Subaru Outback Engine Swap EJ25 to EJ20 JDM
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2017
- I pulled the EJ25 out of a 2004 Subaru Outback to work on it in the shop. In the meantime, I picked up a JDM EJ20 with low mileage, and dropped it in the Outback. Most everything bolted right on, except a few items I pointed out in video.
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We put in our ej20 I couldn’t believe the condition when it arrived it must of had 45k miles at the most externally cleans inside and out. I took the oil pan out and looked inside the short block and it was externally clean unbelievable clean almost like new. The engine runs great, a little less powerful than the Ej25 but it’s hardly noticeable on a legacy. On a heavier car like an outback I bet you would notice it
will the ecu from 2.5 run the ej20?
@@rocketsmall4547 yes.
I imagine the difference in power would feel pretty similar between the two cars. The outback is only 100 lbs more with the same options. I do wonder where the weight difference comes from, though.
I’m about to do this swap with my 2007 wrx and I like how you explained everything very well
Great Chris, Very nice video. It would be nice to know a precise list of what needs to be swapped over. I get the Crank and cam pulley etc
Thanks for sharing, Chris! I’m planning on doing this swap on my ‘08 Impreza hatch within the year. Anything you might know I should be aware of other than what you do wonderfully covered in your video?
Thanks for sharing. I'm in the process of pulling out my 03' 2.5 motor. Its leaking oil and coolant externally from the head gaskets as well. I've been debating for awhile now to either do the head gasket/timing kit replacement or do a motor swap. (Mostly because a full head gasket/timing kit is around $400 plus the cost of the machine shop and a EJ20 is around $800) Mine has a 5 speed, do you know if it will be the exact same routine to swap the EJ20 as yours?
Outstanding video!!!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this video. I am going to try soon. Last weekend I put a D17A in my Civic. My first engine swap was a success. How long did your EJ20 last for?
Very clean car man. Good work with the swap !
Appreciate it!
hello im looking into this swap for my 01 outback. i was wondering if you've had any over fueling issues due to the 20% less displacement? any rich codes, fouled plugs?
I have a 2002 Forester L (Automatic) Im planning on doing this swap later this year if my current engine grenades.
Hi thanks for sharing this video instruction, I bought already swapped car (also legacy) but now I have over fuel consumption
Need I change engine computer?
Where did you get the adapter for the PCV valve? I’m doing this on my forester and plan on doing the same setup
nice vidio. what a lovely location
Great vid I'm doin the same swap on my 2004 forester was wondering if u had an issue with the egr pipes from the ej25 to the ej20
No issue with the egr pipes on my swap. the ej20 had the same pipe that was on my ej25.
Check your valve covers for forklift fork damage! My JDM 2.0 had a broken valve cover too. My dealer was local, so they gave me another one.
Could you tell me where the MAP sensor is located? I’m not sure if the previous owner swapped out the correct sensors. I see I have an external one but no vacuum hose leading from the manifold.
Nice job sir
thank you chris your still helping people out here i did the swap runs great when i press the gas pedal up to about a 2,000 then pop the clutch it revs up the almost dies then revs up for a few min then corrects its self had a code said it was running to lean did i miss something?
just kidding lol it was the PCV valve she runs true no issues
Your video is the best I see so far thanks I wonder if you have any suggestions in were to get a 2.0 in good price. Thanks
La Raza jdm of California has 2.0s for about 1600 shippied
Tokyo JDM in West Sacramento, CA, has clean 2.0s for $699.00.
My car is a 05 Subaru Forester and at 72k miles had leaking head gaskets. Ordered this JDM 2.0 L SOHC engine with 57k miles had sludge on the valve covers and it happens from close stop and go distances. Mechanic cleaned off sludge on valve covers to which I had swapped the timing belt with 8k miles and do all appropriate changes. Only after 2500 miles my passenger side camshaft sprocket cracked in pieces to which it blew out the timing belt cover and the timing belt came off. I’m not sure if valves are bent yet but assume so.
How it started was I parked to get food at a store and only traveled 3/10 of a mile to which this happened. I used sea foam and changed the oil in like 300 miles and put sea foam in the engine and in the gas tank. Car engine was running great and only added 1/2 quart of oil at 2000 miles. Just baffling how this camshaft sprocket on passenger side busted in 5-6 pieces. It was 4 months later when this was installed as I wasn’t traveling all over the place. The timing belt tensioner was new and swapped over from the 2.5 L engine. Does that need to be pumped out of air first before putting on timing belt? I believe everything was done right and this was a freak occurrence. So the timing marker had to be replaced. On the JDM engine.
Great! - I just did the same swap, however, the car is running too rich.. did you have the same issue? if so, how did you fix it?
I wish I have seen this clip before doing my ej25 to ej20 swap.
Changed all you mentioned but coolant temperature sensor and crank and camshaft sensors I did not change it seems to affect the engine.
As it start run for sometime then stop never be able to start again.
Had sparkplug replaced and I was able to start it again second day....run again for a good half an hour and stopped again..
Could be the coolant temperature sensor?
Did you have to do anything with the ECU/wiring harness for this swap? I didn't see anything when I looked through the video but it's possible I missed it.
Nope, everything bolted right up to the ej20 block except as noted in video. No changes to the ecu.
Im assuming you swapped the cps sensor? Did you also swap over the cams?
You keep saying PVC...do you mean PCV (positive crankcase ventilation)?
Good video BTW. I subbed and thumbs upped
Haha, yeah, my Dyslexia kicked in for that video. Thanks for the Sub.
You look like Walter White from Breaking Bad lol Great job man!
Do I has to swap the baffle and pick up tube on the ej20? Or can I leave the stock one on?
I think somewhere around 28:28 and the tractor came out I lost my S#%^ and gave this video a thumbs up
funny i got excited when i saw the backhoe too
I have a 2005 forester. I am told it is the unicorn of subaru engines. What jdm engine can I buy
Thanks for the video. I'm having a shop do the swap for me and they offered to replace parts for me if I provided them. I'm having them put on a new timing belt and motor mounts. Are there any other items you would suggest? I was planning on spark plugs but I can't find what plugs I should use. Any advice on this? Thank you.
Thanks for watching. On my EJ20, I used all new Timing Belt Idler Pulleys, new Water Pump, new Valve Cover gasket Set, new PCV, new spark plugs, new Rear Main Seal. I used new gaskets on anything I had to swap over from the old engine, intake, exhaust, etc...
@@Chris-Fennimorewas the valve cover gaskets the same for the ej20 and the ej25?
can u use ej25 head gaskets or ej20 gaskets , and where do you find ej20 gaskets...
How was the power difference , I’m kind of scared for that
I found a EJ20 Twin turbo my friend has for sale. I read in the comments this is naturally aspirated. Would the swap require ECU mods to be able to work properly?
yes it would , you are going from a non turbo to a twin turbo lmfao !!! you need the correct ecu
What HG did you use for the EJ20? Also a video i haven't seen is how to adjust timing based on HG thickness if you could explain it? Have you noticed any performance differences as well this is what i plan on doing this summer thanks for any information. I have also read the cam pulleys and sensors need swapped from the ej25 to the ej20, you didn't show anything about that in the video.
I did not remove the heads from the EJ20, therefore, no new HG installed. Yes, as I mentioned in the video, I swapped the cam pulleys and sensors.
@@Chris-Fennimore , thank you, sorry i must have missed that part.
hi 009to090, want to say its a great video and im looking forward to do my swap soon in summer. I like to know what are the parts or sizes of pipes that you used in PCV?
thanks
Thanks for watching. The PCV Hose on the EJ20 is 3/4" ID. I had to buy a 3/4" Male Barb - to - 3/4" FPT adapter. Then also get a 3/4" MPT - to - 3/8" FPT adapter. The standard EJ25 PCV valve is 3/8" MPT, and screws into this.
Why change from a E25 to E20?? My 2000 outback blew motor because bad (wore out) water pump with 279,800 miles on it.. l just today had a JDM E25 delivered with "48,000" on it who knows how accurate that is.. l thought the 2000 3 piece head gaskets resolved issues that earlier graphite coated head gaskets had... What am l missing here??
Great video. thank you for making this. I will be doing the same swap on my 04 forester soon. My only question is why didn't you swap the oil pan and Components over from the 2.5? What was the reason for buying new parts?
Thanks for watching, and Great question. Short answer: I could have. But since I was going to re-gasket the old 2.5, I wanted to keep those bits with the engine.
@@Chris-Fennimore thank you so much for the answer! google never told me that you responded, I just happen to be watching this again and thought id check, haha. Again thanks for making this video, it is going to help me so much with my swap.
What timing belt did you use?
I am wanting to do the same thing on an 2000 Forester. Can you list what you would or did swap over from the EJ25 to the EJ20?
everything but the heads.
Did you only swap out the engine and nothing else??
will this swap work for the 2001 Subaru legacy gt limited ?
Another question I had that I just remembered about. The T-stat housing on the 2.5 is mounted to the bottom of the engine, but the 2.0 is mounted to the front face. Did that make any difference when hoking up the lower rad hose? or are they close enough that the hose mounted up easily? Thanks!
On mine, I installed a new OEM Water pump & T-stat on the 2.0, and moved the T-stat housing over from the 2.5.
@@Chris-Fennimore Awesome, thanks!
Currently putting turbo ej205 in my 05 rs ej253... do you think from what you did here there is that much of a difference between the two? I'm currently half way with the harness as is
From my understanding it's all bolt on you can even keep the 25 heads and put them on the 205 as they have superior airflow and in keeping the heads and intake manifold you shouldn't have to splice wires and
I just realised this post is 2 years old lol, any way how did you go?
I have a question hopefully you can help me out i have a 05 subaru legacy gt which comes with a 2.5L turbo engine ej225 or ej25 and my engine went out ive had that car since 2005 bought it new i that engine had 180k miles so it was bound to go out , i dont currently have the funds to buy a good condition 2.5L turbo engine again, so i found a jdm/Japanese ej20 turbo 2.0L and the donor car was a 06 only sold in japan the shop thats doing my swap said it would be a direct fit and i have nothing to worry about. i see on your video you where pulling parts from the 2.5 and putting it into the 2.0 so that assures me that the parts are sort of interchangable. hows the driving going from a ej25 to a ej20 ? does it run smooth ???? did you keep the stock ECU ? thats my only sort of concern number one i will be going from 2.5 to 2.0 and number two im keeping the same ecu so i was wondering if i will have problems with the ecu or if the ecu will just adapt to the smaller engine the engine im putting in is a turbo version and im putting the turbo from my 2.5 into the 2.0 because the mechanic says its also a direct fit
How was the swap? Did everything fit okay? I have the same situation as you, I have a 2007 gt and i was thinking of buying the ej 20 and just dumping it in my car. Just wondering if everything is all good with yours because the ej25 engined are insanely costly and im just a broke college student
I second this? Did it work out
i'm gonna do the same thing soon just waiting for the new engine (EJ20) to put it on 05 impreza 2.5RS manual transmission ... and i was wondering if i can install a turbo on the new engine ?
Unknown. But the ej20 block was "almost" identical to the ej25.
Hi I'm Jeffrey.... I have a 98 subaru legacy outback wagon and got a EJ20 (EJ205) from a friend but no ECU. I have a few questions... 1. Can I use my stock trans? 2. If I can use stock ECU, will it work with EJ20?
Oh I forgot to mention it's a DOHC non AVCS
Is this a 2.0 turbo engine?
I have a 2005 forester sport and the motor is bad I have 05 wrx motor and Trans but no harness on the wrx 2.0 please help what do I need
Is there a reason why you have to swap over the timing components ? if the timing is set correctly on the EJ20 and its a super low miles engine with the firing marks on the cam gears/crank gears the same it would seem that there's no particular reason why unless i'm missing something other than the belt/water pump replacement.
The crank and cam pulley's apparently are different to the USDM and the JDM need to be swapped out otherwise it will not work with the US DM ECU.
hello i have a 98 subaru legacy outback with a EJ25D engine but the its shot headgasket issue. so i want to swap it with a EJ22 engine its from a legacy i think its a 95-97 engine. what do i have to do to get it working?. do i have to get the engine wire hardness, manifold, throttle body, fuel injectors, iacv, tps sensor, etc from the ej25d into the ej22? or what?? thanks. :)
ej22 is a old motor it will require major o-ring and gasket replacement why put a 2 decade old motor in and deal with it's problems look at a much newer motor would be my advice google jdm motors in the area or state you live in bare long block would be all you need I called a importer because I need cam gears for a JDM WRX EJ205 and they sold me a broken bottom end with a blown piston full heads crank and block for cheap call one you never know
Just curious if anyone has found any solutions to the loss of power. I did the exact same swap over a year ago in my 2001 Forester and it runs like a top. But it's a dog uphill. Seems like it shifts too early and robs itself of the rpms it needs. However I've taken the family from VA to southern FL and back among many other trips and it does just fine. Almost no power difference on flat terrain. Wonder if putting a MSD coil would help it?
To my understanding the ej20s like rpms and can handle more than the us ej25s. You could get a jdm ecu or transmission module and see if that helps
@@justinpalmer9417 Where can i get these ECU's ?
You described how my ej20 swap acts. I purchased the car from the guy that did the swap so I dont know all that was done. Mine boggs down in second gear and doesnt like to climb hills....its driving me crazy. Did you figure yours out????
Did you swap the sensors from the EJ25 to the EJ20? Cam shaft pulley?
Yes. Yes.
I bought an adaptor at Ace Hardware that is MUCH easier than the setup this guy used. All you have to do is find the adaptor that will fit the PCV hose and has the threads on the inside of it. All I had to do was screw the PCV valve into it and then use hose clamps on each of the hose. You will have to cut the hose down a little.
Which adapter ? Can you link or show us pls
Whats the reason for the pvc swap? If you change the engine wouldnt the old pvc work? Is it because the manifold is different?
Did you find out. I need to know plz
where did u get the engine?
Are those both the SOHC non turbo engines? I'm doing that swap (SOHC ej251 to JDM SOHC ej20) for reasons of rod knock. you
Yes, both are SOHC non-turbo.
thinking about swaping my ej25 115kw outback to ej20 160kw turbo what do you guys think? will i need ej20 ecu, intake etc because of turbo? and will it fit right up like sohc versions(since europe versions of outbacks ej25 and imprezas ej20 are dohc)??
you will need a new ecu .... your going from none turbo to turbo ...
I have an 04 Forester 2.5 XT and I Installed a 2.0 in it and it just doesn’t feel right every Morning cold start it takes a minute to start and then driving it it feels laggy 😭😭😭 any help would be much appreciated
Have you looked into adding more grounding? Some people add up to 6 more ground wires to the frame and motor. Also check your battery. These things gotta have good electronic connections and a strong battery.
Did that work for you. Thats what im currently going to be doing
The 2.0 is 20% less powerful than a 2.5. Maybe that is the issue.
did you take the pullies off the 2 5 and put them on ?
Yes. I did not video the swap-over of timing belt components because everything bolted right up. No issues.
@@Chris-Fennimore Doing a 251 to 203 swap, did you keep the tensioner and rollers on the ej20? I'm not sure if i need to order a ej 20 or 25 timing kit or what since im swaping my pulleys over.
Great video! I have a concern about my 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 rs. Apparently the previous owner swapped the EJ25 out to a JDM EJ20 non turbo sohc. I'm no expert on engine swaps but mine is throwing a code for p0170 for fuel trim bank 1 malfunction. Is there anyway for me to fix it? I've replaced both o2 sensors, new cat, new evap canister, new evap solenoid, new spark plugs. The car has like a fuel cut out at 5k rpm when I floor it and it backfires in my intake. Im pretty sure that check engine light has to do with how my car is running so I need help. I don't think the previous owner swapped all of the stuff off of the EJ25. The thing that sucks is Idk what he did or didn't do when he was swapping the EJ20 in. Also when I accelerate, I feel as if I'm losing power the higher I go on my rpms.
Diamond Sreng clean your injectors try putting some fuel injector cleaner in your gas tank
try cleaning the MAF sensor. my turbo bugeye was acting like what you are describing. All you need is some MAF cleaner. 10 dollar fix. would not hurt to try
Carson Tosi what specifically would fit? Like which fuel injector.
Any results? I’m in in the exact same situation and replaced all that as well and am still having the same code...
And it does not have a MAF sensor lol
Why a ej20 swap, it does not make sense to me going from a 2.5 to a smaller displacement.
I heard the 2.0 will have higher redline & apparently better chance of no blown head gaskets
the cylinder walls on the ej20 are a lot thicker than the 2.5, the 2.0 does have a higher redline but not by much, i wouldn't have bothered putting a ej20 in unless it was a ej20g/ej20k/ej207(v10) which are single turbo engines factory
jdm ej20 sohc are really cheap on ebay they're around 650-800 for a complete engine, typically have low miles, and was probably better cared for. I'm actually really surprised myself that you barely have to make any changes lol
ditto Ed McMan... got my 2.0 for $800, slapped a new timing kit, water pump & plugs. Never got to drive the car with the 2.5 'cause bought it with blown motor but the 2.0 seems plenty peppy for a semi-luxury family wagon.
Pick up has chips in it
was there any power differance
We noticed slightly less power, but still very drive-able. It won't win any drag races :-)
frankallen422 just to chime in, I have a 2.0 JDM swap in my 05 impreza wagon and yes it has less power. I believe mine is an EJ203 which should have about 138 HP compared to the 165 HP of the 2.5 USDM engine. Doesn’t make a huge difference but you can feel it if you knew your car very well before the swap.
@@anthonymarte8776 I know this is a old comment but did it make the car less fun to drive or a hassle as in the lack of power made it harder to merge and what not
@@Chris-Fennimore just curious if anyone has found any solutions to the loss of power. I did the exact same swap over a year ago in my 2001 Forester and it runs like a top. But it's a dog uphill. Seems like it shifts too early and robs itself of the rpms it needs. However I've taken the family from VA to southern FL and back among many other trips and it does just fine. Almost no power difference on flat terrain. Wonder if putting a MSD coil would help it?
Please help me my guy! I have a 2007 Subaru legacy gt. I can't find a 2.5 turbo engine at all for it. But I have heard of the ej20tt being good and all. But will it basically be the same thing as what you did to yours. The ej20tt is cheaper as well I noticed this. But I just want to know if it'll fit 😭😭. Please I'm so scared if losing this car man, I saved up making 8.90 for it and the thing is a rare sighting on the road.
it'll be identical except youll need a different exhaust(up/down pipe), air cooler, oil cooler lines, or coolant lines for the turbo.
are you saying twin turbo or single turbo ? i have an 05 legacy gt the 2.5 turbo and the engine went out i got an ej20 single turbo 2.0 jdm engine and works fine . but thats single turbo im not sure if by TT you meant twin turbo if thats the case dont do it .
do you guys have facebook? if so please send me a message at zachariah morris