Genuine JDM EJ22?

[hankosolder2]

Greetings,

Well, I bought an engine from my local "engines from Japan" merchant for my Dad's '95 legacy. Various people have mooted the theory on this board that there's no such thing as a genuine JDM engine of >2 liters, because engines over 2 liters are punitively taxed in Japan. I was inclined to agree, but thought "eh, this is a good price on an engine, it's got a 3 mo warranty, the seller has a good rep and I don't really care if it's authentic JDM" made me go for it anyway.

After inspecting it today, I think it's genuine JDM. First off, the tapping for the vacuum booster is on the wrong side of the manifold, so this is from an RHD car. It's got the three connectors on the right side of the engine, so it's got to be from a '95, two port heads, no EGR. The engine came with a flex plate on it, so it's from a 4EAT car, yet has no EGR like all '95 Automatic cars. The old oil filter which came on the engine has all Japanese kangi (sp?) characters and no English.

The power steering pump has a wire going to it! (Pressure sensor?) Finally, the place on the side of the block where the VIN is stamped on a USDM engine is blank.

 

That's my .02 ...we'll see if it's any good when I fire it up. BTW, has anyone tried to run one of these engines on a strict plug& play basis? The harness and injectors look almost exactly the same as USDM, but I'm a bit scared to just plug it in and risk toasting the ECM, ignitor, etc.

 

Nathan

[DerFahrer]

It may have come from an RHD car, but it could be from a USDM postal wagon.

 

I'm not saying I'm 100% for sure right. I've just NEVER heard of a JDM EJ22 engine besides the 22B.

 

I wish we could look at all the stats of all the JDM EJ cars somehow to see if maybe there actually was a JDM EJ22.

 

I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.

[outbackusjunkus]

Nathan, I've got a '95 postal engine in my Outback, if you need me to compare anything. You must do a lot of these swaps...thanks again for the help when I did mine...

[Manarius]

I thought the EJ22 was just the EJ22. Aside from a "phase 1.5" and "phase 2", I thought they were all pretty much the same.

[DerFahrer]

Well, he is right. In 95, supposedly, they had EGR systems.

 

But... most of the differences apply only to the external parts, not the long block. The seller of hanko's engine could have even taken an intake manifold off a pre-95 postal wagon and put it on that engine. Who's to say?

[hankosolder2]

Well, he is right. In 95, supposedly, they had EGR systems.

 

But... most of the differences apply only to the external parts, not the long block. The seller of hanko's engine could have even taken an intake manifold off a pre-95 postal wagon and put it on that engine. Who's to say?

---

It is a bit of a mystery. There is no tapping for the EGR pipe in the left hand head. It seems improbable that someone would go to the effort to fake a JDM engine, swapping wiring harnesses, heads and intake manifold tappings around only to sell it for $500-$600.

 

Regarding the long block - Every '95 US EJ22 I've ever seen has the VIN stamped on the block. This one is definitely blank and, no, it hasn't been filed off or ground down.

 

I suppose it could also be imported from a RHD country other than Japan. The seller also offered normally aspirated EJ20 engines, which were never sold in the US, so I think they are genuinely importing engines. From where, I can't prove via first hand knowledge. I'm just reporting my observations to help people crack the JDM mystery.

 

Nathan

[86ruguy]

it has been my experience with JDM subaru engines that the intake bolts were not in the same position as the USDM engines