I just purchased a used EJ22T shortblock from snowjob here. So far, everything looks good, but it had some miles on it, so I need to get it cleaned up. I plan on replacing all of the internals with Crawford Performance, pretty much building the R1 motor Quirt has on his site.

This is my first time ever playing with a block, so I'll be enlisting all the help I can from friends over here in the HIIC (hopefully :D ) So...here's the questions:

What do I need to do to get this thing cleaned up? Getting it dipped in an acid bath has been suggested by a non-suby friend, but I'm not familiar with the process.

Should I get the block magnafluxed (sp?) ?? From what I'm told, this block was only exposed to normal daily driving in it's original Legacy home, with no modifications.

I think that will do for now. Any help on these questions and more to come is REALLY appreciated!!

Since you're going w/ new internals; just disassemble it and clean up the outside. Check the surfaces where the head mates up to make sure it's flat, see if the cylinders need to be honed and clean the outside surfaces w/ degreaser and a brush.

How dirty is it?

Yeah, an acid bath would definitely be a good thing, however, it's a good idea to plug all oil journals and make sure and coat it afterwards with a good coat of motor 'something'.

Molybdenum, I guess (look here (http://www.toad.net/~rrubel/bulletin.html). Scroll down to "97 LEGACY - INFORMATION FOR YOU (9/96)")

Sole purpose, as far as I can tell is to reduce friction and potentially reduce corrosion (which will quickly happen to newly nude metal, even aluminum, from what I understand.)

Thanks to both of you! Good info there, Pat. I'll have to get in touch with Quirt and see what he says about the coating.

Mister 2 described the exact route I had originally planned on.

I have 3 pics here: http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71492

Feel free to post up any other suggestions!!

Hey, in the meantime I know you're strapped for cash, but you should really buy A Graham Bell's book on turbocharged engines. If possible, but his 4 stroke engine book.

I haven't really torn into it yet, but go down to Borders in Waikele and look for a magazine called Engine Masters. It's geared towards big v8's, but the orientation and general information in it is awesome.

I'm with you every step of the way as you build this. And I will only recommend. When you decide to go in whichever direction you want to go, I'll only tell you it's a good decision.

When you decide to go in whichever direction you want to go, I'll only tell you it's a good decision.

Does that mean the wife can be mad at you instead of me if something goes wrong? :D (Pat told me it was "good to go!!!")

Seriously, thanks a lot Pat. It really helps to know that someone with as much experience as you have is willing to lend a hand. I finally have a weekend off, so I'll definitely be going to the store to pick up your recommendations. The hardest part for me right now is that I'm having to buy each item at a time. The block, then the internals, then turbo, etc. Once I get the plan nailed down, hopefully it will come together fairly quickly.

Just remember, it's always my fault. I've grown accustomed to that extra mantle of responsibility.;)

Anyhow, if you're like me, you will try and have as many answers as you can prior to doing anything. Fortunately, with guys like Mike, Wes, Ralph, Sean, Dan, Richard...whatever lack of or errant information I had, they were there to bring me up to speed...kind of like you did in correcting my misinformation about stroking.

Firstly, I want to differentiate something. I don't know anything about this (that's why I'm trying to find that article), but after you've burnt (with acid) or ground the metal of your block and/or internals, there was some sort of protectant oil that a reputable, name company provides. It's purpose is solely to deter contamination or oxidation of the raw metal.

This is to differentiate from coating like Mister2 is referring to in the thread in HIIC about coating (Swain, Jet-Hot...) I also posted a short thread about it in the 2.5/STI forum.

Other things to think about.
What compression ratio are you aiming for?
Are you going to sleeve (and therefore bore)? Further, if you do that, are you going to maintain 2.2 or bump up to 2.3? Given the area of the cyl. walls, how much could you bore and maintain the integrity of the stock sleeves? I'd think that there's a finite amount you could bore, sleeves or no.
What turbos have your interest right now?
Are you going with an integral or external wastegate? How many MM? (I'm about to start studying up on this myself, given time availability.)
Which EM? Sticking with UTEC? When it first came out, there were a few who knocked it since it was based off of MAP and not speed density. On the other hand, I'll have to re-look it up, but Bell gave some big disadvantages to speed density. Also, would TXS offer something for the 2.2L? I don't see why they wouldn't, being that your modifications aren't something new.
Have you given any thought to how you want your exhaust routed? Maybe you could innovate and look into fabricating something to where you have 2 turbos that are pretty close to the exhaust manifold and then dual exhaust back to an X or Y pipe to play with the exhaust pulses. Maybe you could fabricate a few things to experiment with equal vs. unequal and 4-1 vs tri-Y. Maybe you could even experiment with a cutout, ala QTP.
What are you going to do for heads? Porting? Mild or wild? Upgrade valves, springs, retainers? Would you be able to utilize the shimless JV8 (and maybe even JV7, I can't remember.) The UV8 heads are shimless, too. I don't know if you call it porting, but you can shave some off of the valve guides, too.

Fuel pump? Lines/rail? Injectors?

Let's talk about drivetrain.... ;)

Firstly, I want to differentiate something. I don't know anything about this (that's why I'm trying to find that article), but after you've burnt (with acid) or ground the metal of your block and/or internals, there was some sort of protectant oil that a reputable, name company provides. It's purpose is solely to deter contamination or oxidation of the raw metal.
This is to differentiate from coating like Mister2 is referring to in the thread in HIIC about coating (Swain, Jet-Hot...) I also posted a short thread about it in the 2.5/STI forum.
I understand the difference, but I'm more familiar with the exhaust coatings. I'm trying to get more info on the coating you mentioned earlier.

What compression ratio are you aiming for?
Quirt from Crawford Performance recommended somewhere in the 8 to 1 range, I think largely to do with the amount of boost I want to be able to run. I'm asking him for more information on this over on his forums. I think 8 to 1 will be good for my goals and higher boost levels, but not leave the motor too weak off boost.

Are you going to sleeve (and therefore bore)? Further, if you do that, are you going to maintain 2.2 or bump up to 2.3? Given the area of the cyl. walls, how much could you bore and maintain the integrity of the stock sleeves? I'd think that there's a finite amount you could bore, sleeves or no.

So far, I'm not planning on anything major like that. I'm going to have Ryan and Dave (ds baruuuuu) take a look at the block if they have time, to give me some more recommendations on this. The plan, if everything is good to go as is, will probably be to use the cylinder honing machine to clean up the cyl. walls.
End displacement will be 2.4, accomplished by stroking it with the new internals. It will be identical to the R1 motor on Crawford Performance's website. There is definitely a finite amount that the block could be bored out with the stock sleeves. I don't have a clue what it would be, though.

What turbos have your interest right now?

I'm about 70% sure I'll go with the FP Green, because I'm afraid of turning the car into a laggy drag-only car. I've been very undecided on this for a while. I've looked into the T67, the GT turbos, SR-50,... Although I'm still researching, the end goal is the same. I'm hoping for 450 hp, and the ability to put the boost up to 30 psi at the track. (hopefully, that will be good enough for 11's) Daily driving will be at a more modest boost level. Semi-quick spoolup is a necessity as well, as I still want to have fun on the road courses

Are you going with an integral or external wastegate? How many MM? (I'm about to start studying up on this myself, given time availability.)

So far, I don't have enough information to go external wastegate. Figuring out the characteristics of these turbos has proven to be a bigger adventure than I thought it would be.

Which EM? Sticking with UTEC? When it first came out, there were a few who knocked it since it was based off of MAP and not speed density. On the other hand, I'll have to re-look it up, but Bell gave some big disadvantages to speed density.

I'm going to start off keeping the UTEC, but I don't think I'll stick with it for long. I like the UTEC, but from a PM's Dom sent me, I'm really getting sold on the Hydra Nemesis. Integrated WB02 is a HUGE plus in my book. IIRC, some people are running the Hydra with modded injectors, with good results. There's some good reports on the other board backing Dom's opinions up. Only time will tell though, so hopefully all the gremlins are out by the time I have the cash to pick one up.

Also, would TXS offer something for the 2.2L? I don't see why they wouldn't, being that your modifications aren't something new.

I haven't talked to them yet. I know Nathan has posted up some dyno results of the Green, so I'm sure I can get something close.

Have you given any thought to how you want your exhaust routed? Maybe you could innovate and look into fabricating something to where you have 2 turbos that are pretty close to the exhaust manifold and then dual exhaust back to an X or Y pipe to play with the exhaust pulses. Maybe you could fabricate a few things to experiment with equal vs. unequal and 4-1 vs tri-Y. Maybe you could even experiment with a cutout, ala QTP.

WOW man, I hadn't even contemplated that type of stuff. I'm sure I'll spend way too much time on the interweb this week toying with those ideas. I HAVE contemplated the cutout, but not seriously yet. I do plan on changing headers at least, or possibly going with a header setup similar to yours with the integrated uppipe.

What are you going to do for heads? Porting? Mild or wild? Upgrade valves, springs, retainers? Would you be able to utilize the shimless JV8 (and maybe even JV7, I can't remember.) The UV8 heads are shimless, too. I don't know if you call it porting, but you can shave some off of the valve guides, too.

I'll start out with my stock heads, but it looks like the v7 and v8 heads are getting more affordable every day. I'm really interested in the AVCS, and the Hydra ECU will support it. I'll be getting the JDM heads, just not sure exactly when.

Fuel pump? Lines/rail? Injectors?

Fuel pump....hadn't thought of anything other than the standard walbro. More research in order to check flow rates, I think.

Lines / rails... not too sure right now. Mister 2 has an idea that I'm interested due to cost. If he can get his parallel setup to work, I'll probably use that as well. If not, I'll be shelling out the cash for some aftermarket rails / lines before I'm able to open it up.

Injectors....Tough one for me there. I REALLY like the cost of modded injectors, but I think I'll be safer to go with the PE800's or 650's. I don't think the STi pinks are going to be able to flow enough for my goals.

Let's talk about drivetrain.... ;)

Just trying to find a good price on one. If all goes well here in the next few months, I may have the 6-speed at the beginning of next year. I'll probably save it for last, due to the expense, but I know what I'm heading into if I keep the stock 5-speed for too long.

Wow. I just realized that although I've been reading, reading, and doing more reading, I really don't know much of anything!

I now know a lot of nothing.

Many of those things I've read about and realized that they were crucial enough issues to thoroughly research, however, as you've probably already found out, the nature of engine mechanics is that EVERYTHING is interrelated and therefore, in order to learn about something, you have to either bypass all of those things you don't understand yet and save them for later research or stop/look up, stop/look up... (That was one sentence. :eek:)

Although, due to my inherent fear of breaking my trans hasn't yet gone away, I've learned two things. A novice enthusiast can become awfully unenthusiastic when he breaks big-money parts. Also, the trans is only part of the drivetrain. Along with my promise to myself to learn more about wastegates, water/alcohol injection, parallel vs. sequential fuel rail mod, heads and header design....I'm also trying to find out as much as I can about different clutch materials/combinations along with what affects different pressure plates would have. As I'm looking for that stuff, I'm investigating how to go about finding low-cost replacement or high-cost durable replacement halfshafts. I'm also promising myself to research oil coolers. Right now, my plan is to (thanks to seeing how Infek has his trans cooler setup) see if I couldn't mount one in my hoodscoop. Prior to going to Afghanistan, I'd bought a reverse hoodscoop and it is sitting here at my in-laws, but if I can figure this out, I may just stay with my big STi hoodscoop. If you remember, I'm also researching how wide I should go with tires for my wagon (I say researching, but it's actually just waiting until I can afford new rims and tires.)

The struggle continues...

Hey Pat, can you take a look at this? I'm wondering if you had to change your WRX heads at all when you did your swap.

Linky: http://www.crawfordperformance.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=General;action=display;num=109141807 1

Unfortunately, Quirt didn't tell me what head gaskets to use. Any suggestions?

Back to searching I go.....

I can't get into the forum right now, but I didn't change the heads at all. The only thing different was that we used the STi or RS headgasket. (Sort of tired right now, so I can't remember which.)

Thanks again, Pat. I just got a real good deal on Wally's setup (Big Turkey). Looks like I need to read faster to get this all figured out!

What all did you get from him?

The Green (7cm^2 ported turbine housing)...has the polished compressor housing and includes oil feed line. Coastal Dyno uppipe with a Tial 38mm external wastegate already mounted, RFL-Ti muffler, Perrin BigMAF, and flow matched modded stock injectors! :banana:

Hey if you need help let em know I am free on weekends I have a tool we could use to hone the cylinders you put it in a drill I used it when I built my VW engine..I would tear it down and have it hot tanked it will be all clean and it has no effects on aluminum unlike some methods.

I don't have the internals yet, and might not have them for a while since I'm going ahead & buying the turbo & stuff. Is the honing and having it hot tanked something I should wait on until everything is ready to go, or could I do all of that to the block and leave it sit until the internals are here?

I just went up and got the heads/headers/dp that I had ordered while I was away from my Dad's house.

I have to contain my excitement until I figure out what I need to do to them before I strap them on.:D I'll post pics later.

You can hot tank the block and hone it out. If your not going to rebuild the heads do not have them hot tanked it is not good for the valve seals. Unless your goping to rebuild the heads then take them apart to. I have a OHC valve spring removeal tool too.

Sweet Pat! You'll have AVCS now, correct? I've been scoping out a few deals on some v7 & v8 heads as well!

Jeremiah....I'll be in touch soon! Any recommendations on where to get the block hot tanked? I won't be rebuilding my stock heads. Just going to use them as-is, and replace with the aforementioned ones as soon as I can.

I believe you could try calling Teds 845-3488 if they can't do it they know who can. The only other machine shop I've heard good things about is Head Hunters 841-2171