24 hours to engine swap my BRZ with an FA24
Gears and Gasoline
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.