2.5 to a 2.2 swap question.........

[rdpro219]

So my brother in law talked me into buyin a 98 LGT sedan with the ej25d engine. The car had a terrible rod knock, and burned oil. Our plans were to work on it together and do the engine swap. I purchased a JDM ej25d, and found out that wasnt the engine i was looking for. It was at this time he decided to get seperated from my sister, and leave me with this car. He was the mechanic. I am not.
I was wondering, Is there is a 2.2 engine that is, more or less, plug in and play for my 98 Limited (auto trans)? I like the idea of not worring about head gaskets. Im pretty much looking for a cheaper alternitive to the 2.5, plus i find the 2.2 way more available. I was also thinkin mayb send in the 2.5 to be fixed, as it is out of the car anyways. Probably not cheap since i would want to put a new timing belt and water pump in as well. Opinion?
Sorry if this is the 1billion'th time this has been asked. Thanks for any help.

[XBW]

i cant find a good priced 2.2 anywhere

someone will chime in with absolute authority but yes a certain 2.2 should plug right in, maybe use your old TPsensor

no point in fixing the 2.5 imho

[mike-tracy]

The JDM EJ25D motor should work - zeusmarine and others sucessfully used that. My experience with EJ25D motors is they like to blow their head gaskets once, but when you replace that with the updated part number (or after market types like Felpro), and have the heads resurfaced - the motor is very reliable. I've owned 4 ej25d's, in as many cars, and haven't had a problem with them since the HG jobs (yes, all failed originally - subaru went with a shoddy gasket design to save money).

If you want to go with an ej22 motor, then get a complete one along with it's ECU. You should be looking for a 95-99 OBD-II model, so just make sure to get it's matching ECU. You could get an earlier one, if you are willing to swap the engine wiring harness & certain sensors from the aforementioned 95-99 engines.

[$400OBW]

i cant find a good priced 2.2 anywhere

someone will chime in with absolute authority but yes a certain 2.2 should plug right in, maybe use your old TPsensor

no point in fixing the 2.5 imho


I just did this swap on a 97 OB, when you look for the 2.2 make sure it has an egr if yours does. Also the 95 is the only one you DON'T need the y-pipe to do the swap. The 2.5 is a dual port exhaust and the only 2.2 that is is the 95 but it may or may not have an egr depending on if it's a 5sp or manual (don't remember which is which). Just make sure you get the y-pipe too on any other yr and it bolts right in. You'll need the complete intake also and make sure the it's an OBDII engine (need to check this out for sure) mine was the same yr engine so I knew they were the same.

I didn't change the ECU, I've read you should but read more saying it doesn't matter. While you're doing the swap the battery should be out and when you rehook it after the swap it will reset itself and "learn" the 2.2 and adjust accordingly.

There are lots of posts on this subject just do a search for more info. I am glad I did the swap the 2.2 has plenty of power for my needs and seems to get pretty good gas mileage too and of course no HG problems. I did the swap in a little less than 6 hrs.

If you do decide on a rebuild on the 2.5 use ONLY a genuine Subaru HG or you will be doing it again. The rest of the gaskets aren't as important but the HG is.

Yo may want to check out the yrs but the 95 is considered the perfect engine for the swap since its a dual port exhaust (doesn't matter just get the y-pipe too) and it's also a non-interference engine. Either 96 0r 97 started the beginning of the interference engines again there are many posts on this subject.

[rdpro219]

Fantastic. Thank you!!!! Im still learning how to do the blog thing. ill keep on researching. Im new to Subaru as well. Thanks for keeping the answers simple, as i am a novice.

The JDM engine is not an option for me. The wiring is definatly not the same. plus the intake manifolds didnt swap out. There was no place for the EGR valve on it. My only hope with that, is mayb sell it.

Its the EJ22E out of the 95 legacy that your talking about being the perfect swap?



I wish i knew the right questions to ask, but if anyone can think of something new I would a definatly appreciate it.

Glad to hear i dont need the ECU. Again, thanks

[rdpro219]

the ej22 is FAR FAR smaller too. I cant believe everything would just snap into place