[draganm]

I'm guessing this is a big fat no, but I thought I would ask since there is a local 2016 Forrester that was rolled in a wreck and only has 18,972 miles on it. That's practically a new engine, It's a 2.5L H4 SFI SOHC 16V and they are asking $2K, might even be flexible on that.

Any chance at all this would fit into my 2006 impreza 2.5i, or would I rue the day I tried this? My 06 is leaking oil badly from the head gasket, probly drivers side. I wanted to ignore the leak, but it's blowing back onto the exhaust, so I'm driving a fire-hazard.

A shop I trust quoted me $2K to do the heads. That's a lot to put in an engine with 150K miles on it, and 55K miles later it will need another $1K for timing belt and water pump.
Or, $5200. for a rebuilt engine installed, but that's also a lot into an 11 year old car . Really twice what the car is worth , .:frown2:

What would you guys do, junk it and get a different car?

 

[AWDFTW]

Not in the slightest. A 2016 Forester is a FB series engine, you have an EJ.

I mean, you could do it if you have infinite time, tools, skills, and resources...but it's about as plug and play as trying to drop a 350 small block GM engine in there.

 

[eagleeye]

problem with the title vs. the text (12 or 16?)

a 12 or a 16 Forester both have a FB25B

a 12 outback.. or legacy has the last of the EJ253,...similar to the EJ253 of the 2006.

 

[CNY_Dave]

Instead of swapping the harness out, just put the entire new wiring harness and ECU under the hood then just cross-connect the important stuff.

Yes that's a joke. I think.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

you're in Colorado?

leaking from valve cover gasket or head gasket?

shop around for quotes from a coupla other shops. are you near Henderson? try RetroRoo

or contact our own @traildogck

 

[draganm]

thanks for the reply's, my last post is " awaiting moderation" :|
see if this one goes thru

There's a 2009 at the same yard with 77K on it. Does anyone know if the head gasket issues were fully and finally solved by 2009? This would give me 28K miles before the timing belt service

Parting out 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA.

VIN: JF1GE61679H512560

MILES: 77,281

 

[draganm]

you're in Colorado?
leaking from valve cover gasket or head gasket?
shop around for quotes from a coupla other shops. are you near Henderson? try RetroRoo

or contact our own

I'm near Henderson , and it's leaking from head-gasket, but I already have a shop I trust and I really doubt anyone would do this repair properly for less than $2K. ****, if someone offered me $2K to do theirs I would say no :wink2:
at this point, a used engine for half that would work for me, based on what I could find 2005 to 2009 model year is a direct swap.

 

[draganm]

problem with the title vs. the text (12 or 16?)

a 12 or a 16 Forester both have a FB25B

a 12 outback.. or legacy has the last of the EJ253,...similar to the EJ253 of the 2006.

sorry it is in fact a 2016 forrester, I can't edit the thread title though. If someone needs this super low mileage engine it's on Denver CL but it's in Henderson.

Not in the slightest. A 2016 Forester is a FB series engine, you have an EJ.

I mean, you could do it if you have infinite time, tools, skills, and resources...but it's about as plug and play as trying to drop a 350 small block GM engine in there.

thanks, in knew a 10 year jump in engine tech. was a hail mary pass. I have great tools, but an experiment of this caliber, especially the electrical like someone else mentioned, is not in the cards. Time, sanity, are in short supply.

 

[eagleeye]

thanks for the reply's, my last post is " awaiting moderation" :|
see if this one goes thru

There's a 2009 at the same yard with 77K on it. Does anyone know if the head gasket issues were fully and finally solved by 2009? This would give me 28K miles before the timing belt service

Parting out 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA.

VIN: JF1GE61679H512560

MILES: 77,281

2005 is a oddball that you don't want.

2006-2009 should have single layer steel head gaskets. however some by this point may have been done already. (look for extra big tabs sticking out at the head gasket/ and or where the intake meets the short block,...my own EJ251 with subaru mls gaskets has a blue tab sticking out at the base of the intake).

awaiting moderation = getting electronically digested by the autonomous anti-spam software. (this will probably calm down after your 10th post)

 

[eagleeye]

updated thread title.

 

[draganm]

alright, found the answer, not good

Non turbo 4 cylinder applications all have head gasket issues, you've heard this before, most of you know this, and yes its a result of a bad/faulty design with the gasket.The factory gaskets have a coating that deteriorates over time (typically between 80-120k miles. That range is dependent on if you've run the SOA mandatory coolant conditioner, which is designed to get you past that 100k mile hump).

at least I got way, WAY past the typical failure point.
now for the bad news

Did you know when we do head gasket jobs here at LIC Motorsports we don't install the same gaskets that do the same thing? Would you be shocked to know that the dealer and most other independents still install these bad/faulty gaskets to this day when they perform this job (reason being is Subaru hasn't revised the gasket on the older SOHC vehicles).

These vehicles all have cylinder head gasket related issues:

• Impreza 1999 to 2011
• Forester 1999 to 2010
• Legacy 2000 to 2009
• Outback 2000 to 2009
• Baja 2003 to 2006

they really let this go for a long time didn't they? :frown2:
there's a 2012 Legacy for parts on CL. according to what the 3rd reply from Eagleeye stated

a 12 outback.. or legacy has the last of the EJ253,...similar to the EJ253 of the 2006.

This engine could work with just a intake manifold swap, or would I need to go deeper?

 

[traildogck]

I'm near Henderson , and it's leaking from head-gasket, but I already have a shop I trust and I really doubt anyone would do this repair properly for less than $2K. ****, if someone offered me $2K to do theirs I would say no :wink2:
at this point, a used engine for half that would work for me, based on what I could find 2005 to 2009 model year is a direct swap.

Hahaha.

That's how I feel. Man, I'll spectate...that's about it.

 

[eagleeye]

alright, found the answer, not good

at least I got way, WAY past the typical failure point.
now for the bad news

they really let this go for a long time didn't they? :frown2:
there's a 2012 Legacy for parts on CL. according to what the 3rd reply from Eagleeye stated
[]a 12 outback.. or legacy has the last of the EJ253,...similar to the EJ253 of the 2006.
This engine could work with just a intake manifold swap, or would I need to go deeper?
[/COLOR][/I]

don't recolor things. (mucks things up for those using the dark theme)

there have been recent threads from people typing about getting those 10-12 legacy / outback engines with the plastic intake to swap back
to 2006 - 2009 era legacy outback, and what is best to use of the parts between them.

not a quick drag and drop though for someone looking for speed. ...possible though .
(might be some things to sort out on the tail end,...like plugs / wires/ coils )

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

supposedly, 2010 Forester got the 770 head gaskets stock - might be tough to find.....

 

[draganm]

don't recolor things. (mucks things up for those using the dark theme)

ok, no problem

there have been recent threads from people typing about getting those 10-12 legacy / outback engines with the plastic intake to swap back
to 2006 - 2009 era legacy outback, and what is best to use of the parts between them. not a quick drag and drop though for someone looking for speed. ...possible though .
(might be some things to sort out on the tail end,...like plugs / wires/ coils )

I did search, andfound one thread from 2015, and someone tried to revive it a few months ago but it didn't go anywhere. The OP was a little vague in his final post, something about having to drill and tap a couple of holes, moving the PVC breather tube?
I can't find a way to search the entire forum , only sub-sections. I'm not lazy though, if anyone can point me to other discussions I will gladly read them.
thanks again to all , responses much appreciated

 

[eagleeye]

ok, no problem

I did search, andfound one thread from 2015, and someone tried to revive it a few months ago but it didn't go anywhere. The OP was a little vague in his final post, something about having to drill and tap a couple of holes, moving the PVC breather tube?
I can't find a way to search the entire forum , only sub-sections. I'm not lazy though, if anyone can point me to other discussions I will gladly read them.
thanks again to all , responses much appreciated

@atchipmunk lives in sunny california where there is few EJ253 to be had and got a JDM 2010-12 for his 2009.

and was typing about it here
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...721-05-2-5i-na-usdm-jdm-swap.html#post5081761

however. I would personally just do the headgasket work on the good one you got,... like everyone else with a oil leaker.
(vs. those driving around with no oil,..or no coolant).

when and if you sell the car, you can advertise it with the statement "modern MLS head gaskets done xxx miles ago,...ready for 200,000 more miles in rust free colorado"). and get a nicer price for it.

and who is to say a used engine you buy will actually be "greater" then the one you have. (was it maintained,...with coolant / oil,. JDM driven like a tokyo taxi,...or a Denver Uber = 60,000 miles all urban crawl).
.

 

[draganm]

@atchipmunk lives in sunny california where there is few EJ253 to be had and got a JDM 2010-12 for his 2009.

and was typing about it here .

thank you, that was key, I now know do NOT want to do this

I went through this recently. Swapped a JDM EJ253 into my '09 OBW 2.5i because the original engine spun a rod bearing. The engine I used was a '10-'12 JDM EJ253 with the plastic intake manifold and Coil on Plug (COP) ignition. Initially I was just planning on swapping the valve covers, ignition coil, plug wires, and intake manifold from my old engine to the new one to make the swap easier, but once I had the engine at my shop I decided to try to get it all to work with plastic manifold and COP ignition. A bit more work, but worth the effort IMHO.
In order to get it to work, I had to use my original engine harness and ECU and modify it a bit (extend some wires, etc to reach the stuff that was in a slightly different position than my old engine like the tank vent valve, ERG, etc). Had to also swap over some of the sensors from the older engine for the as well as the oil pan and oil pickup. The JDM EJ253 had a 2-piece square aluminum oil pan that wouldn't clear the front subframe on my '09 OBW.
Finally, for the COP, I had to make a custom harness to go from the original ignition coil plug to the individual coils. The imdividual coils are wired in a waste spark configuration where 1&2 fire together and 3&4 fire together...the same as how the sock single ignition coil fired the spark plugs. :-/

custom harness, oil pans, maybe if I was retired and bored.

however. I would personally just do the headgasket work on the good one you got,... like everyone else with a oil leaker.
(vs. those driving around with no oil,..or no coolant).
when and if you sell the car, you can advertise it with the statement "modern MLS head gaskets done xxx miles ago,...ready for 200,000 more miles in rust free colorado"). and get a nicer price for it.
and who is to say a used engine you buy will actually be "greater" then the one you have. (was it maintained,...with coolant / oil,. JDM driven like a tokyo taxi,...or a Denver Uber = 60,000 miles all urban crawl).
.

the problem is my 2006 might be built with 2005 leftovers.:frown2: I know when I went to replace rear brakes the rotor they gave me for an 06 was way too big. Had them pull an 05 and sure enough......... I've read here that's a bad year, so I'm staying out of this thing, will dump it for whatever I can get.

It wasn't a bad car by " Amercian big 3 " standards, I did get 150K. I expected more from a Japanese vehicle to be honest, not a major engine design flaw that they let fly for 10 Years. Lame. My wife has a 2012 outback, and we recently got a "extended CVT warranty letter", so that tells me we will need to dump that one too at 95K.

It's too bad, I really liked the AWD but thankfully more brands offer AWD today than ever before. I'm thinking Toyota -Honda next . See how that goes. Wish me luck , and flame suit on >

 

[eagleeye]

thank you, that was key, I now know do NOT want to do this

custom harness, oil pans, maybe if I was retired and bored.

the problem is my 2006 might be built with 2005 leftovers.:frown2: I know when I went to replace rear brakes the rotor they gave me for an 06 was way too big. Had them pull an 05 and sure enough......... I've read here that's a bad year, so I'm staying out of this thing, will dump it for whatever I can get.

It wasn't a bad car by " Amercian big 3 " standards, I did get 150K. I expected more from a Japanese vehicle to be honest, not a major engine design flaw that they let fly for 10 Years. Lame. My wife has a 2012 outback, and we recently got a "extended CVT warranty letter", so that tells me we will need to dump that one too at 95K.

It's too bad, I really liked the AWD but thankfully more brands offer AWD today than ever before. I'm thinking Toyota -Honda next . See how that goes. Wish me luck , and flame suit on >

I forgot about that business with the impreza and their made dates,... and how this may have a 2005 type single year engine in it.

so your next car is to be a 2013 3.6 outback .or legacy..with the 5EAT......

or a chrysler 200?

 

[draganm]

I forgot about that business with the impreza and their made dates,... and how this may have a 2005 type single year engine in it.

so your next car is to be a 2013 3.6 outback .or legacy..with the 5EAT......

or a chrysler 200?

neither, looking at 2010-11 Accord or Camry with less than 50K miles for around $10K. Not AWD, but I don't drive thru blizzards to get to work anymore, I burn vacation days.
I know those are boring cars to drive, but if someone offered me an old refrigerator tomorrow with 4wheels, airbags, 30mpg, and dependability it would be ok:grin2:
An EV with 240 mile range would be ideal, but too expensive

 

[draganm]

so the used car shopping not going well, first one the guy gave me a bogus VIN, haven't heard from him since. Second one , a Honda Accord, came back as a salvage title , no mention of that in his add. :frown2:
For those of you in this crap game, please go to a Federal government database, it's free and you can search up to 5 VIN's a day. I think Hurricane Sandy alone generated tens of thousands of flood cars, don't get stuck with one.
https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

So it doesn't look like I'm going to get a good, low mileage car for $10K and I'm back looking at the repair. $2026. (+ $500. if I also do the timing belt , tensioner and pulley's). That would get me from 150K miles to 250K miles. Tech. said 250K is not unusual, and he's seen a few go 350K.

I have a question/ concern. I asked him if they use the MLS gaskets, he said no. He said they use OEM Subaru gaskets and spray them with Copper coat metallic spray. That he's never seen one come back after the repair and he's been there 15 years. He said the more important factor here is they re-surface the heads.

I've used the Copper coat before on head-gaskets, I like it , but it's not a magic Bullet. My inclination is that since they're AL heads , and have been heat cycled already for 11 years, the metal will remain more stable than it did originally straight from manufacture. That it should go at least another 150K without head gasket issues?

What's the accepted wisdom on this here regrading the gasket? They do offer a 18K mile warranty, but I really need to get more than that out of this car if I put $2K into it. :|