legacycentral bbs

i'm new to subarus. all my experience to date has been with vw's. their recent lack of quality has frustrated me and now has me looking at subaru.
i picked up a 96 legacy wagon, awd, auto with a 2.2. i had the codes run and am getting a misfire code for cyl 2. the engine is missing and the cel is on. new ngk plugs didn't cure the problem. i haven't done a compression or vacuum test yet, but anm expecting a burnt valve.
i have the opportunity of getting a low mileage 2.2 from a 92 legacy. i am sure that the 2 engines have some differences. from what i have been able to find, most of the differences are with sensors and electrical commections, all of which are mostly located on the intake manifold.
i have 2 questions;
1. are the heads a direct swap i.e., are they the same?
2. could i swap in the 92 engine with the 96 intake and have it hook up exactly like the 96 engine would.

thanks for any help that you may offer.

regards,

mark

Sounds like you know your cars...but I have also had problems with all of my subarus missing. It turned out to be plug wires every time. I would sugest at the least you replace plug wires first. I am not sure about the newer enginers (the newest I have worked on is a 93) but the coil pack can be checked with a DMM or ohmeter. Pretty simple tests on my 91 - 93's.

thanks for your advice. a set of plug wires are only $40 so i should probably change them. i'll test the coil pack too.
anything to offer on my question about the difference in the heads between 92 and 96?

regards,mark

I'm wanting to say that the heads should work though I'm not an expert on this. However, if the low mileage 2.2 from the 92 is a longblock then I wouldn't worry about messing with the heads.

As far as other differences, I'm wanting to say that the 92' uses a 4 wire TPS and that it changed to a 3 wire in 93'. That might be slightly problematic but I'm sure someone will chime in with the cure for that problem. I'm also guessing that the fuel injectors on the 96' are side feed and the ones on the 92' are top feed. But that shouldn't really mean much, just something worth nothing - the 92-94 rails allow easy injector upgrades.

Hope that helps a little.

This info is quoted from the
"Technicians
Reference
Booklet
Boxer Engine
Series Module
Module 104"

Engine Enhancements 2.2 Liter
(Phase 1)
The 2.2 liter (SOHC) (Phase 1) has been enhanced starting
with 1997 model year. The single overhead camshaft
engines have had internal and external changes that yield
an approximately 10 % increase in power and 3% increase
in fuel economy. Accomplishing this involves many factors,
one of which is engine friction reduction.



So according to that info you shouldnt have any problems swaping heads. Since there were no major changes prior to 97. If you swap blocks. you will want to use the intake manifold and all sensors from the 96.

Also this clears up the misconception that the 97 2.2 is a phase II. They did increase the comp ratio to 9.7 to 1 and switch to solid lifters. However the switch to phase II happened the same time as the 2.5, in 99. When they switched to roller cams and 10. to 1 comp.

This is all according to the reference quoted above.

Because both cars are legacies, you can drop this '92 engine in directly and use your '96 intake manifold, TB, wiring harness and sensors. It will be a direct replacement as the Legacies continued to use the dual port heads through '99, while the Impreza EJ22 was a single port head by '96.

But before you do that, I would further explore electrical issues as the root of your problem. I've $5 that says if you swap engines and use the '96 harness and sensors, the problem is going to continue.

Have you checked the condition of the coil? How about the ignitor? There are plenty of things that could cause your problem outside of the engine itself. What leads you to the conclusion that it's a burnt valve???

thanks for all of your help. this is a very knowledgeable and interested community.
i guess that i need to get of my a$$ and do the compression and vacuum test to confirm my suspicions....i've just been too busy and it snowed last night. i'm turning into a bit of a wuss, waiting for the better weather.

finally did the compression test. 170 - 175 #'s in all cylinders. well that makes things simplier. no need to worry about pulling a head to fix a burnt valve. that was my worst fear as i understand that it is easier to do head work by pulling the engine.
went to the wrecking yard yesterday. the cars are all still surrounded by snow, but i got at a early 90's vintage legacy and pulled the coil pack and wires. i figured if the miss wasn't from a burnt valve then most likely it was a faulty coil pack. got home, cleaned up the parts and tried to install the coil pack. the 3 wire electrical fitting wasn't compatible with the other end on the engine, so i deduced that i just better leave it alone. i thought, what the heck, i'll change the wires. tried the car and was surprised that it was now firing on all cylinders. something so simple and i was looking for something so hard.

now that it is running well, i'll have to look at my next biggest problem...... when i take the car for a run, even a short one, once it is shut down and left for 10 minutes it will not start. it turns over but does not fire. when it did that last night, i checked for spark and it doesn't look like it is getting spark. if you leave it for a couple of hours, it starts right back up. very puzzling.

i guess the next thing that i will try is to change the coolent temperature sensor as i know that these have direct feeds to vehicles computers and might have an effect. i will also route out all of the electrical connections that i can find and clean these, including ground wires.

anyone have any other ideas ojn my starting problem. all advice is appreciated.

regards,

mark

your no start sounds like a bad cam sensor. The ECU isn't getting a synch signal. This is easy to test using a lab scope. If you have another engine, just swap it too (cam sensor is cake to get to) It could also be the crank sensor. The sensors are the same part (there's just two) When they go bad, they will often fail only when hot. This is less likely to be thr crank sensor or the car would probably die while you're driving it. Since the cam sensor is only used to get valve synch on startup, that's probably the cause of your no start when hot.

The 96 2.2 should have single port exhaust and EGR if i am not mistaken. So if you are use a 96 intake manifold you will have a EGR CEL constantly and you will need a 2.5 or early 2.2 header. The 96 head has adjustable roller rockers also.
-max

Matt Monson wrote:Because both cars are legacies, you can drop this '92 engine in directly and use your '96 intake manifold, TB, wiring harness and sensors. It will be a direct replacement as the Legacies continued to use the dual port heads through '99, while the Impreza EJ22 was a single port head by '96.

I'm almost positive that the 97 Legacy I had to put a head on a few months ago was single port exhaust... there is a chance I'm mistaken, but it's slim

just checked the parts book, 06/1995 - 05/1999 is a different gasket than 89-95 ... plus, 96 definitaly had EGR