24 hours to engine swap my BRZ with an FA24

0:00 I bought this very neglected BRZ and I'm going to bring it back to life.

0:03 On the last episode, we cleaned it all up.

0:05 We got some new parts for it and we painted them.

0:08 And since the engine that came in the car was damaged beyond repair,

0:11 we had no choice but to get a new one.

0:13 And I'm excited to show you the engine that I decided to go with.

0:25 The Subaru FA24 2.4 4 L of boxer

0:30 naturally aspirated power from the second generation BRZ.

0:33 A significant power bump over the factory FA20 in the first gen BRZ.

0:37 And now I know what you're thinking.

0:39 You wanted some radical engine swap in here because this is YouTube after all.

0:43 But sometimes the best engine option is not the craziest one like a Viper V10.

0:47 The FA24 swap just makes sense.

0:49 We can retain all of the OEM amenities

0:51 that makes cars function well on the street,

0:53 like air conditioning, and we get a huge increase in horsepower.

0:57 It's not a perfect direct bolt-in swap, though.

0:59 We do have our work cut out for us to get

1:01 this Subaru big block engine into our first generation BRZ.

1:08 Yeah,

1:10 Subaru.

1:09 You know, I I don't usually purport to enjoy Subarus,

1:13 but I think you made the right choice here.

1:15 And it's not a K series.

1:18 Crucially, it is not a K series.

1:20 Yeah, that is rather unfortunate, but No, no, no.

1:23 Your addiction on K series has become so bad that I am

1:26 promoting the use of a Subaru engine instead of a K series.

1:30 Yeah.

1:30 Yeah.

1:31 This engine also costs three times more than a K series cost.

1:34 So, uh, we're already starting off, sorry, four times more than the um Mhm.

1:39 And and also, you told me off camera,

1:42 you told me that you were going to help me swap this if I bought it, right?

1:45 That's right.

1:45 That's right.

1:45 And that's why I'm here.

1:46 All right.

1:46 Yeah.

1:47 Cool.

1:47 That's why I'm here.

1:48 Yeah.

1:48 It's it's my birthday today.

1:50 Oh, and and I knew that.

1:52 I did know that it's called 24 hours and even

1:54 even 24 hours FA 24 swap in 24 hours.

1:57 We'll call to start 9:00 9:00 a.m.

2:01 Eastern Standard Time.

2:02 Eastern Standard Time.

2:04 Good thing we're not doing it in California time.

2:06 And big.

2:07 Let's go.

2:14 All right.

2:15 So, everybody's assigned with task.

2:16 We got Ben Thorne working on the actual chassis of the car.

2:20 He's going to be taking off the bumper, the hood.

2:22 We got Ben Lynn working on the transmission right now.

2:25 We're going to get rid of that cuz we don't need it.

2:27 We already have a transmission in the car that we will be using.

2:30 That's automatic transmission anyway.

2:34 All right.

2:34 I already got two items checked off this list, guys.

2:36 You got to pick up the pace.

2:44 Oh, this core support has seen some action.

2:48 Wow.

2:49 Oh, it's welded already.

2:51 Not just welded.

2:51 It's like welded with like a freaking battery and a wrench.

3:08 Why?

3:08 Why?

3:09 Why is there like It just looks like a thong.

3:13 All right.

3:13 Should be good.

3:16 All right.

3:21 Whoa, look at that.

3:23 Comment below if you're looking for a 2022 BRZ automatic transmission.

3:27 I've got one for you.

3:28 All right, this has probably got fluid in it.

3:36 Look at that.

3:37 Oh, not a whole lot needs to be done

3:47 to the FA24 engine just to drop in an older gen BRZ,

3:50 except for a few things like the alternator,

3:53 the RS Motors cam wheels, and the crank position sensor from a Prius.

3:59 So, we need to take these fuel rail covers off,

4:01 especially on the driver's side because we're going

4:03 to be we're going to be using the FA20s

4:07 fuel rail covers mainly because the DI controller

4:11 actually attaches to the FA20 on the fuel rail.

4:15 So, we're going to use that, but we're going to have to clearance it.

4:17 And then the other reason that we have to take these covers off is because we

4:20 need to get this particular wiring harness off

4:22 so that we can use the FA20's wiring harness,

4:26 which we're going to have to modify.

4:29 All right.

4:30 So, these motor mounts are the FA20 mounts

4:34 that came with the car that fit the subframe.

4:36 We got to do a small little adjustment to them.

4:38 We got to cut this little notch off so that it fits up to the FA24.

4:42 And then we can just use OEM motor mounts.

4:44 OEM motor mounts are always the best.

4:48 Got it, man.

4:55 That took about half the car.

4:57 got the motor mounts adapted and everything.

4:59 And what you guys got the engine mounted on the stand.

5:02 Oh my goodness.

5:04 I told you you gave them the easiest part.

5:11 So, this is an STI intake manifold.

5:16 Just kidding.

5:16 It's It's not.

5:17 It's a first generation FA20 intake manifold.

5:22 It's aluminum instead of plastic and it's red.

5:25 This is supposed to make more power.

5:28 It also looks better.

5:29 We need this throttle body on this manifold,

5:31 which we have an adapter kit thing for.

5:33 All right.

5:33 Well, I'm just going to get swapping.

5:35 Swap everything.

5:41 This is for boost.

5:43 We're not going boosted yet.

5:45 So, we're going to plug that port app sensor.

5:48 That's just going to go right there.

5:52 Oh, wow.

5:53 That comes up real easy.

6:17 This is a crank position sensor.

6:19 We got to replace this with the Prius sensor.

6:23 We still got to take out this uh this little adapter piece.

6:27 So, this is the factory crank position sensor housing.

6:31 And this is the new RS Motors housing for the Prius

6:36 crank position sensor that we'll be putting on this engine.

6:39 One neat thing about this swap is that a lot

6:42 of the development on these parts like this uh mount for the crank

6:46 position sensor all developed by Ron at RS Motors who is actually

6:50 the same Ron that has like built my EVO for time attack.

6:55 He built the motor in my S2000.

6:57 Really cool guy.

6:57 I had no idea that he was doing this FA24 stuff but

7:00 and he talked to me a little bit about like his development

7:03 with this and like what all has been done and it was like genius.

7:08 Next up on the list is to remove the timing cover.

7:10 We have to remove that in order to replace the cam trigger wheels,

7:13 which make the ECU think that it's an F820.

7:16 This eliminates the need to modify the tune.

7:19 And after taking off some bolts, it's a good thing that we're getting in there

7:22 because what we found is a bit concerning.

7:25 So, Ben, I uh looked over all these bolts and found some RTV that was still wet.

7:32 Still wet?

7:33 Yeah.

7:33 Look at it.

7:34 Look, it's it's literally pliable.

7:40 Oh, good.

7:41 Yeah.

7:41 So, definitely definitely need to change this out.

7:45 That is crazy.

7:46 So, obviously Subaru's reputation is not the best.

7:49 The EJ engine's not super reliable.

7:51 I have personal experience with that as you've

7:53 probably seen on the channel in times past.

7:55 The FA24, however, I'm told, is different.

7:58 It's supposedly the good one.

8:00 However, they assembled these engines incorrectly and they used way

8:05 too much silicone sealant to plug up the oil pan,

8:08 the timing cover, I guess, all sorts of stuff.

8:10 And that silicone gets into the oil and then

8:13 clogs the oil passages and then spins the bearings.

8:16 So, uh, Subaru, you you almost got it.

8:19 You you were you were this close.

8:21 Um, but the solve is pretty easy.

8:23 It's just a little timeconsuming.

8:24 You just got to take everything apart,

8:26 take all the RTV off, and then reassemble it with Honda Bond.

8:30 So, that's what we're going to do.

8:31 So, there are 32 bolts that hold the timing cover onto the front of this engine.

8:35 There are five 10 mm.

8:37 We got those.

8:38 And there are 27 12 mm.

8:41 And this is 26.

8:44 26.

8:45 And this is 27.

8:48 27.

8:49 Woohoo.

8:56 All right.

8:56 So, now that all the bolts are removed,

8:58 we can go ahead and take off this timing cover.

9:00 It is very, very important to stick with just the pry spots.

9:05 You don't want to mar up any of the mating surfaces with this.

9:08 Just got to take your time, be very cautious, and uh don't ruin anything.

9:13 Good thing about this RTV is it's still pretty wet, so it's easy to remove.

9:20 There's leaking oil on the floor.

9:25 Oh my god.

9:27 You know, I feel bad for Ben's floor.

9:30 You guys are stressing me out.

9:31 Hey, I guess we should have drained the oil.

9:34 Not drain the oil.

9:35 I didn't put that on the list.

9:36 It's my fault.

9:39 Is there oil in the oil can?

9:43 Yeah.

9:41 Oh my god, Mark.

9:45 Step one, drain oil.

9:49 So, now that we got the timing cover off,

9:52 we can go ahead and start working on these wheels here.

9:55 These have to come off.

9:57 And we are going to be putting on these wheels.

10:01 So, what this does, this allows us to run the FA20 ECU.

10:06 It's I believe 6° difference, and we don't have to tune it.

10:10 Hey, I am Hey, Lynn.

10:14 This is Lynn.

10:26 All right, we're going to slowly turn the engine over.

10:30 Okay.

10:32 Okay.

10:32 Okay.

10:34 Okay.

10:33 Remember all that RTV that was on my hands?

10:36 Well, I want to make sure that none of that is in the oil pan.

10:39 So, we're going to go ahead and take off

10:41 the exhaust header and take off this oil pan.

10:44 Make sure that none of that's in there.

10:46 Dude, this is this is terrible.

10:48 RTV in there.

10:49 I mean, it's at least dry.

11:00 Wa.

11:08 Wow.

11:08 Like a good grilled cheese, bro.

11:11 Oh, no.

11:11 But this is the good engine.

11:12 This is This is the good one.

11:14 Oh, RTV right here.

11:16 This is what they say is the problem with these.

11:23 Wait, get out of the way.

11:25 Oh my gosh.

11:26 This engine might already be toast, honestly.

11:29 Holy cow.

11:33 What?

11:32 That's RTV right there.

11:34 That gray stuff.

11:35 It's crazy because you hear about this kind of stuff

11:39 and you think it's overexaggerated.

11:41 Yeah.

11:41 Yeah.

11:42 I mean, you can see a little bit where oil can still come through.

11:44 Just a little bit.

11:46 That's insane.

11:47 That is a lot of RTV.

11:48 So, how we feeling?

11:50 This is the good one.

11:51 Right.

11:51 Right.

11:52 But it's also good that we took off,

11:54 dude.

11:54 You think the bearings are okay?

11:55 Like, this engine still has 50,000 mi like that.

11:59 What the oil pressure look like?

12:00 I'm not checking the bearings.

12:02 You going to check the bearings?

12:02 I'm not checking the bearings.

12:12 That took care of most of it.

12:18 I'm glad we decided to do this and not just like assume somebody else did it.

12:22 There is a lot of art.

12:23 Have you noticed all this up here, too?

12:25 Like,

12:26 dude, the flapping.

12:27 I know.

12:30 This is the sound of catastrophic engine failure.

12:33 All right.

12:34 Now, we got to clean up all the surfaces.

12:36 Yeah.

12:36 Yeah, the fun stuff.

12:39 All right, hop to it.

12:41 You got it, bud.

12:42 Go ahead.

12:42 You You said I'm the supervisor, so go ahead.

12:44 No, I think I said I'm the supervisor.

12:46 No, no, no.

12:46 No, I'll watch.

12:47 Go ahead.

12:47 You got it.

12:48 No.

12:48 You told me that I was in charge of

12:51 Well, Mark worked on cleaning up all the RTV off the surfaces.

12:54 I made a trip out to Advanced Auto Parts to get some supplies that we needed.

13:07 Okay, let's see.

13:08 Do you think we need some more some more RTV?

13:12 We are putting a Subaru engine together here after all.

13:17 All right.

13:20 Kidding.

13:20 I'm kidding.

13:38 So, it is 400 p.m.

13:40 which means we are 7 hours in basically

13:43 scraping our TV off of surfaces and getting

13:46 it ready to put covers back on and oil pans back on and stuff like that.

13:50 Once we do that, we will again start making progress really fast.

13:54 Uh, we got David Gran staff here, uh,

13:56 my old high school buddy, and he's helping us.

13:58 He's kind of our Mr.

13:59 wizard.

14:00 So, he's uh he's helping us uh get some of this wiring stuff figured out.

14:04 Just a little over a quarter of the way through our 24-hour aotment.

14:08 Ben's having a great birthday, I hope.

14:10 So, why am I shaking?

14:14 He's laying dimes.

14:15 Why am I shaking so much?

14:16 That's crazy.

14:23 Sitting.

14:23 Yep.

14:54 This is broken.

14:55 We have another one.

14:57 FA20 cover.

15:13 This is uh the pattern that you need to follow for all uh sorry 32.

15:19 Yeah.

15:20 Not not not 27 32

15:22 32 timing cover bolts.

15:23 This This is pretty insane.

15:25 Yeah.

15:25 Yeah.

15:25 Yeah.

15:27 32.

15:30 32.

15:29 Now go back and check them all.

15:34 So, uh the fuel pressure sensor from the FA24.

15:38 Just got to swap it to fuel pressure sensor for FA20.

15:42 You know, I know I'm just uh thinking about it now,

15:46 but maybe we should have changed out this like valve cover gasket.

15:51 Can you see the leak from your house?

15:52 No, I can't see the leak from my house.

15:54 I can't hear the rod knock from my house either.

16:06 Okay,

16:14 that looks like it.

16:30 Okay, it is 6:30, 628 to be specific.

16:35 That is 9 hours in.

16:37 9 and 1/2 hours in.

16:39 I I honestly thought we'd be a little further along.

16:41 Um but the engine is mostly together, so that's good.

16:44 They're doing wiring now.

16:46 Um, yeah, little things that are making

16:48 this take a little longer than I wanted to.

17:00 All right, we got pizza.

17:02 Time get some pizza.

17:03 After 10 hours of grueling work, the morale on the team was looking grim.

17:08 But it's nothing that some food can't fix.

17:10 And with all the renewed energy,

17:12 I was eager to install my favorite new part, the red intake manifold.

17:16 But I was let down once again when Mark told me that he

17:19 hadn't wired in the coolant temp sensor that goes under the manifold.

17:23 And he handed me a honeydew list to go shopping back

17:25 at Advanced Auto Parts to get some other supplies that we needed.

17:29 Meanwhile, the guys continued working on the engine.

17:45 Uh we've been using a guide document, but there's uh you know occasionally just

17:50 stuff that either is different for our situation

17:52 than what the guide document said or you know they might have forgotten.

17:57 Um but these uh these connectors just need a couple more inches.

18:02 I think we can all relate.

18:03 Well, if we go under, my pinky can go through.

18:06 So, it could now.

18:18 Now, we're going to put the intake manifold in.

18:21 Right, guys?

18:24 Hey, that's not bad.

18:25 Yeah, it's touching.

18:26 It's sitting on that.

18:28 Oh, dang.

18:38 Okay, now the intake going in.

18:40 Intake manifold is going in for real now.

18:44 Now it's for real.

18:50 It's on.

18:51 I think it's on.

18:52 Oh.

18:52 Oh, it's on.

19:12 Just take a minute to admire K swap, you know.

19:18 Take that.

19:18 Put that in the BRZ.

19:20 Ooh.

19:22 Ah.

19:25 Oo,

19:29 this comes with the pilot bearing pre-installed.

19:33 Mark, you're so cool with that backwards quadlock hat.

19:36 A thank you,

19:37 man.

19:37 And the Eclipse merch.

19:39 That's how you know it's getting late.

19:40 I'm complimenting you.

19:42 Yeah, right.

20:15 What a beauty.

20:21 Woo!

20:23 Oh my gosh, it's not even twisting.

20:28 Oh my gosh, it's crazy.

20:31 Yep.

20:31 Yep.

20:31 Yep.

20:31 Yep.

20:32 Yep.

20:32 Yep.

20:32 Yep.

20:34 Yes, sir.

20:35 All right, update.

20:36 It is 11:08.

20:38 Uh, so that puts us at 14 hours in.

20:41 Energy is still good, but I feel like energy is about to go down real fast.

20:45 So, uh, let's get this thing in as quickly

20:48 as possible before we all actually get tired.

20:56 There you go.

20:57 Yep.

20:57 All right, we're in.

21:02 You're getting there.

21:03 All right, so the car is in gear and we are turning the crank bolt.

21:08 The rear tire is moving very slowly.

21:11 Engine is officially connected.

21:13 All right.

21:13 So, we're going to drop the engine now.

21:15 Looks like the engine mounts are pretty much lined up.

21:18 So, does it look good?

21:20 How's How does she look?

21:21 It looks good, man.

21:22 Looks like it belongs in there.

21:24 M m.

21:38 All right.

21:39 So, we're kind of wrapping up the last little bits here.

21:42 Still need to put a battery in.

21:44 And we got a battery from Advanced.

21:46 Is that the negative?

21:47 Are you sure?

21:48 Positive.

21:49 I am positive.

21:51 Hey, we found fuel comes out of the fuel lines.

21:57 We're kind of allowing fuel to come out of these fuel

22:00 lines because we don't want any debris going into the injectors.

22:04 So, we're just uh priming the system a little bit, if you will.

22:08 We're running Valvvelene Restore and Protect in this thing.

22:10 Even though obviously the engine doesn't need any restoring,

22:13 we already looked in there.

22:14 There's no oil tarnish, which is fantastic,

22:16 but we do want to make sure it is protected,

22:18 which is why we're using nothing but the best Valins Restore and Protect.

22:24 I mean, it's in between the dots.

22:26 It's It's just just barely below.

22:28 I mean, it's sitting right there.

22:30 Okay.

22:30 I think I think it's plenty.

22:31 At least for a first start.

22:32 Yeah.

22:32 Good.

22:33 Good enough.

22:33 Good enough.

22:34 Good enough.

22:35 Just like uh this engine is good enough together.

22:39 Uh we're gonna we're gonna crank it over.

22:41 Make sure there's oil pressure and all

22:43 that and make sure the engine actually moves.

22:49 Oil light went out.

22:50 So, let's start this thing.

22:58 Hey, that's not all four cylinders.

23:03 Okay, they figured it out.

23:07 It's like, hey, what's going on?

23:08 I haven't had an engine in like 5 years.

23:12 Yeah.

23:12 Okay, it's me now.

23:14 Yeah, we should have done a 1.6 L swap in 16

23:17 hours apparently instead of instead of an FA24 in 24 hours.

23:21 So, it is successful that we can engine swap an FA24 into a BRZ within 24 hours

23:30 for a for a swap.

23:31 That's and and we had lunch and dinner.

23:34 First crank.

23:36 Oh yeah.

23:37 The fastest startup.

23:39 16 hours to a to an engine running in the car.

23:41 Well, um it's it's been fun.

23:44 It's been great.

23:45 Happy birthday.

23:46 It's got to sleep, which is now over.

23:49 Yep.

23:49 Yep.

23:50 You you have a engine that starts in a BRZ and doesn't drive yet, but

23:57 we'll get we'll get the car put together next episode,

24:00 but we got a lot in the next episode, though.

24:02 Yeah.

24:03 Yeah.

24:03 Yeah.

24:03 Yeah.

24:08 Just enough.