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Welcome to Saab92x.com!
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EDIT:
Dyno tune results are here.
Conclusion of the swap after 2.5 months of driving the car and vendor reviews are here.
As some of you know, my Stage 2 EJ205 retired itself at 122K miles (clicky and clicky). I do not know what the cause of the failure is just yet, but will soon. To replace it, I ordered a complete EJ207 V8 - intercooler, turbo, downpipe, engine harness, coil packs, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and ECU. This thread will document the removal of my EJ205 and installation of the EJ207. My ultimate goal is reliability; I plan to have working AVCS, stock VF37, no engine mods, and a "conservative" dyno tune for Colorado's 91 octane. I will be using the stock 5-speed transmission.
The EJ207 I ordered supposedly has 40,000 miles. The compression test video, while conducted in a way that provides favorable results, does indicate the engine makes decent compression. The engine comes "from [the] late series of ver 8[,] which has [a] longer two piece down-pipe." I have not heard of any V8s that came with a USDM/V9 length downpipe, but it appears to have the catalytic converter at the end, so it does look like the longer version that will work with my Cobb exhaust.
For reference, I paid $4,150 for the complete engine shipped from JDM Racing Motors in Ontario to Colorado. I found better deals on the Nabisco Vendors Classifieds, but JDM Racing Motors was who my local Subaru tuner has used for a couple swaps and spoke positively of them; they sent replacements without hesitation when one of the engines had a broken plug and another had a bad sensor.
The engine showing its long downpipe:
A cropped picture of the ECU that was taken when the engine was on its pallet and ready to be picked up. There are two things I do not like about this picture: the ECU is a Prova unit and the VF37 appears to be cracked between the outlet and wastegate. The reason why I am not excited about the tuned ECU is that I do not want an engine that has been beat on, but that's the risk of used STi anything. Plus, I do not know if anything has - or can be - put in place to prevent the Prova tune from being reflashed with a custom Open Source tune.
Last edited by Nicholast (2014-11-13 17:08:29)
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These are the gotchas I have for an EJ207 V8 swap using the stock 5-speed. I am mostly posting this to keep my ducks in a row, but also to double-check this list with the more experienced folks in an effort to minimize surprises. Big thanks to kornfeld's thoroughness since most of these listed are from reading his thread.
- The turbo flange will not clear a rib on the transmission bell housing. Either the turbo needs to be unbolted/removed before the engine can be mated with the transmission or one of the transmission's ribs needs to be ground down. (Clicky) - The power steering pump, bracket, reservoir, and hoses from my EJ205 will be reused on the EJ207. - The A/C compressor and brackets from my EJ205 will be reused. The compressor does not need to be removed; simply roll the compressor into the void where the battery used to reside. - Use NGK PFR7G or NGK BKR7EIX (non-11) sparkplugs. - Check the two lowest studs on the EJ207 to ensure they were not bent during transport. - Have the tuner flip the neutral position switch polarity. (Clicky) - Use USDM front O2 sensor in the V9 downpipe; bung closest to the turbo. - Swap USDM and JDM throttle bodies to retain cruise control. Swap MAP sensors as well to retain JDM sensor, but have the tuner accommodate the higher reading sensor. (Clicky and Clicky) - Remember not to mix up the fuel supply and return lines. 
Some useful EJ207 resources:
- kornfeld's Motor swaps: True Cost (very well documented swap)
- izzle87's Izzle87's V7 EJ207
- Vlad's EJ207 Info (must-read)
- SubMachina - EJ207 Engine Swap Info
- efiniluvr's V7 EJ207 into 02 Bugeye Swap
- Token-Negro's EJ207 Owner's Thread (there is so much information here, it needs its own search function)
- theleveler's DIY engine dis/re-assembly
- beavis820's DIY: Pull your own motor. Lots-o-pics
Last edited by Nicholast (2014-08-13 14:33:34)
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I plan on using an Exedy OEM clutch kit (KSB03) with my 92x resurfaced flywheel. I know this was discussed in kornfeld's thread, but I want to triple-super-check because I need to order parts. Will the Exedy OEM clutch hold the torque of the EJ207? This car will not be seeing any track days or launches. The price gap between the OEM kit and a Stage 1 kit is significant enough to not just splurge for Stage 1.
My three budget options. I will be doing a Option B/C hybrid; Option B plus valve cover gaskets. I bet I hit right at $6,000 including all the "little things" and if nothing major surfaces. No more new bikes for me this summer.
Last edited by Nicholast (2014-05-14 16:42:54)
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Subscribed 
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It begins 
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Looking good so far.
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Im looking forward to you joining us
And that's a resonator at the end of the dp not a cat
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I did not have to swap my throttle body to have cruise control, my 2003 ver 8 motor had a throttle body with cruise control.
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2JZ wrote:
And that's a resonator at the end of the dp not a cat
I am actually happy to hear that; it'll quiet the car up a little.
Rodman wrote:
I did not have to swap my throttle body to have cruise control, my 2003 ver 8 motor had a throttle body with cruise control.
Thanks for mentioning that. Did you swap MAP sensors to use the USDM one or keep the JDM one?
According to the tracking information, the engine was supposed to arrive today but did not before my company closed for the day. Hoping it will arrive tomorrow.
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I'll definitely be following this! Can't wait to do this someday
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Rodman wrote:
I did not have to swap my throttle body to have cruise control, my 2003 ver 8 motor had a throttle body with cruise control.
Thanks for mentioning that. Did you swap MAP sensors to use the USDM one or keep the JDM
I did change the map sensor from the ej205 to the ej207 but only because a few days into my car runing the ej207 threw a code and would idle erratic. It ran fine for a couple of days before that with all the JDM components, cruise control was functional. Wait till you get your motor and look at the throttle body to see if is got cruise control or not.
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Engine arrived yesterday afternoon. A quick inspection looks good; the plugs are intact and where they should be, the VF37 has zero shaft play and there is no crack like the previous picture implied, and the oil filler neck is intact. The only broken things I spotted are the remnants of the plastic belt cover that sits over the pulleys.
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That is a very low miles motor, good going.
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EJ207 parts are ordered; clutch, AVCS wiring, timing belt kit, gaskets, and seals. $826 later, things are one more [small] step forward.
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Brought the engine home and started inspecting it. Overall, it looks really good. You can only reach so much while cleaning, so to find a spotless engine within every nook and cranny is very appealing. I pulled the timing covers to ensure the pulley marks line up, which they fortunately do, but there is not even timing belt dust under there. I am sure the covers had not been removed and wiped clean either. The entire engine is so clean, in fact, I honestly wonder if this car ever saw a dirt road in its life.
There are a few gotchas through...
The dude wielding the cutoff saw got a little too saucy too close to the TPS plug. Not a deal breaker though; I think there is just enough wire there to solder and shrink tube the wire back together.
Whoever was removing the engine harness to bulkhead harness connectors was a little too impatient and broke the clips that retain them to their sheetmetal mount. Not a deal breaker, just inconvenient and a little cheap looking.
This car had no cruise control. Looks like I will be swapping throttle bodies.
No studs on the back of the engine, interestingly enough. Additionally, the clutch dust looks more wet than I would expect, so a new main seal is definitely going in. Fortunately, I ordered that today.
The polished surface of the timing belt rollers has mild surface rust. This seems like an appropriate amount of rust for a salvage engine that made a trip across the Pacific after sitting for God knows how long. In other words, I don't get the impression this engine was submerged when the Pacific Ocean invaded Japan. Would you guys agree or is this too much rust? It's really the only rust I could find, other than the typical amount on the exhaust components. Also, the windshield shards under the intake manifold imply this vehicle's fate was not drowning.
The unreachable areas do have this surface oxidation/buildup. It looks fairly normal to me especially considering the trip it made. Do you guys agree?
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Did you drain the engine oil yet ?
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I'd eat off that engine.
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Rodman wrote:
Did you drain the engine oil yet ?
At the time you asked, no. I raised the engine off the pallet to drain the oil this morning and found this...
Kind of a crappy picture, but that oil pan is crumpled in a few places, not just the base. I don't know when it took a fall - before the distributor received it or on the truck to me - but it was a hard hit. Looks like I will be dropping the oil pan after all. I'm trying to view this as an opportunity to inspect the contents of the oil pan for metal flakes, but it really was not a desirable find. I hope the oil pick up tube wasn't damaged. Will know soon enough.
Other than that, today was productive. All that I have left before splitting the engine from transmission are the motor mounts and disengagement of the clutch.
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My oil pan was dented as well. Not that bad, but definitely dented. I'd recommend you buy a harbor freight digital inspection camera. With it, you can inspect:
-the pick up tube and the bottom end of the engine
-the pistons
-the cylinder-facing sides of the exhaust valves
-both sides of the intake valves once you remove the throttle body
It is an additional cost, but I wish I had just bought it up front so I didn't have to deal with removing and replacing the intake manifold.
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Holy moley that's a really clean motor 
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I don't like that damage on the oil pan, better check the oil pick for sure.
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Bad oil pan, I know what you can replace it with 
http://www.killerbmotorsport.com/index_ … tsList.htm
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Well, I have to give JDM Racing Motors some serious credit. I told them about the TPS plug and they wanted to send a section of harness to replace the damaged TPS plug, but I asked them to hold off until I try fixing it myself. I then emailed them about the crushed oil pan and possibly damaged oil pickup and they replied saying everything will ship out tomorrow; oil pan, oil pickup, VF37 heat shield (mine was missing), and TPS plug. They are going to throw in an AVCS wiring harness so I don't have to repin my EJ205 harness with the IA Performance kit. Even though I already ordered that kit, the complete harness is a welcomed gift. So far, they have gone above and beyond to make sure everything is good on my end. Impressed and pleased.
The oil pan and pickup is from a V10 STi, but should work on my V8, right? I don't see why it wouldn't work.
itsnotmeitsyou wrote:
Bad oil pan, I know what you can replace it with
http://www.killerbmotorsport.com/index_ … tsList.htm
I'm considering it. We'll see what mine looks like and what kind of shape the replacement is in.
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Wow. That is awesome service. I had a few snafus as well, and they were handled well; but not quite as awesomely as what you're experiencing.
If I were you, I would still go ahead and buy and install the Killer B oil pickup. I would stick with the stock oil pan they send though (assuming it fits), just to save money.
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That just happened...
Kind of pleased with myself, considering I did this solo. After all the engine and transmission separation struggles I read about, mine went pretty smoothly. I have a 4' pry bar and a bunch of scrap aluminum blocks to stack and pry against. Plus, since this is a Utah and Colorado car, the two pieces were not fused. +1 for living in a desert.
Good stopping point for tonight.
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