Well I just picked up a 1997 Legacy L 2.2 as my daily driver. It drives as nice as my old 95 Legacy and my 2003 Legacy. My questions are:

 

1. Would this be a phase 1 or phase 2 engine? On the carfax, it stated that the car was purchased in the end of 1996.

 

2. Does this engine have head gasket issues, or does that just happen on the 2.5's?

 

Other than that, I think I'm pretty psyched. Purchased from a dealer with 119k for $2.6k. I'm looking forward to the next 100k miles.

that would be an interference motor.

definitely no headgasket "issues". keep it from overheating and it won't have any headgasket problems. remember it's 10 years old, hose clamps are rusty and who knows if anything was ever replaced...thermostat, water pump, hoses, etc.

It should be the end of the phase I, perhaps we should call it "phase 1.5"?

 

 

It's the same basic EJ22 they had since 1990, but with some minor changes.

 

That means:

 

No HG issues like the 2.5.

 

They started screwing with different pistons and stuff in 96 and 97, and it's PROBABLY an interferance engine.

These were called Phase 1 "Enhancements". and YES starting with the USDM 1997 models and continuing into the 1998 models, the 2.2L became an interference engine. From the FSM the enhancements are:

 

The 2.2 liter (SOHC) (Phase 1) has been enhanced starting

with 1997 model year. The single overhead camshaft

engines have had internal and external changes that yield

an approximately 10 % increase in power and 3% increase

in fuel economy. Accomplishing this involves many factors,

one of which is engine friction reduction.

The piston, a major source of engine friction has been coated

with a friction reducing agent called Molybendum. This thin

coating not only allows a smoother travel through the

cylinder but also reduces cylinder wall scuffing. This coating

will wear off over time and is not an indication of a problem.

The skirt of the piston has been reshaped and the overall

weight has reduced by approximately 100 grams.

Compression ratio has been increased to 9.7 to 1 by

reshaping the crown of the piston. This eliminates the

clearance that was available between the piston at TDC

and a fully opened valve. Piston pin offset has been

changed to 0.5 mm. Piston to cylinder wall clearance has

been reduced by increasing the piston diameter.

 

Another source of high engine friction is the valve train.

Hydraulic lash adjusters are always in contact with the

camshaft or valve rockers. The hydraulic pressure of the

lash adjuster must be overcome during operation and the

most critical time of engine start. To overcome this situation

and to contribute to the total reduction of friction loss the

SOHC engines will have solid valve adjusters. The

scheduled service of these valve trains is set at 100,000

miles and is not required during the PDI. The SOHC engine

uses an adjustment screw and locknut.

 

The intake manifold has been reshaped to increase the air

flow mass and speed, contributing to improved low and

mid engine speed operation. Components located on the

intake manifold have been relocated as compared to the

1996 models. EGR Solenoid, Purge Control Solenoid, etc...

 

Phase 2 2.2L started in 1999 with use of the SOHC head shared with the 2.5L, along with Thrust bearing moving to position 5, and engine to transmission mounting now having 6 bolts and 2 studs. As well as now an "Open Deck" design and "skirtless" pistons. ( to me this was just a smaller bored 2.5L )