And so it begins... late model 2.5 N/A into '97 Impreza OBS

[graphtricks]

So I found my 224,000 mile red beauty on craigslist for the grand sum of 2800.00. "All highway miles", so I'm told. It actually runs great, no smoke, passed emissions with flying colors, and after douching the interior and spraying about a gallon of Fabreeze and 3 coconut air fresheners later, the dirty diaper smell is starting to subside.
It came with a really nice Sony MP3 ready CD player, and everything but the cruise control works (I think it's a bad dash switch). I score a nice set of 17" Motegi Racing wheels with Kumho tires on good ol' craigslist for $450.00, and it really looks pretty, except for the wrinkled driver's side fender and the rock pitted hood. I go on http://www.awdpirates.net and find a local guy with a driver's side fender for $20.00. That sure beats the $300.00(??!!!!) I was quoted for a USED fender from someone in New Jersey. Sheesh! And it wasn't even the same color.
As we're standing there talking about Subarus, he says he bought a bunch of stuff to do the disc brake swap onto the back of the car from another person on the board. I kind of hem and haw about not having any more money (really! I didn't have any more money!) and kinda ask how much he wants for the stuff. Calipers, brackets, rotors, but no knuckles or emergency brake cables. I said "I'll have to come back with some cash, unless you'll take the $6.00 I have left in my wallet." And he says, "I'll take six bucks!" Score again! I'll be stripping the hood and cleaning it up, and will take the hood, the scoop, and the fender down to MAACO for a "Cosmollsion special" factory color match. I'm also bidding on some original glass headlights on ebay (Don't snipe them from me please!), if I don't win those, I'll go for the projector lamp aftermarket style. I think they look pretty cool. So, the outside is going to be fairly decent, and the inside isn't too bad. So, what to do for performance? Naturally aspirated, for economy and simplicity, or turbo engine swap? I can't afford a turbo engine, but maybe a newer 2.5 for the torque and a minor increase in horsies.
So, what's a boy to do? I end up in a late night ebay frenzy, that's what! I spy a 2005 2.5 engine and transmission with only 24,000 miles on it, from somewhere in Canada. The opening bid was $500.00, with a "Buy It Now" of $1500.00. I made the mistake of bidding early, and showing my interest. It goes on for a week, and no one has bid on this! I'm getting excited, until the last couple of minutes, someone comes on and outbids my high bid of $650.00 by a measly $10.00. Okay, I can play this game. I wait until the last 15 seconds, hope my internet connection is fast, and I throw down an oddball $677.29 bid and hit the "bid now" button. DOH! I have to confirm the bid, and BAM! I WIN! A complete 2.5 SOHC N/A with transmission for $670.00! Woo Hoo! And shipping is a flat rate of $500.00. Such a deal. 24,000 miles instead of 224,000 miles. I'll bet it will run nicely.
I wait patiently for my prize to show up at my house. When the big semi truck shows up and the door is opened, the only thing in the truck is my engine and trans on a pallet. Wrestled into my garage, my good friend Larry of L & E Fabrications and I start to take stock of what I have acquired. It's very clean, and has most of the wiring and hoses still attached. It appears to have been from a front hit wreck, as the plastic belt covers are cracked, and the water pump outlet isn't round anymore. Other than that, it's really nice. It turns over and has compression. We check some of the numbers on the little paper tags that are still on the engine and trans with Larry's Subie mechanic buddy, and he informs us that the trans has a 3.90 ring and pinion. Whew! I was sweating that too, since I couldn't find out from the seller what car it came out of. If it was an RS, it could have had a 4.11, which, while a bonus, would have meant tracking down a rear end for the car.
Now, the big "hmmmmm" moment. After reading every 2.2 to 2.5 swap entry on the internet, I start thinking I might be in over my head. Most of the swaps have been with the earlier 2.5 engines, and are converted to run the 2.2 intake and ECU, so there aren't any weird issues. This is a mid-year 2005 engine, and it appears to have variable cam timing. I didn't get the ECU, or the MAF with the engine, or the wiring harness from the ECU to the engine. And it has a lot of wires and connectors hanging off of it. I know the engine and trans will bolt in to my little car, but the wiring might be a nightmare! Fortunately, Larry isn't intimidated at all. He wants me to chase down a 2005 shop manual, which I found on ebay (a dealer's CD version), and start poking around for the ECU, the wiring harness, and the MAF on http://car-part.com. Larry's thinking this is going to be a long weekend project.
And so it begins. I'll keep ya posted on our progress, I still can't figure out how to post pictures, but I will take them as I go. We're hoping to do this within the next month, depending on schedules and parts and money. I can't wait!

Wavy Davy

[BlackParis]

Make sure you take LOTS of pictures :-D

[graphtricks]

Now that I have the new engine and trans sitting where I can stare at it, I'm beginning to see some of the innovations Subaru has added to our simple little boxer. The variable cam timing is driven by a little electric motor on each cam. More wires and sensors. The MAF is fly-by-wire, no longer running the throttle with a cable, so there is some more stuff that needs to be thought up. I'll probably have to find an '05 in a junkyard somewhere and start taking all of the wiring harnesses, the accelerator pedal stuff, and possibly the dash board, or at least figure out how to run the speedometer from the transmission, which is now sending the speed by wire instead of by a cable like the '97. Is this going to be worth it? We'll see. I may end up spending quite a bit more to get all of the gizmos working. There are the fuel tank sensors for the check engine stuff (is your gas cap on, Mister?), I'm not sure if the new Subaru has a mileage indicator for oil change intervals/"service engine now" built in to the ECU which will require matching sensors or wires run. My first thought was to just use the new long block and add all of the induction system from the 2.2 to it, but with the variable cam timing, it throws a couple of new colors into the painting. It definitely will have to run from an '05 ECU from what I can surmise. No one ever said this was going to be easy. But I think 175 naturally aspirated horsepower is worth the effort.

Wavy Davy

[graphtricks]

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/97DirtyImp1.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/97DirtyImp-1.jpg

[graphtricks]

Okay, now that I got this picture thing figured out (thanks Aaron!) I'll start in with the pictures.

First, something dirty
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/dirtysticker.jpg

beat paint
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/beatpaint.jpg

even though it doesn't work, ya gotta love the scoop
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/lovethescoop.jpg

my wrinkled fender :cry:
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/wrinkled.jpg

224K miles
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/224Kmiles.jpg

Here's what 26 bucks will buy you...
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/25bucksworth.jpg

Was this 6 bucks well spent, or what?
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/allfor6bucks.jpg

Here's my ebay special... 650 bucks
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/650bucks.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/niceandclean.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/2005_2.5.jpg

I think it came from a car that was hit in the front...isn't that supposed to be round?
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/crackedcover.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/shouldberound.jpg

Here's the reason why you don't buy late model engines for the 2.2 to 2.5 swap...
the variable cam timing motor
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/camtimingmotor.jpg

The big, scary ECU plug... I'm still trying to source a 2005 or newer ECU and the wiring harness! Anybody?
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/morewires.jpg

No more speedo cable!
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/lookma_nospeedo.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/transwires.jpg

So, that's all I've got so far. It's a matter of gathering more information, and chasing some parts down. I'll keep ya posted!

Wavy Davy

[UndercoverObbie]

Good luck, that looks like an awesome project!

[graphtricks]

I just procured a "dealer cast-off" CD of the 2005 Model Year Subaru Impreza Factory Service Manual. Included is a complete and thorough wiring diagram for all of the 2005 Imprezas. Larry Schmidt of L and E Fabrications http://www.landefabrication.com and http://www.fourhundredthirteen.com took a good look at the manual and pointed out several items he didn't recognize on the '97. There is a custom CPU dedicated just for running the speedometer and tachometer (from the wires on the trans, probably a Hall sensor or something), and some odd fuel tank sensors, and an A/F and O2 relay, the electronic throttle control relay and all related fly-by-wire items, and several other items. Looks like I'll be spending. Spending time at a junkyard, spending money, spending countless hours tracking down parts. No one said it would be easy. Who knew there was a power steering oil pressure switch? I'm sure glad I have an engineer, who has a friend that just won a spot in the Top 5 rated factory Subaru mechanics. And, I have this site and the NASIOC boards, and a multitude of very capable Impreza owners. Hopefully, all the support will carry us through the completion of the 1997/2005 Impreza OBS. Boy, a 2.0 turbo motor sure looks easy....

[graphtricks]

This is what I'm getting from people...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1352638

Wow. Sounds like some sort of doomsday machine I'm trying to build! It's just a car. It's mechanical, and has wires. It can't be impossible, just difficult. Looking at it objectively, it would need something to drive the MAF, something to work the throttle body, something to advance and retard the cams on engine demand. The speedometer and tach could probably be overcome somehow. Keeping it all Subaru electronics might be more difficult, but I can't believe no one would even recommend this swap. There's a workaround somewhere, just waiting for me.

D

[graphtricks]

I think the Subaru community is pretty awesome. I love the trickle-down of parts from the tippy-top STI to us lowly Outback Sport caretakers. All the big boys want stainless Borla stuff, and the perfectly fine for the N/A people ends up in a corner of the garage, just waiting for someone to pick it up. Prices so far haven't been too bad on the boards, especially the Colorado local http://www.awdpirates.net site. I've met a bunch of nice people so far, and everyone is enthusiastic about Subarus and performance upgrades. The basic stuff, like disc brakes for the back, upgraded brakes for the front, and the exhaust system are fairly common swaps, and it just goes up from there. Hand-me-down turbos, interiors, wheels galore, I think the Subaru enthusiasts are a wonderful bunch of people. And the factory and aftermarket support is awesome. Every other car manufacturer should be so lucky.
I just picked up a full cat-back system from an '02 WRX for my little wagon, and at a great price. Can't wait to install it!

D

[L and E Fab.com]

Dave,

Sorry for getting you hooked on Imprezas. :-)

We will get that motor spining soon.

[BlackParis]

:-D Good job on getting the 05 NA motor!

You will definitely need the ECU, btu the nice thing about it, is that it is the first reflashable NA ecu :P Enginuity should be releasing tuning definitions for it within the next month...

Well keep us updated with photos!

[graphtricks]

DirtyParis,
Do tell! Your answer about a reflashable ECU is intriguing! I've been up and down the Subie groups sites looking for as much info as I can, and I'm not getting really hard answers about this swap. I think the engine is too new, and no one has attempted it. We are kind of stuck as to how to proceed with the electronics side of this swap. The last thing that was thought up was to ignore the i-AVLS (it's not AVCS, it only works on the intake valve side.) by just not connecting it. This would not add the extra lift on the intake lobes that the i-AVLS does with the sensor and the oil pressure plunger.

Follow this thread to read more of my ignorance. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1352638

We're not so sure if a 2.2 intake will mate up to the late motor, we're going to try to find a used one to fit up. If it does fit, then we just do the normal 2.5 swap, run the 2.2 intake and the 2.2 ECU and call it good. If it were at all possible to run the engine with a 2005/2006 ECU and reflash it, then maybe we'd be able to run the i-AVLS and get the extra 10 horsepower. Not sure where to go on this, the engine is a fly-by-wire, so that would mean new pedal assembly and all the stuff to do that, and then might as well hook up the electronic speedo instead of changing it over to the 1997 mechanical style. If we can swap to the 2.2 top, then it stays cable throttle, and we call it a weekend. Any thoughts?

D

[graphtricks]

Spent the weekend messing with my WRX cat-back. I had to cut and turn the flange to meet up with the stock cat flange. Added about 1 1/2 inch section of exhaust tubing to it because the WRX pipe was just a wee bit short. Really doesn't make that much more noise than the little bitty stock wheezer, but sure looks cooler with the two chrome tips sticking out the back. I do have a funky resonance around 3300 rpm. I think I can live with that! Thanks to Larry of L & E Fabrications for the early morning welding job!

[graphtricks]

I've watching a thread on the NASIOC site about a poor guy putting a 3.0 H6 into his car. He must be legendary by now.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=748385

But, in reading all of his adventures, one BIG thing comes to light, and that is the dreaded "IMMOBILIZER" is death to a swap by trying to use a matching year ECU to the engine. Apparently, it is set up so well for anti-theft, that is completely impossible to defeat. So, that's another point in the direction of a standard 2.5 long block only swap for me. The i-AVLS may be used, as it has been explained as simply as an on/off type of switching. At a predetermined throttle position and load, the high lift is engaged. At the very least, I could rig up a momentary switch somewhere on the throttle control (under the pedal, on the throttle body) and have it send a full 12 volt signal from a relay while the pedal is down. That would activate the i-AVLS, and all things are good. Or, somehow make the 2.2 ECU send a signal to do the same thing. Trying to keep it real! I can't afford 2 years + and unlimited budget to do what should be a weekend swap.

D

[graphtricks]

Just noticed my radiator leaking from the crimp between the top plastic tank and the cooler part. L & E Fab found a OEM style replacement on ebay for $100.00 shipped. Thanks Larry! (Again...)

http://tinyurl.com/yrfv25

Beat that price for a new radiator!

[I Like It Sideways]

Nice snag!!!

[graphtricks]

I love the trickle down effect that comes with owning a N/A car. All of the WRX and STI people just HAVE to upgrade their cars, new exhaust, new suspension, new interior, new whatever. I love that, because it means all of their stock stuff ends up in the hands of people like me. I just picked up a WRX rear sway bar for $25.00 because somebody went Cobb on their suspension. Anything is better than the stock pipecleaner on my '97. So now I have WRX exhaust and rear swaybar. Looking for cast-off struts and brakes now!
I have one lingering question about the i-AVLS on the '05 engine I have. Did the '04 Impreza's with the 2.5 have the dreaded Immobilizer? Do they have the i_AVLS? Right now, it seems like I'm going to end up running a 2.2 intake and just leave the i-AVLS disconnected, but I'm still wondering if there is a better way. Trying to line up the time and the incidental pieces before we jump in to the swap.

[graphtricks]

Oh yeah, I picked up some really cheapy strut tower bars off of ebay. $10.00 bucks each, front and rear. I put the front bar in already, it's got kinda cheesy mounts, the bars are round aluminum stock. I'm going to try and make the rear bar removeable with some quick releases (got the idea from someone's homemade strut bar). Hope the combo with the new sway bar and the strut bars makes it feel tighter.

[graphtricks]

I got the sway bar mounted up, but couldn't go out to test it because of the leaking radiator. So, I waited. And today, the radiator showed up. I was pretty stoked to get it in the car, but that came to a screeching halt. The radiator I ordered, which is still a great deal, was listed for 1999 and newer. My car is a 1997. They sure looked the same. But, alas, not everything is plug and play on Subarus. Though the radiator will physically fit, the fans won't bolt on! I ended up having to trim some of the fan mounting points with my trusty Sawzall to get them to mount flat against the radiator. Rather minor surgery, but not a strict bolt-on. I ended up having to drill some holes so I could use zip ties to hold the lower halves of the fans to the radiator, and trimmed some of the mounts on the top of the fans. There is only one bolt that would match up, so I drilled more holes and used more zip ties. It won't win any car shows, but the fans are installed, they are flat against the radiator, and they work. The radiator fit into the mounting holes in the radiator mounts, so no problem there. The petcock is on the side now, instead of pointing toward the engine, and there are two brass fitting sticking out of the bottom tank for cooling an automatic trans, if you need that. I was thinking of running a line to them with a small electric pump and heating my floor mats with warm water. Maybe a heated ashtray would be cool too. :roll:
So, I finally got it all together, and went for a drive with my new sway bar. Woo Hoo! Every little improvement I make to the car, the more in love I am with it. The car sticks really well with the Kumhos, and the sway bar really plants the back of the car. I haven't driven it hard enough to get some oversteer yet, (hard to do on the street without looking like an a**), but there is definitely an improvement. I have to get that rear strut tower bar installed.
Tracked down a 1998 rack and pinion too, to take care of the pesky leaker I have on the car now. Slowly but surely, the car just keeps getting better.

D

[graphtricks]

So, we've purchased an old 2.2 intake manifold with harness and an earlier 2.5 intake with harness. After removing the wiring from the 2.5 intake, I refitted the 2.2 wiring harness onto the 2.5 manifold. Had to switch the connectors to the fuel injectors with the 2.5 connectors, and a few little odds and ends. Larry from L&E Fabrication had a 1.8 throttle body that has been bored to match the 2.5 intake that was used on their rally car when it had a 2.5 N/A engine in it. (Erik's training wheels!!) The 2.2 throttle body has a separate idle speed sensor, and there is no provision for it on the 2.5 intake manifold. The 1.8 throttle body has the idle speed sensor as part of the throttle body, so that's what we're using. I have to solder a connector onto the three wires that connect to the idle speed sensor, and it looks pretty promising. Got to hunt down some intake manifold gaskets, and I'll bolt the manifold onto the engine. Weeee! Things are looking up! Still wondering about if I should find a header, if equal length or unequal is better, or finding a stock 2.5 RS exhaust manifold. Any ideas?
I found this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUBARU-IMPREZA-97-01-2-5RS-EXHAUST-HEADER-2-5L-2-5-RS_W0QQitemZ200173777078QQihZ010QQcategoryZ33583QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

would it work?

[graphtricks]

This weekend I removed the transmission from the engine to change the throw out bearing lever from the hydraulic pusher to the cable/mechanical puller. There are two threaded bosses in the bellhousing, the top one for the pusher style arm, and the lower one for the mechanical style. I used the same throw-out bearing. Ready to put the "new" older 2.5 intake back onto the engine with some new gaskets.
I also picked up some 2003 WRX front rotors and calipers for cheap. Now all I need are some wheels to clear the calipers for snow/rally tires. I know 16" or better WRX wheels will work, but aren't all of the rally tires 15"s? I guess I'll ask the L&E boys what the hot, cheap ticket is on those. The engine swap is set for the weekend of Dec. 14. Wish me luck!

[graphtricks]

Wow. That's about all there is to say! This weekend, Larry from L & E Fabrication and I started the big engine/trans swap. No pictures really, too busy. Not really much to show, we've all seen an Impreza by now! The prep work for the new 2.5 was done, earlier 2.5 intake, swapped 2.2 wiring harness, and a 1.8 throttle body. Had to pull the intake off a few times, the new 2.5 doesn't have a water temperature sender on the funky aluminum water crossover pipe, so we had to pull the one from the 2.2. We drained the fluids, disconnected battery, pulled the radiator, yadda yadda yadda. Did the best wipe down we could on all of the old greasy crossmembers, and were ready to reinstall the new 2.5 engine and trans. Fairly straight forward install, even though the engine and trans is almost 9 years newer, all of the bolt holes line up and the crossmembers are all the same. In the middle of it all, we threw in a new steering rack to replace the leaky '97 one. So, now the engine and trans are installed, we start to hook up all of the wiring, install the radiator, add fluids, etc. I ended up using a really nice used header that Larry had in inventory from their old rally car setup with a 2.5. Sweet! Time for the big moment... we disconnect the coil, so it won't start, and I crank it over to get the oil pressure up. Connected the coil, and go to fire it up, and... nothing! No fire at all. We check for spark, and it has weak spark only on the front 2 cylinders. Nothing on the back two. And now there is a big puddle of gas under the car, running out of the header. The fuel injectors are working overtime. Larry started tracing back all of the wiring, we checked for continuity on all of the wires, made sure everything was connected. I went on NASTYSOX and found a thread about someone doing a MY 2000 2.5 swap into an early Impreza and ran into the same type of problem. Spark only on the front two cylinders. It seems the engine isn't getting its timing right for the injectors and the ignition. Larry figured out we need to change the crankshaft sprocket. The 2005 2.5 sprocket had like 40 teeth on the backside, the 1997 2.2 sprocket has 6 teeth! We put the timing belt back on, and cranked the engine over again to see if we have spark, and.... nothing. We take it apart again, and change the driver's side camshaft sprocket. The '05 2.5 sprocket has 3 teeth on it, the '97 2.2 sprocket has a bunch on it. So, we buttoned it all back up again, and crank the engine over, and voila! We have spark on all four cylinders. We'll put all the stuff back on it tonight, and see what we get! I'll keep you posted.
D

[rllyrckt]

congrats, this sounds like such an awesome project. good luck with the rest of the swap

[graphtricks]

Oh, another great discovery. The new transmission (which has 6 or 8 bolts on the bellhousing to engine block!) had an electronic sender for the speedo. The old mechanical cable actually plugged right into the same hole, and works! The new trans has a much beefier case, more ribs and is more substantial in weight. It also has an internal reverse lockout spring. Everything pretty much bolted together! We did mount up the MRT header with a "racing" catalytic converter (it has no insides!) to the WRX catback system (stock WRX muffler and pipe) with some cutting and welding to get the lengths of everything to match up. I can't wait to hear it. Much thanks to Larry and Erik of L&E Fabrication, and my dad for the use of the engine hoist. I can't wait to get everything back onto the engine and try it again. Trying to fool the new 2.5 into thinking it's a big 2.2 has been interesting. I'll let ya know!

[RS-ti_Andy]

holy crap that is a lot of reading! haha..if u are still stumped on the wire harness... goto www.painlessperformance.com (http://www.painlessperformance.com) they will probally have what u need. and sounds like a fun project!

btw.. I WANT HAND ME DOWN TURBO'S!!! lol

[Not All There]

awesome man, glad to hear everything is working out and coming together.

[graphtricks]

Well, yeah, it's a lot of reading. That's why it's called a "journal!" Anyway, I got home and started to button up the engine again. Got everything hooked up, screwed on, and plugged in. The big moment comes, and, well, not on the first try, but the second, the engine fires and settles into a very nice fast idle. It sounds great, and I am so relieved! So, we check everything one last time, and take a trip around the block. It has great torque compared to the crusty old 2.2. About halfway around the block, it starts to run kinda rough, and by the time we pull back up to the driveway, it starts to run really rough. So, back into the garage. The check engine light comes on, and it throws a PO183 code: Fuel Temperature Sensor "A" Circuit High Input. Whatever that is! Also, there is a large puddle under the car where the transmission is leaking from the stub axles, either bad seals from when the gorillas pulled it from the wrecked car, or maybe I need to switch to the later axles instead. I'll find out tomorrow. We'll figure it out. I'm just happy the car runs! Sounds good too!

[graphtricks]

We messed with the idle speed and got the car to idle really nice. Checked voltages on several different things to see if we can find the P0183 code issue for fuel temperature. We felt pretty confident and decided to go for a longer drive tonight. It was running really nice when we left the house! Nice power, good torque. Sounds great. At about 3 miles, it started to make slight hesitations, and by mile 4, it was misfiring. The CEL started to blink. So, limping back home, Larry put the OBD meter on it, and it pulled a misfire code on cylinders 3 and 4, and a knock sensor code. Pulled the plugs, the back two (3 & 4) were kind of black, like it was running rich, almost wet. 1 & 2 were fine. Switched the plugs around, and reset the codes, and the two misfire codes went away, but the knock sensor code stayed on. And the P0183 code from last night is gone. We'll order a new knock sensor, and see if that fixes the crappy running. I was so excited, now I have to wait some more.

[graphtricks]

Fixed the leak on the transmission! Since I used earlier stub axles from the 2.2 style transmission, which plugged right into the new 2.5 style trans, the axle seals weren't the right diameter on the new trans. So, we ordered earlier style axle stub seals, pressed out the old ones and put in the new earlier style. We were careful to count the depth of the retainers, so the load on the bearing carrier stayed the same. Buttoned it back up, and the leak is gone!

[BorkedWRX]

That's awesome you got it running, hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to fix the new problems!

Good luck!

[graphtricks]

So, sucked it up and had Larry pick up a new knock sensor. I think they're made out of pure gold at $90 bucks a pop. Good thing he gave me a discount! Bolted that sucker on, and.... still have the 325 code. Dang it! :cry:The car started, idled very nicely, and I drove it down to the gas station very gently. As soon as I revved it above 3800 rpm though, the CEL starts blinking, which is the same thing it did the night before, when it was giving us misfire codes on cylinders 3 & 4. The car is basically undriveable as it sits. Back to the drawing board. :?

[graphtricks]

Larry ended up redoing the wires going to the knock sensor, using the old 2.2 plug from the old engine. Now the knock sensor plug "clicks" together, and the CEL 325 finally went away. But we still have the 303 and 304 misfire codes on cylinders 3 and 4. Can't seem to make them go away. Going to try the mechanical O2 sensor fix with a anti-fouler plug first. The MRT header has two O2 bungs, but they're both before the cat, and the "back" O2 sensor probably isn't picking up any difference from the "front" one, since they're actually side by side. So, we'll try to fool it. Every little step has helped so far, hope we can get it to run well!

[409industries]

Wow, i just scanned over this journal. Looks very through... more pics please!!!

[graphtricks]

It lives! After chasing down every thing we could think of, including adding the mechanical fix for the O2 sensor with a drilled out spark plug anti-fouler for the “back” O2 sensor. On the MRT header, there are two O2 bungs, but they’re on opposite sides of the header, not in front of and behind the catalytic convertor. So, to fool the “back” O2 sensor into thinking it was running clean, we drilled an 18mm anti-fouler with a ½” hole for the O2 sensor to clear, and then screwed it into the pipe bung. It takes the sensor out of the exhaust flow and makes it think it’s doing its job. That solved the O2 sensor code. Next, we thought maybe the i_AVLS variable intake was causing some laziness on the bottom of the RPM range. This is a pair of solenoids that are activated during a demand in the duty cycle (higher RPMs) that open up and allow oil pressure to lock the high lift lobes on the intake side. The solenoids only have two wires, power and ground, so we piggybacked the 12 volts from the front two fuel injectors for power, and grounded to a boss on the intake runners. That allows the intake lobes to always be “high-lift”, so, we got a set of cheapy spicy cams for free! Lastly, we came to the conclusion that maybe a different coil pack might work. We had used the 2.2 coil pack, and had switched them back and forth between two cars, proving that it worked. But we still weren’t getting strong spark to the back two cylinders. The car would start and idle just fine, but as soon as any RPM was demanded of the engine, it would kind of gag and start running on two cylinders. The back two spark plugs were really wet and black. So, it wasn’t getting good spark. We had a 2.5 coil pack with the built-in ignitor, but it required us to take off the 2.2 ignitor, and jumper the wires, and then rewire the connector to put the newer 2.5 coil pack on. After getting everything buttoned up, we fired the engine up, and it worked! It settled into a very nice idle, and best of all, would rev. Went for the big test drive, and the engine runs very strong. Pulls strong all the way to 6000 rpm, lots of torque compared to the tired old 2.2. The transmission is a buttery dream, the old 2.2 trans was all grunchy and tired from its 225,000 miles of abuse. Now I have a fresh drivetrain, that sounds good, runs awesome, and now I can concentrate on the suspension!

[graphtricks]

Very special thanks to Larry and Erik of L & E Fabrication for their friendship, expertise, and deductive abilities. Thank you for the guidance, and the parts you had on hand for the project. I'm forever in your debt! I guess working on the rally car will be my payback! Thank you!

David

http://www.landefabrication.com (http://www.landefabrication.com/)
http://www.RallyBoyRacing.com
http://rally.landefabrication.com/pics/banner1.JPG

[409industries]

that is awesome news! congrats!

[RS-ti_Andy]

sweet!!!!!!!!!!! glad to hear its all good! and i like the "cheap cams idea" sounds interesting!

[graphtricks]

Thanks guys! It was a long week of messing around, but Larry prevailed over all the electronic boojy woojy. There really aren't new cams, but with the high lift lobes locked on, they don't vary anymore, acting like it has a higher lift cam. I think the i-AVLS is for economy and emissions control. High lift cams tend to be stinkier at idle. So, since I can't control them with the 2.2 ECU, we just locked them permanently on. I think this opens up all the late model engines (post-2005) with the i-AVLS for early car swaps. The literature says the i-AVLS engine makes 172 horsepower stock! My car idles fine, and is very torquey. It smells a little rich and hydrocarbony, but I think a lot of that comes from not having a real catalytic converter on it. I might end up buying a 16" long racing cat that actually has guts in it somewhere down the road. Right now, I have 2 years before I have to do emissions again. I'll work on getting some pictures of some of the mods we did with some explanations as soon as I can.
D

[RS-ti_Andy]

Thanks guys! It was a long week of messing around, but Larry prevailed over all the electronic boojy woojy. There really aren't new cams, but with the high lift lobes locked on, they don't vary anymore, acting like it has a higher lift cam. I think the i-AVLS is for economy and emissions control. High lift cams tend to be stinkier at idle. So, since I can't control them with the 2.2 ECU, we just locked them permanently on. I think this opens up all the late model engines (post-2005) with the i-AVLS for early car swaps. The literature says the i-AVLS engine makes 172 horsepower stock! My car idles fine, and is very torquey. It smells a little rich and hydrocarbony, but I think a lot of that comes from not having a real catalytic converter on it. I might end up buying a 16" long racing cat that actually has guts in it somewhere down the road. Right now, I have 2 years before I have to do emissions again. I'll work on getting some pictures of some of the mods we did with some explanations as soon as I can.
D


yeah i know what u were talking about! thats why i put them in " " lol


Cat-less! for 2 years lol

[wolfman79]

Congratulations on getting it finished. Would love to see pics or maybe swing by sometime to take a look at it. We are torn between doing a wrx swap or a 2.5 in our OBS.

[graphtricks]

After we figured out every little issue, this was a remarkably good swap. I think the issues we ran into and the solutions we came up with can allow these late model engines to be used. There aren't a whole lot of them in junkyards (sorry, "recyclers") yet, so I think that's why I got mine so cheap. No demand yet. The transmission alone is worth more than I payed for everything, and it is considerably better than the original 2.2 trans. If you read my earlier posts, you can see how worried I was about this swap, because of all the naysayers. What I've found is the old statement "We mock what we do not understand" to be true. There seem to be a lot of self-proclaimed Subaru experts out there. All of the workarounds we used are all stock Subaru parts or things readily available at the local parts store. Nothing exotic, no expensive computers or standalone systems. Just Subaru. I've been driving the car now for a few days, in the snow, and it is a total blast! I'll try to get more of the intimate details up when the weather is a bit nicer. Meanwhile, it's a winter wonderland here! Wolfman, you're always welcome to visit!
D

[graphtricks]

More WRX parts
I just picked up some of the most coveted go-fast WRX items for an incredible price. 20 chromed WRX acorn lugnuts for $5.00. I know, you're all jealous! I also grabbed 4 16" 5x100 Legacy GT wheels, (the BBS style) to go with a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tires I got in a sweet deal. I just installed my new ebay headlights and side marker lights. I ended up with the ones that look like stock, but have the clear side marker lenses, and the :crystal" reflector in the glass headlight. Such a great improvement over the busted, taped up, dirty brown ones that the car came with.
So far, cross my fingers, the car is running great. It sounds great when you get into the throttle, the MRT header and the WRX cat back make a nice but subtle growl. I love my car! Next purchase, a set of rear WRX brakes. I've got them all lined up, the guy just has to get them off the car. Go fast, stop fast.

D

[98obster]

Aaron, Sticky?

Yeah, ebay parts for imprezas are few but I have seen the clear corners and side markers-I'm just waiting for mine to break. Oh, and I picked up the cheap front strut bar for like $27 delivered.

I definitely want to your 2.5 sometime. We need a DI-Denver meet and greet.

[graphtricks]

When I was searching ebay for headlights, all I could find doing "Subaru Impreza headlights" were the projector style,which, while cool, just look too much like a Honda pimp my ride addition. I can't remember the search I did, maybe it was more generic, like "Subaru headlights" and the ones I wanted popped up. They were pricey at 200.00 shipped, but better looking and had glass lenses. No regrets. I kept seeing used headlights for just about the same amount. That's ridiculous. These aren't collectible cars, and I won't pay collectible car prices for used economy car parts. I love the local www.awdpirates.net (http://www.awdpirates.net) site, people understand the "pass it down" mentality, and seem to help each other out. I love the Subaru community. I've had fun hanging out with the L&E Fabrication race team, and learning the ropes of rally car racing. Great people!

That meeting should be arranged. I guess we could actually start thinking about it. I think a Panera Bread, with the community room, or maybe some bar with beer and cheese sticks that has space. I don't think there will be a lot of people, but it could be enough to have fun. We'd have to rope in one of our local sponsors, L&E Fabrication. Erik? It would be a way to grow this site and promote the whole getting dirty thing here in Colorado.

[M_anstrom]

dang man, I've got same year OBS and have been thinking about the same project... seems a big more work than I thought ... however, some tenacity and of course the awesome subaru community seemed to pull ya through that project..lol

Hope to see some more pics, and who knows, I might get a chance to see the ole' girl in person sometime...

[graphtricks]

I have been trying my best to meet people within the Colorado Subie community. It would be very kewl to find some fellow Dirtys. I've been buying stuff from local awdpirate members, and actually got to meet some great people in Boulder (Boulder Hippies!). I bought most of a Cosmo Short Ram Intake setup, just to try it. I got it home, and started to mess around with it. I hated the "twist-your-own" bracket, so I made my own out of some strap stock, and had my buddy Larry weld it together. I wanted the whole thing mounted to the engine, so it moved together, not attached to the fender or the shock tower. That sounded like too much flex and stress. After I installed it, I ran it for a few days and went through a couple of check engine lights. I ended up restricting the valve cover vents with a small piece of hose, and so far, it seems to have worked. The car is still fairly quiet, until you get up around 5500 rpm, then it starts making really big growly noises! Scares the kids! I like it, I'm not sure it's any faster, but it sure sounds like it. Throttle response is quicker, and it seemed to help my running rich at idle a bit.
I've also picked up some complete rear WRX disc brakes to round out the stoppers. So, it will be WRX on all 4 corners. Next, I'm looking for a short shift kit (Cobb? Kartboy?) and will start to save my money up for a set of coilovers. Man, I love this car....

[graphtricks]

Finally, I got around to putting my disc brakes on. I had grabbed '04 WRX front rotors, brackets and calipers from a part-out, and a set of '06 rears complete with knuckles, cables and brake lines. Got everything for $300.00 total. And 1 bottle of brake fluid and some cleaner. Took about 3 1/2 hours to do all 4 corners. It was a straightforward, and complete bolt on. Wow, what a difference! No fade when left foot braking hot into a corner! Great upgrade, I highly recommend it! Next trick would be a set of used Legacy rear caliper brackets (super cheap!) and a new set of Legacy rear rotors (around 30.00 bucks each new!). This is also a complete bolt-on, I think the only thing that's an issue is the WRX backing plates are too small for the Legacy rotors. I'm going to check into that. Keep it dirty!

[rollo]

Great journal, just had a chance to read through it. Very interesting and detailed, I'm sure it would be very helpful for anyone tackling a similar project.

[graphtricks]

It's almost a year since I did my swap. The car has been running well, with the exception of being "stinky" at idle. I decided to remove the anti-fouler spark plug spacer I put into the MRT header to space the O2 sensor out of the exhaust stream. The thinking was, since the "front" and "rear" O2 sensors are actually side-by-side, I spaced the "rear" one out of the exhaust stream to trick it into thinking it was running clean. I lived with it, but, as an experiment, I decided to remove it, putting the O2 sensor back into the exhaust. It seems to run cleaner now. I've also switched to E85 fuel, with no other changes, and that helps too. I haven't had any problems with the fuel switch, except it takes a little longer cranking to start it. I didn't do any E85 conversion kit stuff, just put in the fuel. No problems so far! Another thing I did was to take off the Cosmo short ram and put the Heimholtz box back on, but I kept the cone air filter in front of the MAF. It has better bottom end torque, and it doesn't pitch CELs 1143 and 1507 anymore. I also scored a sweet deal on an STi axleback. I cut and rotated the flange to match up to my setup, and man, does it look and sound awesome! Overall, I'm extremely happy with my setup. Someday, I'd love to spring for a standalone ECU like a Autronics and really optimize the engine, but for now, it is a great little car.

[graphtricks]

I still love this little car! The immediate torque of a 2.5i N/A engine just can't be beat. The transmission is still so buttery, I put an ebay WRX short shifter in, with a genuine STi titanium knob. I also scored some close to perfect WRX seats, which makes the inside of the car so swanky. I scored a set of Pedder front sway bar solid links, and that's really helped the car's attitude. I need to put some solid links on the back WRX sway bar to get some of the throttle oversteer back though. Soon! I'm still wondering what to do for suspension, I'm torn between the rally stuff and the street stuff. I spend most of my time on the street, and get my rally fix with the real rally car, #413 L&E Fabrication's car. I'll keep contemplating that one.

[409industries]

Nice to see an old thread bumped. Haven't heard very much about L&E lately... whats the deal?

[graphtricks]

Well, we finished out the season at the COG Rally in Steamboat Springs, CO in the fall of 2008. Finished second in class. The new front mount charge cooler and custom radiator worked great, the flopped intake with the throttle body in the front shortened up the intake plumbing. The awesome suspension from Argentina gives remarkable handling. Still sorting out extracting air from the engine compartment. Larry is trying a reverse flow carbon fiber hood scoop.
It was great to be hanging out in the pits next to Travis Pastrana and Ken Block. Travis did a close quarter cookie in the middle of the parking lot at the award ceremony. Pretty awesome to watch! I think I saw the picture somewhere here on the site.
Over the winter, L&E Fab has been acquiring parts for a new engine build. A 2.2 Legacy Turbo block with a 2.5 crank and STi heads. Should be fun! The 2.0 WRX from last year was run on E85 for the entire season, and it was amazing how perfectly clean the inside of the engine is. Can't wait for the race season to begin.

[Duffurban36]

L&E Fab if I'm not mistaken is based out of Arizona. Here in Colorado we have Salta Motorsports up in denver which you probably know of. But yea dude this year, can't wait to see ya out at a rallyx. First ones March 21

[graphtricks]

Actually, L&E Fabrication is based out of Westminster, CO. They make the quickened steering columns that everyone absolutely needs in their car!

[graphtricks]

By the way, the L & E Fabrication website is being redone. Look for new inventory and updates, coming soon! If you would like to order a quickened steering column or any other rally-related items, please contact L & E Fabrication at 720-938-0413. Keep it dirty!

[graphtricks]

The L&E Fab #413 car is waxed and tuned and ready to tackle Steamboat Springs next week! The new 2.35 engine has been properly broken in, the gearing has been optimized for the event, the dyno tuning has been completed, and the E85 fuel is flowing freely. Larry Schmidt will be driving this year, and Ryan Schnell will be the co-driver for the event after a successful run at Pike's Peak this year. We're ready!

[graphtricks]

It was cool to see the DI team at Steamboat last season, and read the story of some DI members trip. Cool weekend!
So, another year has passed, and I finally hai to pass emissions. So, off came the MRT header and "race" cat, and on went a stock 2.5 RS set of cats. Filled it up with 3/4 tank of E-85, and off to the test station. It passed with flying colors! Came home, put the real exhaust system back on the car, and everything's back to my sense of normal. I acquired a nice 3/16" Primitive skidplate to protect my hard to replace MRT header. I did score a big 24mm WhiteLine adjustable rear swaybar, and have some cool solid endlinks I picked up from a guy (GF8er) who made machined up a few sets when he was making some for himself off of RS.25.com. Full stiff with snow tires=big throttle oversteer! WOOT! Another great addition was procuring a WRX wagon rear seat to match my front seats. I ended up tearing it apart, and my stock OBS rear seat, and cutting and welding bits and pieces from both seat frames, to come up with a perfect OBS rear seat (that works!) with WRX material and headrests. The bottom seat pan is the stock OBS flip and fold, with the WRX seat foam cut down to fit. The backs use the stock OBS bottom half, so the latches and hinges work, and the top half of the WRX seat frames to accomodate the headrests. I re-stretched the material, hog-ringed it back on, plugged in the headrests and into the car it went. Looks factory.
I've also picked up a super cheap 4.11 Forester rear end, and a semi-broken 4.11 trans for the ring and pinion. I will probably do a CUSCO LSD in the rear (need monies for that!) and hope this makes the car quicker!
I am going to put my LEDA coilovers with CUSCO camber plates on this spring to see what that will do.
The Colorado rally season looks kinda bleak this year, maybe L&E will set the rally car back up for hillclimbs this season. We'll see. Keep it dirty!

[graphtricks]

It's been a while since I've posted. The car still runs great, haven't had any real issues in the years since the big swap. I pine for a turbo engine, but that may be a long way in the future. Lately, I've been gathering pieces for some suspension. I've sourced a nice used set of Tokico D-Specs, and am planning the set up. I've got a set of Bakemono front camber plates, and a set of Cusco rear plates. I'm going to use RS sedan springs. I found a Subaru enthusiast that made a very unique set of sockets for securing the Tokicos, so I asked very nicely if he could have another set made. One socket is custom made to hold the flatted shaft at the very top, and it is turned down to fit inside the other socket which tightens down the top nut. I love the support Subaru junkies give each other. This is always evident with the pit crews at rally races. I've met some very nice people over the years, and everyone is more than willing to jump in and help a fellow racer out. That's too cool.
On another note, I was driving home from a mountain town soccer game for my daughter, and the car started to shake really bad. I stopped and looked, and thought maybe I had a CV going bad. I drove home very gingerly, and pulled in the garage after much sweating. Had I known that all (ALL!!) of the lugnuts on the driver's front wheel had come loose, I might have stopped sooner and tightened them up. But, they didn't look loose on a roadside visual inspection, so I kept going. I took the wheel off, and checked everything out, and decided I should replace all 5 studs on that corner for peace of mind. If your steering wheel starts to want to jump out of your hands on a smooth road, pull over! Don't be stupid like me!
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/97OBS3.jpg

[OBS01]

Hey do you live in Longmont Colorado cause I know thats the old sugar mill and i live here in Longmont and have been looking for more people with obs ive seen two guys laitly around town and i think i have seen this car before but idk

[graphtricks]

No, I don't live in Longmont. I took that picture, only because that was the moment my car turned over 240,000 miles. I just turned 250K last week! I've put my new Tokico D-specs and suspension on, and also have the Gen.2 L&E Fab quickened column. This little car corners like no one's business! I ran down some poor soul in a Porsche 944 and made him mad. Nothing like a piece of sh** Impreza wagon to make people upset! Big grins. I'm going to take off the RS springs though, as I think it sits too high for my tastes. It's definitely rally-like, but I'm more of a street squirrel. I picked up some Whiteline Control springs that should make it sit at stock OBS height again. The GD-style Tokicos spring perches are much higher than the stock OBS in the back, and the camber plates add some stack height. I'm not trying to lower the car, just make it sit stock and level!
The L&E Fabrication team got back from the Idaho Rally a few weeks ago in relatively one piece. The boys (Schmidt/Wimpey) hit a berm over a right hand crest into a tight left, and bent the front crossmember and tore the right caliper off! Lost that stage, and the next two getting it back together, and were never able to catch up the rest of the weekend. It was a good thrash though, and such beautiful country and roads. Overall, it was a great experience. The car ran strong, it just didn't steer very well after the bonk. We'll be getting the rally car back into shape soon.
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee293/graphtricks/97OBS.jpg

[kainam00]

Just wanted to say thanks for a great writeup! It helped me get my engine running this weekend :)

Here is, in a nutshell, what I did to make an EJ253 out of a 2006-2007 Impreza 2.5i work in an older Impreza with the stock wiring and ECU. It's a pretty easy process -

* Swap the entire intake manifold from the older engine onto the newer one. Including fuel lines, throttle body, wiring, ignition, everything.
* Do some "plumbing" for the PCV valve. I took out the 2006 and used the one in the intake manifold like on the 2000.
* Swap the crank sprocket and drivers side cam sprocket. They look the same at first glance, but have a different number of teeth. The passenger side cam sprocket is plastic and doesn't have any sensors, so it doesn't matter.
* Connect the iAVLS solenoids to power and ground... not run them directly off the battery though, or they will be always on (even if the car is off) and will drain your battery.

I still need to do that last part, I recall you saying you connected them to the hot side of the injectors, do you recall what wire it was specifically? Alternatively, I can run it to a switch in the car labeled "VTAK" :D