my buddy wants me to go look at a 2003 forester that needs an engine for $500

 

also there is a 95 lego 2.2 sittin at my work with 175000 for cheap and it ran well. will this be a direct bolt on? will the computer run it well enough to last him a few years? and what should i look for on foresters to make sure it doesnt have any problems? anything model specific? i know to look for rust and other mechanical issues but ive never owned a forester so i thought id ask.

I don't think it will be 'plug and play'. I believe at the minimum you'll need to change the wiring harness and ECU, since 2003 Forester is going to be MAP/speed density based and the '95 is going to be MAF based.

 

I don't know how well the '95 ECU will interface to the 2003's phase II 4EAT TCU. (Assuming it's an auto trans)

 

Also the '03 Forester probably has the evap cansiter in the rear, and the '95 has it under the hood near the radiator, so you might have to play around there.

 

Not sure if the exhaust's match up? Some engines had single port and others dual port exhausts.

thanks for the info and that sounds about right lol

Won't work/not worth the effort. Much better to just get a phase2 engine.