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There's a 1996 ignition coil on my 1997 Legacy Outback


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I recently purchased a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited.  The door tag indicates it was made in 3/97.  The car started occasionally getting a miss in one of two cylinders and the mechanic suggested I replace the ignition coil and plug wires.  I ordered the appropriate items and when they arrived, the coil was the wrong one for my car.  It was thicker, wider and had the three wire connection on the side of the coil.  After some research, I discovered the coil on my car is the one used for models made up to 5/96.  It has the connection wire coming out of the bottom and the bolt pattern is about .5 inches smaller than the one I purchased.  

 

I am confused.  Did some 1997 subarus come with the older ignition coil or is it possible that someone did an engine swap at some point before I purchased it replacing the 1997 engine with a 1996 version?  The car has 257k on it and it runs well and has been well maintained so I have no way of knowing.  Can anyone help clear up this mystery?  Is there a way I can tell a 97 engine from a 96 other than by the ignition coil?  

 

Also, should I also return the spark plug wires or are they the same for both model engines.  PS: it says the car was assembled in America if that makes any difference.

 

Thanks in advance for any input. 

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Did you get spark plugs too? 99% of the time misfires are caused by worn spark plugs, and/or old plug wires. The coils hardly ever go bad on these.

 

The coil type only somewhat determines which wires you need. The 97 coil should have the male output posts, where the 96 coil has female posts.

But you also need to make sure you have the correct wires for the engine. 2.2 and 2.5 wires have entirely different ends that go on the plugs. 2.5 wires are also a bit longer on one side than the other.

2.5 plug wires stick into the middle of the valve covers and point straight out towards the frame rails.

2.2 plug wires stick into the heads above the valve covers, and stick out/up at about a 45 degree angle.

 

Entirely possible your Outback has a 2.2 swap done (if you're not the original owner) as its a common replacement for a 2.5 with bad rod bearings.

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I just had the plugs changed. That's when I was told that I should probably replace the coil and wires too.  Since they charged me $125 to just change the plugs and wanted $350 if they also replaced the coil and wires, I decided I could do the rest myself.  I would have done the plugs myself too but it was just toooooo darned cold here in Michigan right now. 

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Why would the 2.2 be a popular swap for a 2.5L engine?  Why wouldn't someone replace with the same engine?  By the way, mine is a manual transmission and I am learning that the 2.2 engine remained in the Legacy in the manual transmission model longer than in the automatic.  I will be checking today to confirm that I do have the 2.2 engine and am forming the conclusion that during the transition that Subaru may have continued putting the 2.2 engine in the 97 model Legacy with a manual transmission for a little while given there are others in the same situation. 

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2.2 swaps are common because the 2.5 of that era was plagued by bad head gaskets causing overheating and failing rod bearings.

 

The 2.2 was available in the Legacy L models through 99.

In 96 the Legacy Outback model could be bought with a 2.2 only if it had a manual transmission.

In 97 all of the Legacy Outback models came with the DOHC 2.5 engine, whether automatic or manual trans.

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Take a look at the front of the engine. Casted into the block will be either 2.2 or 2.5. The 97 Outback only came with the 2.5 engine so if you see 2.2, then the engine has been swapped. 

I looked at the front of the engine and there was the black cover with SUBARU on it but no other markings.  Can you be more specific?  If this was a swap, then I probably should find out the precise model engine I have in the car now.. or were all the 2.2's the same?  Any help in identifying which engine I have in this car would be greatly appreciated.

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2 easy ways.

Look at the valve covers.

EJ22 has distinct valve covers. JDM_SUBARU_EJ16_EJ18_EJ20_EJ22_SOHC.jpg

 

The 25 has basically flat valve covers.

 

Front timing cover.

Ej22 has one round area at each end, because its a single overhead cam engine. (Like pictured above)

 

Ej25 of that era has a much larger bowtie shaped cover with two rounded areas at each end. It is a Dual Overhead cam engine.

 

Pictured in this link: http://www.alnjdmautomotors.com/index.php/96-99-subaru-forester-legacy-outback-2-5l-dohc-engine-jdm-ej25d-ej25.html

Edited by Fairtax4me
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Thanks a lot. That was very helpful.  I will check again tomorrow morning but I'm 99% sure it looks like the Ej22.  So I guess this is good news. 

Here is another way to tell the difference between an EJ-22 and 25. The 22 will have two large indents on the timing belt cover, the 25 will have four indents on the timing belt cover.

 

Top of the engine blocs are embossed either with EJ22 or EJ25. Once you read that, you will know for sure

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