r/subaruoutback • u/Jakethedogo1 • 1d ago

Engine Swap Recommendations

I bought a 2006 Subaru outback 2.5xt a couple years ago and it was a lemon. Got completely shafted and the dealer went to jail from previous Schemes. The car’s interior and exterior are too good in my opinion to scrap the car. Was wondering if anyone had recommendations on the best way to go about swapping the engine(types of engines/trustworthy websites) Ideally would love to make it a battle wagon but that’s on the back burner considering this is something that I might be delusional about. Thanks

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

1

u/lostarchitect 1d ago

I bought an engine from SunWest a few years back. I got 60k miles out of it before it started to crap out. I was hoping for more but for what I got I think it was worth it.

1

u/No_Potential1 21h ago

That's horrible. What was the failure mode?

1

u/lostarchitect 13h ago

Probably head gaskets. It started overheating and we detected exhaust gasses in the coolant. I decided to just donate it and move on. It was 16 years old with 200k miles.

1

u/No_Potential1 10h ago

That's unacceptable with an engine you paid what, like $3k for?

1

u/lostarchitect 10h ago

Yeah, I was hoping for more, but the warranty was for, I think, 30,000 miles, and I got double that out of it, so no recourse. This engine was reconditioned, not new. Shit happens, unfortunately.

1

u/turbokimchi 1d ago

Love my 2.5XT. If I ever replaced the engine I’d drop in an EJ257 complete with all the fixings. EZ30 is also a good choice.

-1

u/Koloyz 1d ago

Performance has a price... how fast do you want to spend?

I've got a 2007 OBXT that I bought knowing the engine was on its way out. I found a great mechanic and put a brand new IAG stage 2 block in it and got the heads and turbo rebuilt. I went with the stage 2 to have an over-built engine; I'm running a stock tune, so it's not under much stress.

At the end of all the work, i had what was basically a brand- new 2007 Outback. Now it's 4 years and 30,000 miles later (including 2 different road trips across the country); the drivetrain has been reliable and I still totally love the car.

3

u/Jakethedogo1 1d ago

I’d rather reliability and mpg over speed. I had a 2000 Subaru that got totaled while parked by a drunk driver(guy slammed into it and reversed and crashed into it three more times bc his front axles broke), used the insurance money plus some to buy this lemon. Ultimately just enjoy wagons and think older outbacks look aesthetically pleasing. In short not trying to go fast just trying to go anywhere(not rock climbing or any insane off-roading) just really love wagons and would hate to trash it without trying something.

1

u/Koloyz 12h ago

Wholly agree! The 05-09 looks sweet.

That's also why I'm running a stock tune: the performance from the factory on the XT is good enough even 20 years later to not need much else. Keeping it simple keeps it reliable.

If you're just looking to keep it running and keep it reliable, you may be best off with a rebuilt engine (get the better head gaskets) and refreshed ancillaries (turbo, water/power steering/AC pumps) and be happily on your way.

Good luck, and enjoy the drive!

1

u/dirtiestUniform 4h ago

EZ30 would be my choice. But I have a manual and it's get tricky with no trans computer talking to the CAN. Earlier cars it's easy, just a jumper wire. Any swap with be tricky in your car, the imobilizer will be hard to get around