Looking into getting a Subaru..

[John1]

Hello everyone, my name is John.
I am new to the Subaru world, but not entirely to cars.
I am a half decent mechanic, having owned a few Volvo 850 turbo's in the past 3 years.
They are nice, quick, and comfortable, but as far as reliability, I might as well had just bought a Chrysler product..

So I found a few Legacy's and a few Impreza's, but my only concern is:
How can I tell if it is AWD from engine pictures when it has a longitudinally mounted FWD set up as well?
I would hate to go check out a car and get someone's hopes up, just to find out that they thought it was AWD just because it is a Subaru.

I know that is probably a complete Subaru n00b question, but that is exactly what I am, haha.
I am going to be selling my Volvo, but I would like to obtain a cheap AWD Subaru so I can park my Volvo and sell it.

I live in PA, around 15 minutes from the border of New Jersey.
Around the Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton area (if anyone here has heard of that).
And if there is an AWD Subaru for a few hundred, that doesn't need too much work, that I have missed please PM me.

This seems like a great forum, filled with a great group of enthusiasts.
I absolutely hate going onto a forum filled with pompous a-holes, and it looks like this board has none.

Thanks everyone, and I hope to hear from you shortly.

John

[ericem]

Hello welcome!!

To verify if a Subaru is AWD when you go look at one just stick your head under the rear and look for a differential, driveshaft, and axles That simple!

Keep your eyes open on craiglist, and kijiji. Be sure to read around with common issues to look out for.

To name a few torque bind (mostly on auto cars where the awd is always engaged and will bind when turning not very common)
headgaskets (car will overheat, bubbles in overflow, etc etc common mainly on early 2.5L so 97-2002 mid )

otherwise do the usual inspection check ALL fluids, make sure it drives good in your opinion, take some tight turns to make sure nothing binds up, and do some spirited driving once warmed up to test it, also try and test the awd on something loose

[evolutionmovement]

If you're looking for a good daily, I personally wouldn't buy a 2.5. There's a reason (besides the goofy paint) that there are a million Outbacks in good shape with low miles for about half the price of much more rare 2nd generation 2.2s around here.

[John1]

Hello welcome!!
To verify if a Subaru is AWD when you go look at one just stick your head under the rear and look for a differential, driveshaft, and axles That simple!

Haha, yea I know that
I was more so asking if there was a way to tell strictly by engine bay pictures.
It is a little deceiving looking into an engine bay where the motor is longitudinally mounted, yet FWD..

However I just talked to the owner of a '93 Impreza sedan, and he said it in fact is AWD.
I will be checking it out tomorrow.

To evolutionmovement:

What is the reason for that?

[evolutionmovement]

Early 2.5's had head gasket and piston slap issues, are not a huge improvement in performance, but are worse on fuel economy than 2.2's. Even the 2.5 GTs are cheaper around here and those look much better than the 2.2's. There are definitely worse engines out there from other manufacturers, so if you find a good enough deal and just plan for head gaskets (or if they've been done), the 2.5's are fine, but I don't want to be bothered, personally (I'm searching for a second generation 2.2 manual transmission wagon with low miles that's not lavender or beige). For an Impreza, drive the 1.8 first. I found it to be a real dog, but thought the 2.2 wasn't bad. If you normally drive sedately, you might find the 1.8 to be fine. That 1993 Impreza will be a 1.8.

[John1]

Honestly, my biggest complaint to be had on a car is reliability.
If a car is not going to be reliable, I could care less how much power it makes.

I drive pretty slow for the majority of the time, mostly because I lower all my cars, and would rather someone have quite a bit of time to check out my car as I cruise past

I read somewhere that almost any Subaru motor will bolt into almost any Subaru.
Is this true?

[evolutionmovement]

Yes.

[John1]

Yes.

Seriously?
That is so awesome!

What about transmissions?

[smh0101]

Trannys are interchangeable to an extent... Any ej series tranny will fit and bolt in, however you have to match the gearing of the rear diff OR swap it... and you have to match up the clutch type... cable vs hydraulic, pull type, push type etc. Starters do matter to some degreee... but only on 5mt to 6mt swaps.

For example... to put an early 2004 STi 6mt into my 94 Legacy Turbo all I would need is the transmission itself, starter, Automatic Legacy Driveshaft, and thats it. The transmission would be a bolt in affair (not addressing the DCCD issue)

Now with engines... yes... they will all "bolt in" but that doesnt necessarily mean they will plug in and run, you have to swap wiring harnesses, merge harnesses, use a standalone etc. They all bolt in but the electronics are the issue.

[evolutionmovement]

You can even bolt in an EJ into an EA81/2 chassis.

[John1]

So how do the engine codes work in these cars?
For instance in my Volvo, my engine code was B5234T, meaning 5 cylinders, 2.3 liters of displacement, 4 valves per cylinder, and factory turbocharged (T).

And, as far as wiring goes, that is the least of my worries.
I get a kick out of wiring, however, I hate having a huge rigamarole just to yank out and put a motor in.
Although, having looked at most builds and various threads, these motors seem like everything is so easy.

Oh, and I checked out that Impreza..
This guy was under the impression that all Subaru's are AWD.
He even referenced his owners manual to correct me that it was in fact AWD, and not just FWD.
But, correct me if I am wrong, there needs to be a drive shaft from the transmission, which is inserted into a differential, which spins the axles, which subsequently turns the rear wheels.
And not power transference via osmosis..
I told him I would have to take a pass, and he was not happy.
Although I wasn't happy that I drove out almost 2 hours to see this POS FWD rust bucket, which was said to be an AWD cherry in need of a small tune up.

[biggreen96]

^^^ oh my. I would not have been happy about that.

Our engine codes are mostly easy, EJ20 = EJ series (4 cylinder) 2 liter. EJ22 = 2.2 liter EJ25- you get the picture.

Then there are sometimes other numbers or letters that follow the 18, 20, 22 or 25. Such as EJ257 or EJ22T. T = turbo, but not really, we just use the "T" to differentiate from the non-turbo 2.2 liter. the "7" and other numbers sometimes found after EJ25 is a mystery to most, especially to me. Most people have no idea what they are referring to when they talk subie motors, including me lol,

This should help though!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EJ_engine

[smh0101]

Here is how the engine codes work...

ej= series of engine found in 4 cylinder subies including the Legacy, Impreza and Foresters.

ez/eg = New gen 6 cylinders (there was an ancient on along somewhere) including those used in the SVX, Outbacks, Legacy 3.0Rs, and Tribecas.

So for our applications, most stick with ONLY ej (ea= ancient POS 4cylinder in Brats, GLs, Loyales etc.)

The older phase I motors have a letter following the displacement... exaples:

ej20g = JDM Legacy/Liberty RS, Impreza WRX 93-96
ej22t = USDM Legacy Turbos
ej22e = Non-Turbo 2.2L USDM and abroad
ej20k = 97-98 (99?) WRXs and STi
ej20h = One of the twin turbo Legacy motors
ej20r = One of the twin turbo Legacy motors (later one I believe??)
ej22g = 98 Impreza 22B STi (Good luck getting one LOL)
ej25d = USDM Legacy GT Non-Turbo 96-99, also Impreza RS MY98

This doesnt cover EVERYTHING... but close... and everything that matters. Also note that things that say ej20t can be a 20g or 20k... then anything ej20tt is a 20r or 20h. Usually. They are only marked "t" or "tt" by companies and or people who dont know wtf they are talking about.

Then the phase II motors have a number after the displacement

Anything with a 3 after the displacement (IE: ej253) is a non-turbo motors. Found in most non-turbo USDM motors.

Then anything with a 5 after the displacement is a Legacy GT or WRX motor (IE ej205 = 02-05 WRX 2 Liter... ej255 has two variants the WRX ej255 and the Legacy GT ej255)

Anything with a 7 after the displacement is an STi Motor. (IE: ej207 = V7 & V8 JDM STi motor... there are a few varients so its important to know the car that is came from. ej257 = USDM 2.5L STi motor.)

Notice though that there are varients of almost every engine listed here and I didnt list all. Like the 1.8L (which is an ej18) which I dont know if it has a letter, but thats because they are all pretty much the same.

The 20k has different varients. Like the WRX one and the STi one... and the STi RA and the WRX R and WRX RA... which most of use differnet turbos and bucket setups...

The ej205 has both the JDM versionS and the USDM version.

Also the USDM ej207 has multiple variants depending on model.

Hope this clears things up but I'm sure it also raises more questions.

[555BCTurbo]

EJ engines will not bolt up to an EA tranny without an adapter...


And the 22B has an engine called the EJ22G in it...which is essentially a USDM 2.2 turbo block, but has the revised center thrust-bearing design to alleviate the thrust play issues the earlier motors had. (and it's DOHC)

[smh0101]

EA engines will not bolt up without an adapter...


And the 22B has an engine called the EJ22G in it...which is essentially a USDM 2.2 turbo block, but has the revised center thrust-bearing design to alleviate the thrust play issues the earlier motors had.

Thank you... forgot about that... knew it... just forgot...

Would LOVE... and KILL to get one

[555BCTurbo]

How about an EJ20N...


Cookie to the first person who figures that one out.

[smh0101]

Haha...

I left that out on purpose... That would be the Natural Gas Motor. I believe its a SOHC motor to. And a 2 Liter.

Nice one Nick

[555BCTurbo]

Your cookie is in the mail.

[smh0101]

Om nom nom nom... Just arrive via IMS (Instant Mail Express).

[Mattheww044]

I want one! definately would have had no clue what that motor was though

[kimokalihi]

What about the new diesel motor?

[evolutionmovement]

Most earlier Imprezas I've seen are fwd. Did he know you were driving 2 hours? I had a guy in Detroit with a total POS, like worse than parts car, talk up how great his car was. I drove 15 hours after work on a Friday to look/buy. He knew where I was coming from so must have thought he had me. Wrong. After a few choice words, I drove right back home.

[John1]

Definitely some good info on engine coding.
I guess I will never know what "EJ" stands for.
But as far as the rest of the coding goes, it seems fairly simple with a bit of memorization.

Most earlier Imprezas I've seen are fwd. Did he know you were driving 2 hours? I had a guy in Detroit with a total POS, like worse than parts car, talk up how great his car was. I drove 15 hours after work on a Friday to look/buy. He knew where I was coming from so must have thought he had me. Wrong. After a few choice words, I drove right back home.

Yea, he knew I was driving 2 hours.
He told me that his mechanic said it was AWD, and didn't believe me that it was FWD.

It is what it is, and that is how buying a used car works.
You find a bunch of lemons, and eventually if you wait long enough, you will find what you are looking for.
So I hope that it is no different for me.

[mike-tracy]

Hey John, here's the SAE tech document for the 1st generation EJ motor. I wasn't able to find what EJ stood for but it's a very technical, interesting document nonetheless.

Mike

PDF Document

[John1]

Hey John, here's the SAE tech document for the 1st generation EJ motor. I wasn't able to find what EJ stood for but it's a very technical, interesting document nonetheless.

Mike

What document?
Is there a link somewhere in a sticky?