Hello im new to this site so be nice guys!

I've got a 2002 (bugeye) Impreza non turbo and my dads thinking of scrapping his 1996 jap import wrx which not long ago had a brand new engine bought for it but not got round to fitting, I've noticed both the engines are EJ20's so shouldnt be a problem swapping just need some advice on the ecu side of it would it just plug and play on the standard ecu or would the 1996 ecu fit the bug?

Thanks for any help guys

 

Forget about it boss in all honesty one of the biggest can of worms you'll ever open

 

If you take the whole of your dads car as a doner car, its doable.

 

You can do it me and my mate converted a non turbo bug to turbo but you will also need full loom front to rear cut front cross member new brake servo from a turbo better brakes suspension new ecu the list goes on really not worth the time and effort

 

Damn I've got an impreza sport gx thought it might handle the extra power and yeah I've got the full car to use as a doner is it just a case of splitting the loom to marry it with the other one?

 

I have a MY00 UK turbo and a MY07 R Sport. I also have a MY98 2.0 Sport which I am currently fitting the workings from another MY00 turbo into. Trust me it's probably not worth doing! It is a MASSIVE job.

You will need the engine, gearbox, rear diff, drive shafts, brake backing plates, possibly hubs, brake master cylinder, complete loom, ecu, all relays, fuses, alarm and immobilizer system, possibly fuel tank as I know the early sports don't have jet pumps or second senders and are lower capacity, Turbo, all the dash and switches, instrument cluster, all engine ancillaries many many bolts, fittings etc whole exhaust system and more I have forgotten.

It can be done. But my god it's hard and not worth it. Your current loom and ECU are completely wrong. You can't just chop and splice you need the whole thing. You then need every bit the loom attaches too as all the switches, dials, sensors etc are different types and fittings. Then all these items won't fit in your current dash for example. So you need the old dash. This probably won't even fit your car as its a different chassis. The MY00 dash doesn't even fit my MY98 without chopping it and making brackets!

Been there done most of it and wouldn't do it again! and that was on two classics only two years apart let alone a completely different model. I am also making the assumption that you are not experienced in these things (otherwise you would know that there is no way you could plug and play a turbo engine into a non turbo ecu). Please do not take offence at that comment but I like to think I have a pretty good idea what I am doing and have a bit of experience and a lot of good tools. It's certainly not something to be tried by somebody who isn't sure what to do.

Again please don't take what I said as insulting or rude. It isn't supposed to be. It's just honest.

Why can't you get hold of the 1996 car and have it yourself and put the new engine in?