Hello all. I have an 04 forester ej25 b25 heads turbo. Pulled motor, stripped down to short block. Its slop on #1 and started on #2 rod bearings im guessing. Looking for advice. To save money and have a running turbo Forrester.

I have an ej22 na 92 short block that's been to the machine shop then has sat in plastic wrap for years..... Some kind of frankenstein motor....?? What other short blocks could i even put in between those b25 heads? Or should i just take the short block to the shop? 

Or jdm an ej205 or ej20x? Swap cams after?

I'm sure you've already checked into this nearby you, but here's a complete shortblock for you.

https://www.subarupartwholesale.com/p/Subaru_2003_Forester-251-MT-XS/Engine-Short-Block/49223006/10103AB390.html

2 yrs ago I managed to O/H a neighbors NA 2003 Forester block with recon crank, rods, main & rod brgs, BUT, I had the tools to mike the case main bores to make sure the spun rod bearings didn't hammer out the main bores.

Get a jdm complete or a lower end if the price is right. Your cyl heads check out OK, right?

I'm sure GD & others will check in here too.

It's your money & time.

$2000 for a short block is the last chance option. But thank you for your advice.

Heads should be fine. I was planning on a light port & polish if i have wait time in the middle of working on it. 

When/if i spit the case halfs i will know if the any of the bearing journals are messed up or not. 

i would either bearing slap it or replace the engine. I wouldn't get into any additional work at all, except re-ring it while it's apart. hope you got it before extensive damage and avoid getting sucked into a rabbit hole.

someone else bearing slapped an EJ years ago on here and said it ran fine. one whole example, and wasn't a turbo, wow!  but it was interesting to see them try it and succeed. 

That was me who did that swap. And i was driving that car early today. Still running strong.

I would have to actually spilt the case halfs to get access to the #1 rod bearing as the water passage runs in the way. I feel that as soon as i spit the case then i have to have mechine work done. I still have to find a good mechine shop around here (Sacramento, CA ). Just haven't had time to ask around yet.

16 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

That was me who did that swap. And i was driving that car early today. Still running strong.

I would have to actually spilt the case halfs to get access to the #1 rod bearing as the water passage runs in the way. I feel that as soon as i spit the case then i have to have mechine work done. I still have to find a good mechine shop around here (Sacramento, CA ). Just haven't had time to ask around yet.

Resurface the heads yourself.  Rering doesn't require a shop and don't touch Subaru bores. This can be done without a shop.  

If you do get a shop have them knurl the pistons to prevent piston slap while they're out. 

 

 

16 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

That was me who did that swap. And i was driving that car early today. Still running strong.

 

That was you that bearing slapped an EJ?!  Haha, that's fantastic.  Which year EJ was it?

Just found an ej255 out of an 07 wrx for $600 with 169k org miles. Shop pulled it for a leak on an exhaust valve. Passed leak down after that. Customer wanted new short block anyways. That would be good right? With the b25 heads with a wrx/forester sized turbo

9 hours ago, idosubaru said:

That was you that bearing slapped an EJ?!  Haha, that's fantastic.  Which year EJ was it?

https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/171622-ej25-sohc-2000-ob-head-gasket/

9 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Resurface the heads yourself.  Rering doesn't require a shop and don't touch Subaru bores. This can be done without a shop.  

If you do get a shop have them knurl the pistons to prevent piston slap while they're out. 

 

 

If i spit the case, i probably won't be able to put the case halfs back together perfectly. Then it will blow up on me anyways.....so yea....

Head work, other then bucket valve adjustment, i can do myself.

22 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

Head work, other then bucket valve adjustment, i can do myself.

Those are shim over bucket?  I grind the bucket facing side down to make the shim thicker as needed.  They're always too tight and need thinner shims so grinding works.  I grind the side not touching the cam. But yeah, PITA and I will probably avoid it for the rest of my life if possible. lol

 

23 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

If i spit the case, i probably won't be able to put the case halfs back together perfectly. Then it will blow up on me anyways.....so yea....

Ah - i see, you didn't have to split the case last time.  Got it.  

Good luck cranking it out. 

How do you grind the shims even? Guess I could use glass and sandpaper... But that i bet there's a better way 

On 9/1/2023 at 11:39 AM, nicksubaru said:

How do you grind the shims even? Guess I could use glass and sandpaper... But that i bet there's a better way 

Sure do that and keep checking with micrometer.
 

Given the way they operate, it’s not going to matter.  I have glass for head resurfacing, but don’t bother for shims. I hit them with an air grinder and check with micrometer. it’s not a flywheel, head or block. Not worried about it. 

There might be misunderstanding. These are just buckets as the shim. The top is riding on the cam then inside the bucket is the valve steam

With this 07 wrx ej255 block and 04 forester b25 heads should i look for thinner head gaskets? Or the CR won't change enough to matter and just use 04 full gasket set?

18 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

There might be misunderstanding. These are just buckets as the shim. The top is riding on the cam then inside the bucket is the valve steam

Okay yeah there’s a couple different bucket and shim styles. I haven’t done the buckets just shim over buckets. Although I’d be tempted to find a an easy way with bucket too. 

I think They’re always too tight not too loose and the buckets/shim height need shortened to create some slack. 

18 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

With this 07 wrx ej255 block and 04 forester b25 heads should i look for thinner head gaskets? Or the CR won't change enough to matter and just use 04 full gasket set?

Don’t know.  There was a Subaru EJ CR calculator out there years ago I used in excel format to determine various specs. Maybe try to find that so you have real numbers?

Calling GD GeneralDisorder. He would likely be the best to answer the turbo techy stuff. 

This isn’t the one I used but here’s an example:

http://www.submariner.org/thepno95/TWE Compression Calculator ver6 - 2017.xlsx

The two blocks you’re using are so common I’m sure someone knows in turbo world. 

can the valve stem be ground down, then bucket put back on?

8 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

can the valve stem be ground down, then bucket put back on?

Ha. Now you’re talking.

people do it for other engines without issues but I’ve never heard of it for Subarus. But I’d be open to it if I got a sense the end surface area and hardening wouldn’t be compromised. 

9 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

can the valve stem be ground down, then bucket put back on?

That's the way I've seen it done. Set all the stem heights to spec by grinding the stems.

First redo the seats & valve faces, then the stem heights.

 

Hmmm now that sounds possible. Grind the steams at the end. What would you guys use to handle that?

7 hours ago, nicksubaru said:

Hmmm now that sounds possible. Grind the steams at the end. What would you guys use to handle that?

Unless you're willing to spend hundreds to buy & work with old machinery, it would be more economical/expedient to send the heads to a reputable machine shop.

Valve facing machines like old Sioux or KO Lee need some TLC to get them in working order. Look on fleabay & you'll see what I mean.

Search the fsm for yours to find valve stem heights. I don't know the specs but they are available somewhere.

EJ_cr_matrix (1) (1).pdfEJ_cr_matrix (1) (1).pdf

On 9/6/2023 at 7:24 PM, idosubaru said:

.......Don’t know.  There was a Subaru EJ CR calculator out there years ago I used in excel format to determine various specs. Maybe try to find that so you have real numbers?........

Maybe this?