'14 Engine compatibility with '13 chassis
 

So I have a '13 BRZ and the engine spun a bearing, likely due to the recall about a month prior, but it's looking like I am going to be stuck paying for the new block.

Looking at used engines, most of what I'm seeing for '13s are subject to the recall and the dealer here is going to charge labor for the recall work on a second engine. Plus I'm not even sure I would want them to (though it's at a different dealer than the one which screwed up the first time...) as it doesn't seem particularly necessary. I really need the car to be running though as it's my only vehicle and I'm currently paying for a rental.

I am finding '14 engines available but conflicting information here on the forums. Some places say it's drop in pnp, but there are definitely different camshaft part #s, which may or may not be the same.

Has anyone dropped a '14 motor into a '13 chassis? If so, what all was needed? Are there any timing/tune issues as well? The car has a full exhaust/headers/airbox and tune but I don't know much more than it's a greddy exhaust/intake, as it was purchased that way, and it was likely tuned @Drift-Office in Auburn, WA - though that can't be verified as they track info via plate, not VIN. Any info at all helps.

Thanks in advance

TLDR; What needs to be done to drop a '14 engine into a '13 chassis?

It'll go right in. Some sensors MIGHT be different but you can just move the sensor or simply use the engine harness from the 14. There are some differences there for sure as Subaru has a different conversion harness for 13 and 14 if you swap to 15 coilpacks. And that is something you might want to consider as upgrading to the 15+ coilpacks and using the new OEM harness (or splice the ends to convert it). The 15+ coilpacks are superior and won't fail as often, especially if you track the car. Obviously it's a good time to replace the spark plugs as well.

I haven't put a 14 engine into a 13 but have put a 15 engine into a 13 and just used the new conversion harness. That did require moving the oil temp and coolant temp sensors from the 2013 engine as they used different plugs from the '15. I probably should have just bought a 2015 harness in hindsight. (the place I bought the engine from cut the original 2015 harness so I couldn't just use that one).

All in all it's an easy swap. Mine was a little more complex since I the 15 engine was out of a 6AT and my 13 is a 6MT but it was still a weekend swap at most.

So if I just pick up the wiring harness for a '14 as well it should be pretty much a drop in with the harness swap as well? Is the harness different again from the 14 to 15, for the coils and/or other sensors? While I'd like to have superior parts obviously, I'm not doing the work myself so am basically looking to make it as easy as possible since the car is currently sitting at a dealer.

Did you run into any ecu/timing issues? It seems like the part #s for camshafts and stuff are different... It's probably going to get retuned anyways, but if it'll run properly without, that is a big plus as I don't think there is a tuner super close and it's way more convenient to drive it there! Since it's at the dealer they say they can't reflash over the tune that's on it, and a new ecu is $$.

Thanks so much for your quick reply and detailed info!

Thanks for posting this. I've actually been very curious on motor compatibility through the different model years on these cars. Has anyone done anything with the '16+ motors back to '13?

I'm running my 15 engine on a stock 13 ECU. We also just swapped a 13 engine into a 15 and it started right up without any codes/issues on a stock 15 ECU. As mentioned above we had to swap the oil and water temp sensors off the 15 engine onto the 13 engine to use the 15 harness but that takes a few seconds, otherwise everything else just plugs in. Now swapping the harness itself is a bit more of a pain in the arse since you have to pull the intake manifold. It's not hard really just time consuming. I haven't run either car hard yet and my 2013 will get tuned before it sees any real use (track car not legally registered so no street driving). The car we just swapped yesterday needs an exhaust and paperwork inspection before we drive it on the street to test on it but I don't see any reason that it'll have an issue. At most it'll be tune related.

17+ or 16+? I wasn't around here much in 16 and didn't know they made any real changes that year. 17 had the exh and int manifold differences of course. Either way though we've somehow only been swapping 15s and 13s here.