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My first hand knowledge is from 86 through 93.

LOL - you can not tell just by looking at them.. you need to disassemble and check the bearing itself if it rotates smoothly with no binding, no slop, no crunchiness or notchy feeling then yeah, it is fine. but if there is ANY slop, binding, or anything other than smooth movement it needs to be replaced. As an example - the other half has a 2006 LL Bean Outback with around 180K that we just put new struts in... the top mounts "looked" fine, but once we had things apart it was VERY obvious the one was completely shot, there was a lot of slop in the bearing..

Oh, 1/4" thick would be enough. Be safer to go 3/8" . If you need more torque than that can handle, you'll probably need to go with my custom air hammer bit to break it loose. It is difficult to get enough force holding the socket engaged with the nut when large torque is applied.

Decided to take my 85 Brat for a late evening cruise. I just installed the roll-bar lights and wanted to see how they would do at night. Stopped for a bit to enjoy the silence of an old farm road and snapped a picture.

Same opinion as above. Im involved with even older 1600 stuff and you see people say that absolutely can’t get this or that but there’s always a way. In your case not as difficult. Unless the engine is really showing symptoms and is embarrassing to drive then keep it going while you gather all the bits you’ll need to freshen it up. Not sure this applies but also keep in mind there are sometimes sleeve kits for the tranny main shaft. And hunt out any new Old Stock you can scrounge up like a third gear synchro. Guys like me want to see younger folks keep the torch lit. If you’re serious about keeping it a long time it is possible and not as hard as you might think as long as you have an eye to the future wear and tear. I just re-read your post. Is yours a rare automatic ? Sure have seen an EA82 in a gen two Brat , it was driven from Maine to NJ to romp around with our group and it was a multiport as I recall. As above , go EJ22 instead. If you get that manual ea81 and yours is auto. , you’ll need to swap your out going engine’s bellhousing onto the new one. couple things I’m probably forgetting but all pretty straight forward. And you can probably find good info searching archives too.

Best option is probably to rebuild what you have. Contrary to common belief it can still be done with some patience in getting parts. I wouldn't even bother with an EA82. If your going to swap the engine then put an EJ22 in it. This will be quite a bit more time and trouble than fixing what you have. At 200k miles you are just getting started with an EA81

personally, i have never bothered much with the boots, but that is personal preference. Top mounts, most likely are needed if they have never been replaced. Unfortunately there is only one way to really check them, and that is to take the assembly apart. I tend to be proactive on a "new to me" vehicle that has obviously worn suspension and will just order new front tophats, just because. They are a somewhat important part of the steering after all. Also take a really good look at the springs - my 95 had a broken one when I got it.. it is not super common, but it does happen

In my experience on a 2004 and 2006 Baja Turbo (same engine basically) they run around 197 F cruising. And upwards of 212-214 stationary until fans kick on and bring the temperature back. While 100 C might sound scary because water boils at 100 C. Remember it's coolant, so the boiling point is already higher naturally. And the pressure in the system (~ 16 psi) raises the boiling point even more. Now would 230+ F start to worry me, oh heck yeah. But cruising at 95 C (203 F) i wouldn't worry too much personally. As for why the fans come on at 95 C, I'm not to sure. What brand thermostat are you running? It needs to be an OEM or OEM style. Most aftermarkets don't open properly on these cars. And what temperature is it rated to open at?

Failing your local hardware store, I'd be looking at McMaster-Carr, Grainger, etc.

Miles; Just a tip. Only buy a Subaru pcv, the parts store ones have been known to suck the oil right out.