legacycentral bbs

Hey guys so i recentlt aquired a 1993 legacy turbo.. but the previous owner blew the ej22t and swapped in a N/A ej25 with the stock ej22t heads and the stock turbo setup, now, i didnt know it was high compression and car kept going into limp mode and i didnt know why until it blew up... now, i just want to throw the car back together... i currently have a 1996 subaru legacy outback with the ej22e and i want to swap that complete block with the ej22t heads and keep it stock.. would i be safe? What head gasket should i use? Would i need to tune? Or the ecu would read normally given that it is a 2.2 block, i know the N/A block has weaker high compression pistons so thats why i wonder what headgasket to use!! Thanks guys! I need help.

You'll probably have the same luck with the ej22e as the ej25, though I suspect it would last a little longer since the 2.2L engines are a bit sturdier. There is no tuning of the stock ECU, you have to go aftermarket for that. If you did that, you could run any compression ratio you liked (that your tuner said was ok).

If you need the car to run right away, you could put the turbo heads on the 22e block with ej22t head gaskets. If you ran the turbo at wastegate pressure, it would probably run quite a while, but your car won't be much if any faster than outbacks and foresters, while still requiring premium fuel.

In my opinion, you need a stock ej22t bottom end, or have your 22e rebuilt with stock ej22t pistons. This is really the only way to run your car safely and reliably.

What ecu can i run on the turbo harness? No plug and plays? And if not, what stand alone ecu do you recommend me to use? Thanks!

No plug and play standalones. The closest thing to that is rewiring your car to accept an ej20g ecu, as detailed here:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=47252

Then you could run a standalone that is plug and play with an ej20g ecu, such as Apexi Power FC, or Enduring Solutions Live (ESL), Possum Link.

You really need to find a local tuner and see what he is comfortable tuning. Otherwise, you will be paying for his time to learn how to program it.

My guess is a shop tunes Nissan's (SR-swapped 240sx's, and R32 GTR's) and RX7's, will be familiar with Apexi Power FC.

Possum Link is really old hardware but it's possible you have a nearby tuner familiar with Link standalones as well.

Link does make a plug in ecu for the early WRX

http://dealers.linkecu.com/WRX2Plus

I wonder if that would work in a Legacy. The connectors seem similar but you would have to email them and ask. They could have something older floating around not listed in the catalog that would work too.

And then there's that robtune stuff but I'm not super familiar with it.


Either way you are going to want a lower compression block in there. You could just put turbo pistons in the 22e and then that would work as is. I just helped a guy rebuild a 2,2 with forged pistons and a bunch of other stuff so I have part numbers, prices, and availability pretty handy. Where you want to go from there would determine what to do with the tuning/ecu.

I have a set of 22T pistons and rods if you want them. I have no use for them. Apparently there are no more 22T piston rings available so you would need to get a set made for them. The pistons I have include the rings but I don't think you would want to reuse them.

I've seen guys on here use new stock 205 shortblocks on the stock ecu and they reported that they ran just fine.

Ive used brand new NPR rings for an NA, 20k miles and counting.

Yeah a wrx ej20 in decent shape would be an easy swap. If you pulled that 2.2 apart for new pistons and rings you'd probably want to get it honed and replace the bearings too.

For aftermarket, Wiseco and JE make nice pistons for the 22t. What are the stock ring sizes for the turbo? If they're 1.2/1.5/4.0 you can get just a ring set from JE for example.

Im interested on those pistons!!! And what about non plug and play standalone can i use that is affordable?? I hear a lot about RoB tune.

Rob tune use the stock ecu. You would need to get ahold of him to learn more. Something like an AEM ems4 or a megasquirt is a pretty inexpensive standalone option if you are willing to do all the wiring yourself. Ideally you make a short jumper harness from the stock connectors instead of cutting everything apart. Then it goes up from there obviously with fancier stuff and motorsports oriented systems like motec, pectel,etc..

One thing about swapping pistons is that it's important to measure the bores and calculate the clearance. The OEM spec is really close, aftermarket forged stuff a bit bigger. Ideally you use a torque plate, which simulates a head bolted on, while boring, honing, and measuring the bores. Then you can get a closer piston-wall clearance which is a good thing for cutting down on piston slap, false knock, and oil comsumption.

If you went with aftermarket pistons like the wiesecos or JEs, you can get them .5mm larger than stock and then machine the block to suit them. If you're dropping in a set of used pistons you'll want to measure carefully; the stock spec is very close and the pistons come in different sizes to suit the actual bores in a given block.