How To Build a Subaru Engine (FA20DIT)

[@devinmartin3673]

Thanks for giving the FA20 some love, Tanner! Love all the EJ content, but there are SO MANY FA20 WRX's and soon to be a lot of FA24 WRX's on the road. I think diving into the FA engines is a great way to continue to grow the channel and educate a lot of Subaru enthusiasts.

[@Smeedia]

When the opportunity to do the FA some comes up, I'll make more videos on them 🙏

[@SimonPhoenix2022]

For real going forward I think the FA will be the future since the ej is discontinued

[@BoostedFA]

My subaru tech friend doesn't care much for the fa24.. ive only ever owned this fa20... its interesting to see all of the motors.

[@BoostedFA]

@@SimonPhoenix2022 facts..

[@peterose4650]

Devin, are you still building Evo's?

[@Silent_Shadow]

I build engines daily and I still watched this with a joint in hand. Good stuff.

[@jamesthorp9271]

Tanner, Subaru of Japan stated that all the tightening and loosening of the case half bolt was designed to release trapped air and gas that might get compressed in the sealant. It's supposed to make it last longer and not cause leaks as easily.

[@Smeedia]

Good to know! I figured it was to align the cases properly but that makes more sense 🔥

[@LIGMUS69]

finally someone is doing it. I've watched so many videos of engine assembly and almost no one pays attention to the cleanliness of the parts. everyone assembles right away, skipping a very important point of assembly - the cleanliness of the parts

[@thecroxshop8683]

FA24 shortblock actually goes together like an EJ again they went back to the straight connecting rods for better durability. So now you have to again take the plugs out of the block and remove the wrist pins and pistons off the rods.

[@Smeedia]

Tbh I'm kinda glad they did that then 😅🔥

[@esg_zom3319]

Subaru made it easy to assemble, but hard to get past 100k without a rod exploding

[@shiloh5199]

I just copped a 2017 WR like 2 weeks ago, so I'm really happy to see this because I'm more familiar with the EJ.

[@Smeedia]

Eyyyy perfect timing then for this one 🔥

[@ear3800]

7:12 I am not a mechanic or mechanical engineer so i know little about engine assembly but Im a structures engineer and i know that by lubricating a bolt, you loose friction force which means the bolt will be under higher stress that can lead past its yield point resulting in permanent deformation.

[@Smeedia]

Per Subaru FSM they want you to lubricate the threads, I wouldent stray from the FSM on that one

[@saltycanadian6190]

I’m waiting for my FA to blow up. I’m saving for a wrx that got written off from a tbone or rear end collision. Then I’ll grab the motor, sleeve it, port and polish the heads, remachine the mating surfaces, forged crank, forged rods and pistons. I hate doing the ring gaps, so I just pay my machinists to do it.

[@JonathanPryorEE]

This is way more straightforward than I thought it would be! Definitely going to be building my fa20 in the near future

[@Smeedia]

It's really not too hard with these ones 🔥

[@bradgreen987]

Yeah, us FA owners love the content. Fun to see differences from EJ series. Wish I had those Manley rods!! Only way to make power in FA's

[@Smeedia]

I'll definitely try and do some more FA stuff 🙏

[@6ryant__]

You're the man, I started watching this, then saw the link to your video about measuring tolerances and watched that. I must say, I feel a lot less nervous about wanting to dive into a block now. Tanner spec block > IAG stage 2 :O

[@Smeedia]

I promise it's not as hard as people think to build them, biggest thing is taming the time to measure everything 🔥🙏

[@TheE3R]

15:40 ring gaps off set...💪🔥just like the M16/M4 rifle bolt gas rings it goes off set

[@1atinlove]

I am happy! Love it, we need more of it. All I want from Santa Smeedia, is a video on FA20 cylinder head builds or duct work fabrication...throw in some head gasket information...thank you Santa Smeedia, I promise to go full throttle and all in at every track day

[@Smeedia]

One day hopefully 💔 I don't have any FA20 heads right now 😭

[@alexanderlopez2255]

Just got my fa20 wrx tuned , might have to tear it apart so I can do this now

[@paulmarsdensr1095]

I went from a 2017 WRX to a 2020 STI. I like both motors. A great video brother. Subies for life.

[@Smeedia]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@notwebster]

love seeing this since I'm on FA as well, hopefully we get to see this bad boy running!

[@Smeedia]

This one's going to California so we won't see her run 💔

[@omialmanza1900]

Im on a FA, and love the whole subaru content Smeedia pumps out, Nice to see an FA assembly done right👍🏼!

[@Smeedia]

Trying to get some FA stuff out there 🙏🤝

[@lukemclellan5901]

Cheers for this, ive bent a stock rod after 6 years of being turbo on my GT86. gonna change out the rods for h beams and just keep running the 11psi and hopefully have no more bent rods in the future haha

[@spacedmellow5031]

I hope the fa24 will be even more reliable. So far the 22 hasn’t disappointed me on stock tune

[@Smeedia]

Time shall tell what they've got in store 🔥

[@chaoticcritterz3766]

This is awesome, got a 2020 WRX a couple months ago, came from a 2005 blazer and man I love it, looking to learn as much as I can so love that you broke down the fa20 a bit 🤟🏼

[@peterose4650]

I'm a EJ boy through and through, but I also really enjoyed this video. TY!!!

[@Smeedia]

Had to give the FAs a little love 😅

[@spoopdiewoopdie8092]

YAY FA LOVE !!! I had to do a rebuild on mine the oil return blew out the turbo and by time I realized it. It was way to late. But now that I have it running I wanna build it !!! Thanks to this video I’m determined to build one now. Just need to source a short block. Dk if it’s smarter to buy a short block from Subaru and build it with manely or just 100% rebuild a used short block

[@Smeedia]

Offer up and FB marketplace is where I get all of mine! You can snag then for deals!

[@enj5932]

ourfront short block closed deck and long block assembly and tuning by prime motoring P3X FA engine build with fp blue turbo. E60 blend. Almost 24k miles on the build and compression tested recently and checked out good. when built right and maintained shit will last.

[@thatsleeperwrx5193]

What a great time to release this video, right after my stock FA20DIT bent some rods :)

[@Smeedia]

Nooooo 😭😭😭😭

[@neal2608]

Thanks Tanner! It is every Subaru engine's dream to be on your bench!

[@Smeedia]

🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@codykellner9985]

Perfect timing...needed this vid right now haha

[@Smeedia]

Got you my man 🤝

[@BboySweenkie]

Nice video man! just got the 22 wrx and I'm loving the fa24. thanks for the enjoyable content as always!

[@Smeedia]

How are you liking it?! 😁🔥

[@BboySweenkie]

@@Smeedia it’s awesome man! Great power band, handles very well. Bout to get some sway bars and coils

[@Pharowave]

Dropping some love for the FA20! Love to see it

[@Smeedia]

Gotta give it some every now and then 🔥

[@da9pauly]

Great info where do you source your tech data from??

[@Smeedia]

For owm specs, I get them sleight from the FSM for clearances I math it all out lol

[@roybrown7717]

why did you not oil the wrist pins? just out of curiousity

[@Smeedia]

They had oil on them already 🤝

[@fredmortensen5107]

Best video intro I’ve seen in a long time!!! Great job bud!

[@Slushiie]

looks like Christmas came early for us fa20 bois.

[@Smeedia]

🎅

[@award_]

Thank you for the FA vid Tanner!

[@Smeedia]

Anytime Alex! 🥳

[@troym541]

Can not wait to see what this turns into!!!! Keep up all the awesome work :)

[@Smeedia]

Thank you Troy 🔥

[@IZylusI]

I love that we're getting FA20 content, but what I've learned from this is that I should just let someone else build my engine for me, cause I don't trust myself with all these measuring and tolerance things. Maybe I'll try it one day on a used engine, and then if it's not as bad as I thought, I'll put together a build engine

[@Smeedia]

Nothing wrong with that, it can he a little off putting doing it your first time 🙏🙏

[@MrDrumming89]

cant wait to give this motor the life it deserves and give it the beans!

[@Smeedia]

ALL OF THE BEANS!

[@WRX_TunedFA20]

I MISSED THIS VOICE CHANGER!!😂😂😂 finally Fa20 build that we were waiting ❤

[@Smeedia]

Lmao I couldn't help it 😅😅😅

[@WRX_TunedFA20]

@@Smeedia 🤣🤣

[@LSev1215]

I'm happy you don't have to punch out the wrist pins through the access holes like on the EJ's XD

[@898orion]

Thanks for the links for the service manuals.

[@phengbun1820]

I guess I will need to buy the 2022WRX and rebuilding it into the STi version

[@Smeedia]

Send it 🔥

[@kevinkeller2876]

Thank you good Sir for your time and effort. Keep up good work and keep having fun.

[@Smeedia]

Anytime Kevin 🥳

[@DarkWolfWRX]

Id like to see you do an FA24DIT in the future, but hopefully not due to a breakage haha. They seem to be proving much more stout that the 20's little rods. An with the announcement that the JB4 will have 5th injector support thats goin to be super neat.

[@Smeedia]

Hopefully one day we may be able to do some VB stuff 🔥🔥

[@johnlexus1]

My machine shop is charging $550 to resurface the heads of a ej257. Does it seem fair price?

[@Smeedia]

No, normal price is like $300 MAX for a resurface

[@the_grim_griefer]

EJ...FA...I just like the Subaru community. Cool cars; thanks for another great video.

[@Smeedia]

Both are solid options 🔥

[@SimonPhoenix2022]

Need the ditto manifold!!

[@Smeedia]

Ditto manifold? 👀👀👀

[@SimonPhoenix2022]

@@Smeedia Process West 'DITTO' intake manifold badass for fa20

[@rhamog8548]

Hey mate we still want to see more em stuff that is where my heart lays and will forever same with a lot of us and now the Ej engine has ended so it is great content that we all luv EJ or not really it’s jsut as we all are EJ is our father ahahah he taught us everything we know about Subaru ahaha

[@mendez_guzman9661]

why do you scrape some of the material and how do you know how much to scrape? the compression and oil scraper

[@Smeedia]

To set your ring rap, they normally come too tight so you need to make the ring smaller by using the ring grinder. 🙏

[@mendez_guzman9661]

@@Smeedia how much do you scrape of?

[@ndog1234765]

​@mendez_guzman9661 The ring manufacturer will give you a guide based on usage. In my twin turbo Ford engine, high boost/nos was 7 thousandths per inch of bore. So a 4 inch bore should measure 0.028 or 28 thousandths, in this scenario. The looser your ring gap, the less chance of them butting up and causing ringland failure, but it will also increase oil consumption.

[@tikterd12345]

little zoom spout bottle or a small ketchup bottle for a dollar is super handy for general purpose oil use

[@Smeedia]

This is genius!

[@goman5523]

How much power could this particular build take

[@Smeedia]

It'll do 500whp all day 🤝

[@Brisky86]

Thank you for the FA20 video tanner! I love to see what the newer engines look like.

[@SGQ12]

What website to download the technical specs pls and thank you

[@Cbrmansc77]

You make it look so easy lol. You rock bro!

[@cougfan755]

Very informative and appreciated. I need some VB content my dude. That would be pretty dope!

[@Smeedia]

Maybe one day 😅🤝

[@patrickmckavanagh606]

Hey I have a scenario I’d really like your advice about; my sons engined failed 2 years ago on his 2016 Subaru WRX 2.0 L DO HC inter cooled turbo engine with 44,000 miles on it. Subaru service found turbo charge shaft broken and impellers damaged. The short block cylinders 3 rod bearing also failed and found a lot of metal in the engine oil. Luckily, this was under power Tran warranty. Subaru replaced the short block turbo, oil feed lines, high pressure fuel line and oil pan at no cost. In October 2022 he was checking the oil and heard a tapping noise. I took it to the local Subaru service center who replaced the short block and turbo 2 years ago. They diagnosed it needed an engine rebuild to replace short block assembly, rod knock cylinder 4 at the cost of $ 8046.32. They said it was out of the one year warranty on parts from when they replaced it two years ago. The car only has 65,000 miles on it. I found the old invoice from two years ago which I never looked at because it said no charge on it and noticed that on the last page of the invoice it states after replacing the short block and turbo and engine reassemble they started the engine for a test drive. The engine check light came on Cam P00ll camshaft position timing over advanced bank1. They removed the cover and inspected the cam pulleys and found all 4 pulleys still had debris in them from when the engine failed and needed to be replaced. They replaced all four cam pulleys and reassembled the engine again. My question to you is can the debris that they found after replacing the new short block and turbo get into the short block oil passageway or oil galleries and heads and Over time cause it to fail again two years later causing # 4 rod to knock? What do you think?

[@ricosummerlin6234]

Tanner, this is a awesome video I’m happy you did this. Gotta show some more FA20 love soon hopefully show us how you time these and etc.

[@alivenumber5]

Where are you buying the block and components? All I see are pre assembled

[@t-performance463]

What do you do for bearing clearance on the rods in this I want to rebuild mine

[@Smeedia]

On these I did 0015-.002 for the mains and .002 on the rods 🙏

[@dandiaz4052]

Lmao that intro is by far my favorite. The glorious, dirty… fa20 😂😂

[@Smeedia]

Lmao had some fun with it 😅🔥

[@subaruxv19]

I wish there was more fb20 aftermarket support

[@Smeedia]

They're not the best for power but it's definitely do-able 🙏

[@statiksky1]

AVO turbo world makes a kit for the fb20. I don't have any experience with it. I've only come across one person on youtube that posted about it on his gen 1 crosstrek.

[@subaruxv19]

@@statiksky1 yeah I saw that but if I'm spending a lot on my car I'd rather have forged rods and pistons at least

[@dylanwatkins1019]

Doesn’t the transmission then become the problem past 350-400whp?

[@Smeedia]

Anything above 400 gets dicey, torque is the real killer

[@rporter996]

Are you going to be assembling the heads as well I would love to see that as well!

[@Smeedia]

I am not, this was just a shortblock I was building for someone 🙏

[@rporter996]

@@Smeedia Bummer well I appreciate the great video and information!

[@kevind_53]

The editing is killer🚀🌛

[@Smeedia]

Eyyy, thanks Kevin 🤝🔥

[@DREAMS2REAlITY]

Hopefully you do a video on the heads and timing as well not sure how similar it is to the ej and a cost breakdown would be awesome im currently considering my options for my 2016 wrx runs great still but pretty much at the limit of stock block anyway keep up the great videos 📹

[@Smeedia]

Hopefully in the near future we can, this was just the block today 💔

[@ChristopherFranz]

HAHA OMG Dat intro! Nice and informative - de-mistifies engine building fears.

[@Smeedia]

It ain't too bad to do 🥳

[@ryanjohnson8581]

I need to stop watching all these. Now I wanna build a engine. 🙌🏼🎊

[@Smeedia]

BUILD IT 😈

[@razzor4708]

This is such a good work man, very educational and professional! Thank you!

[@Smeedia]

Ryyyy, appreciate it! 🥳

[@single_cam9199]

Where can I get that print out of pdf.

[@Smeedia]

The FSM 🤝 link is in the description 🙏

[@hectoritocars9976]

when you buy piston and rods, how do you know for what hp they are rated for?

[@Smeedia]

Rods have a rating doe what they can handle, pistons typically trial and error. Thankfully have a few mentors that have helped me 🙏

[@SR20DEV8]

Great job on the fa20 vid .... Been waiting for you to do one ...🤙🤙🤙🤙👍👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Smeedia]

Finally got one out 🔥😁

[@pantology]

Thanks for the FA20 content! I saw Manley Pistons, What Rods did you use?

[@rporter996]

Yessss cant wait to watch this one!!!

[@Smeedia]

🔥😁🤝

[@MidoChan808]

bro your editing is fuckin great tbh, i dont even have a fa20 and would not ever want one lol but i still watch. im pretty sure youve done an ej build video before but i cant remember. ill have to find it soon hahaa

[@Smeedia]

I've done 3 or 4 EJ build videos but figured jd shoe the FA series one 😅🔥

[@Georgy_47]

I like the fa20 new doesn’t mean bad and as long as we have gasoline engine I will still buy Subaru until they make an ev. Maybe I will buy the ev and drive the sub to car meets 😊

[@jimt4888]

Great video and thanks for the FA20 build!

[@toddtv3868]

Good stuff as always. Where can I get a copy of that assembly printout?

[@richardlam909]

Hi Tanner I am in need of some help and could some advice. Bought a turbo and it's not clearing the intake manifold. It has a 3in inlet that hits the manifold on the right. It feel like its sitting to the right a bit. I want to move it back and to the left if possible. I have tomei ELH and uppipe. Cobb fuel rails, aos, injectors, ebcs. Trying to refrain from tgv delete since I'm using the AP platform for tuning. I was thinking I need a different uppipe.

[@Smeedia]

Snag some 8mm manifold spacers that should help a wee bit 🙏 If not tgv housings may be needed....

[@bubbabrannan5915]

Thank you for making us aware of the Schmoo and the walk thru...Parts delivery SUCKS!!! THANX Tanner 👍

[@Smeedia]

Parts be taking FOREVER 💔

[@Haze121201]

What kind of power would those internals be good for? And what turbo stock option if any would you recommend?

[@Smeedia]

This engine will reliably do 500whp all day, FP Blue or socal ported turbo are great options

[@86imports]

Where’s the list of pieces u bought? I’m searching for a forged crankshaft but I can’t find it

[@followtheornghat]

That intro was amazing 😂. Is this the giveaway block that's going out or is this going into a car you guys are working on?

[@Smeedia]

Yessir this was the giveaway one from last time 🙏

[@followtheornghat]

@@Smeedia wait time for certain parts is getting crazy.

[@christophersanizaca7185]

My motor is in pieces 😭I wanna put it back together since it has been disassembled from the dealership and I haven’t been able to drive it for half a year and I wanna put it back together they said I over boosted and over revved and a valve was smacking the piston or whatever so I wanna see if I can do it myself

[@tragedygaming3186]

Are you using the cam angle sensor in your eg33? If so how many teeth are on it i.e 12 minus 1, i cant find this information for the life of me.

[@Smeedia]

12 -1, I had a custom CNC made adaptor to use the stock sprocket with an EJ25 pump. The sensor is offset from the sproct to read the front teeth

[@tragedygaming3186]

@@Smeedia 12-1 is your custom or stock eg33?

[@ebrahimsule9314]

Is the connectin rod all look same location

[@Visca_Motion_Pictures]

Lmao bro this is the freakin humor that Immediately got my follow like 4-5 years ago!😆😆😆

[@justinalp03]

Hey! Loved the video, super educational. What’s the part # on the pistons and rods you used?

[@daniyaalmaneveld3779]

Subbed, where can I find the print outs?

[@pierredeklerk468]

Hi Tanner, thanks for the build info. Very helpful. What mods can be done to stock FA20 heads in order to handle big power?

[@Smeedia]

What is your definition of big power? 🤝

[@pierredeklerk468]

@@Smeedia 500+ 👍🏻

[@megatiz1]

where do you get the fsm from ?

[@Smeedia]

Linked in description 🤝

[@alecbarba3748]

Question: I took your advice to heart of not to buy a first year car of a new generation. However the new RS Impreza “updates” took everything they have had already in their other cars for years; infotainment, engine, etc. does that give this one an exception because lack of “new” parts and features?

[@Smeedia]

There may be small bugs with it but nothing that software updates or minor r3calls can't correct. I'd say if you want it go for it 🥳

[@jakeboy62]

I’m confused. At least for CP doing my gap calculations it shows .018. Which is quiet a bit of a change between ours

[@AnesWrx]

Thank you Smeedia

[@Smeedia]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@CHINOINBB]

just wondering but would u ever dabble in the EZ engines?

[@jaydencruz-n8o]

Hey what about the ring gaps orientation?

[@kgthegreatone943]

Nice stay warm

[@Smeedia]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@mcjags06]

The long awaited video I've been waiting on!!! 😂👍👌✌️ Also is it a way you can email me that field service manual?

[@Smeedia]

Had it coming 🔥🙏

[@bob-gk3to]

Cryogenically treat every part and WPC it and use long rods instead of shorter ones that'll do it

[@ericmoss8344]

Great build! It's fun watching your builds... successes and failures alike. It's like how most of us non professional garage do-it-ourselves work. :) BTW, what digital Torque Wrench are you using? I've been thinking of replacing/updating my old 'click' wrenches for a while.

[@Smeedia]

Mine is a Gear Wrench 3/8 Torque Wrench, Its annoyuing with how often it beeps but it works awesome!

[@MasterChief0093]

I bought a built motor that my friend had done for his FRS. Would it be wise to take it apart and put it back together to be sure it was done properly?

[@ndog1234765]

Depends how much you trust the friend. Does he or she have a history of their built engines exploding?

[@christopherrogers8316]

im getting my bottom end swapped with a built one, can i swap over the timing components? old block onlly has 20k miles and is in superb condition, please help!

[@MorganBrown]

Dumb questions: is this an OEM engine or aftermarket? What about this particular engine makes it more resilient to blowing up than the stock FA20?