[Sleepy Floyd]

I thought I read online that the 02 Foresters have the SOHC engine. However, I saw a guy selling a DOHC engine which he says he pulled out of 01/02 Forester. I asked him about it, and he told me that a few were sold with DOHC engines.

So, my question's are:

1. How can I tell which engine I have in my car?

2. Is it possible to swap out an SOHC and replace it with a DOHC engine.

3. If it is possible, so, does it require alot of additional work?

4. Is one engine typically more reliable than the other?

Thanks,

SF

 

[MudRunner]

SOHC is better than DOHC in pretty much every way, IMO. The guy doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's trying to sell you something wrong.

DOHC Forester's were last made in '99, but even then not many. Some time in '99 they switched to SOHC. The DOHC engines were prone to internal headgasket leaks, whereas the SOHC is prone to external, and from what I've heard, failure is less frequent. Never had a DOHC to compare to though. I know spark plug replacement is much easier on the SOHC's.

1. Look at the big plastic timing belt cover. Does it have four big round corners, or more like two? Four = DOHC, Two = SOHC. :smile:

2. No, I don't think so

3. If you did it, it would require a lot of extra work. Anything is possible though... lol

4. As I said above, the SOHC tends to be more reliable.


Hope that helps!

 

[funkymonkey1002]

NO 01/02 foresters have the DOHC. My friend bought a 97 leg gt that the PO claimed had an 01 engine in it (had a dohc originally, the 01 would have been sohc), but it had a dohc with broken timing cover, was still the original engine from the car!

ITs easy to tell, look at the plastic cover in the front of the engine, on each side of the motor there should be lumps, DOHC has 2 lumps (for the cam sprockets) on each side, sohc has 1. SOHC= single overhead cam, DOHC= dual.

 

[Sleepy Floyd]

thanks guys.. I saw the DOHC engine for sale on ebay.. I'd post a link, but I don't have enough posts yet to allow me to post links...

If you're interested.. you can search ebay on this "01 02 SUBARU LEGACY FORESTER 2.5L DOHC ENGINE EJ25" and ti should come up..

One thing the ad says is that its an import from Japan.. so, is it possible they installed them on the 01/02 Foresters for sale in Japan? *shrug*

I don't think the seller is trying to con me, because I made it pretty clear that I was looking for a SOHC and asked him if it was interchangeable and he told me straight up that it wasn't. I just thought I'd check here to confirm it, since there was a disconnect on the SOHC and DOHC by year..

Thanks again for the response..

SF