Buying a used motor, help?

[Sarra]

I'm picking up a 1995 EJ18 with around 160K miles on it. The motor has been pulled already. What should I look for when I go to pick it up?

I'm seriously thinking about putting it in my Legacy, with a WRX exhaust and turbo.

Question, could I run it in my Legacy using the EJ25D ECU? I'd run a PP6 for EM, running stock ECU for emissions requirements.

[Reason]

I must be slow, but why would you want to put that engine in place of your EJ25?

[Sarra]

I must be slow, but why would you want to put that engine in place of your EJ25?

Turbo the living shit out of it. ;) It'll lag, but I don't care.

I may, instead, drop it in another project car, but that's only if I can get an EJ20R. I'd put the EJ18 in a BJ or GF project car, and the EJ20R in my Legacy, sans one turbo (convert it to a WRX intake, exhaust, etc).

It would be a proper build, bottom end and cams, probably with some kind of DOHC 2 liter head on it. It depends on what comes my way in the next few weeks. If I can get the title to the stupid GL, I'll get rid of it. I'd toss some EJ20G heads on it, or possibly EJ20R heads if I can get that motor off ebay.

[SammyDaFish]

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Reason and say it's not worth it replacing your EJ25 with the 1.8. Unless your goal is to make better fuel economy, you'll get less performance by far with the 1.8.

Now putting the EJ18 in that GL with a turbo, well that's a whole different story :)

[Sarra]

The 1.8 would be in the car while my 2.5 heads on on a 2.2 block. I'd swap in a WRX front XMember as well as wrx turbo onto the 1.8. I was also pointed to the EJ20G heads, I could put them on the 1.8 block and lower the CR. Then, I could run mad boost on the 1.8, and get better performance than the 2.5 would get.

[rougeben83]

Compression test, and a leakdown if that is possible. Other than that a good visual inspection including taking out the sparkplugs to see if they're in good condition would be the most you can do...

[Sarra]

Yeah, unless it's in spectacular condition, I think I'm gonna pass on it.