mdjdc Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 My wife's 96 outback has 243,000 miles on it and the engine is beginning to make noises that sound like rod knock. That said I have found a 91 legacy with a 2.2 engine that was rolled over. The engine only has 113,000 miles on it and I can have the whole car for 300.00. That will give me the exhaust parts I will need as well. My question is whether this engine will bolt right up to her present transmission (auto AWD). If so, How much horsepower am I going to lose? Should I do this or go for finding a rebuildable 2.5 and replacing the engine with that? Need some experienced input. Thanks Guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 i would first make sure the engine is even good. keeping in mind he is far more experienced than myself, a friend of mine did the same thing this year. bought an engine from a rollover vehicle and installed it in another. engine didn't last very long and this was a 2000+ vehicle, it failed, can't recall if it locked up or developed rod knock but it only last a few weeks. he thinks the roll over starved the engine of oil long enough to cause damage but didn't lock it up. i don't even know if there's a way to test it because it worked fine when he bought it and installed it. that being said a 1995+ 2.2 i think is a better candidate. the 95+ 2.2's are a plug and play deal, not so sure about the pre 95's. do some plugging/searching here there's tons of information on it, i know the 94 and earlier ones aren't typically used for the swap. yes, any 2.2 up to 1998 i believe will bolt up exactly to your existing trans. i believe you'll want to make sure if your current engine has EGR (which i think it does), that the 2.2 also has EGR. some do, some don't. of course you could work around it, that's probably what i'll do next time because EGR's suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 My wife's 96 outback has 243,000 miles on it and the engine is beginning to make noises that sound like rod knock. That said I have found a 91 legacy with a 2.2 engine that was rolled over. The engine only has 113,000 miles on it and I can have the whole car for 300.00. That will give me the exhaust parts I will need as well. My question is whether this engine will bolt right up to her present transmission (auto AWD). If so, How much horsepower am I going to lose? Should I do this or go for finding a rebuildable 2.5 and replacing the engine with that? Need some experienced input. Thanks Guys. they actually made some outbacks w/ 2.2L engines in 96. all outbacks were 2.2L in 95. but the 95 had the legacy trans and the 96 had the outback trans, different final drive ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 the 1991 is an OBDI and the other is an OBDII. You need to keep looking for an OBDII 2.2L as it will make your life much easier. There are plenty of 2.2's around, and a fairly straightforward swap. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 You'll give up about 18-25HP - 130 ('90-94)-137 ('95+) vs.155, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Legacy) but also won't need to run Premium, which the '96 2.5 required. I echo Grossgary - go w/a '95 or newer 2.2 as they are OBDII vs. <'94s OBDI to avoid possible wiring/sensor issues. A '95 exhaust should bolt right up; '96+ are slightly different. Sorry, but I don't know whether the <'94 engines will bolt to your '96 AWD AT. Good luck. P.S. Looks like Nipper types faster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted September 3, 2007 Author Share Posted September 3, 2007 Thanks for the info. I think I'll pass on this car. I want something that will be an easy swap. I also have an opportunity to buy a 2.5 with 160k and a bad HG for less than 100.00. I think I will buy that one and rebuild it for her car. I don't think it is a 96 engine so I won't have the premium gas issues either. Any other advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again guys. I'm liking the jmp to the outbacks. My 99 is running great, I just have to put a little more into the 96 and I will feel better about my wife driving it daily. If she drove a stick she'd be in the 99, but alas she hates sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 the 2.5 with blown headgaskets would end up being about the same amount of work anyway than dealing with an entire parts car and pulling the engine..plus it's old and probably has rusted bolts to deal with, and of course it's OBDI - so yeah the 2.5 would be easier and cheaper probably in the end or not much different anyway. 2.5 with new HG sounds golden to me if it's in good shape, i won't have an EJ25 in my wifes car unless it has new headgaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 In buying a motor with a blown head gasket, you just won't ever know if the car was driven for an extended period of time, and experienced over heating. If so, that badly over heated motor can be more trouble then solution when you work at over hauling it. Just my 2 cents worth of thought. When I had a 92 motor installed in my 91 Legacy some years back, my mechanic had an easy time installing the replacement motor. What caused some difficulty, was that wiring connectors were different between the years. It took him some extra time redoing wiring to get the job done. Once done, the 92 engine ran flawlessly for a number of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted September 4, 2007 Author Share Posted September 4, 2007 The 2.5 engine blew a HG and the owner decided to replace only one side. He didn't have the heads resurfaced and I don't think he used the Subaru gaskets either. He said that as soon as he put it back in it ran for about five minutes and began to overheat and blow white smoke. My plan is to get the engine and break it down completely. Replace the bearings, pistons and rings. Then use new Subaru gaskets on resurfaced heads. Should make the engine like new. A bit more comfort for my wife, knowing the level of work done before putting it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 did you see this? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=649977&postcount=1 The 2.5 engine blew a HG and the owner decided to replace only one side. He didn't have the heads resurfaced and I don't think he used the Subaru gaskets either. He said that as soon as he put it back in it ran for about five minutes and began to overheat and blow white smoke. My plan is to get the engine and break it down completely. Replace the bearings, pistons and rings. Then use new Subaru gaskets on resurfaced heads. Should make the engine like new. A bit more comfort for my wife, knowing the level of work done before putting it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Yes I did. Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Yes I did. Thank You Oh, and the rod knock could be piston slap or a cracked torque converter flex plate if it's an automatic. Piston slap will sound more like a diesel, kak kak kak, where as rod knock will be more like tok tok tok. A cracked flexplate will sound a lot like a rod knock but may change when you throw it in and out of drive. I got an engine for free because it was replace due to "rod knock" when a completely fractured center to the flexplate was the real cause of the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 The 96 ej22 outbacks are manual, and will not have the egr system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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