to EJ or not to EJ

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:44 pm

its official : the EA82T is toast.(I'll use it to move the vehicle around for teh time be.) went out to work on it over the weekend and for what its going to cost to fix a hand grenade (as I saw with $3k of repair reciepts) I'm considering the EJ20G ( or EJ20R) route.

few questions though.

I would like to keep the original box. ( lockable centre)
logic says that putting a 250hp boxer where a 100hp one was is a bad idea.

thoughts?

what does it cost (in parts) to fully rework a EJ20G? hardly see the point of popping a jap import in place with unknown history to have it grenade 6 months later.

gearboxes (EJ flavor)

manual or auto?

chasing a 4.44 final drive.

what had a 4.44 ratio in it as a MANUAL.( wife wants an auto I don't want the expense)

auto is a last resort - so what had the 4.44 in it?

rear diff:

had a look on rexnet - seems to be two types of rear Diffs now. one with stubs and one without. which is better?

comments welcome as I want to get this thing going so I can sell another car.

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:53 pm

A turbo EJ20 should be just right!! Gearbox internals are nearly identical between EA82 AWD and Liberty. You will need an adaptor plate.

Alternatively you can use a 4.444:1 Auto - see my Manual to Auto Conversion Thread.

I've been using an import EJ20 for well over a year, flogging the crap out of the thing, never missed a beat.

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:59 pm

who makes the plates?

what do I need to make it work? ( apart form teh obvious-engine ECU etc.)

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:05 pm

Adaptor Plate + Flywheel, Rising Sun are your ones to see.

Some stuffing around with engine mounts. Otherwise after the EA82T conversion you're pretty much home free.

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:17 pm

so most things are in similar spots. ( I hate rebuilding harnesses- do it for a living!) the only other change I was considering was a power FC once I got it running properly. where is the ECU in yours? ( would like to put it on the column where the original is.)

actually if you dont mind PM me your ph # - want to chat.

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:37 pm

Ok will do. Am on nightshift from Monday though.

ECU is mounted on the driver's side near the fusebox. Probably the same spot you put the EA82 ECU?

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 12:56 am

I would go AWD.
While alot of the gearsets in the EA boxes are similar to the EJ ones, they are front wheel drive when on the road. Bolted to a turbo EJ20G they will break, and even when they aren't broken they will not be nice to drive on the road. (Massive wheelspin, terrible torque steer etc).

That being said....for the small cost of an adaptor plate you might aswell give it a go and see what you think. Fitting an EJ gearbox into an EA car is not exactly a walk in the park as I have been finding out the last few weeks!

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:54 am

mine is already AWD. (full time box.) what have you come up against?

vladrulli · Post by **vladrulli** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:36 am

I'm running an ej20t with a 4EAT auto w. 4.44 final drive...

installation was very easy... the only real work that had to done was the wiring harness and all the electical stuff...

mechanics are very straight forward and the trans fits right in with minor mods to the mounting bracket... had to modify the shafts to the front wheels... rear drive shaft left completely stock... the only thing that has me a bit worried is the bsence of spd sensor 2 output in my coupe...

also, might consider an upgrade to your cooling system if it's still stock - I'm running a twin core radiator with twin fans... the temp still swings between 80-100°C on short runs... have to drive the car for longer periods of time to really tell if it's gonna be a problem...

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:45 am

There is no way the clutch on an ea box will hold up with an ej20t unless you drive it carefully. I've got an ej20t with the ea awd box and a standard rx clutch. Even with the engine running 5psi in failsafe mode you can smell the clutch if you take off too fast. Driving normally usually fine, even flatout up a big hill in 5th at 120, but anymore than that is no good.

Having been for a ride in my brothers car with the same setup, except with a working engine @ 15psi + wrx 5sp he has trouble not spinning the wheels in 2nd, let alone the clutch

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:49 pm

vladrulli wrote:I'm running an ej20t with a 4EAT auto w. 4.44 final drive...

installation was very easy... the only real work that had to done was the wiring harness and all the electical stuff...

mechanics are very straight forward and the trans fits right in with minor mods to the mounting bracket... had to modify the shafts to the front wheels... rear drive shaft left completely stock... the only thing that has me a bit worried is the bsence of spd sensor 2 output in my coupe...

also, might consider an upgrade to your cooling system if it's still stock - I'm running a twin core radiator with twin fans... the temp still swings between 80-100°C on short runs... have to drive the car for longer periods of time to really tell if it's gonna be a problem...

ok that makes me laen towards the auto a bit. would like a manual though . local place here has a 4.44 lsd ($600 for it!) but finding a manual box for it is a pain.

as far as the auto speed signal goes I have that in mine as it injected already (with a 177kmh cut!), cooling is the only ohter issue that I have with it. I want to retain all the factory fitted A/C and from there I'm going to put coolers on everything (oil,PS,WAIC) . was having a chat to nathan (mudrat) about cooling last night and he gave me a few ideas. go to see how viable they are over the next week.

mechanically and electrically I'm fine. I work on cars for a living so harnesses do not scare me. my goal is to have a car that runs for the next 5-6 years with out a glitch.

reddog · Post by **reddog** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:12 pm

hey all this is my first post. um so what yous are talkin about is putin a wrx engine into a suby 4x4. but how could that work when the wrx is all wheel drive and the 4x4 is front. like how would u convert the drivetrain system??

cheers

Chris_Rogers · Post by **Chris_Rogers** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:25 am

the car is 4wd. if you carry over the gearbox rom the WRX/Legacy you have AWD. as per above. I am in the middle of dropping a Twin Turbo EJ20R into mne with the 4wd Auto AWD box . some of the Lseries cars had AWD from factory (mine did- its an import though).

keep reading and you will see that most of the later running gear drops into these.