Would like to engine swap, need ideas from you gearheads...

[Fade2Black]

I have a 2000 Legacy GT with an EJ25. Long story short, I blew the engine last year, and replaced the block with one I got off of a DOHC japanese engine...runs fine. Except that it replaced the bearings, but my heads are still blown. Rumor has it, it would be just as much money to replace the heads as the entire engine (who knows what the heads go for, but an engine would only run me 2k).

So, I'm coming into some side-job money and plan a long road trip (Seattle - New Mexico - Vegas - back to NM - Sacramento - back home), and I'm wondering if I should just go for broke and put in another engine. Problem is, i'm greedy...i want more power. So what are my options? Will the EJ22t from the earlier Legacies fit in? You guys seem to freak when the WRX engine gets mentioned since the block is crap. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks.

-F2B

[Manarius]

EJ22T's take a bit of building to get a lot of power.

[Fade2Black]

Ok, so what's the drawback to using an EJ20T or an EJ25 DOHC from a 98/99 legacy? I'm sure both draw out more power than the engine i'm using currently, and lets face it....there's more mods out there for the earlier years than for the 2000-2004 models, which seem to be the bastard child generation because of the intro to the wrx.

[Murphy]

you should put in a EZ30 H6, around 220hp and 210tq to the wheels without the use of a turbo, the engine is proven to fit and supposedly bolts into place as would any EJ motor, but youll have to remove ABS (if you have it) and no A/C since there wont be any room left, but the best thing is, would be the cool factor of having a H6 Legacy, it also should bolt up to any 5MT that was originaly used for an EJ

it will sit very close to the fan but it will fit without hitting anything, with less than a inch of clearance on each side

the problem is getting an EZ30 though, tough find for most places ulless you buy offline from a scrapyard or rebuilt

[Imprezive]

Osaka JDM Motors - they have STI engines

How much are you willing to spend?

[Fade2Black]

Depends on how much labor is going to be...the more complicated the engine is going to be, the cheaper i'm willing to pay. If that makes sense. A turbo engine will run me much more in labor and extra stuff like engine hood, intercooler, tranny, etc. So unless the engine is a steal (say 2k or less), I'd rather stick with an engine I can plug and play.

[Murphy]

any complete engine swap will require lots and lots of wiring, youll need to remove you old wiring harness and the ECU and get one for the new motor unles it came with one, none of it will realy be "plug and play" except for the installing of the motor itself

a turbo motor would be just as easy/hard (however you look at it) as a N/A motor since youll be replacing everything already, there will just be a few more parts youll have to buy or get of the donor car
the only diff. would be you might excpect a little more maintanence and a little less reliability out of a turbo than the N/A, but theres about a 50hp differance between all the turbo motors and their N/A brother except for the STI

excpect to pay over $1400 for a rebuilt motor, junkyard diving may be your best bet for a cheapo that still runs, maybe even get a whole car out of a scrap yard so you dont have to go back and fourth for parts you may have forgotten

[scottzg]

i vote for cams and an exhaust on your stock engine.

[realfinn]

Fade....Love the name by the way. How much more power are you looking for?

[Murphy]

i think you could sqeeze maybe 30-50hp out of it without going overborad on money
the Borla headers are just $362, they are made for a 97' but its all the same as long as its 2 port exhaust
port and polish the new heads, and get some Delta cams

btw how much is a mild cam from delta usualy good for anyway?

[Fade2Black]

Thanks for the name compliment...black car, black exhaust, black rims...it just seemed to fit .

As for power...just a bit more torque off the line and some high end "freeway" hp would be nice...at this point I know i'm not going to win the formula 1 but it would be nice to hammer the accelerator and actually pass someone without looking like i'm packing 4 extra people

Rebuilt engy place up here today told me the 99 legacy DOHC engines fit...pros and cons of this engine?

[napphappy]

There arnt that many Pros to the DOHC compared to the Phase II 2.5 unless you are going to turbo. I would definatly do the borla, delta, and a cold air intake and be done with it. You can do that for well under a grand.