Good job...I would have sworn the '96 was interference (1st year of the single-port exhaust heads), but maybe '97+ had the interference pistons w/its higher CR. 

 

18 hours ago, wtdash said:

Good job...I would have sworn the '96 was interference (1st year of the single-port exhaust heads), but maybe '97+ had the interference pistons w/its higher CR. 

 

Well it sort of is and isn’t, and there’s anomalies.  In 96 the EJ25 is interference but all other EJs are not. 

I’ve seen one “documented”, meaning enough seemingly good investigative work and known history, case of a 96 suffering bent valves. I’d guess they’re very rare and maybe some have been swapped by now in some way to change their interference status.  And I’ve heard a couple claims of interference with evidence on par with that of Bigfoot sightings.