hi guys,
having just had my fourth ej20 die on me i'm looking at rebuilding with an EJ25 short engine to go into classic 96 wrx. i intend to use the remaining parts from the ej20. are all ej25 n/a suitable ,ie legacy. i have been collecting as much info as poss but there seems to be conflicting views regarding boost,closed deck,liners etc.,some saying 5psi max,while others saying 18ish. i'm hoping to get started on this as soon as i can and will really appreciate as much feedback/help as possible. i hope to use the standard ecu and have been told it would be fine for the above. steel internals etc are not an option due to current budget, but reliability is essential.
thanks a lot in advance for advice,
Buzz

 

hello? no takers?

 

Buzzard, you need to 'find' real experts like John Banks to get an answer from someone who really knows.
Keep searching these threads and the other project threads till you find him.
Several people are/have been in your position, just keep of calling for help.

good luck
911

 

I'd be looking into the reasons for four consecutive failures before embarking on using another engine variant.
What was the cause of previous failures?

 

Second Alan's comment plus the oem ecu WILL NOT be "fine for the above" FOR SURE.

BOB

 

thanks for feedback guys. i have done a lot of searching but couldnt seem to find the answers to my above questions.
first engine failure(93) was due to crank running a bearing due to undetected oil loss from rocker cover...topped up oil but next day it rattled!!
engine 2,(98)second hand, developed bad piston slap,stripped engine, flat edge on pistons 2and4,also scored and cracked liners.Put another engine into that car,made sure all was well for 3 or 4 months and sold it.Still going i think.
engine three,(girlfriends 1.6 wagon), VERY bad piston slap at 60k, SUBARU replaced short engine under warranty.
engine 4, about to strip down, havent done compression test yet, but smoking heavily into crankcase/oil filler,bov on over-run etc... no knocking,i suspect piston/ rings. will try a flush first on the off-chance that its just a stuck ring as the problem developed when the car was not driven for 2 weeks as i had just bought a skyline and was enjoying that.(maybe i'm being punished now by the subaru god for being unfaithful ) . if anyone has managed to cure this problem without stripping engine,PLEASE let me know,any other suggestions id be glad to try.
my gut tells me i'll end up binning this ej20 too,which is why the ej25 option made sense.

 

After that lot I'm impressed you are sticking with Impreza's!

He knows I'll say this, but get in touch with David at www.apiengines.co.uk The chat is free, and if you use him it won't be, but it won't be a rip-off either. I think he is getting closer to 2.5's too.
On the 2.5, contact MarkA who is doing the Group Buy on 2.5's. Good bloke and he has amassed a lot of info on 2.5's over this last year.

911

 

thanks 911,
i did notice a few names on here that seemed to be the likely ones to ask, but i didnt want to bombard them directly with questions and felt by posting here it would maybe allow for the guys that know the answers to add their posts at their convenience and not feel under pressure. it seemed like the less "pushy" way to do it.
I sometimes wonder am i mad continuing with subaru due to my past history, but despite their weak points , i just cant get away from the plus's. i have had 17 cars in the past 5 or 6 years but always had a subaru. the rest were performance /turbo cars and only one other let me down with major engine prob , a nissan 200sx with crank failure, known for this at 100k miles, mine had 112k.so when i weigh up the subaru reliability against the rest it does make me feel like i'm quite very mad, but maybe this will be my last chance,thats why i hope for a stronger/less stressed engine in the EJ25 .