I need a new engine for my 98 Forester. I found a engine for it. The guy says he thinks it has 1 or 2 bent valves. Is that possible in this engine? Or is it a non interference engine like a EA-82 motor. I am unfamilar with the EJ series engines and I don't know if it is a non interference motor or not. Any help here would be appreciated.

Richard

Yep the EJ25 is an interference motor. I think some late '97 EJ22s were as well, but all early '97 and below EJ22s were non-interference.

Yes, its an interference engine. If you go for it make sure the valve seats in the head aren't damaged as well.

Your 98 is going to be a DOHC engine. The 99's and after were SOHC. If you were going to replace engine make sure its from the same model year.

Subieguy, Do yourself a big favor and either stay away from the ej-25 or make sure the one you do buy has had the headgaskets changed. IMO you'd be happier with a ej-22. I made the mistake of buying a second ej-25 for my 97 OBW, it lasted 1.5 years than a HG went. I put a ej-22 in my 97 OBW and I love it. I've noticed no loss in power in fact I think it may actually have more pep than before, and the ej-22 had 200K on it when I bought it! There's plenty of info on this site on ej-25 / ej-22 swap.