00 imp obs bought with swapped 2.5

[cc22]

bought 2000 impreza outback sport wagon. figured out it has been swapped out to a 2.5n\a sohc out of a 98 legacy wagon. i'm looking for the engines that could be bolted right in directly. car originally came with ej22 soch n\a. apologies for couldn't find threads on this specific subject. i'm not looking for turbo or upgrade. car is used for daily and hauling 5x8 trailer for firewood and kayaks. many thanks for any direction and or help

[Fairtax4me]

98 legacy 2.5 was a DOHC. That engine won't run in a 00 unless they just swapped the short block.

 

How did you find out it was swapped?

Why does it need another engine again?

[idosubaru]

short answer - is just leave it be, there's no point in swapping. 

 

1998 can't be a SOHC EJ25 - so something is amiss in the details. 

 

 

it originally came with a Phase II EJ22 (1999+) and those aren't the reliability beasts of the earlier EJ22's.

 

your car probably has a Phase II EJ25 in it and there's probably little difference between the two - swapping a Phase II EJ22 in it would be pointless - it's basically the same engine and not that reliabile (in terms of older EJ22's).  Phase II EJ22 and EJ25's have the same valves, heads (minus exhaust ports), timing belts, etc - they're basically the same motor. 

[AdventureSubaru]

Agreed with the previous comments. Look at the exhaust where it bolts up to the motor. It's either single or dual port exhaust (2 bolts single - 3 for dual)

 

If single then someone took the heads from the 2.2 onto the block of a 2.5. This could be done with the block from a 98 motor.

 

If dual then it's a complete EJ25 SOHC and as mentioned, same reliability as the original 2.2 from the car.

 

If the 2.5 in there most phase II motors are 98% bolt in. This would be 99-04 forester, 99-04 Impreza and 2000 (and a handful of 99s) legacy and outback.

 

The other 2% are the different MAP sensors, exhaust ports and cam/crank sprockets. The thing to be sure of is that you either match dual/single port exhaust that you already have or get the matching Y pipe with the new motor. The rest is easy. Just swap your intake manifold and cam and crank sprockets onto the new motor to be sure they all match. If you are installing a new/used motor, you probably want to do a timing kit anyway so this doesn't add much work at all.

 

But as mentioned, if the current motor is running well, just keep running it. Before 99 there was an advantage to having the 2.2 motor. Afterwards there was not.

[matt167]

I bet it's got a "D" block... still tho, that's ok. it's approx a 30hp upgrade with no real downside since phase II engines are just as reliable as one another past 2000

[matt167]

I bet it's got a "D" block... still tho, that's ok. it's approx a 30hp upgrade with no real downside since phase II engines are just as reliable as one another past 2000

[AdventureSubaru]

I bet it's got a "D" block... still tho, that's ok. it's approx a 30hp upgrade with no real downside since phase II engines are just as reliable as one another past 2000

 

Is that confirmed? I know the early frankenmotors made high compression - 2.5 block with 90-98 2.2 heads made higher hp but needed premium fuel.

 

As close as the phase 2 Ej22 and EJ25 are I figured it would be negligible difference to make a frankenmotor. But that's based more on assumption than first hand knowledge.

[matt167]

Well, a EJ222 is 135hp, EJ251 was 165hp. The heads are nearly identical except 222 is single port.. Running a "D" block would drop the compression a slight bit. probably around 9.5:1 since they need the thick gasket to clear the valves.. It still should logically run right around a 30hp increse.

[cc22]

bought off wife's uncle's used car/ garage. he told me he swapped the blown 2.2sohc with the 2.5sohc that's in it now. he said it was out of a 98 legacy wagon. it has 2 port exhaust that one of his mechanics welded up to work with the old pre-cat exhaust from the blown motor. Engine smokes a fair amount upon re-entry after deceleration. chatter starting from timing belt area. alternator bout used up. disappears 2 cups of coolant per week. saw ej20 on ebay for nice cost compared to all that, but don't want to get into any more than a direct swap. power is not what i'm after. heads were not swapped. was hoping i could just throw in one of those complete ej20 from ebay without wiring or internal engine work

[matt167]

Who knows what you have now. If you have a dual overhead cam, you have a mess. If its single overhead cam, that's not so bad...

 

The 1998 engine can run on the 2000 electronics with some rigging, but not correctly.. The 98 would be dual overhead cam...

 

Your best bet at this point will be the engine for a car exactly like yours. You will deffinetly need the intake manifold and wiring harness to go with it, then hope your cars wiring was not hacked

[Fairtax4me]

The 98 2.5 was a DOHC engine and will not work in that car without some creative electrical engineering.

 

Look down on top of the block behind the alternator and see if the block stamp says EJ25.

 

There should also be a VIN number stamped in the lower right corner of the bellhousing.

[AdventureSubaru]

If you can post a few pics of the engine/intake manifold etc. we can get a better idea of what it is and what it can be replaced with.

[cc22]

going to work on the pictures today. going to document the wiring connectors, verification of sohc, exhaust, EJ25 on the block. gonna have to find the stamp or vin on the side of bell to id this one. i'm hoping my endgame will be that i'm able to find a jdm engine that'll plug right in. with no electrical work besides plugging everything in. 

[cc22]

in my case, i'd rather an engine with dual port exhaust, due to that's what the exhaust has been fitted for. thinking a 2.0 or 2.5 will match right up with my current exhaust. 

[matt167]

Jdm ej202 203 I think is the commonly available NA 2.0l that works with '01-'04.. You probably need a usdm intake and wiring. They are dual port tho

[cc22]

it's a  ej25 sohc. wiring has not been messed with. going to contact a jdm and usdm sales place and see about what replacement i can do without swapping technical stuff. ill figure out how to upload pictures one of these days. old phone and slow computer

Edited March 31, 2016 by cc22

[idosubaru]

yeah that's basically what 2000 Impreza's came with - so that makes sense, it's the easy fit.

 

Here are the engines that are plug and play:
1999-2001 EJ22's (they're rare, sometimes expensive/hard to find - probably why someone installed an EJ25 - there's far more of those). 

1999 Forester or Impreza EJ25

2000-2004 EJ25

 

two points of note:

 

1. swap the crank sprocket and drivers side cam pulley to make sure.  there's two different trigger patterns and you want to keep the same ones to the vehicle. 

techincally you can check them and count the triggers on the back side or assume auto and manual are the same as a guide - but it's an easy work around either way. 

 

2.  you'll want to verify what exhaust you currently have. 

EJ25 exhaust manifold is dual port.  EJ22 exhaust manifold is single port.  

if it's a complete EJ25 engine - then you'll need to swap exhaust manifolds to use an EJ22. 

if it's an EJ25 short block with EJ22 heads - then you'll have a single port exhaust and need to use an EJ22 or get dual port exhaust to match the EJ25. 

you'll need to look and check - the EJ25 and EJ22 heads are interchangeable, same intake mainfold, so someone could have bolted the EJ22 heads to an EJ25 block. 

 

and even 2005+ engines should work too - plug and play but the variable valve stuff will just sit there doing nothing and they're more expensive so usually not a compelling fit.