? (est $2000). If i go with a swap, I see allot of people suggest to go with the 2.2 SOHC. Why is that? This is really my first import. Generally I always thought that "There is no replacement for displacement".

Edited February 6, 2016 by CornPap

[golucky66]

No real opinion which way, I'd lean towards the swap.

And the reason is that the 2.2 is literally indestructible. It's crazy. They run forever, have no issues. And overall are just really really solid engines.

[Rooster2]

The 2.5 motor in your car does not do well with repeated over heating. The connecting rod bearings are not robust, and apt to give you future trouble because of the over heating. Also, the repeated over heating warps all aluminum parts.

 

When my wife "cooked" the motor in my 99 Outback beyond belief, I opted to install a 2.2 motor from a 1995 Subie with about 150K miles on the odo. It is drop in plug and play, and has run well for the past 3 years with no issues. As said the 2.2 is nearly bullet proof, and will run forever. The down side is that the swap needs to be done with 2.2 motors from years 95 to 98. Those motors are getting old, and low millage ones are getting hard to find.

 

I would advise finding a good motor from a wrecking yard at a good price, vs. buying, and installing a rebuilt motor.

[Razorthirty]

Alternately, get the same motor as you have, from another car, and put it in. they are sometimes had cheaper because of their issues. Mine is fine at 190k with one headgasket job a few years ago.

 

I like the power from the DOHC, better torque curve.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Razorthirty

[CornPap]

Would the 2.2 from a 95-98 have the same ease of plug and play as say the motor of the same size & year range as mine?

[AdventureSubaru]

1995 is the ideal year. Still a non interference motor and dual port. Any 96-98 will be a single port exhaust. Easy enough to just get the y pipe with the motor you install though. Also, best bet is to get one from a car with and automatic transmission as it will also be EGR equipped and everything will match exactly. Non EGR motors will run fine but you'll have a check engine light. An EGR intake manifold and equipment can be installed on a non egr motor with a hose routing work around to remove the check engine light.

 

But those of us who have been around them for a while will all coach you to find a good 95-98 2.2 that seems well maintained and drop it in. You will lose a couple horsepower, but by comparison gain far more reliability and ease of maintenance. The 2.5 motor by comparison was a basket case. Repeated head gasket failures and the subsequent overheating cooks the rod bearings and trashes the motor. The 2.2 swap will cost you far less than either option of 2.5s and I'd expect a 2.2 with 150,000 miles to outlive a rebuilt 2.5 of this year. Just a far better motor.

Edited February 7, 2016 by AdventureSubaru

[Bushwick]

I've got the 95' 2.2L in my 95' wagon and other than replacing the timing belt when I 1st got it, and installing lower mileage lifters (factory lifters were shot and making a large ruckus, and would not hold a pump even after cleaning them out of the engine; replacements were free but new are roughly $5 each) that I still cleaned and bled the dark gunk from within (hydraulic lifters), it's as quiet as it was after the replacing them going on 2 years now. And VERY easy to get at assuming they need any attention.

 

 

Other than synthetic oil changes, plugs/wires, fuel filter, air filter, and fresh vacuum lines, it's seemingly been a good engine thus far w/o CEL appearing (ABS light is another story). Power is decent enough for what it is (you won't outrun a modern 275 hp minivan) and I have roughly 250 pounds of stuff in the car at all times and it pulls good enough regardless. It had I think 177k miles when I got (I think) and I'm nearing 189k miles now. Runs as good as an engine with 1/4 of the mileage. No smoking, passed e-check twice; running an external oil pressure gauge (I did pull oil pump apart and cleaned everything to bare metal, and resealed with anaerobic sealant due to too many unknowns) and it's roughly 75-80 psi cold, and roughly 8-10 psi hot. This things are like the Chevy 350 of the 80's. Very cheap to maintain them. And being 95', IF timing belt were to fail, valves shouldn't hit anything.

 

Like others said, they ARE getting harder to find. I have a ton of 97-99' cars being sold locally for $800-1000, but 95-96 are getting scarce.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Bushwick

[lmdew]

Do the Sway for < $500 with new T-Belt and seals.

I've done about 50 of them, loved them all.

 

You can even change the plugs in a 2.2 without spending lots of time trying to get the tools and plugs in and out of the hole.

[Bushwick]

^ Like he said. Plugs and even valve cover removal is easy and plenty of room. 

[CornPap]

I know it's been a while, but thought I'd follow up after all the work is complete. I had my motor swapped for the same kind. Found one with only 53,000+ miles on it. Runs great (again) and I thank everyone for their input