i got a 87 rx that is gonna have a ej in in and i was wondering if the whole dash needs removed, im just trying to get things done before i get my harness back

It's a pain to pull, but it will make your life infinitely easier.

no. not even slightly. Leave it in and save yourself the headache.

ok so what do i remove then just the little panel under steering column

I removed everything including the steering column.

But I'm kind of anal about stuff like that.

And thats why I get so many comments about how clean my swap is.

I left my dash intact, I just pulled the lower panel and steer column out and had plenty of access. I also removed all wires and plugs that wernt needed anymore.

 

so what exactly dont i need, just all original engine control?

I pull the dash.

 

I route my wiring through the large grommet in the passenger side of the cowl, where the AC wiring goes. (if you are ditching A/C you can cut out the whole A/C pigtail)

 

I carefully slice open the big rubber plug, and route my EJ wiring through it.

 

I mount the ECU behind the glovebox (EA82) or under it above the shelf (EA81)

 

My personal preference.

OK so what all should I remove electrical wise

should i unwrap the main harness that runs through left fender and remove ea stuff like maf, dizzy wires, main engine control... or leave it, sorry for hassle i just wanna make things best and easy as possible

I completely removed the harness that went to the engine bay and removed all the EA engine related stuff. Then I spliced the EJ engine wiring together with the EA leftover wiring (lights, horns, etc) and put it all back in just like it was factory.

My ECU is in the same location as OEM.

I completely removed the harness that went to the engine bay and removed all the EA engine related stuff. Then I spliced the EJ engine wiring together with the EA leftover wiring (lights, horns, etc) and put it all back in just like it was factory.

My ECU is in the same location as OEM.

 

Doing this way, and getting it done reasonably quick with no mistakes, is an accomplishment, even for a soob expert. You cars are a study in subaru retrofiting.

 

But for a relative newbie might not be so easy.

 

That's why I recommend piggybacking the whole EJ hanrness as a standalone. Leave the EA wiring alone other than the few attachments of EJ leads. Makes troubleshooting easier. And leaves you a path out if completely screw up and you want to go back to stock.

I always piggy-back them. Merging the harness is not neccesary and IMO is more work than it's worth. Plus you retain the ability for the car to run a stock engine if you ever want to pull your swap and put it in another chassis.

 

Merging is the SOP on EJ to EJ swaps. But is of little value on EJ to EA swaps IMO. Especially the older you go - carbed cars have very little wiring to control the engine anyway so stripping it out doesn't really buy you much. More useful in FI cars but again - a lot more work for a tiny gain in appearance. And none of my piggy-back swaps look messy or disorganized in any way. Just a few unused connectors zip-tied out of the way.

 

GD