engine and gearbox swap

Last saturday during an offroad event the reverse gear of my forester died. It only produces scary noises and no movement. It's a bit too early, my other gearbox isn't ready yet. So i have to hurry with that box.

I also want to replace the engine. My fozzy has 400.000km on the odo and i can buy the same engine ej20 from a wrecked legacy for 250 euro with only 180.000km.

If I replace both at the same time, is it better to mount them together outside the car and place them as 1 unit in the fozzy?
If so, is it better to place the engine/box combo from below the car ( i have a fourpost ramp) or from above?

Cheers from a cold and rainy Holland

If you place the engine/box combination, I think that it should be easier from below the car but it will be very heavy !

When changing the engine, be sure it is from the same generation (EJ20J or EJ202) because the electrical harness is not the same. You can see the difference by looking at the intake manifold (black plastic on the EJ20J vs aluminum on the EJ202) and the location of the ECU (on the engine for the EJ20J vs in the car on the EJ202)

Cheers from snowy and sunny Switzerland :iconwink:

Engine and box together would be easier out of the vehicle only if you can't pre alighn the clutch or if you've not done it in the car before.

If you had a two poster hoist I'd say go from below. On a four post hoist it becomes too complicated as you need to work out how to safely support the front end while you have the engine crossmember out.

Why not just replace the box now, pick up and prep the new engine for the custom gearbox install?

Differences in engines should not be an issue so long as you can bolt the intake on that matches the ecu (the current intake in your vehicle) and fit the other sensors to the new long engine as well.

What's wrong with the 400k km unit? Just tired? They're run in at 300k km!

You've got a few options.

What we're you doing to kill reverse? Unusual in an EJ box. The old my boxes were notorious for killing reverse!

Cheers

Bennie

It depends on what tools you have at your disposal.

Engine and gearbox into the car in one package is fairly efficient, but you need to have the car up on ramps or jack stands because as you lower the package in, the end of the gearbox usually needs to go at an angle where it pokes out the bottom of the car quite a bit and would hit the ground if the car isn't raised. You need a good engine hoist which can go up very high, and be quite extended. It needs to be able to take a fair bit of weight. Need to do it on flat concrete so you can roll the hoist easily. It's a lot easier if you have an attachment for the hoist to allow changing the angle of the motor easily.
Main thing is it's good to mate the engine and gearbox outside of the car - it can be a PITA sometimes doing it in the car just getting the b_astard lined up so it can slide on easily.

Otherwise dropping the engine in by itself is easier with less tools. You can use a more basic hoist or even just a block & tackle.
Then fitting the gearbox from underneath can be done with a couple of simple trolley jacks, but as mentioned, it's often a pain to get it lined up.

I have a four post hoist in my garage and it is no problem to support the front end on my hoist with the front wheels removed. Have done that before.

Engine is just a bit tired. It’s running on LPG and that is a bit hard for the valves. I just adjusted the valves recently and from one cylinder I cant adjust them any further. For the rest the engine is doing oke. I thought that it would be easier to mount it as one unit, instead of first doing the gearbox from below and then the engine from above.

The reverse was making more whining noises as usual the last months. Saturday at a 4x4 event it was suddenly gone. Was a bit disappointing while I had only driven 50 meters and they had to tow me away. First to fifth gear are fine, just missing reverse.



I was planning to build an gear box with a h/l from a 1994 impreza 1.8 and a front and rear diff from a 98 wrx sti. I have to speed up this plan, because living nearby Amsterdam I do need reverse gear daily...

I've pulled them out together but never put in together. Pulled and installed separately many times.
From my experience I'd say do separately. What's wrong with the gearbox?
My first time pulling them out together was a nightmare. Bare in mind it was night time, I was on a uneven paver slope and the car on stands.

If your changing just the block I'd opt for an EJ22 if you can get one... Change the crank gear and bolt on all your ej20 water pump, manifold and sensors. You'll love the extra torque! :iconwink: