Hawkwolf223 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Hi All, Been a member for a number of years, since i have a '79 BRAT. Latest thing is my 17 YO daughters first car. Found a 2001 Forester, decent shape, ran well, so bought and began setting it up for her to use during an internship and proposed to get her through most or all of college. First thing was timing belt, water pump, idlers, tensioner, etc, along with full oil change and tires. It ran well for her for two and a half months. Then something "bad" happened. Sounded like a spun bearing, and we didn't have the weeks needed to get the machine shop work done to rebuild. JDM EJ20 swap to the rescue. Many say this is a direct drop in, with two "pulley changes": Drivers side cam pulley and crank pulley. Yes, these do need to be swapped, but there are a few other items as well. First DON'T PULL THE ENGINE WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER ATTACHED!!! I did, and will never do so again. The litttle spring clip cost me half a day between fighting it and researching why the convert would not go back. Second, the knowck sensor connector was different, so I swapped those, as well as the temp sensor. The water cooled oil cooler did not swap over (I don't care for them0, so the supply for that needed a block-off. A note of issue with the rubber gasket around the cam belt cover: The rubber deformed on re-install and began rubbing on the waterpump pulley. This is not a real issue, but it created a high-picthed sound similar to a bearing failing. I thought I would have to replace the just-installed water-pump (All idlers, tensioner, etc were swapped from EJ25 to EJ20, since they were brang new with less than 2000 miles) Keep this oin mind for future reference, I almost didn't find it, but running the engine without the timing belt cover there was no sound, when re-installing to check, the thing would not go on, and I found the rubber deformed from rubbing... So, that is my experience thus far. Little things kept needing to be swapped; small hoses, crankcase vent hoses, extended wiring for temp sensor to reach new location on EJ20, et. etc. etc. Otherwise, it went in well. By the way, the EJ20 IS smoother than the EJ25... Now I have no spark on cylinders 1&2. This is intermittent, and when I pull one of the plug wires from the coil, I get arcing from 3&4, nothing from 1&2... most of the time. Occasionally I had been able to get spark by pulling a plug wire from 1&2, then the engine would run great. I suspect the coil pack. Am I off base? I will pick up new wires and plugs this afternoon, and maybe a coil pack, as well as some EFI hose to replace the transmission cooler hoses which are showing deterioration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Hi, Yeah...the TC needs to stay attached to the tranny. Disconnect it from the Flex Plate b4 pulling the engine and secure it so it doesn't accidentally get bumped when the engine comes out/goes in. So, did you swap the Intake Manifold from the EJ25>>>EJ20? I'm assuming so, but not clear. That 'shoulda/coulda/woulda' made some the wiring/hoses/etc. less of an issue? And coil pack from the Ej25 is on the EJ20 now? I'd also suspect it's the cause of your 'no spark' condition. GL, TD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Yes, swapped the intake, and it made most of the hoses a non-issue. The silly one going to the bottom of the throttle body didn't fit right from the EJ-20, for example, so I swapped that. probably could block it off, but I wasn't sure, maybe it prevents icing or something... I figured the coil pack from the 20 was matched to the ignitor and ECu for the 20, so left it on the 20 intake. Is there a difference? Seeking info please... Thanks, HW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Since you swapped the pulleys, did you also swap the cam and crank sensors? I don't know if they matter (I'd be surprised), but aren't too tough to swap. And your thoughts about the ECU + Ignitor + coil pack are legit, and since I have no experience w/that, i'll have to defer. BTW, if you Search on NASIOC.com this swap may be more common as the Impreza used the same EJ253(?) as your Foz and you can find more info. Td Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Done this swap twice and used the 2.5 USDM coil both times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Checked the 2.0 coil, won't work without complete wire change. 2.5 coil has posts similar to plugs, 2.0 has sockets. Completely different plug wires. I am back to replacing the coil as the fix for the probable issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I try to keep as much USDM as possible. Swap complete intake manifold, sensors, crank and drivers cam sprocket. Basically just the long block from the EJ20. Your misfire could easily be contained in whatever is JDM on the top of the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Not much JDM left. Intake, temp, knock were all swapped. The connectors didn't match, so the USDM went to the JDM. Except the crank and cam sensors. Those two use the same connectors and plugged in without an issue. Still can't get past the intermittent fire of 1&2 when I pull a plug wire. Maybe will swap the crank and cam sensors this morning to see if that changes anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Don't use EFI hose for ATF lines. Get actual ATF Cooler hose. It's much better suited for that job. With any engine swap there are things that need to be worked around. The only direct swap is the one where you take the old engine out and replace it with the exact same one from the exact same year as yours. Even then there are occasionally differences that need to be swapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Agreed on the need to work around other items. Initially, it ran great, then started miss-firing on 1&2, but would come back to running great again. It has gotten colder here, a cold front blew through and dropped temps 20 degrees. Bought transmission hose for the trans cooler lines. Could tell if they were 5/16" or 3/8", so picked up both. Really don't want to spring for a coil, but I can't think of anything else. The crank and cam sensors are the same, essentially, from 99-09. Looking at the parts from the JDM, it appears I got a newer engine, it has the 05-11 coil pack, also some butterfly restrictor plates between the intake and the heads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 (edited) Hi, Have you seen THIS on Wikipedia? You might have the I-Active valve heads? And ANY coil pack from a non-turbo, 2.5, similar year Subaru 'should' work. I would never buy a new one, as they aren't a high failure item (unlike the HG!)..ebay or local wrecking/salvage/parts yard would be my next stop...and usually you can return it if doesn't fix the issue. Td Edited November 24, 2015 by wtdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hmm, interesting. But there are no oil lines to the heads which would be needed to control the I-Active system, and nothing different at the fron of the cams to indicate the presense of I-Active... I have called around looking for replacement engines and aprts, no used coils available. JDM coil is a no-go. The mounts are different spacing, and even temp mounting, I get no start at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwolf223 Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 New coil, runs great. Thanks for listening to my rants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.