H-top EJ20 Turbo Rebuild

[H-top]

Hi all,

I need to replace my Crank and that means the heads have to come off

So i will rebuild it fully as its not worth pulling it all apart withough putting new bits in?

so this is my plan so far

PARTS

Closed Deck EJ20 with oil squirters - Which i have
99 WRX crank - Which i have
Standard rods - Which i have
Forged Pistons - Which i need
Turbo JDM forester heads - which i have and will port
ARP head studs - which i need
Cometic heads gaskets? - recomendations on different re usable gaskets?

MODS

Port matching manifolds
Parallel Fuel rails
Oil/Air seperator
Remove factory oil cooler and use external item.


That is the plans so far, suggestions?

Cheers,
Samuel

[stenno]

99 crank is rear thrust isnt it? EJ20G (closed deck) blocks are centre thrust so you will be up for some machining costs.

what year model Forester heads? Phase 1 or 2 inlet bolt pattern? judging from your other build thread v2 sti ECU still? i think that there will be some rewiring needed if changing to phase 2 heads.

How much do you want to spend? thats the most important question. next is how much power and what revs? how long do you want it to last? next is how long off the road? building a motor always takes twice as long as you originally plan.

for all options, id personally ditch the external oil cooler unless your doing track work and keep the stock one, put at a minimium a walbro intank pump and grab a really good sump (bigger capacity and better baffling).

Cheapest being: import GT-B liberty long motor from an importer, approx $1k, comes with yellow 440cc injectors, better than stock 98 cams and stronger than stock 98 bottom end. bang it in with a decent sump and a bigger than vf8 2nd hand turbo. ( eg vf30 etc approx 500). will rev ok but has some bad rep for spinning bearings. so use good oil of the right weight and pray for the best, if it fails buy another $1k GT-b import motor and treat it as disposable. manifold will match your ecu just plug and play.

best but $3 - 3.5k, grab a EJ207 GDB STI short block brand new from subaru (or other vendors) approx 2.5k, new subaru gasket and belt set, water and 10mm oil pump, stock size ARP studs and a decent sump (late model twin scroll and pickup at the minimium). will handle anything under 240 odd wkw with ease.

personally with the parts you have, id build a cheap and not so nasty ej22. order the forged pistons (1st oversize) from the US. grab a early ej22 liberty wrecker short motor (rods and cranks are the same as 98 and earlier sti parts) acl or subaru bearings, arp rod bolts and stock size head studs. 10mm shimmed oil pump. get block honed for correct bore and crank clearances. assemble with late model subaru ej22 mls gaskets. throw some 2nd hand v3 or 4 sti cams in the heads you have and a bigger sti turbo, and use yellow top injectors and away you go. bit more low end grunt than a 2l and should handle anything any subaru turbo could throw at it. could prob get away with this for 2k maybe less if you reuse your existing parts. even less if you just buy drop in (standard size) forged pistons and use a stock (disposable) wrecker bottom end and dont upgrade anything else. swap slugs into another wrecker 22 bottom end and away you go.

All these will handle 200wkw or more but for how long depends. also buy a good oil temp and pressure guage, if it saves one engine its worth the cost.

Good luck

AND use only a stock subaru exedy clutch, its cheaper to replace a clutch than a gearbox, "HD" clutchs always seem to destroy boxes.