dirtyloyalemobbin Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Hey everyone. Let me give you a little background before I get into this. I realize there are a number of existing forums on this topic, but I still have a few questions on points I'm a little unclear on. I have a 1992 Loyale, Wagon with the push button 4WD. She's a beast, always faithful and never let's you down. Thing is, she's got 220k miles, many of those being rough snowy. Its has the 1.8 ea82 as you'd expect. It's got the classic lifter noise, and is losing its power. Hills are difficult, and acceleration is slow. I intend to replace the engine (along with the clutch and other components accessible with the engine out). That being said, I'd like to keep my transmission. Even with the high miles, its flawless. I could go with a new ea82 and keep it stock, but I'd like to go with something a little more powerful. This is where I have questions. What is a wise choice as far as engine options? Will a powerful engine, even slightly so, throw off my gear rations? 1st gear is already very short. Follow up question, am I stuck getting a new transmission? If so, which/what for what engine? Bell housing bolt pattern etc Is the ea82 turbo a good choice? I appreciate any advice you can give me. I'm a decent mechanic and have some experience but I know I have a lot to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 (edited) For a more powerful engine, look to an EJ swap. It has been done many times by others and they all love it. Ea82 turbo gives a high headache to horsepower ratio. You don't need a new transmission . You use an adapter plate as sold by several vendors here on USMB. Your ea82 power loss could be a clogged cat. Edited October 10, 2016 by MR_Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyloyalemobbin Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Thank you Mr_Loyale. After doing some reading, I'm thinking about the ej22. As you said, that seems to be a popular and successful choice. I still need to do some research and find the appropriate adapter plate. Do you have any advise on the wiring? I think I have an older system than even obdI. Is this significant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 You will use the ecu and wiring harness from the newer model Subarus. Preferably(for simplicities sake) the one you get the motor from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyloyalemobbin Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) Alrighty. After some more looking around, I return. In my search for an ej22, I've found a lot of 2.0 ej22's labeled as replacement engines for the 2.2s. Could someone shed some light on that? Edited October 13, 2016 by dirtyloyalemobbin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 The phase 1 ej20 is a JDM equivlant of the usdm ej22e. Beware there are phase 2 ej20 also. Either will work for u. Just know what year engine your getting and match wiring and ecu to that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 I sell the adapter parts and wiring here http://www.sjrlift.com/index.php/catalog/engine-swap-parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyloyalemobbin Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 Right on! You'll more than likely be hearing from me. Currently, I have a new issue to resolve. So, in my quest for parts I've found a few options. I can get a nice jdm ej20/22 with about 50k miles for about $900. That's cool and all, but that leaves me needing an ecu, wiring, and any external components not on the block when they ship it. That being said, the donor car route seems better, until you get into it. For about the same money, you typically get a high mileage block, complete with its issues. BUT you get everything. ECU, etc - it's all there. I'd rebuild the engine from the donor car before I dropped it in my Loyle, at least throw a seal kit on it. I guess I'm trying to figure out which is less headache and part hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrsn Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 I was in the same situation as you recently. I ended up going the parts car route vs. buying parts individually. I just kept my eye on my local craigslist and ended up picking up a 93' legacy with 120k on it for 400$. Car has some minor issues but has been well maintained and I prefer to build some confidence in the engine before I spend the time putting it in my BRAT. I should be able to sell some other stuff off the Legacy to recoup some or most of my 400$ investment. Its also nice to see everything come apart and know with confidence that at some point everything worked together (before I screwed it up). -just my 2 cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ennbenn72 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I definitely recommend the ej22 swap! It's not too difficult to do and you get almost doubled the power. Now, as far as obtaining the engine, finding a parts car is the best way to go by far. All the parts you need are right there and if you don't care about the donor (doubtful) you can just break the dash to get to the ECU and wiring harness. The adapter for the Trans is easy to get as stated before and the motor mounts fit right in. The only downside to the Ej swap is sorting through the harness for the wires you need to make it run. If you decide to go that route and need help just pm me and I can help you. Good luck mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climb1028 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 (edited) I definitely recommend the ej22 swap! It's not too difficult to do and you get almost doubled the power. Now, as far as obtaining the engine, finding a parts car is the best way to go by far. All the parts you need are right there and if you don't care about the donor (doubtful) you can just break the dash to get to the ECU and wiring harness. The adapter for the Trans is easy to get as stated before and the motor mounts fit right in. The only downside to the Ej swap is sorting through the harness for the wires you need to make it run. If you decide to go that route and need help just pm me and I can help you. Good luck mate!I concur! I'm a relatively inexperienced suby mechanic and I managed to do most of the work of my EJ22 swap by myself. The help I had was mainly from Patrick and Drew in Portland who helped with the wiring harness. It ended up being a lot simpler than I was making it out to be but their experience and help was invaluable. My friend who welds made me a pitch stopper and custom welded the stock power steering lines onto the donor car's PS pump fittings. I used Scott's adapter plate. I had to customize the donor car's air filter box to fit on top of my stock one. I paid a radiator shop to braze on the larger in/outlets on a new stock EA radiator. But before I did that I ruined the headgaskets on the EJ22 from overheating and old age (hard to do, I know!) So after I had the motor in place I had to remove the heads, sand them flat and replace with Subaru head gaskets. I also went through as many of the engine components as I could (IAC valve, new belt tensioner and timing belts, new water pump, etc...) Lastly I sourced a 93 A/C system and brackets and managed (with the help of Mac's radiator doing the lines and charging) to get super cold A/C blowing in the Loyale again too! Oh, and I did the wiring and installation of the 2 cooling fans and the A/C components so they run off the ECU but have manual control switches on the dash for various hard driving situations. Anyhow, just wanted to relay my story and that I think the EJ swap is doable for a medium-low skilled mechanic (with the help of a few skilled friends!). My car just rolled 336,000 miles and as luck would have it I found a set of 15" allot pugs a couple days ago! Check out some instagram pics: @roaringcaballoblanco Edited October 19, 2016 by climb1028 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyloyalemobbin Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Right on! It's good to know others have had such success. I'm confident in the mechanical regard, removing and new/old blocks and dropping the new one in *shouldn't* prove too difficult. The wiring part will be the most interesting. I'm absolutely open to advice/instruction on that. I should be picking up the donor car this Friday. It's a 93 Legacy 2.0, with 170k. Seller says the rear diff caught fire..? But the engine and trans are without issue. 400 bucks. I have yet to see the car in person, not to mention hear it run. We'll see. As far as the adapter plate & flywheel, I'm thinking I'll buy the kit from sjr, also for 400 bucks. I intend to get a new clutch as well. Probably other components too, depends on what I find as I go. If I doubt anything, it's getting fixed. I don't know how much work I'll have to do to the donor car. I'm kind of hoping to get lucky and not have to open it up at all. But 171k, and like 4 owners.. Edited October 20, 2016 by dirtyloyalemobbin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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