Just wanted to let everybody know that the swap was successful. Had a little trouble with a code P2004, but after messing with the magnet, and talking with @Steven Oswald runs great. Keep up the good work and if you even need a second opinion on anything I’m here for anyone.

Great video. I used it to swap 2017 legacy into a 2011 forester. Was flawless change.

@stvnswld

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment! That’s music to my ears; exactly why I post vids like this! When did you get it done? What did you do with the TGV setup? This is a new way for me.

Wow ur swap is amazing i didnt think its possible but u did it ur a pro!

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

i wish i could find cheap fb25 engines in Australia! great Video man

That $800 engine is beautiful! 36k miles?! Wow! Too bad it looks like she won’t be as well maintained going forward from the looks of the old one.

@stvnswld

8 ай бұрын

I’m not sure what the maintenance program looked like for the previous owner. My friend has the finished car now and I can guarantee he will take excellent care of it 😉

@joel.3112

6 ай бұрын

@justastranger4111 what do you care ? Are you just another keyboard warrior in your mommas apartment? 😅

Great video. Thank you so much for posting it, and for being so detailed with the changes you had to make. I'm about to put a 2016 Forester engine in my 2011 Forester. Do you know if the tumble valve differences you encountered were due to the Legacy model status of the donor vehicle, or if the differences were because of the different model years?

@stvnswld

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment! Glad to be of help. The differences in TGV setup is model specific, not so much year, at least the ones I’ve done. There might be a couple more slight changes that I mentioned in my previous video that I left out of this one. Perhaps check this one out for a more complete list, I believe I listed everything individually in the description section) kzread.info/dash/bejne/c46Nm6Rso6-1YLg.html

@frenchcarguy

9 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for getting back to me and so quickly! I will check out your previous videos too. You state and show things clearly, which is much appreciated! @@stvnswld

@stvnswld

9 ай бұрын

@@frenchcarguy you are most welcome! If you encounter any challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and I will assist you in any wayI can!

Amazing work and thank you for all of your videos. It has helped me tremendously with a 2018 FB25 swap into a 2015 Forester. Currently have the 2015 TGV plugged in and zip tied off to the side until I found this video. Do you by chance know if it would be the same process for the TGV fix on a 2015 Forester? Would you swap the same pins on the harness? Thanks!

@stvnswld

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment and feedback! I believe the pins would be the same to reverse the direction of the TGV’s. As long as the TgV setup looks the same as what is in this video, the conversion should work. Just use the old intake manifold magnets and the new manifold gears and hybridize. Really glad you found the vids helpful, that makes me feel good. Thanks again for the feedback. If you have any trouble, reach out!

Thank you for these videos. I am swapping a 16 Forester PZEV engine into a 13 Forester (non-PZEV). Do you know if I can keep the new injectors in the new engine? They have the same style connectors and they ohm out the same. Thanks

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Yep, you can keep them if you wish. Glad you found the videos to be helpful!

Hi . Thanks for sharing the life saving information. I have 2012 forester FB25 . And I got 2017 Forester FB25 . How hard you think its going to take to do the swap on my Forester. And by the way why you swaped the trimming cover? Thank you .

@stvnswld

8 ай бұрын

Shouldn’t be hard. I swapped the timing cover because of the way the power steering mounts to it. If you look yours over and they both are they same on the front, you shouldn’t need to replace. However, you will need to remove the cover anyway to change the tone wheels on your intake cam drivers. I explain this a little better on my original video if you want to check my channel for more.

@quattrotz9367

8 ай бұрын

@stvnswld I understand now. Its seems to me a good opportunity to do the engine swap and save my ride for a couple of years more. I got the engine from 2017 Forester involved in rollover accident .Its inclode CVT transmission on it.with under 1200 CAD. I think I missed the fully explanation in your amazing video's. Definitely Im going to watch it for the next couple of days LOL. I will sure update when its been done. Thank you so much.

Great video, very helpful, where u get the engine so cheap I'm going to need one pretty soon. Thanks in advance. Boss. Keep those videos rolling..

@stvnswld

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment! So glad it helped! I get my engines from a salvage yard in Minnesota that I trust. I’ve gotten six engines from them and never had issues. I’ll send you an eBay link to one of their engines. That’s how I get them.

@stvnswld

3 ай бұрын

www.ebay.com/itm/355448814142?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=YUor_i5BS2W&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ccjrpNmcTVq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thank you for this info! I am about to swap out my 2015 Forester with a 2018 Legacy. I did notice the balancer between the two engines are slightly different. It looks like you used the old balancer. Is this because the cover is different? Wondering if any issues came up with old pulley? Again thank you for this video!!! -Dave

@stvnswld

Ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment, Dave! I have actually used front dampers from both with success. I prefer the newer style a lot of times because it is a single piece design whereas the old one has a stub shaft with a dowel that turns the actual pulley. I have seen once on an STI where the dowel actually sheared off and the crank with stub shaft just spun against the damper. In my latest swap, I utilized the single piece damper and it looks to be off balance a little. I am wondering if that is contributing to my random misfire above 5000 rpm’s. I am going to swap it for another today and see what happens. Happy swapping, feel free to reach out if you run into snags stevenoswald@gmail.com

Swapped a 2015 fb25 from a legacy into my 2011 forester, followed one of your older videos on what to swap over and just hung the tgv from the 2011 forster off to the side plugged into the harness and just got rid of the fins inside the 2015 intake but i also swapped the injectors from the old engine into the legscy but im getting a misfire for cylinder 2 and 4, in your opinion do you think it was because i swapped the injectors? Old engine had no check engine like and i used the old coilpacks as well but with new spark plugs. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

@farmerskid99

4 ай бұрын

Also it's not a solid hard miss, just comes up as a fault code, only feel a slight misfire on cold start up so I was thinking it might have something to do with the tgv's

@stvnswld

4 ай бұрын

Honestly, the first thing I would check is your coil pack connections on 2 and 4. Once I switched them around by mistake and it was similar to that. Black connector in back, white in front. Let me know what you come up with!

So we swapped everything over from the old engine to the new, sensors etc. We kept our original ignition coils and wiring harness etc. We did this by changing our cam covers as you said is possible. We are getting a crank with no fire. We have fuel and air. The signal from the coil packs seems to be off. We have no codes at all but if we pull different sensors we do get codes so it seems the car is communicating errors fine. Any ideas? I am going to recheck my Crank sensor but we swapped that over and its plugged in. Very puzzling!

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Interesting indeed…a few questions. Did you install the tone wheel from the original engine that the crank sensor reads? The one between the engine and the flex plate? When you installed the harness and coils, is there a chance you might have plugged the coils in backward? The connectors go black in back, white it front. I’ve screwed that up before. Did you install both tone wheels on the intake cam drivers from the original engine? If the computer thinks the car is out of time, it won’t fire. Did you check valve timing when the front cover was off? Are all of your connectors plugged in: knock sensor, coolant temp sensor, crank and cam sensors, throttle body, mass air flow/temp, mass air pressure on top of intake manifold. As you double check these items, perhaps look for vacuum hoses that aren’t hooked up. As you scan, you might stumble across something loose or obvious that you may have forgotten. These are only some suggestions, I’m not doubting that you did everything correctly, please don’t infer that. Please keep me posted, I’m invested in your success!

Does it really matter what the 6th digit of the VIN is on the doner when doing the swap? I'm gonna do my 2011 forester VIN "B" to a 2016 legacy 2.5

@stvnswld

Ай бұрын

The last 6th of the VIN does not matter. A 2016 will work just fine, but all of these changes will need to be made. Today I am installing a 2017 Outback engine into a 2012 Forester. This time I didn’t have the original tone wheel for the crank sensor so I am using the Outback sensor and tone wheel, which are different. Hopefully it works, or the engine will have to come out again right away.

My legacy has 145000 and runs like a top.

So I got kind of a dumb question. I know a lot about mustangs but I’m new to the Subaru thing. I have a 2011 Forrester with an auto trans non-turbo. The 2.5 that’s in there just gave up the ghost. I’m looking to acquire a legacy engine to go into the vehicle. First off is the legacy the only vehicle that I can get a different reasonably priced engine out of? Also, what years of vehicles can I acquire this engine from? In looking for a motor from a 2017 Legacy. There are five different options available with the sixth digit of the Vin either being an a BC or d. Does it matter which one of these motors I acquire to do the swap? It looks like some are automatics, some are manuals, some are US motors, some are Canadian motors, and some have cvts. Additionally some say pzev and some don’t. I believe I can use a motor from either an automatic or a manual trans but other than that are there any of these motor Vin codes I should avoid or will any of them work?

@stvnswld

2 ай бұрын

Great question! Trans type won’t affect your choice at all. Anything will work in that regard. I know for fact you can use a legacy engine at least up to ‘19 and forester at least ‘18. When you see pictures of the engines, make sure they only show intake AVCS solenoids on the front cover, not ones for the exhaust cams. The PZEV or non shouldn’t change anything either. As far as the ViN goes, I would not worry too much about that matching. When they advertise these engines, they have to list very specifically what car they will fit based on what they came out of. That way they don’t have to accept a bunch of returns and get a bunch of messages from people that expect a direct drop in replacement with no modification. Make sense? Feel free to reach out with any questions! I’m more than willing to share my experiences. I’ve done over half a dozen of these swaps successfully and know what not to do 😉

@schmidtygarage1925

2 ай бұрын

@@stvnswld scored a 16 legacy 2.5 with 28k on it for $600 including tax Is there a place I can pm you with questions when I do the install

@stvnswld

2 ай бұрын

@@schmidtygarage1925 email me at stevenoswald@gmail.com. Are you on Facebook? If so, email me with your name and how to find you on there. Or I can give you my phone number.

I appreciate Steven putting up these vids, very usefull info. Here is some stuff I learned doing this swap. I just bolted the TGV valves from my old engine onto the new one without doing any of the messing around with modifying and rewiring them. Yes the ports dont match up but they still bolt on. I removed the plates in the valves and the deflectors in the heads. I made my own gaskets out of material the same thickness as the original gaskets and stuck them on with high tack. They sealed up and worked great. I also prefer changing out valve covers because its cheap and easy with engine out of car. For one the seals around the spark plug tubes are allmost sure to be starting to leak anyway and If you don't change out the covers the coil packs do not seal against the cover as designed wich leads to problems down the road when they get full of water, dirt, etc. I like to think about down the road when something needs repaired and if car is as close to how it "should" be the better it is for me to get parts and repair it. Of course not very many people drive there cars for 25 years like me. Anyway on my swap the engine started up immediately and ran great with no codes.

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

Great work! I like to reseal the original forester valve covers with new plug boots so. I have done it both ways and agree that it is better that way for certain. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it!

Question Steven I changed the engine in my son's subaru forester with a engine out of a 2009 subaru outback but now I have no spark Everything looked and plugged in the same but no spark now Would you know why this is by chance?

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

What is the model year of the forester? 2011 and up forester utilizes a timing chain, whereas the 2009 Outback still utilizes a belt. There are certain compatibility issues that require more pieces to be transferred when doing a swap. The idea is to trick the engine computer into thinking nothing is different with the replacement engine . The sensors and what/how they read is a big one. The crank pulley may have different teeth, which could definitely cause an issue there, same with the cam drivers. If the computer thinks that the engine is out of time, it will not allow the car to start, often times it won’t allow spark. That being said, I would make sure that the crank pulley is identical to the old one. Let me know if I can help more.

Hey Steve. I’m in process of swapping a 2015 legacy in 2013 forester. My 2013 forester crank sensor is bad. Can I use the legacy sensor and reading plate?

@stvnswld

4 ай бұрын

I can’t answer that from experience. You could try it for science and let me know, but it’s a lot of extra work if it cranks and doesn’t start because of that. Thanks for the question and let me know how your swap finishes out!

@bilcandrei1278

4 ай бұрын

Ok. I will let you know what I’m doing. I got my engine with the flex plate and wheel behind and sensor as well. I may try that just for science. Thank you very much!

@stvnswld

4 ай бұрын

@@bilcandrei1278 I believe the connector is the same. I would check and make sure the tone wheel has the same number and pattern as the old one. Maybe the computer will read it the same!

Maybe I’m missing something. Is there a reason we can’t swap the sensors from the original forester engine air intake onto the new legacy engine to make the flaps open and close correctly?

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Yes, you do need to use the old solenoids on the new intake manifold TGV valves. Take note that the flaps on the original engine open and close oppositely from the new Legacy flaps. That’s the reason for switching the terminals in the connectors, it reversers the direction of the solenoids. Not only is that different, but the magnets are also different. In my video description, I link to a forum that explains the gritty details about how the different magnets change the voltage read by the solenoids and sent to the engine computer, communicating open or closed… I’ve tried many other ways of tricking the tgv setup, another option is to plug in the old setup and tie it up somewhere in the engine bay. If you watch my original swap video, that’s how I did it. It’s crude, but it works and is much easier to accomplish than the hybrid method here.

@ceelman1

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the reply! @@stvnswld

Does the transmission being manual affect anything on these engines? My 2011 needs a new motor and this legacy engine seems like an interesting swap and cheaper than a new forester engine, so will my car being manual affect it?

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the question! The only difference will be your clutch. My video shows how I bolt the flex plate onto the engine. Yours won’t have a flex plate like that, you will have a clutch. Otherwise, there shouldn’t be a problem! Let me know how it works out for you!

@aaronkough3810

6 ай бұрын

@@stvnswldFrom a little more research ive done there will be a few other items that will need to change, mostly electrical wise.

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

@@aaronkough3810 if you use your original harness, everything should plug in. You’re basically just swapping long blocks along with the intake manifold, at least that’s how I do it. I know it’s long, but if you watch the whole video, I address nearly everything that’s needed to change. I also have an older video that explains everything thoroughly in the description section.

Where did you get your new engine from

@stvnswld

4 ай бұрын

I’ve gotten all of my engines from different salvage yards that sell on eBay.

Where did you get your engine from, because I need one. That's a really good price.

@stvnswld

5 ай бұрын

I’ve gotten all of my engines from eBay. Auto salvage yards usually have them for under one thousand dollars

WOW; holy cluster fudge Batman! would (All) Subaru boxers benefit from a dry sump external oil setup? if it works for a Corvette, it can Shirley work for a Subaru (yes, I called you Shirley)... would the dry sump help owners keep enough oil in the engine??

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

Are you referring to the tumble generator valve workaround? Because that certainly is a cluster! It has turned out to be the best solution compared to others I have tried… thanks for commenting.

Do you have a homemade manual step by step on how to do a swap FB20 IN FB25 OUT. Willing to pay

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

I haven’t done an FB20 in place of an FB25. I prefer to keep the 2.5 liters of displacement.

Is there any reason for a legacy motor swap vs a forester motor swap? I have a 2013 with some oil consumption issues and I was planning to swap in a 2016 Forester motor. Is your preference strictly a financial one based on lowest price for the acquisition of the motor?

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

That’s a really great question. My initial discovery of the Legacy engine was primarily for the price factor, so I was willing to experiment towards success. A later Forester engine would be a suitable candidate for the swap, such as a 2016. They didn’t have the same oil usage issues as the ‘11-‘13 model year Foresters to my knowledge. If you do decide to use a Forester engine as a replacement, some of the items I’ve mentioned that need to be swapped may or may not be required. I recently purchased a 2018 forester engine for my next swap, so I can have a look at some of the specifics if you would have interest? For example, the intake cam driver tone wheels.

@edwinrodriguez804

7 ай бұрын

@@stvnswld thanks! Are you aware of the harmonic balancers on a forester motor would need to be swapped? I have read one account that said yes and one no, both individuals who performed the swap. I’m pretty set on a specific ‘16 motor I want to acquire. Just wanting to gather all the information so I can be ready! Thank you for all your work on this. You really have contributed much to the FB community

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

@@edwinrodriguez804 wow, thank you for those kind words! I believe I have used both balancers, so both wouldn’t be completely wrong. I like the single piece style that has the damper and stub shaft that slips over the crank all in one as opposed to the two piece style where the stub shaft is separate and turns the damper by a small dowel pin.probably best to use what came with the old engine if possible, since the timing cover will be swapped too. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out. I would love to be of help if I can!

@edwinrodriguez804

7 ай бұрын

@@stvnswld just wanted to touch back for an update! Swapped in the 2016 Forester longblock into the 2013 this weekend. Swapped over the timing cover, valve covers, water crossover pipe and motor mounts - took the opportunity to swap out every seal/o-ring/gasket that was accessible. Also throw in new plugs, thermostat and water pump. Fired up nicely and so far about 40 miles with no issues/CELs. Thank you for all of your info on the forums! It was a big motivator in knowing this could be done successfully.

@edwinrodriguez804

7 ай бұрын

@@stvnswld the only thing i noticed i did slightly differently was when resealing the timing cover, i used a very small bead of RTV on the inside groove, rather than above it as you did when you were getting ready to reseal it. I used permatex 90 minute RTV and let it sit for about 3-4 hours just to be fully sure. Think that is a major issue? The bead i used was just enough to fill the groove because i didn't want to glob a bunch of it in there knowing it was going to squish out

Hi about to tackle this project. Was wondering if you could switch the heads over from the forester the the legacy?

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

That’s a great question. I cannot tell you yes from experience; however, I believe that it should work based on my experience mixing and matching EJ blocks and heads. Is there a particular reason why you wouldn’t want to just use the complete engine/long block instead of pulling the heads and going that route?

@MonsterElite16

6 ай бұрын

You wouldn’t have to mess with the tgv. But I went ahead and left it alone and done what you did in the video. Fingers crossed tomorrow hope it starts with no codes.

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

@@MonsterElite16 best of luck! I would love to hear the result. Did everything else in the video make sense with what you saw as you worked through things?

@MonsterElite16

6 ай бұрын

Got it all running but have a p2004 code.

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

@@MonsterElite16 the passenger side needs adjusted. It’s reading bank 1 stuck open

Hey I just finished putting a 16 legacy motor in my 11 forester and it threw a whole slew of codes I was wondering if you had any advice on where I should start p0335,p0303,p0301,p0102,p0113

@stvnswld

2 ай бұрын

The cylinders on the passenger side are misfiring, for the p0301 and p0303 I would start by checking your coil pack connectors. Make sure the black connector is on the back cylinder(#3) and the white connector is on the front(#1). Your p0335 is crankshaft sensor fault, did you change to the sensor that the original engine had? Did you use the rear tone wheel that was on the original engine? I’d the sensor plugged in properly or is the connector broken perhaps? The last two codes deal with mass air flow and intake air temp,I would try cleaning the maf with mass air flow cleaner and clean the connectors out also. Air flow and temp are on the same sensor. There’s a chance you have a loose pin in the bulkhead harness where your engine harness plugs… I’ve seen codes pop up because of loose pins. That’s a few ideas, hope they help! Let me know what you come up with. If that all checks out, I have some alternative ideas also.

@benhenderson-gk3gh

Ай бұрын

So I’ve changed out the mass air flow sensor changed coil packs cleaned and greased all connections and it’s still throwing the misfire codes and air intake temperature code and mass airflow code do you have any other suggestions

@stvnswld

Ай бұрын

@@benhenderson-gk3gh did some codes go away? Like the crank position fault? What about the other things I mentioned, coil pack wires black in back white in front? Electrical pins locked properly into the connectors? I have seen mass air flow codes disappear after solving other fault codes.

@benhenderson-gk3gh

Ай бұрын

The crank code went away it wasn’t plugged in but I checked all the wires and pins

@stvnswld

Ай бұрын

@@benhenderson-gk3gh I’m trying to think what could be causing the faults on the right side only. How does the car run? Assuming the fuel injectors are plugged in on the right side or it prob wouldn’t run at all. Seems electrical to me though since the accompanying maf code… can you send me some clips of it running? And a brief shot of the engine bay maybe? stevenoswald@gmail.com

A 2018-2019 Legacy could be a good swap?

@stvnswld

6 ай бұрын

Yes. As long as the fresh engine only has intake AVCS. The variable exhaust cam engines won’t work. I did a quick google search and it looks like the 18-19 should work. It doesn’t appear to have exhaust AVCS.

That is because there are not many Good fj's .FB's don't shit the bed .Oh unless you don't keep oil in em.

Good evening. I did an engine swap on my 2011 Subaru Forester from a 2018 Subaru Forester. I did everything as you say in the video. But for some reason I don’t have an impulse Ian fuel injectors and the car doesn’t start (((Could you tell me what could be the reason? There is zero information on the Internet! Thanks!

@stvnswld

7 ай бұрын

I don’t understand what you said about the fuel injectors? Does the car crank over?