Buddy and LeMons team mate of mine spun a bearing in his daily 2005 Saab 9-2x Aero. He doesn't have a lot of free time, so asked Subaru to quote the engine replacement. They told him $10k. I had already told him he should just replace it himself, but the sticker shock got him on the DIY path.
Instead of just replace with another WRX setup or rebuild using OEM shortblocks he decided to get an upgrade in and purchased an EJ207v8. This has 1k more revs than the USDM EJ257, which is actually a Forester STi engine. It also has a twin scroll turbo.
The donor EJ207v8 getting prepped.
Tired old EJ205.
New vacancy
Pretty simple swap for the most part. Highlights of what we did
-New timing, tensioner, water pump
-Lachute Performance JDM twinscroll to USDM exhaust downpipe, this made the largest hassle of the install easy.
-iWire AVCS harness kit, we used this to adapt the existing harness to include AVCS pins for the ECU
-iWire AEM wideband O2 kit, very nice kit that utilizes the stock harness to send wideband AFR to the ECU for logging in romraider
-Tomei turbo inlet, had to trim to fit, but the stock inlets tend to crack
-Killer B AOS, killing the PCV and adding AOS is a key to making Subaru's live longer with aggressive driving
-Made new engine side fuel lines, as the USDM WRX used the Subaru clip based fuel connectors
-Walbro 255lph fuel pump
-Cobb 3 port EBCS, better boost control versus the binary 2 port.
-3" to 2.5" OEM donut gasket downpipe adapter, this allowed us to make it a stealthback. Stock exchaust post downpipe for very quiet car
-Stage 2 Competition Clutch, the STi engine makes a lot more torque than the WRX and we can't fit a STi flywheel and downpipe into the WRX transmission.
All buttoned up and driving. Overall a pretty cool swap, more revs, more power and stays a sleeper.
During the conversion 3rd gear exploded on my wife's Forester XT with an STi swap, so we get to convert that to STi transmission, differential, axles, hubs, and brakes next.
Instead of just replace with another WRX setup or rebuild using OEM shortblocks he decided to get an upgrade in and purchased an EJ207v8. This has 1k more revs than the USDM EJ257, which is actually a Forester STi engine. It also has a twin scroll turbo.
The donor EJ207v8 getting prepped.
Tired old EJ205.
New vacancy
Pretty simple swap for the most part. Highlights of what we did
-New timing, tensioner, water pump
-Lachute Performance JDM twinscroll to USDM exhaust downpipe, this made the largest hassle of the install easy.
-iWire AVCS harness kit, we used this to adapt the existing harness to include AVCS pins for the ECU
-iWire AEM wideband O2 kit, very nice kit that utilizes the stock harness to send wideband AFR to the ECU for logging in romraider
-Tomei turbo inlet, had to trim to fit, but the stock inlets tend to crack
-Killer B AOS, killing the PCV and adding AOS is a key to making Subaru's live longer with aggressive driving
-Made new engine side fuel lines, as the USDM WRX used the Subaru clip based fuel connectors
-Walbro 255lph fuel pump
-Cobb 3 port EBCS, better boost control versus the binary 2 port.
-3" to 2.5" OEM donut gasket downpipe adapter, this allowed us to make it a stealthback. Stock exchaust post downpipe for very quiet car
-Stage 2 Competition Clutch, the STi engine makes a lot more torque than the WRX and we can't fit a STi flywheel and downpipe into the WRX transmission.
All buttoned up and driving. Overall a pretty cool swap, more revs, more power and stays a sleeper.
During the conversion 3rd gear exploded on my wife's Forester XT with an STi swap, so we get to convert that to STi transmission, differential, axles, hubs, and brakes next.
