Leaderboard

Both forester2002 and HASx11 suggested that I check the battery, terminals, and cables. My first thought was, "Do these posters think I'm an idiot?" But since I was completely out of ideas, I decided I would check the battery and terminals AGAIN. The positive terminal was tight and the cables look good. The negative terminal was really tight, but as I put pressure on it with the wrench, I noticed that the cable moved! The clamp was snug but I could still rotate it a little. I looked closer and saw that there were washers preventing the clamp from completely tightening. I removed the washers, tightened the clamp a couple of turns, and wonder or wonders: The problem was solved! Unbelievable. LOL Thanks to forester2002 and HASx11.

You're right at the tail end of a great time to buy - you should be able to wheel and deal, i'd do it sooner rather than later. I got a 97 OBS years ago for my wifes car specifically because of how great of a platform they are. Easy to maintain and they run forever. Rust would be a huge determining factor for me - it's such a time, energy, problem, and resource sucker over time. Yes Interference - give it a complete timing belt kit when you buy it. Even if the belt has been replaced they won't replace the pulleys and they are the frequent failure points, not the belt. So a belt replacement is quite literally worthless statistically speaking. While doing the belt it's wise to also replace the crank seal, cam seals, cam cap orings, and reseal the oil pump. That looks like a long list but it's just a few $3 parts and not much extra time. The timing belt has to come off to replace any of those so it's wise to do them all at the same time. Those older seals will be prone to leak by this age/mileage anyway.

Installed this guy with the help of the forum. $30 off amazon for the unit. Also got the faceplate, harness, and an antenna extender off of there.

Sometimes the easiest solution works! I called AAA once because my 03 Forester wouldn't start after stopping at an Interstate rest stop. While waiting I opened the hood and low and behold both negative and positive cables were loose! I had only drive 1,000 miles without issue. Tightened them up and away I went. Cancelled the AAA call for a boost

15561B and it's by Walker. it came with a needle but no float, so you might want that when rebuilding the carb.

Like an EJ conversion. Done right and looked after it's a very good swap that comes with reliability. I'm still running on my same EJ conversion done ten years ago it also makes the L series a much more enjoyable car to drive. So patch that issue and plan for an EJ conversion I say! Cheers Bennie

Map lights: grab the factory wiring and you *should* find a matching plug under your dash for them to be powered from. Cheers Bennie

PS pump.

thread probably died by now but it turned out the main harness was shorting out to the block thanks for all the help but im sticking weber now that that non sence is fixed

Reboot your existing axle. I've rebooted multiple loud, vibrating inner joints with broken boots and they quieted right up with 100% success rate so far. Worth a shot over craptastic aftermarket axles anyway. I've seen multiple aftermarket axles blow to pieces shortly after install, they're very inconsistent.

Tucson AZ trip for weekend. Spent time with sister & brother in law from Friday to Tuesday early AM. Went to Kartchner Caverns AZ state park. We did tour of "Throne room" & "Rotunda room" - almost 100% humidity & approx 72*F. No cellphone nor cameras are allowed in caves. No multiple layers of clothing are needed to keep warm in that. They'll be changing over to LED lighting to help keep heat down. Bats were in another chamber. Neat stuff. https://azstateparks.com/kartchner/ Tried out 180W curved light bar in eastern Tucson. Outstanding. Rear 27W work light is just enough too.

I responded to your other post, but I figured this would help stimulate more content too... Personally, I wouldn't put that block and those heads together. I WOULD use that 2.5L SOHC block to mate with 25D heads though. I think a lot of folks do the EJ22 heads/intake on 2.5D block. I've done that, and I wasn't very impressed. The heads do not flow very well, and power was lost above 3500 rpm for me. Lots of Low-end torque, almost like a truck though. I am now running a 2.5L block from a 2001 Impreza (SOHC) with heads from a '97 Outback (2.5L DOHC; Found the heads for $600 reconditioned from SuperRupair in Boulder, CO. I'd call and talk to Doug. See if he has anything on hand. Their used warehouse is worth a visit. They have shelves, 10-foot tall full of 2.5L heads, and anything else you can dream of. I'm not sure if they'll ship, but it's worth a shot). + STI MLS headgaskets. The power is above and beyond what the other motor had. It has consistent power/gain/pull all the way to 6000 rpm. If it wasn't in a legacy wagon, I think it would give some stock wrx's a fun run. Whatever you do though, the intake/heads have to match the wiring/ECU. So for anything pre-SOHC you need that spec intake/heads...My legacy is also a big pile of rust now, and I'm looking to move the motor to a donor. I'm constrained to pre-1999 though with this intake/heads choice. Once you go to SOHC-land (post-1999), I'm unfamiliar with what can be used for high-compression builds. Greg

Subaru dealer? in a new thread, you could aask for a shop suggestion near your city - someone may know of a Subaru-friendly independent mechanic. Talk to them about a pre-purchase inspection. Use any serious issues as a reason to either walk away, or get a lower price. At minimum, you waant to drive on-off the freeway after warm-up and watch the temp gauge and maybe look at the overflow bottle for excess fluid or bubbles. Drive in tight circles on dry pavement - should be no grabbing/bucking. Tires need to be IDENTICAL - not just same size - same brand and model too. If they cannot prove unequivocally that a PROPER timing belt system service was done, assume you need to have that done at least.

You can get a ping like that if the bearing at the top of the strut tower isn't rotating, the strut spring winds up and maybe shifts a little. Of course something left loose could do it too.