EJ22T rebuild questions.

As some of you know I was given a scrapped '93 touring wagon. I am going to pull the EJ22T block soon and start to dismantle it. I will also remove the wiring harness and ECU. My plan is to rebuild it and put it in my lovely second gen wagon. I would love to hear some opinions on how I should rebuild it, or what would you do if you could do your dream build.

 

I plan on taking a year or so to rebuild it, so if you are on the edge of your seat scoot back. This engine will go in my Second Gen Leggy. I plan on getting a WRX 5MT or 6MT STi transmission to swap in as well, along with new axles, etc. I have new KYB GR2s w/Tein lowering springs and a Whiteline RSB, and will be installing SS brakes since I have a set. Also, I will remove the crossmember from the SS wagon and will keep the downpipe in case I decide to use it later.

 

I am still learning about this stuff so bear with me. I have a bit of experience with 22Ts as I recently rebuilt the engine on my stock SS (all new seals, timing, HGs, etc.)

 

What I want is a well built, reliable engine to swap in to my wagon so it will be a monster sleeper that is capable of keeping up with the STIs around town and at the very least beat all the WRXs. Like I said, I will take my time and do it right.

 

One of my simplest options would be to keep the stock heads and ecu. PNP the heads, regrind the cams, and install a tmic and TD04, and upgrade the exhaust.

 

Another option is to find some 20G heads and ecu. Have rob chip the ECU, and call it a day.

 

Or find some WRX or STi heads and...? It would be nice to be able to tune the engine.

 

So help a noob out? What would you do? Thanks guys!

2.5D heads. Great flowing heads. This is all I know. Also go check out USMB and BBS Legacy Central. Those guys know more about the EJ22T than these guys.

 

They also know what you should do to keep it reliable.

 

2.2T heads don't flow very well. Also you cannot make an OBD2 car OBD1. At least not legally in most places.

 

So if you want to beat a WRX or STi or even have a chance. Those heads are not the way to go. They work decent up to a certain point.

Thanks Baddog. I have been doing a lot of research over on BBS. I thought it would be fun to discuss it here on LGT. I haven't looked at USMB much. I guess I have to look into the legalities of swapping the engine. I'm out in Utah.

Are we talking about the EJ22 closed deck turbo motor? Supposedly that old school 1st Gen power plant is the way to go for serious power.

 

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/Rubenjc111/ACB3F1F0.jpg

Yup! That's it.

 

Maybe I would be better off just getting a EJ257 and go that route. But I have the 22T already and they are pretty cool.

2.5D heads. Great flowing heads. This is all I know. Also go check out USMB and BBS Legacy Central. Those guys know more about the EJ22T than these guys.

 

They also know what you should do to keep it reliable.

 

2.2T heads don't flow very well. Also you cannot make an OBD2 car OBD1. At least not legally in most places.

 

So if you want to beat a WRX or STi or even have a chance. Those heads are not the way to go. They work decent up to a certain point.

 

 

 

^^^Bad dog, would it matter if the EJ22 motor is SOHC and the EJ25D heads are DOHC? I read somewhere that you can bore out the EJ22 motor to be something like 2.35L in a franken-motor set up. This is going to be VERY interesting thread!

 

Monkey You Da Man!!

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/Rubenjc111/97405949.jpg

I swapped the 1.8L heads off of a 93 impreza on to my 2.2L. It lowered the compression and gave me more torque. As well as I have noticed I can shift at later speeds with out hitting the rev limiter. I also added injectors out of a 05 wrx. it is only been about two weeks of driving it. I have driven over 200 miles on it already. So the next step is driving down to oregon none stop and see how it goes...

^^^Bad dog, would it matter if the EJ22 motor is SOHC and the EJ25D heads are DOHC? I read somewhere that you can bore out the EJ22 motor to be something like 2.35L in a franken-motor set up.

Lots of people run the EJ25D heads on the EJ22 bore, the chamber shape works really well.

2.35L is obtained by using the EJ25* crank and rods for more stroke. You can drop a phase I crank straight in or have the block machined to take phase II thrust bearings, crank and rods. Special pistons are required with a different pin location to maintain the correct deck height, but they are available in kits or alone. This is the combination of choice for many time attack teams these days.

Fahr_side, that is the response I was waiting for. I think the 25D heads on my 99' LGT are different from the 97' 25D heads. Does that make any difference when putting the 99' heads on the 2.2L Turbo motor that came off of the first Gen SS?

Thanks farh_side. I was forced to pull the block out of the scrap wagon today with no time to spare before it was scrapped. I was able to pull the block out in 20 minutes. The only other bit I was able to get was the downpipe. So this means I wasn't able to get the ecu or the wiring harness. I do have the intake mani, with some parts missing, and none of the air intake. But, I was able to save the block, thank god. It would have been melted down!!!

 

One options are to get a robtuned eg20 ecu and find an an old 22T or 20G wiring harness. Or sell the block and buy an EJ257 and go from there.

 

Since I have some time I think another good option is to find some S20s from an EJ205, along with the intake manifold, injectors, tgvs, harness, a larger turbo, and ecu. Then I could do open source tuning. However, I don't know how I would be able to find all these parts for a reasonable price.

Monkey, that is unfortunate that you were put on a time schedule to

Take out the motor. The rest of the items were all there but

You just could not pull them in time?

Yeah, I just didn't have any time to grab anything else. As soon as I got the block out they hauled the wagon away. I only had minutes to spare.

 

I wanted to get a lot of parts off of it. All the glass was perfect, I had some guys on bbs that wanted some interior parts. I was going to pull them off and sell them for next to nothing to help them out.

I know this thread is getting to be older, but did anything ever happen with this rebuild? I'm in almost the exact same position- having a 2 gen wagon and a ej22t- and am looking for some insights!

The swap is slow going while I gather all of the parts and upgrade the brakes and suspension. I am doing a 205/22T hybrid using an '02 wrx ecu and harness. I split the block and have STi rods, .020 Wisecos, and will install ACL bearings. The 205 heads I have are a thing of beauty with shimless buckets and no spark plug cracks. Also have a tleg crossmember, an SS steering rack, SS 5mt w/VLSD, STi ver 6 gc8 control arms and trailing arms, 4 pots, wrx intake mani, etc.

Yours is going to be a nice ride when done!

 

How much horsepower is that tranny good for? And I know LSD stands for limited slip diff- but the v?

V is for viscous. I don't plan on pushing more than 280 with it and even that could push it. That being said, even a stock legacy first or second gen can handle that much for a while if it is good shape. At least that is what I've been told. If and when my 5mt craps out I'd move on to a JDM STi trans. The VLSD is pretty strong.

Curious how it turned out. Have a 22t looking to build myself and came for I sight!

It runs great and is pretty quick. If you have any questions just ask!

 

I'm rebuildng another one at the moment. New pistons, rods, bearings, polished crank. Making a 205/22t hybrid to drop in my Wrx.