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EJ25 to EJ22 swap in progress. IT"S ALIVE!!!!


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Hey all I'm starting the swap to the MUCH more reliable EJ22 from EJ25. I fully intend to document this swap as thouroughly as possible. With pics as well.

 

What I'm starting with:

'97 Legacy LSI Wagon. EJ25 W/blown head gaskets. 4EAT

 

What I have to put in:

'96 Impreza EJ22

"Y" pipe from said impreza

 

Officially I'll start ripping things out of the Lego on Monday. I have a Brother label maker to tag things as I pull them out. No more smeared masking tape for me LOL

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OK, I'm up against a wall here!:lol:

 

2 questions

 

1. What kind of bent wrench, with what kind of rocket science do I need to undo the torque converter bolts?:confused: (In the 97 Lego 2.5)

 

2. The engine I have to go in is still attached to the trans, I have the TC loose, and the 4 bolts out of the bell. However it still won't turn loose. Did I miss something?(On the bench Imp 2.2)

 

I know this is gonna be a simple stupid solution, so be nice to the n00b :headbang:

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so you mean you can't access the EJ25 torque converter bolts? i usually just get them from up top with a wrench or socket. maybe remove the intake manifold first.

 

did you try from underneath? there's a thin shield/pan of sorts on some motors, i think if that's removed you may have more access from underneath with a wrench?

 

try the same on the EJ22 - from underneath and if that doesn't cut it you might need to remove the intake manifold.

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Thanks guys. I knew it'd be something simple like that. Y'all ROCK :headbang:

 

Now as for the EJ22. I've got the TC bolts out of it, and the 4 bellhousing bolts. I can't get the engine to separate from the trans though. I don't really wanna "He-Man" it, cuz I need that tranny. It looks to me that there's some corrosion on the dowel pins holding me up. Any secret handshake mojo for geting the two to separate?

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PB and a screwdriver and/or pry bar. Hit it many places - move it around a bit. Don't beat up the case in one or 2 spots.

 

FYI I apply anti-sieze to the tranny surface before bolting the engine back up to it. If I ever have to take it out again atleast the 'seperation issue' should be minimized.

 

Dave

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To separate the motor (2.2L) from the tranny, use a very thin plaster spatula. Usualy, the minute the two parts will begin to separate, the rest will be a piece of cake.

If you have difficulty and you want to use my method to the letter, here's what you do. (1)You hammer in (go easy) the first plaster spatula at a few places around the mating surfaces. (2) You hammer in a second sliding against the blade of the first one. (3) Hammer in a big screwdriver between the two blades. I garantee it will work and that it will not damage anything.

HTH.

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Look, my Lego has CrazyHorse Power yo!

CrazyHorse_power_yo.jpg

You OBVIOUSLY LOVE getting "into" your work :lol:

 

hey - pinto ain't all bad - as long as the filler neck problem was fixed, they don't go "boom"

 

I'll tell a quick story about why I don't exactly trust Ford. I was there in the early 70's doing truck engineering and crash tests. one of our tests was to do "rear end of cars in collision" (with pick-em-up trucks as the "hitting" vehicle).

 

We ran an instrumented F250 into a Pinto at 35 and saw not much damage to the truck, but LOTS to the Pinto (well, duh) BUT what we saw on the films was what looked like a fuel "explosion" out the rear of the Pinto. We used Stoddard Solvent to "model" gas, so it wouldn't explode, but it was all wet and the film showed it. We made our report and than as an aside, sent a report over to car engineering about "you guys might want to look at this rear ender with a Pinto..." They came over and took away all of our films, reports, the whole lot of it and said in effect 'It never happened, don't try it again...' 3 years (or so) later they had the recall for "fire hazard" on the pinto in rear end collisions - it was cheaper to pay the results of the lawsuits than to FIX THE PROBLEM.

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You OBVIOUSLY LOVE getting "into" your work :lol:

 

hey - pinto ain't all bad - as long as the filler neck problem was fixed, they don't go "boom"

 

I'll tell a quick story about why I don't exactly trust Ford. I was there in the early 70's doing truck engineering and crash tests. one of our tests was to do "rear end of cars in collision" (with pick-em-up trucks as the "hitting" vehicle).

 

We ran an instrumented F250 into a Pinto at 35 and saw not much damage to the truck, but LOTS to the Pinto (well, duh) BUT what we saw on the films was what looked like a fuel "explosion" out the rear of the Pinto. We used Stoddard Solvent to "model" gas, so it wouldn't explode, but it was all wet and the film showed it. We made our report and than as an aside, sent a report over to car engineering about "you guys might want to look at this rear ender with a Pinto..." They came over and took away all of our films, reports, the whole lot of it and said in effect 'It never happened, don't try it again...' 3 years (or so) later they had the recall for "fire hazard" on the pinto in rear end collisions - it was cheaper to pay the results of the lawsuits than to FIX THE PROBLEM.

 

That story, in a nutshell, is why Pintos get such a bad rap. As for a car to drive, & tinker with, they can't be beat! I used to have a decal in the back window that said "Hit me & we BOTH explode!" The PO of my pinto didn't think Ford did a good enough job "fixing" the rear end, so he backed the bumper with 6" channel, and mounted it on 6" I-beam to the chassis. I mounted a receiver hitch to the bumper & wouldn't have a problem hooking to anything. :) I love my Pinto, it's a killer lil horse. She's not fast, but once she's moving I don't need to slow down much. :burnout:

 

Back to the topic at hand. I split the engine/trans with a brass putty knife and a hammer. I now have the EJ25 on the bench, and the EJ22 on a tire, ready to go in 1st thing in the AM. If I get a full day on it & the "Y" pipe co-operates it ought to be running tomorrow evening. Total time so far 14 hrs.

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Right now, I've got more time invested in swapping over the good parts from the EJ25 to the EJ22.

The 2.2 looked like it came from the northeast. I'm sure all the accessories are in good working order, but the pullies are a bit rusty.

I know the ones from the 2.5 are good, so why not take the time to swap 'em over? I also know that the idlers & waterpump on the 2.5 are good, as I just did the T-belts, idlers & waterpump on it. I had NO idea just how much these two engines had in common.

 

'Nuther quick question...Do I need to swap the flexplates? They don't look the same.

 

Have I mentioned that you all ROCK!! :headbang:

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A Pinto! And apparantly still in one piece and drivable. Makes me soooo jealous of you folks outside the SALT belt! EVERY ONE of my favorite daily drivers over the years has eventually been retired because of major rust. Its unavoidable here no matter how well you wash/repair, etc.

 

My original interest in this thread had nothing to do with the Pinto of course..Im still gathering every bit of info on the 2.2 into a 2.5 swap which I figure I will be doing eventually (provided my 96 OB does not succumb to the rust first- so far, it isnt a issue at all) So good luck, CrazyHorse. I hope you are up and running real soon!

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Remember - if you do >> "play swap" then you need to mark the timing belt timing location lines before you take it apart to make it easier to put back together. :)

 

Those bearings wear out over time so if they sound loose, swap them.

 

Water pump might just as well get swapped out for "the better of the 2" and re-seal the oil pump at the same time (cheap insurance) and LOTS easier with the engine out :grin:

 

BTW - I have a chance to buy a "spare in the hood" 89 GL with a bad alternator for maybe $500. Or, Maybe an Impreza for myself (better choice, likely). I can probably only get ONE of the 2 and even at that, something here out of the collection has to go (maybe the old 190E mercedes...)

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Bserk, it's really as easy as changing engines. I remarked to "She Who Must Be Obeyed" that I've cussed on this job less than more minor stuff on our other cars. If you can swap engines, you can drop an EJ22 in where an EJ25 used to live.

 

Granted, I'm a born grease monkey, and I have a decent set of tools. :lol:

 

Aircraft engineer,

I put a new T-belt on the 2.2, and timed it according to the endwrench article in the USRM. The original idlers on the 2.2 weren't all that bad, but the ones on the 2.5 had less than 1k mi on them. It's WAY easier than doing them on the old EA82 I had!

 

BTW, I still need to know if I need to swap the flexplate.

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I just did this on a 5 speed and did put the flywheel on the 2.2 off of the 2.5.

 

BTW the only 'interesting' thing about the swap was some vacuum lines and breather lines that goto the heads. And you loose the mounting points for the PS lines as referenced here at USMB - no biggie.

 

The rest was remarkably uneventful.

 

Off the 2.5 I used the AC bracket, AC compressor, alternator, PS pump, flywheel.

 

Dave

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IT'S ALIVE, ALIVE

 

MUAHAHAHA!!!!

 

I made a few bone headed mistakes, but she runs & drives under her own power. I've got a few more things to button up. Things like the water pump is leaking at the seal, and I need new exhaust manifold gaskets. But dadgummit she runs!:banana:

 

I couldn't have done it without all your help.:cool:

 

I need to give a special shout out to two people, Huck369, and grossgary. These two guys absolutely ROCK.:headbang:

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WTG Paul!!!! Congrats on getting Kat back...wish I could have helped.

 

We just finished doing some body work on hatchsubs beautiful EA81 Sedan ( Backwoodsboy,Hatchsub and Me) so its been an eventful weekend saving Subarus!

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