ccrinc

I have to respectfully disagree with you on the warping. Subaru heads are notorious for warping, and the tolerances have gotten to ridiculously low limits. The EJ25 DOHC heads had very little in the way of coolant passages and therefore, warped very easily. It is critical that both the heads and block need to be absolutely flat for any gaskets to adhere properly. Emily

Yep, that's the infamous rod knock.

Complete wiring harness, ECU, different cross member, different exhaust, and probably a couple of other things I'm not remembering at the moment. The EJ22 turbos are getting real hard to come by too. We haven't even had one in our shop to build for at least 4 years. Emily

What he ^^^ said, plus... Books, tools, lift, floor jacks, tranny jack, scanners, tool boxes, air compressors, solvent tanks and other parts washers, shelving, etc, etc, etc. Well over $100,000. More like $200,000. Add licensing, insurance, utilities, rent (unless you own a building, then add taxes). The costs mount up unbelievably fast. One SnapOn tool box is at least $4,000 and that's not the big ones. One 17mm SnapOn wrench for oil changes was $56 the last time I checked. Emily

The left cam gear has reluctors on the back side which communicate with the cam angle sensor. Those are in the shape of raised bars. There will either be 2 or 7 bars. If the original engine had a 2 bar gear, then the one on the replacement engine must also have a 2 bar gear. Emily

^^^This.^^^ If those gears don't match your original engine, the car won't start. Period. Emily

May I ask what shop you're using? Just curious. Some are great, some not so much. Why do they think you need a turbocharger? Lack oil or cooling is usually what does those in. (If you do, I can recommend an excellent co. to get one which will save you tons of money for an outstanding product.) Emily

You're talking about Timeserts. You can buy right off their website. We only use their products, never, EVER helicoil. Immeasurably better product. Emily

My money's on the radiator. Emily

Subaru hasn't put actual freeze plugs into any of their engines since the EA82 back in '93. Emily

I'm going to assume you know about the rheostat on the turn signal which dims/brightens the dash lights?

Permatex is good compound (and is made by Loktite). We use 180 grit water based Permatex and have for years. (Plus, we hand lap our valves: we haven't found any decent "automated" tool that does them to our satisfaction.) What Fair said is true: the ring on the valve needs to not cover the whole surface but not be too thin either. Actually, it is uniformity that is most important. You can't "fix" a high or low spot except by cutting the seat, refacing the valve and starting over. They must be uniform, both in measure of the "ground" surface, measure of the length (as mentioned above) and size of the seat. Also, how thoroughly did you clean off the valves after lapping? In truth, new engines come out of the factory without the valves being lapped at all. But, everything is new at that point. If you have a decent amount of sealing AND correct valve stem length measured via micrometer, actual running of the engine should finish the sealing.

That's easily a $3k or more car here in CO. (I wonder what miner made the oil leak. ) I'd say "go for it". Emily

It's very unlikely that it's a transmission problem: it should be a shift linkage problem. (i.e., you have a broken/cracked shift linkage) That would have to be fixed even if you put another trans into the car. The good part is that you can frequently fix it from above, through the shifter area. Oh, and since the Outback is a bigger chassis than the Forester, it may not fit. There are numbers on the bell housing of the transmission. They start with like TY or TZ. Get the 2 numbers and search online for compatibility.

^^^This!^^^

Subarus have been unibody design for a few decades. I haven't yet driven an '09, but I doubt you'll lose anything there. In fact, the '09s are supposed to be more comfortable.

FWIW, the EJ22 was considered a "stock" power upgrade. In other words, you can directly swap an EJ22 for an EJ18 and vice versa. The only internal differences are the bore, stroke and the valves on the heads. HOWEVER, the intake manifolds are not interchangeable. You need an EJ18 manifold for the EJ18 engine, and the matching manifold for the EJ22. All the electronics are identical. Just make sure your exhaust ports and EGR match up. Emily

My research indicates (no guarantee here) that you should be able to swap in a N/A EJ20 much like we swap in EJ22 engines here in the USA. http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f66/jdm-sohc-ej20-na-swap-alternative-usdm-ej25-304449/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EJ_engine Emily

The EJ22 as we know it was never sold outside of N. America, or at least very rarely. At this point, I'm wondering which engine is in it. My guess is a N/A EJ20 SOHC which is pretty much as reliable as our EJ22. But, it could be any of several other models. We'll need to wait on the OP to get more details.

FWIW, the Grand Wagon is what we in the USA call an Outback. How's that for irony? ANY Subaru engine which is overheated that badly has, at the least, badly blown head gaskets and will definitely need the heads resurfaced. Now, the question is, do you have oil and coolant mixing? Even if they aren't (yet), with that many miles, I believe it's only a short matter of time before your rod bearings go too. At this point, do you see metal flakes in the oil? Emily

Yes, but Fuji is rarely the actual manufacturer. For instance... Rod and Main Bearings: almost all are/were NDC. Rings: NPR NOK is a frequent supplier to Fuji for things like idler bearings. Paraut makes many pumps for them. This list goes on...also, many Mazda parts are interchangeable with Subaru, but I couldn't tell you which except lifters and internal transmission parts. Emily

Well, that sucks. Good luck! Emily

Yep. You never adjust valves on an EA81 engine with hydraulic valves. The original valve covers had decals on them stating that. Emily

Since you obviously have the case apart, use compressed air to blow out all the oil passages as well. (We put ours through a jet tank and ultrasound first, but I realize most people don't have access to those.) Any time you have bearing failure like that, you have pieces of metal all throughout the system, including the heads. You don't want oil starvation due to debris to cause a cam to seize in the head too! Emily

Scrap prices on just about everything tanked in the past year because Japan is so broke (as is China) that they can't afford to buy the materials. Even most of the scrap that gets bought is being stockpiled by recyclers who are hoping the resale prices go back up.