ej18 or ej22?

[dave]

hey guys, im an M.Y lover since i learnt to drive. got my hands on a brumby and done all the normal things, 2 inch lift, 27" tires all that sort of stuff.

Ive got a couple awesome mates who are going to teach me how to do an engine upgrade. I bought an ej18 with the loom and computer, because apparently the 18 is a more ringier engine than the 22, which will be good for up the beach where you need to keep the revs up.

Also, i am thinking the 18 may be better for the legality side of things, im not changing the capacity, pretty much just going from an old carbie to a newer fuel injection engine. Im planning on getting it Mod plated and everything.

The thing is, you dont often hear about the 18's going into M.Ys. Its all about the 22's. Some say, if you are going to all the trouble of doing an engine swap, you may as well put a more powerful engine in.

Just hoping for a few of you blokes to let me know your opinion, as we havnt started it yet and i still have the option of going a 22 instead.

cheers fellas
Dave

[El_Freddo]

Not having had any experience between the EJ18 and EJ22 could make this a one sided argument on my part... Here goes:

Either way I'm sure the EJ upgrade will be exactly that - an upgrade on the EA81. While I believe the EA81 is the better engine out of the two 80's EA units the EJ will be better again.

I can tell you now that there is nothing wrong with the revving of an EJ22. In the snow here I've accidentally had it at the red line for a little too long, it didn't complain at all and it also got me out of a lot of trouble when some paki's parked on a blind corner in the ice/snow to fit chains - but that's another story.

The EJ22 is easy to find IMO. I've seen many more EJ22's in liberties at the wreckers than I have EJ20's or EJ18's put together. I'm pretty sure this doesn't reflect the EJ22's longevity or reliability rather that it was used on a large scale. Parts are easy to come by!

Both EJ18 and EJ22 will have the same amount of work for the two outcomes. GOD should be able to shed some light on the difference in output of the two as I'm sure he converted his L to EJ18 then EJ22.

Either way the performance can be hampered by several things: 1) The quality of the conversion - wiring in particular. 2) The quality of the second hand parts being used. A flogged EJ might still go as good as a well kept EA... The third one really comes down to the user - how hard you flog it.

Either way its up to you. I love my EJ and went with the 22 route because it was easy and I picked up a relatively fresh unit at 127K on the clock. All I've done is a new clutch, water pump and timing belt. She's got a few issues now that I'm trying to sort out but I think these were brought on by the extreme conditions its living in now - like the -4.0 degrees it is now

Either way you've got to go with what you think is right.

Cheers

Bennie

[dave]

thanks mate, i dont know a lot about the newer engines so any input is helpful. either way, my new brumby is going to be quite a rig (well, compared to the standard brumbys). Going for an L series 5 speed manual, ej, then all the little extras like power windows etc. Be sure to follow it on the Subie boys blog when it gets started.

Even though its probably everything you've seen before, its going to be a great learning experience for me.
cheers

[El_Freddo]

Even though its probably everything you've seen before, its going to be a great learning experience for me.

True true. But you've got to start somewhere. I've done some work on my fiance's mum's brumby that I convinced her to buy. She loves it and unfortunately I don't get to see him very often anymore

I would like a dual carb setup for Sunnie the Brumby as I'm not allowed to do an EJ conversion on him...

Cheers

Bennie

[TOONGA]

EJ18 EJ20 EJ22 EJ25 any of these engines are put into MY model subies or L series subies

they work a treat and as you have the EJ18 ready and waiting go for it

showthread.php?t=15851

a link to my EJ20 carbied brumby

TOONGA

[GOD]

What Toonga said - if you have an EJ18, go for it.

I did have an EJ18 in my L Series, and it was great until it went underwater. Not earth-shattering power, but a very useful upgrade from an EA motor. The legality side of it is a significant plus for some people too.

The electronics to run an EJ18 are a bit simpler, but not as widely known and not as easy to find info on as the 22 gear. EJ18-specific parts can be harder to find too.

I didn't really notice any difference between the revviness of the two motors. The 18 was a bit smoother and quieter. The 22 definitely has more torque (as you'd expect) - I'm often a gear higher going up certain hills since upgrading to the 22.

Dane.

[steptoe]

Was thinking what about the EJ20. It fits in the not more than 15% increase in capacity rule used by NSW, I see you are in QLD where I know of and ridden in an EJ20G Sti powered Brumby was mod plated OK

Also know a fella who did same years ago and in the end the G was swapped out for a standard EJ20 which was safer for his staff to drive around, still delivered great average times on trips up and down dale with its AWD box.
In my mind only way to solve this question is to get yourself a coupla more Brumbies and do one of each

Ask what is best or what should you do - you will get lots of opinions.
What is always unfair against the removed engine is it usually has 300 - 400,000 km on it and gets compared to fresher new age engine.

Cheapest easiest would be go a proper rebore and rebuild on EA81, reco dizzy, cleaned out inlet manifold, reco carby like a weber, nice little 16/56 cam or if never carry much of a load step up to 20/60 cam. My EA81 with the 20/60 pulls well up long haul hills only about 10 to 15 k slower than my EA82T

You got the EJ18 and stuff - I say do that, and the box and radiator, rear diff, exhaust tailshaft etc ECU all a good project.

[GOD]

Ask what is best or what should you do - you will get lots of opinions.

Just remember that my opinion is the one that counts .

Cheapest easiest would be go a proper rebore and rebuild on EA81, reco dizzy, cleaned out inlet manifold, reco carby like a weber, nice little 16/56 cam or if never carry much of a load step up to 20/60 cam. My EA81 with the 20/60 pulls well up long haul hills only about 10 to 15 k slower than my EA82T

You got the EJ18 and stuff - I say do that, and the box and radiator, rear diff, exhaust tailshaft etc ECU all a good project.

Not sure I agree with the bit about a rebuild being the cheapest option, especially a "proper" rebuild.

Anyhow, that reminds me of another point - a stock radiator is adequate for an EJ18. The more powerful bigger engines need a better rad installed.

Dane.

[dave]

cheers guys, I've had a chat to a couple mates, who i can trade my ej18 for a ej22 that they have. Im thinking i might do that, as more torque is exactly what i want, and i can still get it mod plated pretty easily. Cant wait to start

[El_Freddo]

Just make sure you use an EJ wiring loom and ECU to make it all work properly

Bennie

[dave]

haha yepp got that all sorted, the subie boys will look after me . Those blokes are legends!

[El_Freddo]

haha yepp got that all sorted, the subie boys will look after me . Those blokes are legends!

You don't have to tell us that!!

Cheers

Bennie

[GOD]

Just make sure you use the MATCHING EJ wiring loom and ECU to make it all work properly

Bennie

Engine + harness + ECU have to be same model and year for it to all work properly.

Dane.