heartless Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) Looking for clear, definitive answers here... Somebody brought an 04 Forester X in where my other half works to be scrapped out - overall, car is on ok condition, not perfect, but not horrible either, and only has 167K on the odometer... Has the EJ253 and definitely has EGR - automatic, needs a bit of work to be road worthy - brakes, struts, etc. - has decent tires on 16" steelies Engine starts no problem, idles well, no obvious weird noises, knocking or anything... sounds pretty good, actually. We were thinking maybe an engine swap into my 02 Forester that currently has 267K.. EJ251 with NO EGR - or, maybe fixing it up & putting it on the road - the right rear quarter is kind of concerning tho.. pretty rusty - more so than the left side. i did try searching, and from what I found, it is possible to do this swap by putting the existing 251 intake on the 253, but no one mentions the EGR factor... how does one deal with that? Pics of the car can be seen here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vuqc1t8dixsemsy/AABdE0mKTFg3mhnGF-mxCW_Xa?dl=0 Edited August 5, 2021 by heartless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 I just put a newer JDM 2.0 into an '01 Forester. It was similar to a 253, but no variable valve timing.... Anyway, yes. Best practice when swapping Subaru engines is to swap the intake manifold and wiring harness from the old motor. Obviously the EGR valve itself is mounted to the intake, so that takes care of that end. My '01 Forester engine had a plug where the EGR pipe goes into the head, so I was able to just zip that out of the old engine (14mm allen, IIRC), and plug the hole in the new engine. Moosens just had a thread on here with a Legacy with the opposite situation (non EGR engine in place of an EGR one), and he had to drill and tap the head for the port, so some engines do not have the plug there. In that thread I believe GD said it was an M20x1.5 thread, in which case an aftermarket drain plug would probably be easy enough to get. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Slow process in mine. But I’ll update my post as things happen. Old days you’d just make a metal plate and cover that hole. That was EA82. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 so basically we are just "deleting" the EGR? Simple enough i guess.. And yeah, @moosens - if you could keep your thread updated as you go, that would be fantastic. i think we are gonna go ahead and snag this car - depending on title status... we can get it for basically scrap price, and with a good motor, it is worth that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Since yours doesn’t have EGR you’re just removing anything EGR related since it doesn’t exists any more. Yes install non EGR intake. That takes care of the intake side The engine side there’s a hole in the back of the head. Insert like he just said or like for old gen put a metal plate over the head port with sealant, cut the original EGR tube and weld or seal it shut, etc. just needs blocked. its just the exhaust port side of the head so don’t over think it likes it’s hard or a big deal. I think that was my thought before I had ever seen it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Also if the engines are out and you consider replacing head gaskets you could use a non EGR head on that side. But no point in going with the higher mileage one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) In the old days I bent that EGR pipe with pliers and squeezed it down well enough that it didn’t wheeze. Little duct tape over the end for added security. My current situation will happen soon but it’s not so critical because for once in the past 25 years or so I have a garage to work out of with no need to rush out. Haven’t yet scored my M20x1.5 tap and drill set just yet but hoping to at least have the engine out later today or tomorrow. Pardon my personal news within this thread please. Edited August 7, 2021 by moosens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 (edited) Cut, crimp and tack weld the steel EGR pipe close to the head. Takes about two minutes to seal it off. GD Edited August 8, 2021 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted August 8, 2021 Author Share Posted August 8, 2021 thank you all for the info! much appreciated. so apparently we can just have the car if it is just for parts (perk of him working there)... if we want to try to title it, have to go thru the original owner, get a bill of sale, etc... sounds like too much hassle to mess with it, so will probably bring it home to get parts out of, then take back the remainder. Head gaskets are something i had considered - not knowing the history on the car. It would also automatically get a full timing service, just because. and just thought of another question... exhaust? is that going to be pretty much the same? (mounting points, and such) if the exhaust on that car is in decent enough shape, would like to possibly swap it over as well... mine is in kind of rough shape, with several "patches" along its length Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 If you know someone with a shop they can just title lien it if your state allows that. Much easier process. Here in Oregon it's $75, wait 30 days and then I can do whatever I want with it. Have had several cars abandoned at my shop. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 My local guy Subafreak said the exhaust is the same from 2000-02 and 2003-04. Apparently regardless of being EGR or non EGR. * GD confirm that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Exhaust should be essentially the same from 00 to 04. EGR has nothing to do with the exhaust system itself since the EGR draws from the cylinder head not the manifold. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, GeneralDisorder said: Exhaust should be essentially the same from 00 to 04. EGR has nothing to do with the exhaust system itself since the EGR draws from the cylinder head not the manifold. GD thank you GD. I know the egr has nothing to do with that part, lol, but more interested in how it mounts - hanging points etc. if they are essentially the same, i can make it work other half says the undercarriage is not too bad from what he can see of it, just lying on the ground and looking.. so, it may be worth trying to get that bill of sale from the PO... at the very least, i would like to know why he junked it - ie: overheating? failing tranny? whatever. Edited August 10, 2021 by heartless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Yes they should be the same mounting points as well. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyo7015 Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/6/2021 at 8:36 AM, Numbchux said: I just put a newer JDM 2.0 into an '01 Forester. It was similar to a 253, but no variable valve timing.... Anyway, yes. Best practice when swapping Subaru engines is to swap the intake manifold and wiring harness from the old motor. Obviously the EGR valve itself is mounted to the intake, so that takes care of that end. My '01 Forester engine had a plug where the EGR pipe goes into the head, so I was able to just zip that out of the old engine (14mm allen, IIRC), and plug the hole in the new engine. Moosens just had a thread on here with a Legacy with the opposite situation (non EGR engine in place of an EGR one), and he had to drill and tap the head for the port, so some engines do not have the plug there. In that thread I believe GD said it was an M20x1.5 thread, in which case an aftermarket drain plug would probably be easy enough to get. I have a ej253 that im putting into my 04 impreza 2.5ts (ej251). The ej253 has a egr pipe that can't connect to the ej251 intake manifold. when you plugged up the hole did it throw any codes? I've seen others post about doing EGR deletes and it threw codes for them. That being said I have a stock ECU for an engine that doesn't have an EGR pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 4 hours ago, yoyo7015 said: I have a ej253 that im putting into my 04 impreza 2.5ts (ej251). The ej253 has a egr pipe that can't connect to the ej251 intake manifold. when you plugged up the hole did it throw any codes? I've seen others post about doing EGR deletes and it threw codes for them. That being said I have a stock ECU for an engine that doesn't have an EGR pipe. the swap never happened, actually.. ended up selling the 02 and picking up an 04, running & driving, instead.. we did still take the 05 parts car (essentially the same as the 04), and it has been worth it for misc parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 22 hours ago, yoyo7015 said: I have a ej253 that im putting into my 04 impreza 2.5ts (ej251). The ej253 has a egr pipe that can't connect to the ej251 intake manifold. when you plugged up the hole did it throw any codes? I've seen others post about doing EGR deletes and it threw codes for them. That being said I have a stock ECU for an engine that doesn't have an EGR pipe. The ECU, and emissions system in the car is not expecting an EGR. So you are just keeping it factory. Blocking off EGR on a system that had it is different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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