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ea82tdo4
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Going EJ. Either ej22 or ej25

Car is a 89 turbo touring wagon 5 mt push button 4wd.

I cant decide between going awd or go adapter plate. Whats the pro's/cons on either?

 

Also as far as swapping the engine, should I be looking for an engine with the ecu and harness or just an engine only? I dont really want to go aftermarket ecu. I plan on making my own harness modifications or maybe sending it to the nice people on the board here who do the conversion.

 

thanks:banana: :):headbang:

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The adapter plate/awd arguement is more personal preference.

 

With the ej adapted to the ea82 trans you can smoke off the tires pretty easy from what I hear.

 

 

The ej trans is, IMO, a better way to go because of the availiblity of upgraded clutches, and flywheels.

 

You will be emmensly better off with getting a whole wiring harness, as long as you don't go with a stand-alone. Because the ea ecu just won't run the ej motors. If you don't have time, patience, and the ability to read wiring schematics then you would probably be better off getting it converted for you.

 

Good luck.

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IMO, ej25 with awd, but thats my preference, the 22 is perfect anyways and strong as an ox, but im a bigger is better kinda guy, and I want awd so that Ican upgrade the flywheel and clutch and what have you, and I want "the beauty of all-wheel drive" kinda a lame motto.....

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get your hands on a '90-'94 legacy AWD 5-speed. depending on your local market, an ugly but running one can be had for $2-500. it'll have your entire engine (and you can make sure it runs BEFORE introducing the problems of a swap), the entire OBD I harness, the tranny, the linkage, the rear diff, etc. and the strongest motor subaru has ever made.

 

the ONLY reason to stay with an EA tranny, is if you're attached to the low range. which, if you're not doing some serious offroading, is unnecessary with the amazing low end torque of the EJ22.

 

whatever you do, don't use the pushbutton single-range tranny. FWD just doesn't cut it with that big motor. you need to be able to put the power to all 4, all the time.

 

 

the 2.5s are neat motors. but have headgasket issues, and will always have OBD II wiring, which complicates the swap (not impossible....but definitely more difficult).

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i'm with numbchux. a 2.5 swap is a lot of work for a headgasket prone and expensive motor. if power is what you're after then making a decision based on a measley 20 hp difference isn't worth it anyway, just get an EJ22 and turbocharge it. they are very easy to put a turbo on and quite capable of low boost and will be more reliable than the EJ25. and...like he said you can pick up EJ22 vehicles for a dime a dozen. don't bother trying to piece this together, your best bet is to get a donor vehicle so you have everything. finding a wrecked car or something that's rusted or needs work is easy to do and will be cheaper than buyhing the parts one at a time.

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whatever you do, don't use the pushbutton single-range tranny. FWD just doesn't cut it with that big motor. you need to be able to put the power to all 4, all the time.

 

Am I the only one who enjoys busting the front tires loose with the EJ22?

 

Though stock size tires would be rediculous I would think. It would be hard to keep them hooked up at all.

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Though stock size tires would be rediculous I would think. It would be hard to keep them hooked up at all.

 

Yeah he's in the bay area. I can just see a Loyale poised at a stop sign at the top of one of those San Fransisco hills on a wet winter day, just lightin' em um trying to get going.

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Yeah he's in the bay area. I can just see a Loyale poised at a stop sign at the top of one of those San Fransisco hills on a wet winter day, just lightin' em um trying to get going.

 

I've done that in a stock brat on the hills around here. So I don't even want to imagine almost double the hp and 50% more torque...

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EJ gearbox requires custom crossmember, earliy EJ DOJ cups for the axles (you won't need these because your starting with a turbo EA82) and a shortend propshaft (unless your startin with an EA81 car.) If it's EA82 car all the shifter stuff should line up I think.

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Thanks for the info guys. I decided that this car will become a lifted/offroad soob so I think I am gonna go adapter plate, maybe awd d/r or d/r in the future. So I am still looking for an EJ22 engine/harness set or maybe a cheap complete car in the Sacramento, ca area... Also in need of an adapter plate and drilled flywheel to bolt it up.

 

After I get the engine sorted out its time for front and rear lsd's and a 6-lug conversion. Maybe rear e-brake.

 

Thanks again:banana:

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have your flywheel machined to xt6 spec and you'll be set.

 

nope. you want the extra rotating mass for offroading. maybe have it resurfaced, but don't take any more off it than you have to.

 

 

best source for a donor motor is a donor car. and a great source for one of those is craigslist.

 

88hatchmonster makes awesome adapter plates. check him out here: http://www.mroseusa.com

 

you can do the flywheel yourself. just go to sears, and buy a $30 plug-in rotary tool (imitation dremel) and a few extra grinding stone bits. and have at it. be very patient with it. and make sure you take enough material off. the bolts should slip easily into place.

 

 

 

91Loyale, you're not the only one who enjoys FWD burnouts.....the local civic and neon guys seem to love it :lol:

 

IMHO, wheelspin belongs in the same category as underglow neons. all show, no go....

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the 2.5s are neat motors. but have headgasket issues, and will always have OBD II wiring, which complicates the swap (not impossible....but definitely more difficult).

 

i'm with numbchux. a 2.5 swap is a lot of work for a headgasket prone and expensive motor. if power is what you're after then making a decision based on a measley 20 hp difference isn't worth it anyway, just get an EJ22 and turbocharge it. they are very easy to put a turbo on and quite capable of low boost and will be more reliable than the EJ25. and...like he said you can pick up EJ22 vehicles for a dime a dozen.

Hi,

I'm hear to disagree on a few things. Firstly, the headgasket issues. not all EJ25s have HG issues, and not all EJ22s don't. yeah the gen 1 EJ25 was a big problem, but it wasn't the motor, it was the headgasket design, and I'm sure that 90% of them are fixed by now. Ohh and no way am I going to buy that a turbo'd N/A car is going to be more reliable then a stock N/A car... BAH! And FYI... 130->165 is 35 HP so there! :-p :lol:

 

As far as OBD 2 making the wiring harder or more extensive, bullarky! There are about 10 more wires for the OBD2... maybe 15 if you do the whole gas tank swap.... (fuel temp and such in the back) Actually between my SPFI swap and the EJ25... there were only about 25-30 wires more on the EJ... not that bad.

 

other then that I agree... the 22 is MUCH easier to come by, and the parts to fix them are cheaper... but the 25 is also a good choice if you have the money... if you are going to be offroading it, I also wouldn't bother with a turbo'd 22, that'd be a mess just waiting to find you on the trail...

 

In the end it just depends on how much you are willing to spend on the swap... I am biased on this subject.

100_1431.jpg

I did the EJ25 SOHC, AWD tranny with my stock LSD rear end and I love it. I'd also say that I'd skip the adapter plate... if my Rx was big a tough like my wagon... it'd out wheel it anyday.

90 HP low range locked center and LSD rear < 165 HP 3.9 AWD auto locking center and LSD rear

Ohhh... and I can spin my tires in first..... all of them :P

Just MHO

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nope. you want the extra rotating mass for offroading. maybe have it resurfaced, but don't take any more off it than you have to.

 

 

Have you actually weighed the difference in the flywheels?

 

Honestly... How much less would the flywheel weigh at xt6 spec.

 

The clamping force would far outweigh the "loss" of a couple ounces.

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actually he is right... to a degree...

 

The stock wheel is around 26 Lbs IIRC and the XT6's is 19... You can safely (according to Skip) turn a wheel down to about 16 Lbs.

 

When wheeling you really need the momentum to carry you up hills or over whatever... it takes longer to rev the engine, but it also takes longer to slow the wheel.

 

That being said, when I do the clutch on my SW I will put a XT6 wheel into it. My wagon simply doesn't have enough power to get up some places.... ohh it's also slow.:rolleyes:

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