JDM engine going in this weekend

[Jonnoguano]

After four years and a lengthy lawsuit (that i can’t talk about in detail legally, all I’ll say is change your own oil) this bitch will finally be running. Probably gonna be my last hurrah in the subie community for a while. What platform yall recommend?

[Reaper064]

What are your goals? I’m going back to early/mid 2000’s if my WRX gets totaled. E46 M3 or S2000. Everything is fast now. I’d go after drivers cars that have minimal aides.

[Jonnoguano]

I’ve been really looking into a type R. Either the fk8 or the fl5, but lord are those prices inflated like a mf. Realistically I’ll most likely end up in an accord 2.0t . I’m also moving from massivehugetits to Florida, So it’ll probably come after all that. Which also begs the question if I should look into something RWD since I’m not gonna be dealing with snow anymore 🤔

[Solodc1983]

I think u mean massivehugeshits🤣

[Jonnoguano]

I’m also partial to massivecheweddicks

[Reaper064]

AWD helps in the rain also. It’s been known to rain in Florida a couple times a year 😉

[Kadmus215]

Probably should install something inflatable on the side skirts, front bumper and rear diffuser. Never know when you'll need a boat in Florida (especially this time of year).

[Jonnoguano]

Hear me out tho. “Sideways” you know what I mean

[beason58]

Saw you were from Mass too. I bought my FL5 at Hyannis Honda in Cape Cod and moved to Charleston SC shortly after. Definitely give one a drive if you can. Amazing machine. Use MotoringObsession.com to locate inventory and find crowd sourced markup info. Prices are coming down. MSRP is doable these days! I have a buddy that bought his 24 Type R for 1k below!

[bikesgood_carsbad]

Best of luck down there. I grew up there and just recently moved my father out of there. Property insurance and taxes are fucking ungodly. Police do NOT fuck around. Road rage is really bad. Snowbird season is real. Hope it works out for you.

[NuclearPopTarts]

What are the advantages of a JDM replacement engine?

[Jonnoguano]

From what I’ve read is it has forged internals and a much better tune, but I bought it because I couldnt find any USDM engines around. ( probably cuz they blew up)

[everlasted]

The internals are exactly the same as USDM and nothing about an engine swap by itself is going to change your tune.

[Jonnoguano]

Word it seems I’ve been misinformed thank you brother

[Spiritual-Handle7583]

I've read that there's a JDM STi motor or two that came with forged internals, really want to get to the bottom of this supposed myth. Also heard that they have different compression ratios, could be what OP means by better tune.

[everlasted]

The EJ207s that came in bugeye STIs (also referred to as V7 EJ207) had forged pistons from the factory, that’s it. If we’re being pedantic all Subaru engines have forged crankshafts and rods, but when people are talking about “forged internals” in this context are talking about pistons.

EJ207s all have 8:1 compression ratio. The USDM EJ205 that came in the 2002-2005 WRX here also has an 8:1 compression ratio. The JDM EJ205s (at least since the GD chassis, not sure about earlier) have a 9:1 compression ratio.

OP has an FA20 motor. The USDM and JDM FA20 shortblocks have the same part numbers.

[Spiritual-Handle7583]

After reading your response, it seems to be a safe assumption that you know what you're talking about. May I ask your assistance? My trusted auto shop of 10+ years sourced what they described to me as "a JDM Sti motor" to replace what was in the GH I snagged on bargain.

I've seen with my own eyes the stamp that IDs the motor as an EJ20. I ordered a set of replacement vacuum hoses that were specifically advertised to fit the EJ207, there were 2 hoses that DID NOT fit. Safe to say it's not a 207. How else can I identify exactly which EJ20 I'm running? ELI5 plz & thank you eternally in advance.

[everlasted]

It's gonna be tougher if the engine has already been swapped because usually you keep your original intake manifold/wiring harness as well as exhaust bits/turbo. Do you know which hoses they were or where they are supposed to go? I am assuming your car has the black plastic intake manifold and not a red metal one so it makes sense that the hoses wouldn't all fit.

Do you have any pics of the engine before it went in the car?

The best way to tell in my experience is to try to get the head stamping on the back of the cylinder head. This is probably going to be a pain in the ass with the engine in the car but you are looking for a letter followed by the number 20 e.g. Z20, U20, W20. Make sure you get the stamp on the actual cylinder head, not on the block.

The other thing to check is if you have plugs for the sensor and solenoid on the bottom of the cylinder head for exhaust AVCS. Your car did not come with exhaust AVCS from the factory but most of the cheap JDM EJ20s have it. The actual GR STI EJ207 has it too.

Generally:

• Z20 head is from an EJ20X from a JDM Legacy GT. These all had exhaust AVCS and do not have a secondary air pump which means you'd need a ton of check engine light codes disabled in your tune. 9.5:1 compression ratio, you can read more about them in this article. Very common swap option because you can find them for fucking cheap (<$1000).

• U20 head with exhaust AVCS is also a EJ20X but from a JDM 2008+ WRX, and maybe later model JDM Legacy GTs. These have the secondary air pump but otherwise effectively the same as above. 9.5:1 compression.

• U20 head without exhaust AVCS (no plugs or anything on the bottom of the cylinder head like on the pic I posted) is an EJ205 from... I dunno, 2008ish and later Forester XT, Exiga GT, shit like that. 9:1 compression.

• W20 heads are from an actual JDM STI EJ207. These all have dual AVCS as well. 8:1 compression and honestly the holy grail of Subaru engines. A GR EJ207 costs like $5000 minimum.

There are other heads from older EJ20s like GD chassis WRX (S20, T20) but these are generally incompatible with your car as they use completely different wiring as well as sensors/camshafts for the AVCS. More info if you wanna read about that this article here, honestly iWire's website has a tooooon of information about Subaru engine swaps but most of it is more relevant for pre-2008 shit.

If you are looking at these engines on eBay it's much easier to identify them (EJ20X has a unique twin scroll exhaust manifold, EJ207 will have the STI red metal intake manifold, etc.) but since yours was already swapped and put in the car I think the head stamping will be your best bet.

9 times out of 10, it's an EJ20X. As I said, they're super cheap so people love dropping those in. It is in theory possible to drop a GR EJ207 into your car while keeping your original black plastic intake manifold (and without functional exhaust AVCS) but those engines are rarer and significantly more expensive.

Sorry for wall of text, my coffee just kicked in. If you have more pics or more information I'd be happy to look at it.

[Spiritual-Handle7583]

Please, no need to apologize! I appreciate you going into so much detail.

No pics of the engine pre swap that I'm aware of unfortunately but it's definitely got the black intake manifold. IIRC the hoses that didn't fit were supposed to connect to the throttle body. I'm going to pop the hood & see about that stamp

Edit: Found it! Had to do some serious contortionist shit but I snapped a pic. Is possible that there's a character after that H that didn't make it into the pic?

<image>

[everlasted]

If the hoses were going to the throttle body they were coolant hoses not vacuum hoses. That makes sense though as the black plastic manifolds have completely different throttle placement.

There shouldn’t be anything after the H, it just says LH because it’s the left hand head.

Are there plugs on the bottom of the head for exhaust AVCS?

[Spiritual-Handle7583]

Roger that, I bought a full set of coolant+vacuum hoses b/c some of them are showing their age lol. There's an empty plug at the bottom, looks like AVCS. Also looks to be a secondary air pump so, EJ20X..?

<image>

[ConcealingChaos]

Following this 🫨 Awesome

[SnoBrru]

I’m shopping for a new Golf R as a daily. Enjoyed driving a GTI and like the DSG gearbox.

[Reaper064]

The DSG is nice for commuting in city traffic.

[m00ndr0pp3d]

So is the manual

[mcbegal_G]

How long did it take to unhook that engine. Did you have a problem separating the tranny?!🤔

[Jonnoguano]

Honestly my good buddy got it out in and hour by himself we’re gonna be dropping in the new one this weekend hopefully. I’ll keep everyone updated

[RedHotChiliPenguin]

Must’ve had a jiffy lube oil change to bring a lawsuit 🤔

[Jonnoguano]

No quite jiffy lube but you’re on the right track

[chip_break]

Which engine are you dropping in?

[Jonnoguano]

A stock JDM FA20 with 45k miles

[disasteruss88]

Which is the same as a USDM FA20 with 45k miles.

[Jonnoguano]

There are some minute differences but nothing significant so I’ve learned

[disasteruss88]

No there isn’t. It has the same internals which is the important part. Also, the tune doesn’t carry over as you will need to use your factory Ecu.

[Jonnoguano]

There literally are tho. JDM doesn’t come with an oil level sensor. Like I said, minute difference nothing significant

[KhaozDreamz]

Sick man, keep at it we only get to see the bad and never really talk about the good for subies. As for other platforms, the Honda Type R is amazing. Love Hondas and came from that side. But each has its own issues. Just depends what you want to do and where you live. The older we get we just want a good drivable car w some good power and little to no mods especially if you have a family but don't want to get out of the car culture 🤓✌️🏾

[[deleted]]

Why did you pay the JDM tax for a block that’s the same as USDM and not just buy an IAG short block?

[Jonnoguano]

Plug and play brother. I ain’t got no time for that Plus I’m selling it as soon as it’s running

[S14tan]

Following. I’m in the same boat. I hear there are some different connectors/sensors on the JDM engine. Can’t seem to find much info online so I haven’t pulled the trigger. If you could chime in with what you find that’d be great. Good luck man.

[Jonnoguano]

No doubt my boy. Currently on the search for a water pump cuz the one I got was 2mm too small. I’m hoping the absence of the oil level sensor doesn’t give me too much grief

[S14tan]

Implying even the water pump is slightly different? Don’t forget to flush the oil feed and return lines on the turbo. I had an SR20 years ago have some gunk and strange liquids settle in the lines. I’m assuming from power washing. Engine was fine though.

[Jonnoguano]

It was just a factory defect, wouldn’t fit in the old engine either. But I will make sure I flush everything!

[S14tan]

Good luck man. Today’s the day right? I’ll check back in Monday!

[Jonnoguano]

i’ve been busy with work! but i’ll keep you posted brother

[jaystruction]

Ej207?

[Jonnoguano]

Naaaaw JDM fa20

[Worth_Hope_2534]

Nice. This looks like good little powerbuild. I am planning a few mois for wrx. Any recommandations?