crockettbrat Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Hey all: 1998 impreza obs. blown engine, got a 1997 engine to put in the car. I understand that around this time the engine went from non interference to interference. Any way to tell from looking at the engine? The original engine had the new style pully tensioner and the replacement 1997 engine has the old style tensioner. Any ideas? I was thinking of calling subaru NA and giving them the engine number to see if they could tell me, but thought I'd try here first. Thanks for any input. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I think anything 96 and newer is an interference engine. I always put the old style tensioner on when I do belts and junk the new style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 there's no visual that i'm aware of, but your 1997 will be an interference engine if all the things passed around here are true. the timing belt kits on ebay are so cheap ($80), it really doesn't matter anyway. just buy the complete kit and your timing components are all completely brand new. the 97 will not be a "direct fit" due to the bellhousing change, but it's not a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Alrighty then. I'll just call subaru na and give them the numbers and see what they say. It sounds nice by the way. Did the timing belt, pullies, water pump, and radiator. Fired right up and the engine sounds great, so I guess I did the timing belt correctly! And it drove nice, so I guess I got the torque converter seated properly too. The plastic intake tubing still has lots of nasty oil from the old burnt up engine so it smoked a little at first, but after I stopped it and cleaned all that it seems fine. Man the woman I bought this thing from really cooked the old engine! The plastic timing belt covers behind the cam pulleys are melted and all the plastic on the knock sensor melted off onto the engine block! Ouch! Anyway hopefully this new engine will pass smog, and then my wife can start driving a soob too. Thanks for all the help USMB folks! Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I think anything 96 and newer is an interference engine. '96 is still non-interference in the 2.2, but interference in the 2.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) '96 is still non-interference in the 2.2, but interference in the 2.5 i absolutely agree with this, but only because i've been reading it here for the last 3 years. however, last night i was looking through a gates.com timing belt catalog and they did not note the 97 - 98 ej22 as an interferrence engine. ( they did note the 2.5 as interferrence and i forget if they did for 99 - 00.) i assumed they had failed to do their home work. but i was wondering, has any one here had bent valves in a ej22 97 - 98 (99?) after a timing belt break? just checking. Edited January 22, 2009 by johnceggleston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 i absolutely agree with this, but only because i've been reading it here for the last 3 years. however, last night i was looking through a gates.com timing belt catalog and they did not not note the 97 - 98 ej22 as an interferrence engine. ( they did note the 2.5 as interferrence and i forget if they did for 99 - 00.) i assumed they had failed to do their home work. but i was wondering, has any one here had bent valves in a ej22 97 - 98 (99?) after a timing belt break? just checking. found my answer. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=789194&postcount=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 i absolutely agree with this, but only because i've been reading it here for the last 3 years. I have read it on here lots as well and I have a particular interest as I have a '96 2.2L. There is an endwrench article that mentions that in '97 the 2.2 went interference and I think it used to be mentioned on cars101.com, but when I looked I wasn't able to find either. I know it's out there though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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