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*sigh* going to take the plunge into EJ swappageness!


Caboobaroo
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So I decided next spring that I'm going to just suck it up, and swap in a EJ20G into my '87 coupe. Decided that its not really worth trying to swap engines in and get running and blah blah blah. Just going to let it sit and start getting funds together to do the swap. Then, all at once, with the help of this lovely board, I'm going to get a front cut and do the swap into it. After reading some of the tips from suberdave and a few other board members, its going to happen. Screw those underpowered EA82Ts, time for the big powa!

 

So for my swap, I'm trying to compile a list of what I will need from the front cut for my swap...

engine, tranny, wiring harness, ECU, tranny, rear end... anything else? I think I'm going to need a custom driveshaft made and when I do my swap, I'm going to put my 5-lug conversion on as well which already has Impreza parts in the front... will I still need custom axles made? Any more tips when going through this swap?

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When you figure out what trans and hubs you are running on the car get a hold of Marshall (MWE Axles) and he will help alot. Ive been talking to him about what options are available for length, inner, outer, etc lately and it looks very doable provided people can send a few cores his way.

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well I'm wanting to ditch my RX tranny in hopes for the AWD EJ 5-speed and eventually, go with an STi 6-speed with DCCD.

 

Anyways, yes, as far as axles, one question... since I'm running an Impreza front suspension/brakes with Impreza axles, do I have to get them shortened to work with an EJ tranny in my coupe or can I just use the axles I have without any mods?

 

Radiator... do I have to use an EJ radiator or can I use my brand new 2 core radiator that I bought for my RX, so its an EA82T radiator. I'm going to search and search and search but I'm a little tired right now as it is and these were a couple things on my mind before I go to bed.

 

Oh, and does anyone in the Denver area get front cuts by chance? Shawn, you know of anyone? I want to go local so I don't get killed on shipping...

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well I'm wanting to ditch my RX tranny in hopes for the AWD EJ 5-speed and eventually, go with an STi 6-speed with DCCD.

 

Anyways, yes, as far as axles, one question... since I'm running an Impreza front suspension/brakes with Impreza axles, do I have to get them shortened to work with an EJ tranny in my coupe or can I just use the axles I have without any mods?

 

Radiator... do I have to use an EJ radiator or can I use my brand new 2 core radiator that I bought for my RX, so its an EA82T radiator. I'm going to search and search and search but I'm a little tired right now as it is and these were a couple things on my mind before I go to bed.

 

Oh, and does anyone in the Denver area get front cuts by chance? Shawn, you know of anyone? I want to go local so I don't get killed on shipping...

 

I dont think you have to have the axles modified but are the splines on the rx the same as an EJ?

 

The radiator will work provided you have the metal tanks you can have it modified to point in the right directions and with the right diameter piping. (the ej's use .25" bigger ID hoses and the thermostat inlet is straight on instead of pointing up to the water pump like the ea82T.

 

Dont know anybody selling front cuts except maybe AllStar Imports. If I was doing a Ej20 swap I would spend the money for a standalone wiring setup and use the block only.

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as far as axles go, all subarus are the same width. if you're using an STi tranny....use STi axles. if you're using a legacy, use your 25-spline impreza axles. ditto for an early WRX tranny. since you've got EJ knuckles, you'll have no more issues with axles than someone doing the swap into a newer car...

 

did that make any sense?

 

no need for a different radiator. I'd much rather use the EA radiator, since it actually was designed to fit into the chassis. plumbing it all together is rather simple.

 

I too would recommend going to a standalone ECU, which will have it's own wiring issues. my buddy's going EJ22t in his legacy, and using a Link ECU. it came with a 2 meter wiring harness....enough so you wouldn't have to mess with the stock wiring harness one bit.

 

I'm pretty much finished with the text portion of my writeup. I'll upload the MSWord document to my school account soon so you guys can read it over before I convert it to a pdf.

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few things:

 

as far as Axels go... the front will work fine as long as you have 25 spline axels. the WRX and your RX trans cases are the same width. for the rear you will need to pull the inner boot apart and use the WRX inner cup and use the RX shaft and outer cup. you have a 50/50 chance of the axel working, there are 2 different diam shafts. if you have the smaller ones they are direct fit, if you have the larger ones you will need a converson race. ( i can get you a part number)

 

for the rad. i would never use the EA82 rad. they are crap IMO. it is not much work to get the EJ rad to fit. and you know it will work (it came with that engine)

 

ECU: if you go compleat stand alone you will be looking for the advil more than you want. if you are getting the front clip you will have the wiring harness and the ECU. why would you go aftermarket. later if you want to be able to tune for mods, then get a Power FC. this uses your OEM harness and will have less problems than makeing your own harness.

 

i think thats all i have for now.

 

any questions shoot me a PM. when you get close to your swap let me know and we will talk...

 

-=Suberdave=-

http://www.suberdave.com

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hey if you want a hand I'd like to get in on one of these swaps. I know EJ stuff pretty well and am a decent fabricator. let me know once you are ready to roll...

 

check this smokin good deal:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Subaru-Impreza-GC8-EJ20G-Engine-Transmission-M-T_W0QQitemZ110064755558QQihZ001QQcategoryZ33615QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

or get that one from matt monson, plus a 4.11 legacy cable trans(cheap and strong), and Ill tell you about an idea for a turbo that I have.

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Wow, thanks for the replies everyone. I've had a few suggestions on where to look for a front cut. As of right now, I want to stay away from aftermarket everything with this swap, so I was planning with a stock harness and ECU.

 

The radiator I was thinking of using was a brand new 2 row all metal radiator. I just bought it for my RX before it took a crap on me again so it has like 5 minutes of run time on it. Depending on how thorough the front cut it, I'll either use the EJ radiator and make it fit (woo like I can't make stuff fit into a core support) or use my new EA82T radiator.

 

Axles, yes I am running the 25 spline RX box in my RX in which will become parts for the 5-lug conversion onto my coupe. I have yet to have a rear axle apart on an EA82 so that'll be a new challenge for me. Also, how do I know what alxle I have in the back Dave? You said there's a larger and a smaller one, just curious if there's a definate way I can tell.

 

Now I just gotta get the funding for this project. Time to sell parts!

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Big hammer... Ducktape... zipties.... Gasoline... Battery.... Oil... Preferably mobile 1 0w-40.... big td04s..... hks bov.... Key... Guts to floor this badass down the road. Oh yeah... radar detector, jammer!! Illeeeegal but who cares if it works then they wont know!!!:headbang: post lots and lots of pics EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!! Like when you purchase an AN fitting on ebay... take a picture of your happy face!! and when you blow it up..... wait happy thoughts happy thoughts

Go aluminum with the rad!!! and use waterwetter!!! It works.. ime sure you know that though.... well i guess ive wasted enough of my post so.. back to you!

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Why not swap this into the RX?

 

The 2 row rad should work fine. I have an old stock single row with an electric fan half-ased onto it that only pulls through a third of the radiator, and my EJ22 doesn't overheat doing hard off-roading.

 

because the coupe is much straighter bodywise, not a speck of rust anywhere, and the RX currently is partially gutted suspension and drivetrain wise.

 

970subaru - I saw those on ebay as well but they looked like they were missing the rear diff. Any thoughts on those setups? Would those work instead of trying to get a full front cut?

 

Another thing I thought of was the driveshaft. I am pretty sure a custom one is in order but I'm not entirely positive. Some opinions would be great. My new radiator is all metal and I have 2 electric fans on it so I think I'll mod that one before I go hunting for an EJ radiator.

 

beataru - I've had enough with the "happy faces" when it comes to blowing up engines. Since I've had my RX, I've pulled the original engine out (208k miles), replaced it with a 120k mile EA82T, oilpump went south, took the bottom end with it, dropped another EA82SPFI shortblock turbo engine in there and blew the rings. Trust me, I've had more happy faces then one can shake a stick at. Just want the reliability, the cost down (RX has $8500 in it), and more power then the stock EA82T.

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ok just did a search and read up on Daves conversion into his wagon since there was more details then his coupe. Found out the front section of the driveline needs to be shortened 55mm, got the part number for the races for the rear axles but nothing too specific on wiring.

 

So another question, since my coupe is an SPFI AT car, is this going to be more difficult as far as wiring for me or is it going to be about the same amount of work? Also, once I figure out what engine I'm getting (year and such), hopefully there will be a few people on here that can help me figure out the wiring. I'm pretty sure I can figure it out for the most part but just in case I get stuck somewhere.

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No, the stock fuel system shouldn't make any difference for wiring difficulty/time. The only stuff you're hooking to in the stock harness is power supplies and the fuel pump, which is the same on any EA82 FI body and virtually the same even on carbed ones.

 

Try the EA82T rad if you want, but keep an eye on it. Just remember that it was barely adequate for the EA82T. I used a radiator for a 90-92 legacy when I put an EJ22 in my EA82 wagon, and it required very little modification. The lower mounts went right in. The only issue is that the EJ rad is taller, so you have to figure out something there.

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probably cut the lip off the top of the core support to get it to mount in there right. Only thing I can think of doing to get a taller radiator to fit in there...

 

Yup. Mine was pretty ugly, but it worked, and it cleared the hood just fine. If you actually took the time, you could make it look pretty good. I just didn't have the time.

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EJ engines already have forged internals. and an EJ20G already has good compression for a turbo. no need to mess with it unless you're doing some crazy build. ditto on the cams.

 

port and polish couldn't hurt, but would probably be much more work than it's worth (unless you've got some other reason to tear the engine apart)

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EJ engines already have forged internals. and an EJ20G already has good compression for a turbo. no need to mess with it unless you're doing some crazy build. ditto on the cams.

 

port and polish couldn't hurt, but would probably be much more work than it's worth (unless you've got some other reason to tear the engine apart)

 

I don't wanna mess with the inside of the engine at all. Just want to drop it in and go. Maybe later down the road but that'll be awhile yet:-p

 

I do have my 3" bellmouth downpipe I'm gonna put on it:brow:

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