Swapping a phase 2 engine somehow into a phase 1 97 legacy

[foolio1286]

hello all, new to the forum, not new to subarus! on my 3rd legacy, and this one is sure to be quite the project. long story short, i have a 97 legacy with a ej22e single exhaust port engine and auto trans, with a badly blown head gasket, and started to knock. Then, thinking i know everything about these cars, i bought a wrecked 99 legacy auto with a perfect complete drivetrain as a complete parts car to swap everything i could over. Because hey!, the front end looks the same, it'll work somehow! i had no idea about phase 1 vs phase 2. AWESOME! So now here i am, both engines out, all 4 heads off, and now noticing all the differences between the blocks.

 

to this point i figured i could use the ej22e heads on the ej223 block, just not sure if there will be any combustion chamber issues, or head gasket issues i will come across? also the timing belt setup is different. cam gears look the same size? havent checked the crank gear yet? ive searched and searched the forums and have yet to find a thread that someone has done or asked about this. any knowledge on this swap will be soo helpful! im open to any options that will work with using the 97 body and any/all the drivetrain from the 99. i know the trans is different, but not sure about the rear end. i would like to use the 99 rear end if possible as well. both cars are complete, the 99 body is just wrecked with some damaged wiring behind the drivers side front fender.

 

thanks so much for your time

[MilesA]

This is sometimes called a frankenmotor or hybrid motor. There are some guys on the board that might be able to help you. You could PM DOHCEJ22E1 and Setnev. Invite them to this thread. Some other guys, also, but I have not heard from them in awhile.

 

There is some info over on the RS25.com message board that might be useful.

 

I believe it is possible to use the 2.5 crankcase and swap over your 2.2 heads, intake manifold and electronics. It is not ideal, because the older heads don't flow as well, but it could work.

 

Transmissions made to mate with the EJ engines can generally be swapped. You will need to make sure that you have the same final drive ratio in both transmission and rear diff.

 

Here is a reference chart from the Rallispec website that may help you:

 

http://www.rallispec.com/downloads/Transmission%20ID%20Chart_Public.pdf

[Setnev]

Thanks for the referral Miles.

 

If the 99 is a 2.5, it's a direct swap over, but seeing that you reference an EJ223, I'm going to assume it's not, but there is still hope. BTW, the EJ223 was in the 2000-2001 Impreza, what you have is an EJ222. Same motor, different car.

 

The EJ222 is a great motor to replace the 22E motor with, but your level of performance depends on how much time you want to spend building it. We can get creative with swapping pistons, etc, but for simplicity sake, we won't.

 

Strip down the EJ222 block from the 99. All you need from that motor is the short block (block and rotating assembly). Sell off the heads and the top end. They're useless to you. Take the heads from your EJ22E have them milled. Make sure they do not mill them too much, just enough to make them flat again. You can go to the max mill depth if you want even higher compression. Use EJ22E gaskets for your engine. That combo will give you 10.9:1 compression ratio. It won't require 91 octane, but 89 octane is a must. If 89 octane is a deal breaker, swap the head gasket for an EJ22T gasket. It'll drop your compression ratio to 10:1, which is the stock compression ratio for the the 22E and will allow you to use 87 octane.

 

Use your intake manifold and exhaust manifold from your 97. Use the crank gear and crank position sensor from your 97 22E.

 

Sell the transmission from the 99 for a $100 or so. It's a Phase 2 transmission, so there is no way it's going to work on the 97 without some serious modification (read: hacking) to your existing wiring harness. The rear differential is nothing special. It's a 4.111 open diff. You can either sell it with the trans or keep it for a spare.

[foolio1286]

Thanks so much setnev! Thats exactly everything i beeded to know. It is a 2.2, i was just going off the tag on the left strut mount area by the fender. Wasnt trying for more power, but that comp ratio sounds fun! Excited to get this frankenstein legacy running.

[Setnev]

I'll be doing a similar build as you, but with EJ25D heads instead of 22E heads.