Carmania24

Catless DP will stink to high heavens.

Lol catted downpipe it is then! But I believe my downpipe is fine so if I can save money on that I’ll end up sticking with what I have.

Yeap, just remember to make a decision on DP first, tune will be done on specific DP. If DP changes midway then tune will need to be redone.

Will do! Thanks.

Catless downpipe from 1320 on eBay is about $200 shipped.

OP has an AT

Package he is asking about is an MT.

 

 

 

Correct but pending what verstion the Cobb AP is it can support both.

 

 

Also correct.

 

OP - You need a tune; to get the most out of the purchase you also need a DP. But the Longblock (shortblock, heads, manifolds/header, Uppipe, turbo will all transfer over.

Thanks for the responses! I think the AP the seller has is V3 but I asked him to confirm. Either way I plan on getting another tune just so I don't burst my transmission. Will find out what a safe PSI is that would be best for daily driving.

Alright I will look into downpipes too. Yes, long block, short block, heads, manifolds/headers, up-pipe, etc will all transfer over from sellers car to my car.

Sellers car is MT mine is AT.

the 330whp will not translate to your car if you are keeping stock downpipe. As people here already said you will need the tune regardless but please do ask questions to get picture of what transferring all of that hardware from donor car to yours entails.

 

 

 

One thing that is not clear from your post is whether you are just looking to replace your stock 190K motor with newer/rebuilt motor, or if you are looking to get some power gains too. Depending on your answer the course of action will be different for you.

Yes I know I will not have the same exact numbers. I also agree I would need a tune. Not asking what hardware should and should not be transferred, just asking what do I need to do to get it working on an auto transmission which I got my answer. The rest the shop will take care of, I will not be doing the swap myself.

I will be replacing the entire motor--heads, blocks, intake manifold, etc with that newer rebuilt motor. It will be a straight drop-in minus changing out the flex plate (according to the shop and rhino6303).

You are still going to need a tune. A MT tune will not work in your 5EAT's ECM.

Thanks for the response; Yes I will be getting a tune no matter what since my ECM is different.

His VB is non-existent if he's running manual transmission.

 

 

Engine itself has no tune, so unless you are buying his turbo and supporting uppipe/downpipe the power it makes on his car is irrelevant.

Thanks for the response. He is selling me everything with the engine--turbo, upipe, intake, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, etc (minus catless downpipe since I have automatic) the full nine yards to make it a straight drop-in with no extra work necessary, besides the flex plate.

You would need a tune regardless. You can have it tunned down.

 

 

Any mods to the VB?

Alright thanks. I’ll buy the COBB from him too since he’s selling it cheaper than a new one and get a tune for it.

VB? Valve body? Mine is stock. Not sure about his.

Depends on your driving style.

Thanks for the comment. I don’t drive very hard, occasionally I like to drive it like it I stole it. But since it’s my daily I don’t beat on it very much. I want more reliability than speed. I was thinking though since it’s tuned (because of vf52) via cobb I could buy the motor and accessport but get another tune for it that isn’t as powerful. Thoughts on that?

The motor will work with s 5EAT. You just need to swap the flax plate from your engine to the new one.

Awesome!! Thanks for the response. I wanted to also ask he says it’s making roughly 330whp/330wtq.. and my 5eat has about 190k miles on it. Not sure if it will hold up okay with that much torque?

Thanks again.

Hi all,

Some know my engine is knocking and I need to get it replaced..so here it goes:

This may be a stupid question, forgive me, but I found a guy selling a rebuilt ej255 with 10k miles on the engine and a bunch of goodies. The only thing is it is paired with a manual transmission. I will be replacing the ENTIRE engine-- long block, short block, head, turbo, manifolds, etc.

I just wanted to know would the motor also work with the 5EAT or would I have swap things out to make is compatible?

Thank you.

Issue resolved. See duplicate thread:

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/need-help-2009-legacy-282633.html

You can certainly replace the block. I would still have the heads examined at a minimum. Subaru valve guides tend to show heavy wear by 100k miles, heads are prone to warping and valves can many times show damage as well. There are also very small ports that can clog and its good to replace the galley plugs. If the turbo is blown that adds another level of concern about what needs cleaning and/or replacing. I can go on and on...

 

 

If you need a good engine build in So Cal, I might know a few people. If you need a good tune in So Cal, I might know a few people. LOL.

 

 

 

I do not know who tuned your car, but do know that there are MANY good options for you in the So Cal area. With a good tuner a Legacy is another Subaru. A Legacy with an EJ20 block is not a USDM Legacy any way. Dont get caught up in all the BS.

Thanks for the response. I found out I am getting some money from school which will be enough to cover a newer EJ20X motor. I know which route I am going to go with. I am going to sell off stuff from the other motor that I do not need and try to recoup as much money as possible. Will also replace or rebuild turbo (if it turns out to be fine). Hopefully nothing else is damaged and I can get away with just replacing the head and block.

An AP is going to cost 10% of an engine rebuild if it is done at a reputable shop.

 

A standard Subaru engine rebuild should cost $5500+ and include:

crank and rod bearings

piston set w/rings

complete engine gasket set

oil pump

water pump

timing belt kit (belt, pulleys, tensioner)

bore and hone with torque plates

polish crank

refresh heads (valve job, deck, seals)

 

Highly recommended:

oil cooler

pcv

plugs

accessory belts

vacuum lines, coolant lines/hoses, breather hoses, etc.

 

Possibilities:

head studs

valve guides

valve springs

valves

the sky is the limit

 

Free/cheap tunes are not good, and good tunes are not free/cheap.

Meant to say if I just replaced the ej20x with another ej20x and not do any work to the "new" one.

They have done some great tuning work from what their customers said as I reached out to some. Sadly not many to have legacies. I heard that church automotive which isn't too far from me (granted my car is working by then) does some great tuning as well. A bunch of people recommend me to them.

A Tuner should be able to work with your ECU, you may have to get a Cobb AP or a cable for your lap top.

 

But seems like the Tuners like Cobb AP because they don't have to spend there time teaching you how to use "open Source" tuning. Because they can't charge you for all that time it can take.

Ugh I hope I do not need a Cobb AP, that will cost almost as much as the engine lol. I do have a OBD2 to USB as I bought a while ago. There is one shop my friend (he has a newer WRX) recommend me that will do a free e-tune if I buy the Cobb AP off them. Promo is till July.

Here are some parts I was finally able to find:

Bearings: https://www.ebay.com/itm/King-STD-Conrod-Bearings-suits-Subaru-EJ20X-EJ20Y-Liberty/303188144853

Rings: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hastings-Piston-Rings-Chrome-STD-suits-Subaru-EJ20X-EJ20Y-DOHC-16-Valve-Libert/293127710223

Head Gasket set: https://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Subaru-Legacy-BL5-BP5-EJ20T-2-pcs-Genuine-EJ204-EJ20Y-EJ20X-Head-Gaskets/122669944969

Now the only thing I am unsure about is if the Bearings and Rings are for the bone stock EJ20X or if they are for modified head/block. I did email the seller, awaiting a response.

Does the smoke slight smoke from the exhaust smell like roasting marshmellows? Best description of the smell of coolant/blown head gasket I can come up with.

 

 

The sound in the vid is tough to discern. Hood is closed and mics can play tricks. Not exactly what I would immediately call rod knock. Could be a blown turbo and the wheel is sending aluminum into the engine.

 

 

 

Need to pull the DP at a minimum.

 

 

 

From your posts I would not gather you have the tools or experience to rebuild a block. I would be looking for a reputable shop to assist if you plan on going that route.

Thanks for the response. I don’t really remember what the smell is like but I will start the car up today or tomorrow and try to figure out what kind of smell it’s close to.

Ah I see, but a blown turbo sending bits into the engine could still very much damage the engine correct?

I will just have the shop that did my tune do the full inspection and see what they say.

I’ll also take another video from the top of the engine.

Edit: Possibly a dumb question, do I need to get another ECU when I get the new engine since I have a tune on it or will it erase itself once I put the new block and head in?

—Bump—

Can’t find anything on the ej20x rebuild kit. Can anyone chime in and tell me if piston rings from a USDM EJ20 motor would work? I can not seem to find much info, stuck in a bind. Thanks!

Edit: I found this website that sells parts for the Ej20x motor: https://www.precisionintl.com/ just not sure if they ship internationally.

A lot of variables go into selecting internals, but you can probably budget 500-1000 for a set of forged rods/pistons. Another few hundred bucks for OEM bearings, a fraction of that if you go aftermarket. If you just want to get the motor 'fresh' instead of upgrading, I'd buy new OEM pistons, leave the rods alone if the bearing journals are OK, get some new bearings. You can get a set of OEM pistons for the EJ255/257 for a couple hundred bucks, and a bit more for rods last I recall. Not sure on EJ20, but should be similar.

 

On the measurement/machining side:

 

There's a whole rabbit hole you can go down here, but at the very least, you'll want all the bearing journals measured out so you can set proper bearing clearances, and the head gasket surfaces decked. Plenty of other options on getting bores/journals cut and honed to improve surface finish, alignment and form, all of which is a question of your needs and your goals. Heads cleaned/decked/pressure tested are also an adder to the machine shop costs you can expect.

 

If you want to skip all that, you can go the barebones route of cleaning up the head gasket surfaces yourself, measure flatness with a proper straightedge, and plastigage the rod and main bearings to determine what size replacements you need to buy to get the clearances right. Your results may vary depending on how bad the motor is in the first place.

 

 

 

All that is to say, the total cost will be parts + all the extra work needed to get the motor set up to receive them and make sure you don't spin a bearing or blow a headgasket a few miles down the road, or the motor ends up burning a bunch of oil.

 

I'm really not sure if there's enough of a market for EJ20X motors with that amount of work put into them, though - maybe someone else can chime in.

 

 

 

Links appear to work now!

Holy moly thank you for the info! I am leaning towards just spending the money on the motor only and then salvage and sell whatever I can from my existing motor and sell whatever I do not need from the new motor.

Also - have you tried draining your oil or even dropping the pan to see if there's any bearing material in there? Does the oil feel 'gritty' when you rub it between your fingers?

I have not, I have my tools at my friends home who lives about an hour or so from me and I don't really have a way to get to him at the moment.

You're very likely going to spend more on a proper rebuild versus just buying another EJ20X, factoring in machine shop fees and seals/consumables. The exact cost will depend on the extent of the damage to the motor, if it's been run with a failed bearing.

 

If you lucked out and the bearing journals, cylinder walls and heads are OK you can punt and just throw new bearings, pistons/rings and maybe rods in it, but you'll still either have to disassemble and clean or replace everything that's touched oil. No guarantee the cam journals in the heads aren't trashed since they don't use babbit inserts like the rod and main bearings, so you might end up needing to look for a replacement set of heads even if the block is fine. You won't know any of this until you pull the motor and tear it down, and after that you'll spend a few weeks waiting on the machine shop to get any parts that need work back to you. Absolute best case, you'll spend half of what another EJ20X would have cost you. Worth doing it for the experience if that's what you want, but really not financially justified IMO.

 

There's a reason even EJ255/EJ257 shortblocks tend to just get replaced instead of being rebuilt. I've priced/had it quoted out myself, and you'll spend more than a brand new short block (1800) if you need any appreciable machining done.

 

If you're short on time, I'd just get the EJ20X.

 

Not quite what you asked, but my .02.

Thank you for this informational comment! I will take this under advisement. Just curious to know what a good upgrade would cost for a rod set? I was thinking, to get some money back, when the old motor is out I will have my friend disassemble it and possible rebuild (depending on how the block and head are). If it ends up being too much I might just sell it as it. Best way to recoup some money. I will also sell parts off the newer motor that I do not need such as the intake manifold, turbo, etc.

I know it is a lot of money upfront (for a student such as me) but not much else can be done.

Also, video links are broken for me in your 1st post, not sure about others.

I have updated the links! Please let me know if it works now.

Hi, all, lets continue this in one place.

Here would be a good place. His new thread. Sorry if I'am stepping on a MOD's job.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/engine-knocki-282588.html

Thanks for this. I posted a question on that thread, any insight would help greatly. Thanks!!

Sorry but, Again, let's take this discussion to one thread,

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/engine-knocki-282588.html

Thanks for this. I posted a question on that thread, any insight would help greatly. Thanks!!

If I was to rebuild my current motor, I know I would need the crank and rods, but I am not sure where to get them from. There is not much information on the Ej20x motor and I do not want to end up getting the wrong part(s) for it. Anyone know of any place that could help me?

Thank you!!

Why not rebuild what you have? I’m sure if you caught it soon enough you could save most, maybe replace the crank and rods

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the response. I did just notice the knocking noise. I lost power a couple weeks back but never drove it after that. However it is my only car and I need it to get back on the road ASAP. I don’t know if it can be saved without opening it up, that’s my only worry. It would be a big loss of time to me. I have a very hectic summer session ahead of me. Not really sure what to do.

Hi all,

I just found out my Legacy's engine is out of commission.

Long story short:

I got my car reflashed a couple weeks back and decided to get a burble tune (messed with the fuel map) as well. The car was running fine until it was not. It starts up just fine during cold start but it would struggle to start when the car is warm.

Come to find out this morning, according to these videos, I have rod knock (yay!).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cOd-4qKYd4TdQOZFWh3lWCsCAiWqLxa8

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kLBkcjWGMiSV9U8lwn4IJKopAgPL5hqk

It is an Ej20x motor, because back in 2018 I had to get the motor replaced and could only afford to go with an Ej20x. I am thinking to just get the same motor and put it in myself. Any thoughts/inputs?

Example motor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/04-06-SUBARU-LEGACY-2-0L-4-CAM-DUAL-AVCS-TURBO-ENGINE-JDM-EJ20X/233549132863?hash=item36609cf43f:g:FuIAAOSwRIleiMfd

I might consider doing a rebuild on this (the newer ej20x motor and not my current one) but not sure yet.

I appreciate your insight and thoughts.

Thank you.

Sorry, I meant in person. I think a few of us on here agree that it sounds like it too, on the recording.

Oh lol I knew that. I guess the only way to confirm is by taking it back to that shop but I have to figure out my towing situation.

Yeah, or at least someone who's heard rod knock in person before.

Sent it to my friend who's heard plenty of rod knocks and he said definitely sounds like it.