legacycentral bbs

I just got a 1993 Legacy Turbo. Its got 165k on it, but it has lots of issues. I'm pulling the engine in a few weeks to do head gaskets as well as a full reseal, and figure I might as well have some fun while its out. Ive been reading about a few different options.

1. EJ22t block with EJ251 heads.
2. EJ22t block with EJ253 heads.

Its sounding like the 251 heads are the way to go, they are also pretty easy to find at a good price, so I am thinking this is my route.

Next up, is it worth upgrading the turbo to the TD04 vs the VF11? I am planning on running the WRX top mount intercooler.

So, in theory here, EJ22T w/ EJ251 heads, an ej251 manifold, TD04 w/ wrx intercooler.

any use in going to the ej20 or 255 exhaust manifold? I know i need to use the WRX uppipe with the 251 heads.

Am I going to need to go standalone at this point? I've been told you have to go standalone on these cars before basically any mods.

thanks!

You don't need a wrx up pipe. Same thing. You don't need stand alone, in fact I would not recommend that at all. It's expensive and easy to mess up your engine trying to tune it yourself. No benefit from using WRX exhaust manifold other than possibly lower miles. Same thing. TD04 flows a little more and will probably be in better shape than the VF11.

You've got a lot of research to do on this project. It's all been covered many times so just start searching the forum for the upgrades you are looking to do. I would think you would be better off sticking with the EJ22T heads as they have a turbo cam profile in them and the 2.5 non-turbo heads obviously do not. But I've never used them and haven't researched them before so maybe it's not that big of a deal.

Rather than going stand alone EM, look into Rob Tuned EJ20G ECU swap. Search for it and check out his new website which has some answers for you.

http://www.robtune.com/

The factory up-pipe does not clear the Phase 2 SOHC heads. I'm not sure if any aftermarket ones do.

PICK YOUR ENGINE MANAGEMENT FIRST. Then select heads and intake manifold to suit. The most common are 1)stock/EJ20G engine management w/ stock SOHC or EJ20G/EJ25D DOHC heads and mathing manifold and 2)USDM WRX/STI conversion.

Just to clarify, the EJ251 and the EJ25D are the same heads, correct? Phase 1 4 cams?

As far as the uppipe goes, I don't think the stock one clears the dual cam heads. I know you need to use the turbo mount brackets off the WRX with those heads.

I'll do some research in to management. I was under the impression I was very limited with OBD1 and my best bet was to standalone or swap.

Which engine is the Ej20g?

EJ251/253 are phase 2 SOHC heads. The factory up-pipe does not fir them.

EJ25D/EJ20G are phase 1 DOHC heads. The factory exhaust fits fine. EJ20G is the non-USA 2.0 turbo motor the WRX built it's name with. The EJ25D is the '96-'99 N/A 2.5 motor from the Legacy/Forester/Outback/2.5RS. They are basically the same head, just the EJ25D doesn't have provisions for the turbo oil and coolant lines. (they can be added)

If this is all new to you, there are tones of threads dedicated to all forms of turbo/DOHC mods here on these forums. Poke around a bit and you will be surprised at what is already documented.

Because most of the engine management is the same between a USDM EJ22T turbo and a JDM EJ20G (all but about 7 wires), most of us on this forum convert to '92-'96 WRX EJ20G based solutions.

Welcome to the BBS.

I would highly recommend checking out this thread for info on the heads if you haven't already found it.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=38247

Regarding engine management, check out this thread on the robtune ECU.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=43744

Also, I highly recommend looking through all the sticky compilation threads in each forum and the stuff you need to know forum. If you go through the sticky compilation threads first you'll gain A LOT of knowledge on common issues and frequently discussed topics.

Thanks guys. I'm coming from an 05 STi and work on mostly WRXs for a living so a lot of the earlier stuff is pretty new to me.

In the OP I was confusing the 251 with the 25d. So I am thinking I'm going to use the DOHC heads. Also, I just found a TD05h. From my reading these came with different wheels? It says 14412aa091
49178-06300
Td05h on the cold side. Any way to tell which turbo this is? Thanks again, I'll read through those linked threads this evening.

EDIT:
Sounds like it's a 16g. From my reading that's the turbo to use on these cars.