Engine swap

Asked by Drew Apr 22, 2017 at 12:30 AM about the 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 96' subaru legacy outback and the engine
siezed.i heard about the head gaskets on the 2.5,if
I were to swap what 2.2 engine would work?I like
the power the 2.5 had,I'm just worried if I go with
another 2.5 I might end up swapping engines again
??

1 Answer
48,060

TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 7 years ago

The old 2.2i is woefully underpowered for the extra weight of the OB, so I wouldn't bother. Subie tried using the 2.2i only in manual trans 1995 OBs with with REALLY weak results. But at least they didn't blow gaskets.... The 1995-1999 first gen DOHC 2.5i was a fragile motor with thermodynamically challenged heads; breached gaskets resulted in serious overheating (percolation) that stressed the block too, such that repairs were usually temporary. You should probably toss this chariot and start over with a 2000+ OB with a dry motor.

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