Beginners first project!! 02 forester engine swap

Jmgt96

Forum Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
12
Location
sydney
Car Year
2002
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Manual 5 speed
Ive made the decision to upgrade my 2002 Subaru forester 2.5L XS as its getting a bit old at 280,000kms, I do go off roading from time to time and it keeps up with hilux's and nirvaras in some pretty sketchy places so I'm proud of her. But like I said she's getting old so I want to give it some new life and work into it. From what I've read surfing the net an 02-05 wrx is a perfect fit for it and I can find them with the turbo for under 2k but I'm still learning what to look for and know so anyone who can lend some wisdom to a learner would be a hero!!:biggrin: (I also have photos but couldn't get them too attach)
 
I've also from what I've read my engine is around 173hp and the wrx is 220 odd
 
Rally could answer you as he did a similar swap, seems a huge work though…

Have a look at his members journal !
 
By all means check out my build thread. You might find it easier though by just selling your car and getting an XT. I went the way I did for various reasons, which may or may not be the same reasons as you. Happy to answer questions if I can.
 
^ I tend to agree with Rally.

That way you get the beefed up drive shafts, suspension, etc, etc. Without the pain of transplanting the engine in any modern car,
 
Jump on subyclub and have a search, plenty of turbo conversions been done over there.

With a subaru there's not much more to beef up in the drivetrain department. Matching brakes does come to mind. Suspension will be dependant on where you want to go with this - raise for offroad, lower for road hugger or keep it where it is because you're happy with it etc. Your call..

At 280k km, your subi isn't even run in yet!

People go for "old" to quickly these days - clever marketing of car makers and second hand dealers etc.

As for your budget estimate, that's just a starting point! Double it and you'll be getting close to the amount you'll spend - if you do everything DIY and correctly the first time (no short cuts!).

Cheers

Bennie
 
As said above - think seriously about moving to an XT or something similar and avoiding the work.

That being said - if you're really keen to to the swap - go ahead. Mechanically, bits from a WRX of the same vintage will bolt straight in - the foz is basically a lifted impreza.

Have you got a dual range box ? You'll probably want to keep that for offroading rather than go to the WRX box (sell for $$ to reduce your budget), and swap the engine across. You'll also need the WRX (turbo) engine subframe, may need to join bits of WRX/foz gearbox subframe to get a turbo-compatible lifted one, most of the WRX exhaust (headers, up/down pipe), plus some sort of custom cat-back.

Hardest part is the wiring. You either pay ~$1k or so for someone to splice the WRX engine loom into the Foz wiring - then its swap the harness over and plug and play, or do it yourself.

When I say 'swap over' - its pull the entire dash, A/C, heater core and everything back to the firewall, remove and replace.

Have a look in my swap thread on subyclub to get an idea of a JDM B4 TT into gen3 outback swap.

Your easiest option parts and wiring wise would be to source a local XT Foz wreck or JDM SG turbo front cut (theres even an STI version w/ 240kW) from the same series SG Foz. Then you have everything you need and it'll just be swap over the bits you want. Not sure how this compares price-wise. Have a chat to one of the local importers like Ichiban or Sunspares in Qld (who also wreck and may have an XT).
 
Oh, yes, wiring is by far the hardest part. With my conversion, I left the dash and heater and A/C in. I think that is because I went with the Haltech, which introduced different problems but meant the dash, etc stayed in. If I had gone to tan auto elec would have paid around $2,000 and probably more. A lot of that would have been because the factory workshop manual is wrong. And you don't use a WRX front crossmember- you use an XT Forester one (assuming SG). The Forester steering rack will not fit a WRX crossmember. I know, I got caught by that. The thing with JDM XT's is that they are all 2 litre. If you want torque, then that is what the 2.5 is all about.
 
Rally said:
And you don't use a WRX front crossmember- you use an XT Forester one (assuming SG). The Forester steering rack will not fit a WRX crossmember.
Click to expand...

ahh ok - differs from Turbo/NA Liberty subframes, then..

Do the Foz/WRX racks differ, I was under the impression you could interchange them.
 
No, they are also different.
 
^^ & ^ - a very distinct possibility, methinks ... :poke: :iconwink:

... unfortunately.
 
He's just having a cup of tea and a lie down before getting stuck into it.
 
im so sorry ive taken this long to reply! ive been caught with uni etc,

i do have a friend who is a fully qualified auto electrician who loves foresters and use to have a forester XT and is a mechanical genius pretty much when it comes to cars as he is running an R32 with something like 300 odd hp. so wiring and most of the work i would be able to get done pretty easy. i have been told several times to just buy one that has already been worked and the just tweak bits and pieces to off road, which i might do to save $$$ but i do adore my forester, and from what ive learnt i could put an wrx EJ205-7 in it, or if i really wanted to go hard an EJ255-7? also because i go off road out past bathurst where the roads on our property are pretty damn F****d would the 2.5L be better for more torgur = better hill climbing?
 
hahahaha no way am i getting scared away you lot have got some really good advice and your foresters look beast as! another spanner in the works that has popped up is my cousin wants to swap his hilux for my forester but his hilux is only rear wheel, however my dad owns a 4wd 70s FJ cruiser fully refurbished and a 90s motor in it. so theres a possibility i could borrrow that when i need to go off roading. and if i can, would it be a good idea to swap my forester for his hilux and just put some stupidly powerful v8 commodore in it to use as a daily road car and use the FJ for the weekend crawler?

im so torn between what to choose! because i love my forester (Sasha) but i would love to go from a 4 cylinder to an 8. but making that decision depends on whether or not i am trusted to use the FJ, and if i can would getting a hilux like that be worth it? what do the experts think??
 
also yes my forester has high and low range!!:biggrin:
 
also i found this video review where if you skip to 4 minutes in it gives you the good and the bad about the forester and was wondering what your opinions where?

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKq_Ot_0YA0"]2003 Subaru Forester Test - 4x4TV Test Videos - YouTube[/ame]
 
Interesting. He reckons the Forrie has reasonable get up and go- I don't think so. he likes the fuel economy- I don't think so. Yes, it is reliable. The AWD system works well- he would get more out of it if he drove the car properly. Any AWD/4WD without locking diffs will get stranded if you diagonally do a climb. Being a Seppo model, it lacks dual range. Which does help even if it could be better. All diff issues can be addressed to some extent or more by readily available Subaru or aftermarket parts- more so the manual. As for torque- the 2.5 turbo has oodles of torque, and a good turn of speed. Compared to the 6 litre Holden V8 I drove in Victoria, my Forrie has noticeably more torque (nice and low where you want it for towing and offroad), the Holden though has more power. The 2.5 is a lot torquier than the 2 litre.
 
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