big issue for a newbie need help asap

[matt j]

Alright guys i was referred here by a couple people on dirtyimpreza.com and i am having some serious problems and dont know what to do. I have a 98 2.5rs with a ej22t motor in it. I am putting new pistons into the motor and i ordered OEM std bore subaru pistons. Well after installing them I noticed that i have rod to block contact from the left side. So i took the pistons back out and rotated the motor and no issues, so i swapped the pistons and same issue still. I am confused as when i pulled the old pistons out it rotated just fine. Any insight would be great! Thanks!

[rallyak]

How many miles on block? How's the bores look and what's the piston clearance?

[matt j]

unknown miles on block, previous owner said somewhere around 200k, bores look great and measured right around 96.9, and dont know on piston clearance.

[rallyak]

So your turning it by hand and you get the knock?

[matt j]

im turning it by hand and im getting rod bolt contact to the block from the left side. With pistons removed there is no contact. but as soon as they are installed the rod bolt contacts the block

[matt j]

almost like the pistons are 180* out when they are not. I am having no issues with the right side of the block just the left side, i have the arrows of the pistons facing toward the crank pulley side.

I purchased this motor freshly rebuilt but the previous owner installed n/a pistons into the block, and it rotated fine, all i have done is removed the n/a pistons and am reinstalling new oem turbo pistons.

Like i said rotation was fine with the n/a pistons in place but with the turbo pistons the LH side has the rod bolt contacting the block

[rallyak]

I wonder if the piston pin location is the same on new pistons.

[matt j]

i tried swapping them around to different bores and had the same effect as well

[dscoobydoo]

I purchased this motor freshly rebuilt but the previous owner installed n/a pistons into the block, and it rotated fine, all i have done is removed the n/a pistons and am reinstalling new oem turbo pistons.

You need to revisit this comment.
Possibly the crank and/or other parts are not OEM turbo 22T parts, which could be causing your issue.

There are always problems when buying someone's project car.
Might want to re-contact the previous owner and ask what went into the build.

[Legacy777]

Are you sure the rods & pistons oriented & installed properly? The pistons will be marked on which way is forward. On the rods, the FHI emblem was oriented forward on my rods.

The rods & crank are the same between the non-turbo & turbo ej22's. I would agree with dscoobydoo to try and verify what the previous owner did.

[matt j]

well got it figured out, it was just a stupid mistake on my part, when i pushed the wrist pin through i didnt notice that the rod had fallen off to one side, so when i pushed the wrist pin through it jammed the rod into the side of the piston causing no rotation and rod bolt to hit the block. I got the wrist pin and rod in correctly and she spun like a dream.

The Previous owner wanted to do a high compression turbo motor using factory n/a pistons but 22t everything else. He thought the pistons were the same except for compression. Sadly he didnt read enough into it. but my problem is solved now

[Legacy777]

Glad to hear you got it figured out.