So i'm doing a motor swap between a 97 outback and a 99 outback(97s the donor) the 97 is an auto and the 99 is 5spd.

 

My question is am i going to run into any problems or is it like i thought and its just a straight swap?.

( please don't point out the obvious stuff like the starter and the fly wheel .)

 

i'll figure it out either way but a little warning would be nice..

 

 

ive already got the donor motor ready to pull and the other motor is out already. if all goes smoothly i should have it together and running in a few hrs.

 

 

 

its wierd how ej's like to knock out the "EJ25" stamping.. this one nearly knocked it out perfectly.

Use the '99 intake manifold to avoid issues with the evap system routing and the '99 not having the carbon can in the engine bay.

 

'99 is an 8 bolt. '97 is a 4 bolt. You will have to heli-coil the 99 transmission and put an EJ exhaust stud in the lower starter bolt location to hold the starter on properly.

 

Order your valve cover gaskets for the '97 but your spark plug wires for the '99 if you are using it's manifold. Coil packs changed and valve cover gaskets changed a whole bunch of times.

 

Do a valve adjustment on the '97. It's bucket/shim.

 

GD

Thanks GD! i never would have thought about the starter bolt. funny enough

i had already planned to swap the manifold because i noticed the lack of the evap.

 

im not going to switch the heads because the person who worked on the car before me took the heads apart.. and im not going to mess with that.

 

is the 4 bolt vs 8 bolt going to be a problem?.. i noticed the 97 has studs on the bottom 2 of the bell housing where as the 99 has bolts?.

 

 

i got the donor 2.5 out.

 

and heres where its going

 

 

And, i did this all by my big self.

4 bolt 8 bolt is no big deal - they easily interchange, just follow GD's suggestion on the starter. other than that you can pretty much ignore this difference.

Some folks ignore the starter bolt too and report no ill effects. I've never done it that way though.

ITS IN! and it runs! i got a check engine light so ill have to double check everything but it runs good and the timings right

 

i put the starter in with one bolt and did a test start.no strange noises or grinding so the guy im working for said it'll be fine like that.

 

 

not bad for my first motor swap and my first quad cam timing belt..

 

overall im pretty damn proud of myself.:banana:

?....

Congrats!! Way to go!!

 

I wouldn't have balls enough to try the swap by myself. How did you keep track of wiring electrical connections, and vacuum connections during the swap?

If I ever tried a swap, I would get so confused as to what connector and what vac line went where? I know I would screw it up!

theres 3 connectors at the back of the engine.

 

and one vac line to the hvac controls.

 

its incredibly easy.