worth the effort?

[Guest]

hey guys, i dont know if you remember me or not but my name is alex and i am from the bahamas. well i have a 98 leggy gtb and well i messed up and blew it up. my fault, i know i shouldnt have been running it on such bad fuel 88-89oct but hey bad stuff happens. my question is is it worth rebuilding an ej20r or should i try to source another shortblock? the other question i have is the ej20r an open or semi closed deck motor? i am gonna rebuild her but i just dont know with what yet. i am gonna keep the twin setup for the time being but my time right now is strapped as is cash. i have been saving for about a year now and got about 2500usd to spend, i was thinking to just send it away and have it honed and new pistons rods and bearings with a new oil pump. but i started to think after someone mentioned it was open deck and with this climate and petrol we have here i dont know how long it would last before another failure. i would love some feedback from you guys as over here trying to find info even on the turbos is like looking for a needle in a pile of needles.

[Joker]

ooh asd story!

depends - how available are short blocks where you are?

here its just as easy to drop in another engine for same price BUT you dont get piece of mind/warrante with an un-known block/motor

either way I think you are just as well to rebuild what you have (limited knowledge here as I am yet to have my EJ20R go pop...)

[suubyduuby]

 adbramsay1 said:

hey guys, i dont know if you remember me or not but my name is alex and i am from the bahamas. well i have a 98 leggy gtb and well i messed up and blew it up. my fault, i know i shouldnt have been running it on such bad fuel 88-89oct but hey bad stuff happens. my question is is it worth rebuilding an ej20r or should i try to source another shortblock? the other question i have is the ej20r an open or semi closed deck motor? i am gonna rebuild her but i just dont know with what yet. i am gonna keep the twin setup for the time being but my time right now is strapped as is cash. i have been saving for about a year now and got about 2500usd to spend, i was thinking to just send it away and have it honed and new pistons rods and bearings with a new oil pump. but i started to think after someone mentioned it was open deck and with this climate and petrol we have here i dont know how long it would last before another failure. i would love some feedback from you guys as over here trying to find info even on the turbos is like looking for a needle in a pile of needles.

Have a look at the specs of the US-domestic market engines.

From memory due to the similiar nature of US gas (low octane 89-91), Subaru had to export engines that would run on the lower octane fuel.

[Guest]

yeah i had been looking at an ej205 but they are open deck and really weak, like i doubt they would take even the stock settings of the ej20r. i was thinking of a ej257 shortblock but i wanted to stay on a stock tune so i got thinking about an ej207 would that fit? or a closed deck ej20g from an early legacy?

[Guest boostcut]

the first thing would be to not run that fuel ever... i wouldnt put that in my lawn mower. id seriously concider a rs closed deck for the capabilitys and theyre damn cheep for what they are.

[ReubenH]

EJ20R's are WELL worth the effort mate!!

See if you can source a 2.2L closed deck block from the states, or a 2L closed deck locally, and slap your 20R heads on there, would be a KILLER engine.

Oh, and just an FYI, they would be using MON not RON. 89MON i think is about 93-94RON or something like that. adbramsay1, you should be running the highest octane ALWAYS. NEVER run lower than "premium" or whatev, these cars are meant to run on 100RON

And suubyduuby, there's not a chance in hell that GTB's EJ20R has been even breathed on by SOA, it will be 100% JDM. Their differences in octane are mostly down to them running MON, and us running RON.

http://www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible_pg2.html

[Guest]

yeah about the fuel there is no premium or anything like that here, we just have petrol or diesel here. : but i had been using torco race fuel concentrate to bump up the octane to 94 mon which is like 98 ron. as i said it was my fault and i take the responsibility for doing it. it is a jdm leggy gtb bought off of auction. but as for the leggy motor letting go it turned out to be a blessing as i also picked me up a jdm sti 2001 ;D . but there is something so charasmatic about the leggy, i couldnt let her go. is the ej20r open deck or semi-closed deck motor? for me that is what i need to know.

[Guest boostcut]

i think it will be an open deck block...

[Joker]

open

and unless you are aiming for huge HP numbers it's irrelevant

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f7/t96414-closed-deck-open-deck-school-me.html

http://wiki.nasioc.com/wiki/Legacy

[Guest]

alright well a rebuild it is then. which bearings do you guys use over there? i have heard cosworth, cleavite and acl. anymore i should know about is are they good?

[BC5RA]

 ReubenH said:

EJ20R's are WELL worth the effort mate!!

See if you can source a 2.2L closed deck block from the states, or a 2L closed deck locally, and slap your 20R heads on there, would be a KILLER engine.

Oh, and just an FYI, they would be using MON not RON. 89MON i think is about 93-94RON or something like that. adbramsay1, you should be running the highest octane ALWAYS. NEVER run lower than "premium" or whatev, these cars are meant to run on 100RON

And suubyduuby, there's not a chance in hell that GTB's EJ20R has been even breathed on by SOA, it will be 100% JDM. Their differences in octane are mostly down to them running MON, and us running RON.

http://www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible_pg2.html

Then it would hardly be an EJ20R wouldn't it?

[ReubenH]

I used factory bearings, BPMS pretty much said not to bother with ACL "race bearings" But the ACL stuff is popular here.

 BC5RA said:

Then it would hardly be an EJ20R wouldn't it?

*Yawn* troll...

[BC5RA]

Carry on there Reuben this is certainly a thread for your very specific and limited knowledge base.

[Guest]

so reuben, i take it you have rebuilt your motor before? if so what are some of the stumbling blocks i might come across, my mechanic has never rebuilt a subie motor. :-\ but he has rebuilt motors in the past and is very good.

[ReubenH]

Yeah i have rebuilt my EJ20R and don't regret it for a minute. And is there any mechanic around where you are with subaru experience you can go to?

And don't mind BC5RA, our resident troll. He's clearly only here for sh!ts and giggles.

[Koom]

 ReubenH said:

Yeah i have rebuilt my EJ20R and don't regret it for a minute. And is there any mechanic around where you are with subaru experience you can go to?

And don't mind BC5RA, our resident troll. He's clearly only here for sh!ts and giggles.

He made a pretty good point.......

[Guest]

which point? the one about the troll or the not regreting rebuilding my ej20r?

[Koom]

BC5RA's point about it not really being am EJ20R anymore after the rebuild plan Reuben outlined...

As for which bearing to use in your rebuild, factory ones work well. I also know of plenty of people using ACL Race ones without any problems either. Usually it just comes down to cost when choosing between the two.

[Guest]

PBMS dont use ACL race bearings and I dont use ACL race bearings

WHY you ask.... (and dont get pissed off, to everyone that has them fitted !!!)

Simply they are too HARD, and cause wear to the crank - yes i know there is an oil film to lube / cool but...

any debris in the oil will cause greater damage with a harder bearing !

The top layer of metal is very thin in their composition also

So now your all saying.... but my engine has them and it's fine. All I say is good luck !!

I use Genuine or std ACL ONLY, and have never had a bearing failure ( I have only built 100 or more engines though )

Biggest factors to BEB failure are oil temp (esp RA model) and detonation

[BC5RA]

 Ichi Ban said:

PBMS dont use ACL race bearings and I dont use ACL race bearings

WHY you ask.... (and dont get pissed off, to everyone that has them fitted !!!)

Simply they are too HARD, and cause wear to the crank - yes i know there is an oil film to lube / cool but...

any debris in the oil will cause greater damage with a harder bearing !

The top layer of metal is very thin in their composition also

So now your all saying.... but my engine has them and it's fine. All I say is good luck !!

I use Genuine or std ACL ONLY, and have never had a bearing failure ( I have only built 100 or more engines though )

Biggest factors to BEB failure are oil temp (esp RA model) and detonation

Would it be fair to say that this issue is with EJ engines only or would this be a High performance import issue?

Reuben, you must have frothing to post in this Thread due to fact it has some relation to ****box/problematic BD/BG Legacy's.

I very rarely see you answering anything else in the technical section.

If you can't answer back with some constructiveness [removed by Capitan] then don't answer at all.

[please don't insult/harass other users - 2nd warning]

[Guest]

As for EJ engine only I think not

The Super saloon Chev race engine I build has King bearings which are very soft (made in South Africa !!)

the crankshaft is now 21 seasons old and still STD !

My bearing choice's are made from informed decision

As far as I'm concerned, advertising "race" on a product doesn't always make it the best

I am always open to new ideas and new products. But do my reasearch before using them

[Joker]

steady BC and RH, every one DOES (contrary to popular belief) have "some" valuable input

have to go with BC's 1st comment - not an EJ20R with the plan you putlined Reuben

 BC5RA']

[quote name='ReubenH said:

EJ20R's are WELL worth the effort mate!!

See if you can source a b]2.2L closed deck block from the states, or a 2L closed deck locally, [/b]and slap your 20R heads on there, would be a KILLER engine.

Then it would hardly be an EJ20R wouldn't it?

= not an "R"

but apart from that BC you would have to agree that Reuben's plan is/was a sound?

[Guest]

Ok whats with all the ...

Scatching and hissing ...... Did we not sleep well last night? or suffering from MSB ?

[Joker]

hah - MSB? you'll have to spell that one out...

Plus added stuff to "above" post

[Guest]

Massive Sperm Build-up