xplodingboy07 Scooby Newbie

Member#: 191422 Join Date: Oct 2008

Swapping a 2.2 into where a 2.5 once was.



Let me start with the story behind all of this...



Since late 2002, I've driven Subarus. I've wrecked a few, sold a few, and I am currently driving a 1993 NA 5 speed. It has 207K, and I would not think twice about driving it across the country. I love these cars, especially the 90-94 Legacy.



Well, a few months ago, my 19 year old little sister found a 1998 Forester with 120K for $3,800. I drove it, looked at it, and all seemed well. I am not in the business of fixing cars for family or friends, because I do not want to hear about a problem 24/7 if something goes wrong. With this in mind, I suggested she change the timing belt soon, being an interference engine, with no history available, I figured this was a good suggestion. I also advised her to flush the transmission fluid as well. About a month after she had it, she took it to the one local Subaru garage. We have a an actual dealer here, along with two independent garages that deal mainly with Subarus. They called her, and said they noticed some oil in her coolant. So they went ahead and checked out the engine, and noticed some holes drilled into the thermostat. The car had overheated at some point, and it was being masked with these holes. It was not acting funny at all, but it would probably become more noticable when winter came around. They wanted $1,500 to do the head gaskets.



This is where I come in. As much as I did not want to get involved, I offered to to the head gaskets for her. I could get them done coming in around $500. I ordered a full engine gasket set, Subaru of course, radiator hoses, thermostat, and some Subaru coolant. Of course, some other odds and ends were included. I spent an afternoon on the car, with the engine in the vehicle, heads were off. Took them to the machine shop, had the milled, they were warped a little. When they were there, new valve seals were installed. The next afternoon, I had the engine running. Let me say this though, putting the heads on an EJ25, while it's in the car, is kind of a bitch. The torque sequence is like, wtf? lol



Ok, so I started the car, and about 20 minutes in, making sure it was running right, hitting proper temp, all of that... I hear "clunk" and the car stopped. I run out under the hood, try to turn the crank, nothing. I can move the timing belt up and down with my bare hands right at the tensioner, after I took the drivers side cover off. It must have skipped a few teeth, and it died. The guy at the Subaru place cranked it down with a vice, and I said that the manuals said to do it differentlly, and he said he has done it 100 times. So, I thought maybe he was on to something... wrong.



So I got online, and I got the idea of the 2.2, but NOTHING was available for it. The usmb site was hacked, and I could not get to the two links I did find with potential info. So, I did manage to find out that I needed a 95 2.2. I guess they switched to a single exhaust port on the newer ones.



I managed to track down an engine with 195K for $200, complete. The day I went out to get the engine, the place called me and said they dropped it... the driver side cam pulley was messed up. I was cool, I have a spare. When I got to the engine, I noticed the cam was snapped right off. I managed to get the engine for $100, with all electronics and sensors attached. So I when I got it home, I found the head was cracked on that side... I had a spare, but it was from a 1990. I did some research, and it was grey, some places seemed to think it would work fine, others didn't. I know from looking at it, the cam lobes seemed wider on the 1990.



So here is what I needed to do... I am not going over the obvious service steps like unhooking, and draining and stuff.



First, I took the 2.5 out.



With that engine out, I removed the oil pump, timing belt pulleys, and water pump, all were much better than the 1995 engine. These parts all bolted right up to the 1995 engine.



I replaced the rear main seal, and the oil separator seal while it was out.



I guess the thing you really want from the 95 is the intake manifold, and the electronics with it. The harness will plug right up to a 1998 Forester, and I would assume any other Subaru in that generation.



I swapped the flexplates, not only was the 95 messed up, I just did not want to take chances.



I left the EVERYTHING in place on the 95 manifold, I did swap out the throttle body, and the IAC valve, simply because they were in much better shape on from the 98.



I replaced the 95 head with the 90 head I had, I figured it SHOULD work, from what I could find out, but you never know...



When I replaced the head, I decided to go Fel Pro for the head gasket. Good thing I did, when I opened the box, I noticed it was made in Japan, and it had a FHI logo on it... while saving a few dollars. Subaru head gasket in a Fel Pro box, works for me.



I used the rocker assembly from the 95 on the 90 head, to be safe.



The center timing belt cover is the same on the 2.2, or the 2.5.



I actually managed to use a lot of parts from the engine kit with this, which was cool.



Some of the vacuum lines are different. I guess the 95 still has a charcoal canister. There is a line right below the fuel, and fuel return lines that leads to this, it goes through the metal tube, and into the canister. I eliminated this tube, and ran a line right from the throttle body to the solenoid, and then with a chuck of vacuum hose, right into the one below the fuel lines.



The power steering hoses do not line up, so you will need to make something for them, I did, but they seemed pretty stable without.



I may go into a bit more detail on this, but this pretty much lets you know what you should know.



From what I have learned any 1990-1995 2.2 will work. The 95 has the intake and electronics you need though. If you find a ****ty 95, and have a great engine from an earlier year, score.



Now my sister has a 1998 Forester with a 2.2. No head gasket issues, no interference.



I drove the car for a little while, and it felt fine, sure there is less power, but for normal driving... I could not tell a bit. I did not throw a check engine light ONCE. Everything seems to be running well since then.



Like I said, I will add, and update. If any of you have questions let me know. I figured there needed to be SOMETHING out there for this topic!



David It can be done. I know you guys probably already know this, but, perhaps I could help out if someone decides to do this down the road with their own vehicle. When I searched for it, I got almost nothing. So I kinda winged it.Let me start with the story behind all of this...Since late 2002, I've driven Subarus. I've wrecked a few, sold a few, and I am currently driving a 1993 NA 5 speed. It has 207K, and I would not think twice about driving it across the country. I love these cars, especially the 90-94 Legacy.Well, a few months ago, my 19 year old little sister found a 1998 Forester with 120K for $3,800. I drove it, looked at it, and all seemed well. I am not in the business of fixing cars for family or friends, because I do not want to hear about a problem 24/7 if something goes wrong. With this in mind, I suggested she change the timing belt soon, being an interference engine, with no history available, I figured this was a good suggestion. I also advised her to flush the transmission fluid as well. About a month after she had it, she took it to the one local Subaru garage. We have a an actual dealer here, along with two independent garages that deal mainly with Subarus. They called her, and said they noticed some oil in her coolant. So they went ahead and checked out the engine, and noticed some holes drilled into the thermostat. The car had overheated at some point, and it was being masked with these holes. It was not acting funny at all, but it would probably become more noticable when winter came around. They wanted $1,500 to do the head gaskets.This is where I come in. As much as I did not want to get involved, I offered to to the head gaskets for her. I could get them done coming in around $500. I ordered a full engine gasket set, Subaru of course, radiator hoses, thermostat, and some Subaru coolant. Of course, some other odds and ends were included. I spent an afternoon on the car, with the engine in the vehicle, heads were off. Took them to the machine shop, had the milled, they were warped a little. When they were there, new valve seals were installed. The next afternoon, I had the engine running. Let me say this though, putting the heads on an EJ25, while it's in the car, is kind of a bitch. The torque sequence is like, wtf? lolOk, so I started the car, and about 20 minutes in, making sure it was running right, hitting proper temp, all of that... I hear "clunk" and the car stopped. I run out under the hood, try to turn the crank, nothing. I can move the timing belt up and down with my bare hands right at the tensioner, after I took the drivers side cover off. It must have skipped a few teeth, and it died. The guy at the Subaru place cranked it down with a vice, and I said that the manuals said to do it differentlly, and he said he has done it 100 times. So, I thought maybe he was on to something... wrong.So I got online, and I got the idea of the 2.2, but NOTHING was available for it. The usmb site was hacked, and I could not get to the two links I did find with potential info. So, I did manage to find out that I needed a 95 2.2. I guess they switched to a single exhaust port on the newer ones.I managed to track down an engine with 195K for $200, complete. The day I went out to get the engine, the place called me and said they dropped it... the driver side cam pulley was messed up. I was cool, I have a spare. When I got to the engine, I noticed the cam was snapped right off. I managed to get the engine for $100, with all electronics and sensors attached. So I when I got it home, I found the head was cracked on that side... I had a spare, but it was from a 1990. I did some research, and it was grey, some places seemed to think it would work fine, others didn't. I know from looking at it, the cam lobes seemed wider on the 1990.So here is what I needed to do... I am not going over the obvious service steps like unhooking, and draining and stuff.First, I took the 2.5 out.With that engine out, I removed the oil pump, timing belt pulleys, and water pump, all were much better than the 1995 engine. These parts all bolted right up to the 1995 engine.I replaced the rear main seal, and the oil separator seal while it was out.I guess the thing you really want from the 95 is the intake manifold, and the electronics with it. The harness will plug right up to a 1998 Forester, and I would assume any other Subaru in that generation.I swapped the flexplates, not only was the 95 messed up, I just did not want to take chances.I left the EVERYTHING in place on the 95 manifold, I did swap out the throttle body, and the IAC valve, simply because they were in much better shape on from the 98.I replaced the 95 head with the 90 head I had, I figured it SHOULD work, from what I could find out, but you never know...When I replaced the head, I decided to go Fel Pro for the head gasket. Good thing I did, when I opened the box, I noticed it was made in Japan, and it had a FHI logo on it... while saving a few dollars.Subaru head gasket in a Fel Pro box, works for me.I used the rocker assembly from the 95 on the 90 head, to be safe.The center timing belt cover is the same on the 2.2, or the 2.5.I actually managed to use a lot of parts from the engine kit with this, which was cool.Some of the vacuum lines are different. I guess the 95 still has a charcoal canister. There is a line right below the fuel, and fuel return lines that leads to this, it goes through the metal tube, and into the canister. I eliminated this tube, and ran a line right from the throttle body to the solenoid, and then with a chuck of vacuum hose, right into the one below the fuel lines.The power steering hoses do not line up, so you will need to make something for them, I did, but they seemed pretty stable without.I may go into a bit more detail on this, but this pretty much lets you know what you should know.From what I have learned any 1990-1995 2.2 will work. The 95 has the intake and electronics you need though. If you find a ****ty 95, and have a great engine from an earlier year, score.Now my sister has a 1998 Forester with a 2.2. No head gasket issues, no interference.I drove the car for a little while, and it felt fine, sure there is less power, but for normal driving... I could not tell a bit. I did not throw a check engine light ONCE. Everything seems to be running well since then.Like I said, I will add, and update. If any of you have questions let me know. I figured there needed to be SOMETHING out there for this topic!David Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by xplodingboy07; 11-02-2008 at 12:03 AM .