So I've been weighing the idea of EJ swapping my GL for a while now, and have spent plenty of time eBay window shopping for motors and transmissions.

 

It seems that there's a glut of EJ20s and EJ20T/TT engines from Japan that make their way to the US through JDM importers, and far less EJ22s.

Now a part of me wants to use an EJ20 for lighter weight (and lower cost of putting an STI spec motor in this ol' wagon), but I wonder about parts availability.

 

That said, what about dropping a newer STI EJ25 in?

 

I guess the factors at play are: reliability, parts availability, cost, and difficulty of installation for these three engines.

 

Opinions and advice from the wise modders of USMB?

With an Ej22 you can drop that in with the necessary adapter plate and re drilled flywheel, and a wiring harness essential and basically. Be good to go. But with a turbo motor there's even more work involved. And the ej20 is not lighter than the ej22. Especially after bolting on the turbo and added exhaust etc. And I wouldn't trust the rest of the suspension or driveline if you dropped just the ej25 STi engine in. Your best bet would be to buy an entire ej22 car for your swap. That way you have everything you need to do the swap.

I had a 87 gl turbo wagon, that i was going to put a WRX in it. I already put the wrx trans in and the wrx rear end in. I had a complete 5 lug swap in it also. The peddle assembly was a little difficult also, there is alot of fab work to do, be ready for that. I started to call the car My money pit project.The motor will fit just barely betrweeen the frame rails, but it will fit , also you need the cross member from the xt6 if I remember right. In the long run I took all of my parts back off and got rid or the car. It was costing way to much money .It was fun but the ej 22 is alot easier and alot of fun to do and it does not take but a week end to do it. Also not bad on the pocket.

Good to know, thanks all.

IIRC, someone posted on here the dressed weights of the EJ series and they were all within several kg of each other. So dropping the money on an EJ20 (NA) from Japan isn't exactly necessary. Also, my Subaru parts girl (OEM stuff) say anything not USDM or SOA is NOT easy nor cheap to get a hold of (like coil packs for the COP setups, ECUs, AVCS parts, ect) and she's gotten me things that were "discontinued".

 

However, a low mileage EJ motor in some parts (Like ANYWHERE not the PNW) is more expensive than a JDM import.

 

Long and short, an EJ22 swap is easiest, well documented and can me maintained.

This is simple, these are enormous differences revolving around personal taste and opinions.

 

How much are you spending?

EJ22's are $200...but in the PNW they're a lot more, so that starts to level the playing field.

Turbo swaps are $1,000

STi EJ25's...a lot.

 

You want 140 hp or 250 hp?

 

You want easy (EJ22) or increased difficult is okay (turbos require more work).

 

Non-turbos are more reliable - more forgiving and simply have fewer parts. Fewer hoses, clamps, connections, seals, no turbo to blow up, less heat generated, less compromising on oil, coolant, and overall engine temps.