Quick and cheap motor swap - not necessarily performance

[crAppAchic0]

Most people look for a solid motor to start and build it from there for a 'nice' motor swap.

I'm just plain being cheap. I've got a 99 Legacy L (4EAT), with the single-exhaust port EJ22 (I've been told that this motor is, and will continue to be a pain in the arse to find a good complete replacement for a reasonable amount; only found in MY99 Imprezas, Legacy's, and Forresters). I've found a few places with the motor 'in stock', ranging from 850 to 1350. I can get another 'decent' Legacy for $2K.

Just to give you some background, I bought the car with an engine that was 'abusively' overheated. As in overheated, stalled, let sit and cool, run again until it stalled, etc. So heads looked 'good'- just slapped new head gaskets on and called it good. It ran for just about a year, now there's coolant in the oil pan and it overheats. So, the heads 'could' be warped, the block 'could' be cracked. Hopefully trying to save both time and money (somehow), I figured getting a complete motor to drop back in it would be best.

Does anyone know what options I have for putting together a hybrid setup or straightforward swap... basically as cheaply as possible?

Thanks for any info in advance, all-

-Lyndon

[Sarra]

Oh, holy poo, get rid of that thing.

Grab a dual port 2.2 liter motor, or an SOHC 2.5 liter motor. But be warned, you're going to have to do at least a little fiddling with wiring.

Once it's been overheated like that, it's just gonna keep overheating in the future, even if 'everything is fixed now', according to a mechanic I used to go to. Might not even be worth trying to fix if the heads an/or block are warped, as I'm betting the would be.

I'd be careful of doing a 2.5 liter motor, your transmission might not like the power too much (4EAT's aren't very happy with stock power, from what I can tell).

It might just be easier for you to get a new set of wheels. Get a MY 00 Legacy, or Impreza, I think you would be happier with it, especially if it hasn't been overheated repeatedly. :lol:

Oh, and when you've got a new motor, clean the old one up and recycle it. Like, a real metal recycler. They pay big money for aluminum. :wink:

[deadlydave]

Good to see you finally made it lyndo! I think Tom(blackparis) knows where there's a junkyard that has several legacies--ask him. The closest one to us, that I know of, is in Utica. :roll:

I agree with Sarra, in that you should get a dual-port 2.2. The body and interior of the car are in good shape. The timing stinks though--if it had happened 2 months ago, i would have just given you my old leg. :-?

[StatGSR]

^ why would he want a dual port 2.2? everybody knows its rated lower than the single ports, and then he would have to get the new headers but anyway, u "should" be able to find a 97-99 single port 2.2 for like 500 or less, and they shouldnt be that hard to find either. just keep a look out.

[Sarra]

^ why would he want a dual port 2.2? everybody knows its rated lower than the single ports, and then he would have to get the new headers but anyway, u "should" be able to find a 97-99 single port 2.2 for like 500 or less, and they shouldnt be that hard to find either. just keep a look out.

Didn't the Single ports eat headgaskets like I eat chocolate? I thought the Dual Ports were better on gaskets... Correct me if I'm wrong please.

Regardless of power, I'd still go with a dual port. Or an EJ18 with a WRX exhaust and turbo. :lol:

[StatGSR]

^ no thats dohc 2.5s that eat gaskets

[crAppAchic0]

Yeah, the DOHC 2.5's are the (most) notorious ones with head gaskets. I had mine for about two months before it went.

Personally, I've driven a couple cars with the 2.2L dual-port motor - and granted they've all been fairly old, but the single-port seems to pull better on my butt dyno- granted it may be insignificant, numberwise.

I've been warned that the EGR location might be different on the dual port motors. I have access to a 2.5 block, and possibly heads/intake; what would be involved wiring/ecu wise?

Thanks for everyone's input!

[d1giPhux]

If you want the factory service manual to look stuff over, feel free to download it ou of my signature! ;)

[AJM]

^ why would he want a dual port 2.2? everybody knows its rated lower than the single ports, and then he would have to get the new headers but anyway, u "should" be able to find a 97-99 single port 2.2 for like 500 or less, and they shouldnt be that hard to find either. just keep a look out.


Bullshit. I've had both and they are just different. Single port's have more torque and low end power, but don't breathe well at all, while dual ports aren't quite as good at the low end ,but breathe much better at higher rpm's.

MOST people would ask why he wouldn't want a dual port.


It's really easy to convert, that's what I did when my single ports valve took a crap. All you need is the header, big deal. Wiring is exactly the same from ej22 to ej22.


No ej22 has head gasket problems unless they severly overheat. Any Open deck ej25 WILL blow head gaskets.

[Jedi Taxi]

MOST people would ask why he wouldn't want a dual port.

It's really easy to convert, that's what I did when my single ports valve took a crap. All you need is the header, big deal. Wiring is exactly the same from ej22 to ej22.

No ej22 has head gasket problems unless they severly overheat. Any Open deck ej25 WILL blow head gaskets.

Ouch, the truth hurts man. im with sarra, EJ18 with a turbo and all, fun to drive combo and good on gas.

[crAppAchic0]

Well, I finally got a little bit of time to get things done...

I got a set of 2.5 heads from an '03 Legacy, new gaskets, blah blah blah.

So it runs like crap, pretty sure it's running on two or maybe three cylinders, exhaust reeks of raw gas. The cat was red hot after running (very roughly) for about 5 mins.

I'm picking up a set of plugs and wires, but- the troubling part- it's spitting out a p0340 (Camshaft Position Sensor, Bank 1) and p0341 (Camshaft Position Sensor, Bank 1 Circuit, out of range, etc.). I looked through the FSM for the car, and there doesn't appear to be anything in there about how to test the circuit (i.e., what voltage(s) to check for on what wires, etc.) Could this be causing spark plugs to not fire? I had it running, and pulled the injector harness on the front-driver's side cylinder and it seemed to smoothe out. I also swapped the Cam pos sensor off the old heads just to make sure it wasn't a problem with the sensor on the donor head(s).

I'm wondering if this error code would be spit out due to misfiring cylinders or could it something else besides replacing the plugs/wires? I checked for ground on both wires (to make sure nothing was pinched/shorted) and one was ground, the other was not.

Any suggestions?

On a side note, I found that the motor I have is the California emissions model - EJ22 w/ MAP (vs. MAF). So my original plans to just swap in another ej22 (MAF from a recycler in NY) would have been even more work than I would have been prepared for- good thing I didn't shell out the ~$950 thinking that it would solve my problems...

*Another question, I was wondering what (if any) would the change in compression be - from what I understand the combustion chamber volume of the EJ25 heads is larger than the EJ22 heads- ?

[chipLRX-SLI]

yeah ej25 heads have lower compression i think it is 9-1 or somewhere in that range
if you are not happy with the ej25 heads i have a set of ej22 dual port heads off of my 98 leg