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Old 01-19-2009, 01:22 PM   #1
notasubyguy
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Default 1.8 to a 2.2 swap?

I have a 93 impreza wagon with the 1.8, painfully slow, but its more a issue of torque and the lack of it. I recently picked up a 91 legacy awd wagon(manual)for $100 and the motor is great, tranny is smooth, what am i looking at with wiring to put the 2.2 in? i have a lift and all the tools to do the swap easily, would i be better off switching the block out or swapping the whole thing and dealing with wiring? im a vw guy, the suby thing is new to me

(side note, the 1.8 just developed a back lifter tick on the drivers side bank, maybe a bad valve lash adjuster?)
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Old 01-19-2009, 02:07 PM   #2
taosracer
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I get friendly answers to those types of inquiries from: http://www.rs25.com/
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Old 01-19-2009, 03:40 PM   #3
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You should take out your 1.8L and the 2.2L and with them side by side transfer all the sensors, intake manifold, etc. from the 1.8L block onto the 2.2L block and then drop it right in. You won't need to do anything other than swap the components on top of the blocks over when doing a 1.8 to 2.2 swap. I did this in my old L and it was easy. No extra tuning, wiring, whatever required to do it. Just swap longblocks and enjoy the extra power!
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Old 01-19-2009, 06:29 PM   #4
GrundleJuice
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i think the 1.8 heads will fit the 2.2 block and give you a nice compression ratio bump. 91 oct would probably be a must, though.
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Old 01-19-2009, 06:42 PM   #5
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wow, so they are interchangable? Ive spent some time on rs25.com i havent had a chance to post on there yet. Ive seen some well built cars on this site so i fig i should post. Thanks a ton. Is there a specific company that makes useful manuals for subies? Bentley is the bible for german car guys, wasnt sure if that translates into japanese lol i have an actual Subaru brand manual for my car but it doesnt cover the legacy.

Any ideas on the horrific ticking noise? it started a full day (20mi) after a sparkplug popped out and had to rethread and sleeve the plug hole.
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Old 01-19-2009, 06:44 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RaceFaceXC View Post
i think the 1.8 heads will fit the 2.2 block and give you a nice compression ratio bump. 91 oct would probably be a must, though.
i was curious about swapping the heads to up the comp ratio a tad, i run 91 and 93 whenever available, its always worth the little bit extra, esp with all this corn in it lol
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Old 01-20-2009, 02:09 PM   #7
urabus555
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Has anyone actually done this (longblock swap not the heads) that can say for certain it works?

AFR is okay?

Redline stays the same?

Any details yuo can share would be great!

Thanks

<<< I may have to change that - I have three 2.2l longblocks laying around...

EDIT: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...highlight=swap

Last edited by urabus555; 01-20-2009 at 02:57 PM.
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Old 01-20-2009, 02:23 PM   #8
taosracer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by notasubyguy View Post
Is there a specific company that makes useful manuals for subies?
If you do a little searching you can find the Subaru shop manuals available as a free download. My project is an Impreza L and I found the 540 page manual (pdf) online. This might be what you need for the Legacy here: http://ken-gilbert.com/wrx/mans/Legacy&Outback95-99.pdf
It'll take a long time to open
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Old 01-20-2009, 04:02 PM   #9
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I have done the 1.8 to 2.2 longblock swap and ran it NA for quite a while with no problems at all. I did however use the injectors out of the 2.2 motor just in case but I doubt there that much bigger to make a big difference. If your worried about fuel then it wouldn't hurt to run the 2.2 injectors along with the FPR?
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Old 01-20-2009, 05:19 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urabus555 View Post
Has anyone actually done this (longblock swap not the heads) that can say for certain it works?

AFR is okay?

Redline stays the same?

Any details yuo can share would be great!

Thanks

<<< I may have to change that - I have three 2.2l longblocks laying around...

EDIT: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...highlight=swap
Yes, I have done the swap. All that is needed is to swap the intake from the 1.8 to the 2.2. Reinstall the engine. That is it. The trans works fine. The ECU doesn't even know the difference. More power, slight drop in fuel mileage.
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Old 01-21-2009, 11:24 AM   #11
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Any issues with knock?

The 2.2l has a knock sensor and the 1.8l ECU has no way of reading it (IIRC).

/I hope this is helping the OP and not too much of a threadjack!
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Old 01-27-2009, 05:55 PM   #12
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this is all relevent(spell?) info... Im really on the verge of just doing the swap but im curiuos if its worth doing if a full ej20turbo swap is like $1000. Do 2.5, 2.2 and 1.8's all share the same flange at the head?? can i get cams for the 2.2? is it worth the money? can i swap the tranny from the legacy? Are the final drives the same? im going to post up on rs25 as soon as i can remember my username lol thank all of you again for you help, i really enjoy driving this car and would like to keep it in addition to my '81 Rabbit
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Old 01-27-2009, 06:28 PM   #13
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Where did you find a EJ20 swap for $1000?!! The cheapest I have seen is around $4k. Unless your referring to just swapping over the turbo parts. Then you may be able to get it under $1k. But it won't be a very reliable kit as good engine management and a dyno tune to get it running are almost $1k in themselves.
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Old 01-27-2009, 06:33 PM   #14
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I forgot to answer some of your ?'s... The flange for the exhaust is all the same on the dual port motors. One of the most common mods for cams is to get regrinds from, is it Delta? I can't remember who does it but alot of the NA guys send their cams away to get reground for more performance. And a 1.8 to 2.2 swap is definitely worth the money for how inexpensive it is and the power and torque you gain from it! You'll want to check on the gear ratios between the legacy and your stock trans. If they are the same then swap away! If they are even slightly different you'll need the front and rear differentials also...
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Old 01-27-2009, 06:53 PM   #15
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ebay, item:220351265626 $980

I guess i need to find out what the final ratio is on the legacy trans, how much of a gain do people really see from PnP'd 1.8 heads with cams? Am i looking in the heighborhood of 150-160crank hp with a 2.2/1.8head swap with cams, DIY PnP, header and exhaust? I think i would blow my tranny into next year if i put that much power thru it and i dont want to swap rear difs lol
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Old 01-28-2009, 09:57 AM   #16
suby53
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Ya but that only includes the engine and trans with the engine harness. You will still need to source the entire complete wiring harness, ecu, and rear differential with drive shaft and axles. And even if you only use the motor you will still need to get the harness and ecu plus any accompanying parts (fuel pump, intake parts, exhaust, etc.). And unless your really good with with reading wiring diagrams and can tackle merging the JDM harness with your stock harness then labor could run as high as $4k.

Honestly, 150-160 horsepower is not going to bust your trans. I ran 13 psi on my stock L drivetrain for well over 9 months before the wastegate failed and blew the motor. I drove on it hard too! Redline launches alot and hard shifting under full boost. It'll be able to handle some more NA power for sure... Unless of course its already failing.
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Old 01-28-2009, 11:05 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urabus555 View Post
Any issues with knock?

The 2.2l has a knock sensor and the 1.8l ECU has no way of reading it (IIRC).

/I hope this is helping the OP and not too much of a threadjack!
No issues to date. The car travels over the I-90 pass.
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Old 01-28-2009, 11:08 AM   #18
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The trans will handle the 2.2 without issue as long as it didn't have any issues before the swap. Yes, Delta is the choice for cams. You won't find them anywhere else for the price or turn around time. (1-800-562-5500) And a catback exhaust will also aid the final result.
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Old 01-28-2009, 12:30 PM   #19
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The 2.2 motor doesn't know there is a knock sensor on it. And neither would the 1.8 motor or ecu. You would just take the knock sensor off. The knock sensor doesn't eliminate knock or make adjustments to deter it, it simply tells you when there is knock. Not a big deal on an NA motor. But look at the bright side! You can run a lightened flywheel without the chance of the knock sensor going off!
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:16 PM   #20
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Ah, i see, it isnt everything needed to do the swap, close but no cigar. my tranny whines in the lower gears but it never pops out of gear or anything and could use a shift kit or atleast new bushings, it seems like ill find out what the plan is fri when i know if i can use the 1.8cams with a regrind on my 2.2 heads. keepin things cheap, im still in the process of restoring a 330kmi rabbit lol
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Old 01-28-2009, 02:39 PM   #21
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I think if you get some fresh synthetic fluid in your trans you'll be fine.

Now get that Rabbit done so you can work on your suby!!!
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Old 01-28-2009, 04:59 PM   #22
notasubyguy
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def a syn fluid change is in order. I think itll just be a 2.2 with cams header nad exhaust, maybe ill eventually do the head work or wait til i can afford a turbo motor swap.

Ya the bunny is a work in progress but i love it, i have to cut out and weld in patch panels for pretty much everything from the firewall back
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Old 01-29-2009, 04:48 PM   #23
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ok so one other question. If i use my 2.2 heads that are dual port, do i get a header for the 2.5? it seems all the 2.2 motors that came in the impreza stock are single port
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Old 01-29-2009, 07:17 PM   #24
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The 2.2's were only single port from 97 on IIRC. The earlier 93-96 are dual port. So in that case any header for the 2.5 motor will bolt up to the dual port 2.2's.
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Old 01-30-2009, 02:51 AM   #25
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Ok, you can use the EJ18 cams and roller rocker assembly out of your current EJ18 heads, and put them in the EJ22 heads you SHOULD be getting, they have a slightly better profile for a little more power, and they are free for you. If you swap over your current engine harness onto the EJ22 intake manifold(which flows slightly better than the EJ18 manifold) that is all you have to do. The EJ18 ECU and injectors are fine for the increased displacement. Hell, you could swap in an EJ25 and it wouldnt care.

There is literally no effort on your part except for draining the coolant and refilling it.

Now if you want to have fun, swap in an EJ25 block under some EJ22 heads, along with your EJ18 engine harness(on the EJ22 heads). As long as you run premium you will be fine. Throw some delta regrinds in your EJ22 heads and you have yourself a motor.


~Josh~
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