RMVR53 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I've read so many posts about harness changes/mods, this wire/that wire 10% of the "new" harness of wires is all you have left, etc... that I think im goin crazy. What about the old harness of a 87XT FWD EA82 MPFI OHC WONT work with the EJ22? Does the EJ series have so many new wires and things running it that the old wires are useless?... Temp sensor wire is a temp sensor wire right? TPS switch is a TPS switch right? Ok, so they may have changed the plug style but why not just change out the old into the new and do away with the problem ?? Put your old Temp sensor in the new hole and away you go ...right? I may be a bit old-school, but its just a friggin bigger block (case) and if your only wiring up enough stuff to get it running, whats the hassle? As I make my switch from the above EA82 to EJ22, Im also toying with making a switch from 5spd to autobox. Due to my wife breaking her foot several years ago, every time she drives the XT she can barely walk the next day from the pain of shifting. Does the autobox come complete with its own brand of "wiring" woes? I know about EAT and AT transmissions so will a 3AT bolt up to an EJ22? Is there an Engine/Tranny combo someone could recommend as I begin my trip down insanity way? pardons for the rant but thanks for the ear.. Bill in Denver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 the EJ22 has a distributorless ignition controlled by the ECU. Otherwise you might be on to something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 as far as swaps go, it's not that hard to install the wiring harness/ECU from the 2.2 in something else. time consuming, but a swap takes time/effort too. for all that effort i'd hate to use a 20 year old wiring harness. i've pulled some apart and noticed corrossion on wires , under the insulation, up to a foot away from the wiring connector. that's 12 inches of compromised wire on one of the few that i've ever cut open. but - go ahead and try it, you never know until you try. good news: they use the 1.8 EJ series ECU to run the EJ 2.5 liter motor so the 1.8 EA82 may work just fine with the EJ22 2.2 liter. like he said the DIS might be the hoser in the whole deal. you'll need something for spark. from playing with MAF's (mostly by myxyphlyx on the board here), you would probably be better off using the EA82 MAF sensor. or at least having it handy in case the EJ22 MAF doesn't work with the EA82 ECU. you could easily have issues there, otherwise i think the sensors might be compatible. only other difference i can think of is some EJ22's have more than one O2 sensor (but i might be wrong and maybe some only have one). if that's true, i'm not sure of the issues there. i know the older subaru's run fine without the O2 sensor in place, but i don't know the EJ22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMVR53 Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 ok...thats what I love about this place..education!! having not even seen an EJ22 (guess I should make my way to a local salvage yard to see one huh), is there a way to convert it to having a distributor or is it like newer Fords/etc with COP (coil on plug) setup and no distributor hole available? If I have to do the ECU, where is it and best one/years engine/ECU to grab? Thanks all Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMVR53 Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 ok...did the yard thing today and the EJ22 is an interesting lil bugger. Has anyone tried to retro-fit an EA82 MPFI intake/Distributor to one? I did find a 92GL with an EA82 and only 80k on the clock (hit hard in rear so I would assum it was running - extremely clean car otherwise) so I may just go that route instead of all the hassle of the EJ swap. As far as the auto swap, there was an autobox XT that I had a real good look at. NO WAY am I gonna go thru that brain damage to switch out all the console crap that goes with the autobox.....Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 the intake ports between a EA82 and a EJ22 are waaaaay different. So different to the point where you'd either have to make a Frankintake or just leave the EJ22 intake on it. You'd be a lot better off with the EJ22 intake since it flows a lot better then the EA82 intakes. Also, there is no place to put a disty on the EJ22 engines IIRC. No EA style trannys will directly bolt up to a EJxx engine. Bellhousings are two totally different beasts. There are a few people here on the board that make the adapters to do that, just do a search for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 someone on the board here converted a DIS system to a distributor style ignition. wasn't too long ago (month or so) that i recall seeing the thread and pictures. i can't say i recall which motor it was, but seems like it was an EJ22. i believe it was also a propane conversion and one of the down under guys did it, but that's from memory so don't hold me to it. pretty cool set up...i hate to hack up the details so find the thread if you're interested, tells the exact distributor and what they used to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suberdave Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 i beleave that was in the land of oz. some of there early EJ's came with the dist. hole in the left side head. but none of the US EJ's did. if i remember correctly -=Suberdave=- someone on the board here converted a DIS system to a distributor style ignition. wasn't too long ago (month or so) that i recall seeing the thread and pictures. i can't say i recall which motor it was, but seems like it was an EJ22. i believe it was also a propane conversion and one of the down under guys did it, but that's from memory so don't hold me to it. pretty cool set up...i hate to hack up the details so find the thread if you're interested, tells the exact distributor and what they used to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 yea, the EJ series engines use a very different engine management system, so the harness has to be changed at the ECU. that's why so much wiring has to be done. you can borrow some wires from other parts of the car, but essentially everything has to be redone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballitch Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 keep in mind the autobox wiring harness only has like 25 more wires than the manual tranny harness. and the best harness for performance would be the EJ18 manual tranny ecu and harness, but it is OBD-II, which means alot more wires and lights and other stuff. if you want more cut and dry route, grab a 1990-1994 ecu and harness from a legacy and use it, less wires and only one o2 sensor. the EJ18 ecu has better timing and fuel maps for higher rpms, and it has a higher rev limit because of the smaller motor. you CAN run a EJ22 to higher revs, but be careful. since the EJ18,20,22,25 are all MAF based ECU's, you can use any harness to power any motor, pretty much.....yes the EJ20 did come in N/A form, just not here in the U.S. dont give up yet, it is a very desirable swap. when/if you get your EJ22, make SURE you get the dual exhaust port version, i didnt and i regret it, mainly because im getting a header for my legacy and would like to re-use the legacy header on the GL, but i cant. ~Josh~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I can't remember who it was, but it was Down Under, and he had the head machined to accept the distributor. I believe he was also running LPG. The EJ isn't a COP like the newer Fords; it's got a coil pack like some of the Fords did a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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