Engine swap question

Okay.... I have a 2000 legacy outback with 190,xxx that is starting to get tired.
So I am looking to make a change. The yard that I work at just got in an '04 legacy with super low mileage. Now other than auto to standard differences... what other changes should i expect to make this work?

No changes everything is the same engine wise unless its the 3.0h6

should be plug and play,but might have to swap out ECU's

I'm going to be swapping over my engine harness with the one from my car onto the potential engine.

this is what you need to do.

swap from your existing engine on to your new engine the following:

1. intake manifold with the wiring intact. do not remove the wiring from the manifold. lots of sensors are on the intake manifold. and plug the hole on the rear of the driver side head (16m x 1.25 thread, i think). for those who are keeping track, the 04 ej25 has EGR (i think) and the 00 ej25 does not (i know.)

2. cam sprocket on the driver side.
3. crank sprocket (inside the timing cover.)

do not swap the ECU. this is a mistake. and it will not help.

replace the timing belt and every thing it touches (all idlers, tensioner, and water pump.). you have to pull it off to get to the sprocket any way.
reseal the oil pump.
replace the cam and crank seals.

do not replace the rear main seal, they do not leak until some one messes with them.

I'm considering this same thing. 210k miles on my 2000 Legacy Sedan - have a local 2004 Forester with 46k on the engine/auto transmission. Can I swap them?

Seems like this would make more sense than doing a timing belt on the old motor. I do have some piston slap which isn't getting any better

i'm very reluctant to remove an engine, or any part for that matter, that is in good working order.

but, if you have the money and the time and the price of the NEW engine is cheap enough i guess this is an ok thing to do. but the engine you have could last another 100k miles, there isn't any real way to tell. (unless you beat it to death and do not change the oil.)

and the NEW engine is an unknown. yes it has low mileage but you still can not be sure just how long it will last. i bought a 00 lego with 82k miles and a good service history. within 1000 miles it spun a rod bearing and i had to buy a replacement short block.

but if the engine is a deal, and i mean really cheap, and you have room to store it then maybe ... (store it until you need it. or store the old one just in case you need that one back.)

this is what you need to do.

swap from your existing engine on to your new engine the following:

1. intake manifold with the wiring intact. do not remove the wiring from the manifold. lots of sensors are on the intake manifold. and plug the hole on the rear of the driver side head (16m x 1.25 thread, i think). for those who are keeping track, the 04 ej25 has EGR (i think) and the 00 ej25 does not (i know.)

2. cam sprocket on the driver side.
3. crank sprocket (inside the timing cover.)

do not swap the ECU. this is a mistake. and it will not help.

replace the timing belt and every thing it touches (all idlers, tensioner, and water pump.). you have to pull it off to get to the sprocket any way.
reseal the oil pump.
replace the cam and crank seals.

do not replace the rear main seal, they do not leak until some one messes with them.

Originally Posted by johnegg

i'm very reluctant to remove an engine, or any part for that matter, that is in good working order.

but, if you have the money and the time and the price of the NEW engine is cheap enough i guess this is an ok thing to do. but the engine you have could last another 100k miles, there isn't any real way to tell. (unless you beat it to death and do not change the oil.)

and the NEW engine is an unknown. yes it has low mileage but you still can not be sure just how long it will last. i bought a 00 lego with 82k miles and a good service history. within 1000 miles it spun a rod bearing and i had to buy a replacement short block.

but if the engine is a deal, and i mean really cheap, and you have room to store it then maybe ... (store it until you need it. or store the old one just in case you need that one back.)

I appreciate the wisdom. That's my dilemma - I could get more service out of the current motor OR I could do the timing service and have a rod bearing spin within 1000 miles

My car has been very sound. Never had a head gasket failure - Head Gasket was replaced under factory recall at about 70k miles. Do have some piston slap but it does go away after warm up. Whichever way I go, I do have to make a decision soon since I am about 110k miles since the last timiing belt.

Option 1 - Drive it until the timing belt breaks, then replace the engine. Hard to say how much more time I can get out of the motor. 12k miles would be a whole another year

Option 2 - Have my mechanic replace timing belt and water pump - aprox $800 and hope that money isn't wasted by an unexpected near term failure - like a head gasket or rod knock

Option 3 - Have my mechanic swap over a newer motor - aprox $1800 includes motor. The swap motor is still in the other car - runs fine and only 47k miles. Net cost is really only $1000 more as alternative to just doing a timing service

Option 4 - Replace the timing belt/pump myself (would be my first), hope that goes well and the motor lasts another few years - 50k miles. $400?

Lastly - what to do about the head gasket if I stay with the current motor? Its fine today, leave it alone?

financially, your best bet is to do the timing belt and drive it. if you get only 8k miles out of it ($0.10 per mile) after the timing belt, you have not wasted your money, in my opinion.

if you get 12k miles, a full year, the cost per mile drops to $0.067 .

your best bet is to drive this one as long as you can and then decide what to do next.
the only reason to act before that is if you can not afford to have your car ''down'' for any time.

Originally Posted by johnegg

financially, your best bet is to do the timing belt and drive it. if you get only 8k miles out of it ($0.10 per mile) after the timing belt, you have not wasted your money, in my opinion.

if you get 12k miles, a full year, the cost per mile drops to $0.067 .

your best bet is to drive this one as long as you can and then decide what to do next.
the only reason to act before that is if you can not afford to have your car ''down'' for any time.

I agree... now just need to muster the courage to give it a go. Hopefully I can go just a bit longer until the weather warms up a bit. How long will this take a first timer to do?

for the timing belt i'd plan on an afternoon. every one says it will take less but if you set aside that long you will not be disappointed if it takes that long.

for a swap i'd plan the entire weekend. and it is possible you will forget something making it last longer.

but for the timing belt:
spray some pblaster on the timing cover bolts for a couple of days before you start. the side covers for the cams have a tendency to ''bust'' out of the plastic.

search for and read up on the following:
how to loosen the crank bolt.
what all you should do while you have it open.
the correct timing marks to use for installing the belt. NOT the ARROWS.
how to hold the crank to torque the the crank bolt.
how to refill (and burp) the cooling system, correctly.

here is a link to a how to. it happens to be for the ej22 sohc, but the process is the same for the ej25 sohc, including the timing alignment marks. only the tensioner is different.

http://lovehorsepower.com/joomla/ind...gacy&Itemid=64

The physical swapping of the engine takes about 4 hours your first time on an NA.

Also if youre going auto to manual.. youll have to plug the egr port on the drivers head as well.