Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ - Jalopnik Comments

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Turkina — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:27:11 EDT

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Turkina — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:43:25 EDT

@bigbill25: My 98 Forester lost its head gasket, right around Christmas time as well! But no damage done, and repairs covered by extended warranty :)

Now if I could only get my rebuilt EGR system to not give check engine codes, and the oil leak at the PVC cover... ugh.

Turkina

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Unregular — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:39:38 EDT

@zerotrinity: that's a good thing!

Unregular

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

zerotrinity — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:49:32 EDT

@Unregular: not to mention that it lowers the center of gravity to, say, 4 inches below the road surface?

zerotrinity

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Unregular — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:11:44 EDT

just look at that thing, it is flat and spread on the floor.

much like something else... that's how you WANT them to be laid out.

Unregular

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

flightofthesuperbees — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:09:21 EDT

slap a set of forged pistons in a 2l5 turbo mill, a gt35r, injectors, and some management and hang-on. 500hp at your beckoning.

flightofthesuperbees

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

st3ph3n — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:56:26 EDT

@kingedwin: "There's not enough room" - unless you do a little bit of cutting that is ;)

I think one of the reasons there's always going to be bad press about the turboe variants of this block is because if you give one to the wrong person then they'll have it at 6K rpm all day long.

Even good blocks will give up eventually!

st3ph3n

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

kingedwin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:11:18 EDT

Bonus: some performance stuff works on all the engines, so I can get things like underdrive pulleys for my '90 Legacy.

The SVX is an EJ with two extra cylinders. It will even bolt up to an early 90's tranny, but there's not enough room in the engine bay of the Legacy or Impreza.

The nicest thing about these engines is that the design doesn't require a balance shaft. My 2.2l is much smoother than the motor in my old 626, and makes a little more power.

kingedwin

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

rkwadd — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:01:16 EDT

I just bought one, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies.

rkwadd

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

AndyDuncan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:55:37 EDT

Well, just don't mention the stop-sale that is just now starting to be lifted on the 2.5L version.

AndyDuncan

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

bigbill25 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:35:45 EDT

@anaxomander: Yup. My '97 EJ25 blew a head gasket. In the middle of nowhere. On Christmas Eve...

Still, I love the Subbies.

bigbill25

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Snunker — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:06:01 EDT

Our 2002 Impreza with the 2.5 needed to have a new head gasket because (as i was told) the manufacturer of the gaskets supplied to Subaru screwed up and there was a thin spot. Replaced N/C by the dealer when they spotted anti-freeze seepage. It wasn't even to the point of dripping yet.

Snunker

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

rograndom — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:53:10 EDT

Also, the engines are pretty much like lego pretty much everything can go together. Take a STi short block, put your WRX heads on, instant EJ23(.5). Just pay attention that certain parts are made for forced induction, and others aren't so much.

rograndom

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

elwood — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:42:16 EDT

@13oostedwgn: I'm not fronting on the idea that some of the JDM parts are better than their stateside counterparts. That's very true. I'm just saying buying a JDM motor, but then building it with aftermarket parts anyways is a waste of time and you'd be better off with the increased displacement of the EJ25.

elwood

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

franzouse — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:34:22 EDT

@13oostedwgn: Thanks. I always forget to make the distinction, and 310 at the wheels seemed a little high (as in not factory).

franzouse

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Mad_Science — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:33:53 EDT

@Elhigh: Haven't had any problems with mine at nearly 30k miles. It doesn't see much time above 4500rpm, but doesn't see much below 3500 either.

Word on the street is that the 2006+ 2.5L WRXs are heavily underrated so as not to cannibalize STi sales and jack up insurance rates. Having driven botht he 2.0 and 2.5, I can say the difference in the low-to-mid range is pretty serious.

Mad_Science

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

boosted-lego-wagon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:28:40 EDT

@franzouse: about 310hp. Crank, not wheels of course. With drivetrain loss, that's about 225-230ish on a Dynodynamics.

@elwood: you're probably right, although some of the JDM parts are better. A JDM TMIC is about 30% larger than the USDM one. I've no idea why.

boosted-lego-wagon

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Paul Y. can't think of a better, shorter handle — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:26:57 EDT

@MikeHerbst: There were a handful of 4-cylinder EJ30s made, too. When I used to read NASIOC, someone on there had come into possession of one.

As far as the head gasket on the EJ25s goes, that was an issue with the early ones in the late 90s, and the SOHC EJs are generally more reliable than the DOHC's.

Those really are nice engines. Easy to work on, too.

Paul Y. can't think of a better, shorter handle

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Unregular — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:17:53 EDT

@Elhigh: not for me thus far... (12K miles in)

Unregular

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Elhigh — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:09:09 EDT

Warning, the EJ25 marks its territory - a lot. And don't think you can alleviate the problem by adding Motor Honey - that's a trip to the head gasket man.

Elhigh

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Murph — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:08:24 EDT

Not only did Subaru stick it out with the boxer while VW gave up on it, the EJ has become one of the primary replacement engines for old dead wasserboxers, the last (US market) VW boxer engines.

[www.vanaru.com]

Murph

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

grzydj — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:06:57 EDT

I've rocked some EJ series motors in my lifetime, and all of them have served me quite well. I've had a carburetored 1.8, EFI 2.2, EFI 2.5 and now a forced induction 2.0.

I think the 2.2 was a nice blend of torque, fuel economy and overall smoothness.

grzydj

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

elwood — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:06:06 EDT

@13oostedwgn: @caw2007: So once again, the Japanese get the cool factory stuff. Though I think a lot of times, Japanese tuners will buy the JDM parts just for the cred, and they end up using an aftermarket turbo and pistons/rods anyways.

elwood

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

cgarison — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:55:45 EDT

This is a fabulous engine. Yes, I am aware of several issues with the design including some issues with connecting rods and wrist pins back in the the day (when the Legacy was introduced) with my father's 1990 Legacy needing the motor replaced in 800 miles.

Don't forget the oil pump issues on the very first Legacies which were prone to failure in cold weather.

cgarison

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

franzouse — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:45:57 EDT

@13oostedwgn: forgive my naivety but what does "310ish" mean?

franzouse

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Spasticteapot — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:44:08 EDT

When I heard that Subaru was making the new Supra, I was aghast.

And then I thought better of it. Honestly, what better car than Subaru to make a JDM muscle car with a mad, turbocharged engine?

Considering that they can get 300hp out of the EJ, and there have been numerous six-cylinder variants of it through the years - well, I expect the new Supra to be interesting indeed.

Spasticteapot

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

caw2007 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:34:27 EDT

@elwood
The Japanese EJ20's in the STi's have forged pistons and they aren't on North American STi's from what I understand.

caw2007

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

boosted-lego-wagon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:31:54 EDT

@elwood: the JDM STi engines are set up for twin-scroll turbos, and have a higher rev-range. The 2.5s have more torque, so it really depends whether you're building a track or street terror.

boosted-lego-wagon

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

boosted-lego-wagon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:30:26 EDT

Unequal length headers FTW.

I love my EJ20 too. Currently makes a little over 310ish and as I'm babying the throttle during my new clutch's break-in period, I've been getting 8.5-9 L/100 city mileage.

boosted-lego-wagon

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

brandegee — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:30:20 EDT

@anaxomander: Didn't realize there was a fiasco. Though I do know of at least one Outback Sport which filled its crankcase with metal shavings at 16K miles.

Still, I'm all about the boxer.

brandegee

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

elwood — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:29:10 EDT

I like the quote in the writeup "Power outputs from the EJ run the gamut from double-digit figures to 'How much money you got?'". People sometimes forget that how fast you can go in ANY car is generally just limited by how much money you want to spend (that, and aerodynamics).

Another question, why do the JDM folks get so worked up about getting a Japanese EJ20 when some of the U.S. cars come with an EJ25? I would think for building up a powerful car, you'd want the extra 0.5L of displacement.

elwood

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

MikeHerbst — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:26:07 EDT

You could sort of say that EJ-series displacement has actually been up to 3.3L. The EG33 engine is often referred to as the EJ33, since it was mechanically just an EJ22 with two extra cylinders tacked on.

This was the smooth six cylinder that was in the SVX. (Not to be confused with newer sixes from Outback H-6, etc.)

Thanks for highlighting this wonderful little engine!

MikeHerbst

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Unregular — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:23:24 EDT

woohooo!

EJ255 2.5, DOHC, 13.5psi max turboner, 8.2 : 1!

always brings a smile to my face.

Unregular

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

EDogII — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:15:05 EDT

Boy, do I love my subaru.

[www.automedia.com]

EDogII

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

caw2007 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:14:21 EDT

Can't wait to get and STi and play with one..

caw2007

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

anaxomander — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:13:54 EDT

Well, aside from the whole EJ25 head gasket design fiasco it's a great mill.

anaxomander