Engine Options for 1993 Subaru Legacy L ?

[Melkor]

Hello there. I'm new here, so I figured I'd get my feet wet with this question. I have a 1993 Subaru Legacy L with the 2.2l n/a engine. It has 122k miles. The car itself is in exceptional condition and is my daily driver (my other car is a 1978 Harley FXS). I want to put a fresh engine (take out or what have you) in it, basically for continued reliability.

1) Can anyone recommend a reputable place to get a replacement enginer?
2) What engines will fit in my car easily and what would their base horsepower be?
3) Will all the engines suggested from question 2 work with my transmission.

Thanks for any information in advance.

[vrg3]

I don't follow -- are you worried that your 122k-mile-old EJ22 is not going to be reliable?

Was it maintained poorly?

Or are you hoping to make the car much faster?

[JasonGrahn]

1) Can anyone recommend a reputable place to get a replacement enginer?
2) What engines will fit in my car easily and what would their base horsepower be?
3) Will all the engines suggested from question 2 work with my transmission.

1: There are many places to get engines, especially older subaru engines. An engine is an engine is an engine in this case. Just make sure it has good compression and after that the only difference is the included warranty.
2: Many. the 1.8L, 2.0, 2.2, and 2.5 will all bolt. If you want their power figures, feel free to utilize that great invention dubbed "the search engine" for gathering these figures as they are readily available.
3: Yes.

[professor]

Melkor, check this quote from "The Repair Library" website:


You could say that flat motors and 4WD/AWD are all that distinguish Subarus from other makes. But you'd be wrong. There are lots of other factors that make these cars different. Take longevity, for example, as in the '85 wagon that just showed up at a New England press preview with an odometer reading of 325,000, or this statement from a California specialist: "We see Subarus with 250,000 miles on them that have never had engine work." And the Legacy in stock turbo trim has held the World Speed Endurance record of 138 mph for 100,000 kilometers since 1990. This kind of durability breeds rabid loyalty among owners.

Then there's serviceability. "Before they designed the Legacy," the former head of tech training tells us, "Fuji's engineers asked me for a serviceability wish list. And they fulfilled almost every point." That's not exactly the prevailing attitude among car makers, is it?

So, don't be afraid to work on these cars. Sure, things look a little different, but after you get past the initial amazement you'll find that they make a lot of sense.

end quote




So, you're only half way to wearing out your engine. If you are concerned about reliability, you can simply make sure that all of the service points are fully addressed:

if you are not on your 3rd timing belt replace it;

plugs, belts, hoses, radiator flush and fill, plug wires, oil&filter, valve adjustment, check on all seals, clean grounds

check compression and monitor oil consumption

consider replacing your engine mounts


My Legacy has 165,000 miles and I've been shaking it down (just got it), finding that it needs: Nothing ! essentially. it has had good maintenance, and just went 2800 miles between oil changes and only used 1/2 quart at most, and runs and idles perfectly. There are plenty of folks on ths site with many more miles than that.

[evolutionmovement]

Check my signature. I beat the living hell out of this car and finally melted an exhaust valve at around 246k mi. Took the engine apart and it is almost brand new inside. Even the cylinder with the bad valve has no damage and the seat is fine. All crosshatching in the cylinders, cams are like brand new, the only signs the engine is used (other than the carbon build up that may've done in the exhaust valve since I was holding it at loaded redline in 3rd around a long entrance ramp to the highway) is a couple of the rod bearings have some marks on them. They are all in spec and the crank bearings are pristine.

These engines are 5 main bearings and are stronger than a cradle as the whole block would have to flex to get any movement, the rods are tough as hell, the pistons are pretty strong, there's good journal overlap on the crank, and the crank itself is only about ten inches long. These engines are incredibly solid. If I could only describe the abuse mine went through and all it really needed to get back driving was the valve and a thorough cleaning.

Steve

[tris91ricer]

yeah, here here.
I'm bout to swap over my engine from my 91FWD into a 92AWD auto, and that engine has 140,800 miles on it.. still like brand new.. i'm with steve.. (again) people don't understand just how long these engines really go.. i've had to talk some people into buying a first gen legacy with 100k odd miles on it after hearing them gripe and moan about "oh it has over 100 thousand miles!" No, that's BS. Your domestic car is only good for 75k, and that's the thinking you're stuck with; this import engine is the last thing you want to be insulting, cause it WILL run laps around your chevy, (or ford, saturn, anything you want) any day, any time, ANYWHERE.. yeah, that's right, thanks to AWD, biatch.
that's just how passionate we are about these cars here. we don't just blindly love these things.. we realize what we do to them, and how we treat them, and we (well, I for one) are still impressed that they drive as well as the day they were bought.
You're not gonna be disappointed.. just check up on everything the guys recommended, and you'll be in good shape. They've helped me out plenty of times, and i trust just about everyone here..
So welcome to the club!


-=tristan