Difficulty of engine swap

[Iboc_C64]

Hey guys. Never swapped engines in a Sube before. My buddy blew the headgaskets in his 2.5L SOHC in his 2002 Impreza Outback Sport for the second time. This time they only lasted him about 30,000mi to 35,000mi. He now wants something less likely to have this problem. He wants at least a 2.5L DOHC from a 2.5RS. If its not much harder he would actually like a Turbo 2.2 or 2.5 DOHC. We would not likely do this our selves, just pick up the components and have his mechanic do it. What is the difficulty of this swap and what components would we need?

 

[Meyagi]

Hey guys. Never swapped engines in a Sube before. My buddy blew the headgaskets in his 2.5L SOHC in his 2002 Impreza Outback Sport for the second time. This time they only lasted him about 30,000mi to 35,000mi. He now wants something less likely to have this problem. He wants at least a 2.5L DOHC from a 2.5RS. If its not much harder he would actually like a Turbo 2.2 or 2.5 DOHC. We would not likely do this our selves, just pick up the components and have his mechanic do it. What is the difficulty of this swap and what components would we need?

you are taking a step backwards putting in a dohc 2.5 they are plagued with way worse HG problems then the sohc. if his HG's only lasted 30k, whoever did the job did not do it correctly IMO

 

[Meyagi]

and swapping in a turbo engine will most likely cost 2-3k if hes paying someone else to do the swap.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Really? I thought the SOHC was the problem plauged engine. If that's not the case, then which engine would you recommend for improved power and steady reliability? His first HG went at about 145,000 miles. The second set just went at about 175,000 and is leaking externally, he also slowly overheats if it sits Idling in the driveway. Hes not driving it unless absolutely necessary in case he needs to keep the engine. Runs fine otherwise... well except for that classic Suby tick. The main Idea is he wants more reliability, but also more power if possible. Of course, isn't that always what everyone wants? Heh heh.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

just re-do that engine with the updated HG's and do the job properly and be done with it.

swapped cars are money pits, period.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

you are taking a step backwards putting in a dohc 2.5 they are plagued with way worse HG problems then the sohc. if his HG's only lasted 30k, whoever did the job did not do it correctly IMO

^this, x47

 

[Iboc_C64]

I would not be surprised. My buddy swears by his mechanic but I thought he seemed.... not as confident as he should have been when he did the HG job. He did both head gaskets for around $800. This same guy told PapaGak (RangeleyRallyDG's father) that the solution to the rattling sounds he was hearing in his Turbo Baja was to turn up the radio. When EG looked in to it, they found that the previous warranty work done by Charlies Subaru on the 5 speed MT had apparantly been botched and a ring that was made of something stronger than the gears popped off and got pulled through the gears several times, chewing them all up. So if the mechanic couldn't be confident enough to find that, I wouldn't let them touch my Cylinder Heads either.

 

[IBratmanI]

Make sure if the HG's are redone, that SUBARU OEM updated gaskets are used!!! I have read about many aftermarket gaskets failing when these jobs are done, and also follow the torque sequence precisely!!

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

Just have is 2.5 fixed by someone who isn't a raging idiot.