Subaru STI EJ20X Swap Experience

Just did a EJ20x in a 2011 WRX, plugged exhaust avcs cam ports using IA Tuning kit, reused ej255 plastic cam gears, turned exhaust cams back 1 tooth. New timing kit, tune, and the car runs fantastic. It’s really a great budget engine swap for these cars.

Descent tutorial . I do agree with David, it doesn't make sense to do the intake , turbo and exhaust in the car way too time consuming. Fit everything on an engine stand then drop in . The trick to not getting the turbo\turbo bracket hung up on the bellhousing is to leave it loose.

Heck ya 👌

These 2.0L jdm motors perform way better and have improved internals over the domestic EJs. I installed one on my ‘05 Outback XT and so far I love it. A few thigs need to be done to it to make it work, but it's really the best bang for your buck for a swap if you can source a good engine.

Awesome vid!! I just did a 2002 bugeye clutch replacement and that bellhousing to block took me dang near an hour to split! Great information on the AVCS tweak. Got a 2010 legacy that needs head gaskets coming into the shop next! Great stuff your doin over there!

I am looking into doing this swap. I was wondering if the avcs will still work? Also would I need to change the ecu & get a tube?

good to know. I still never understand why people assemble the engines in the car. so much easier to do on a stand drop in car and plug it in.

So i am stuck in the same situation. I haven't gotten the engine yet i have 2014 WRX hatch. thinking about doing the swap and trading it in. My question is what would you estimate the labor to cost?

I realize that this is a low-budget customer, but…a TD04 on an STi? The wastegate duty cycle values will be pretty wrong and the system will be working pretty hard to adapt. Also: how can the secondary air system be connected and working when there are no secondary air ports on the back of the heads on this particular engine? When this dude trades the car in, the check engine light will be on for sure! It’s a good thing that you guys have 94 octane gas in WI, because with 9.5:1 compression in this engine (stock EJ257 is 8.2:1) this thing is gonna be detonation prone. But hey, it runs.

Hello friend, nice to greet you, hey, taking up your advice, do you think the ej25 engine heads also fit my ej20 engine?

Interested in how well it drove on the test drive. I bought a cheap 09 sti hatch for a beater and am thinking of doing the 20x swap. I have a 2016 sti for my nice car so I just want to fix this one cheap and have fun lol

How did you hook the egr setup?