Engine? (I blew mine up)

Hello, I am new to these forums as well as new to owning a legacy gt. So I own a 2008 Subaru Legacy GT 2.5 5EAT, and I have owned it since 05/28/2019, 4 days ago I blew a hole in my piston. The question I have here is that I am looking to buy a new engine since the old one is as good as scrap and I was looking on ebay and all I could find was 2.0l replacement engines for my car. At the very beginning of looking I just skipped over all of those but whenever I started digging and found out that the EJ255 is going for $3,330 - $4,000 I was interested in seeing if the 2.0 engine would actually work with my car without doing anything major. And another question I have is if I do change the engine over which car would be the most similar to be able to order parts for my new turbo'd engine! Thank you for reading!

Also look for the EJ257 for the STi, it's basically a drop-in replacement.

JDM EJ20’s are not worth the hassle. A lot of modifications will be necessary to get it to work properly. You’re also taking a risk with getting an imported engine and the condition of those things vary greatly. I had a buddy import one and paid it all in full just to find out there’s no compression in two cylinders...

 

Get a new EJ255/257 shortblock and rebuild the heads. There’s a lot of research threads and info on the forums, just gotta search it up. I prefer using google rather than the forum search feature.

See the click here link in my sig, I did a ej257.

JDM EJ20’s are not worth the hassle. A lot of modifications will be necessary to get it to work properly. You’re also taking a risk with getting an imported engine and the condition of those things vary greatly. I had a buddy import one and paid it all in full just to find out there’s no compression in two cylinders...

 

Get a new EJ255/257 shortblock and rebuild the heads. There’s a lot of research threads and info on the forums, just gotta search it up. I prefer using google rather than the forum search feature.

 

Thank you for the info but unfortunately my heads are unusable due to the valve dropping in the cylinder, and buying one of the ej257/ej255 engines outright would be too expensive right now

Sounds like you should go the used motor route. LKQ is a company that may have a used longblock that will drop in so you can get back on the road.

Thank you for the info but unfortunately my heads are unusable due to the valve dropping in the cylinder, and buying one of the ej257/ej255 engines outright would be too expensive right now

 

You’ll be paying more doing your EJ20 route when considering the shop hours for the modifications and finding someone who will be able to tune it for you. You’re also again very limited in the mods available at that point.

 

Whether you do the work yourself or not, the EJ25 method is easier. There was someone on here from Texas I believe trying to sell his Outback XT with frame damage for pretty cheap. Engine is perfectly stock. Maybe consider looking for him and renting a trailer to pick it up. Might be already sold

 

I’d rather get a used EJ257 than a used EJ20 any day. It’s easier to compression test an engine already in the states than one that’s probably still in Japan or Canada.

I am sure you can find a set of used heads. I would do the new $1800 EJ257 short block, it will be the most reliable solution.

 

If your mechanically inclined, want the cheapest solution and don't mind a project go with the EJ20X/Y motor. Plenty of owner have done of the EJ20 have paid a shop to do the swap and they end up with used odd ball motor, a bunch of headaches and not that far off the cost of a new motor. [Not to mention it also makes the car hard to sell and most mechanics won't want to work on them.]

Okay, here is the situation. I found a good deal on one of EJ20X engines, but what has me worried is the fact of the modification that would need to be done in order to get this engine working. Also I have another issue with the transmission it shifts hard from 2nd to 3rd so that has me worried about the trans, now if I could find a package deal I would like to buy that so I will have a second transmission incase mine decides to go kaploot like my engine did. We do all the maintenance ourselves so that shouldn't be an issue and if I do this I am getting arp head studs and steel head gaskets to make sure this thing can handle more boost

You have a 2008 so you have an ej255 with the d25 heads...I have an ej255 longblock sitting in my garage right now with a killer b oil pickup and killer b oil baffle. I had plans for it but they never came through. I think freight to Tennessee from where I am (California) would be around 4-500. Dm me if you’re interested.

You can do a ej257 block replacement also but the compression ratio on the ej257 is 8.2:1

 

The compression ratio on the ej255 is 8.5:1

 

So if you rebuilt your d25 heads and used an ej257 block it would be wise to budget some money for tuning because pairing them together results in approximately 8.7-8.8:1 CR

Unfortunately blowing an engine is an expensive mishap. There's really no cheap way around it. Either way, buying one from a junkyard, buying a JDM import and modifying things to make it work, or having yours rebuilt, it's gonna cost quite a bit. Your cheapest bet is to buy a wrecked car to use as a parts car, take what you need and sell the rest so at least you get a few bucks back.

 

As much as is sucks, if you really can't afford to fix it you may want to consider selling the car. You just got it two weeks ago, not like you're super attached to it at this point, maybe one day you can try again and buy another one. Or if you really really want to keep it maybe try just getting a beater from Craigslist for a few hundred bucks to drive in the meantime while you save up to fix this one.

Edited June 16, 2019 by RecklessWOT

I bought a wrecked 07 OBXT with the intent of using it as a parts car when I blew up the JDM EJ20X that was swapped in by the PO. It has become my primary build because the cost of fixing it in time and headaches is cheaper than to swap the whole drivetrain, powertrain, harnesses, and interior over to my 05 OBXT. I paid $750 plus $250 in fees for it from Copart and besides needing a front nose cut donor, the car is absolutely mint with a full service history. I just bought a complete JDM nose cut locally for $200. Wrecked is definitely the way to go if you have a Copart locally or an adjacent state. It's definitely worth the wait for a LGT or OBXT to pop up.

 

Just looking at what is out there based on your location on here and found a few of interest that you can buy with no license:

 

North Carolina:

05 Forester XT with undercarriage damage: https://www.copart.com/lot/34365029 - Buy it now $1200, bottom end will swap just fine.

05 Legacy GT, light front end collision: https://www.copart.com/lot/38886089 - No reserve, pure sale.

Georgia:

05 Forester XT with moderate front end damage: https://www.copart.com/lot/29479839 - No reserve, pure sale.

 

Shipping will probably be a couple hundred bucks. I had my 07 shipped to me 850 miles for $650. If all you need is the motor, these are all fine candidates and you'll make your money back and then some by parting out what you don't need.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Setnev