Durania

The headgasket issues was why I wanted to stick to the Impreza OBS. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the 96 Legacy Outback the coveted one because it has the EJ22 in it and not the EJ25?

I should have adequate clearance underneath?

Wife and I are wanting another vehicle to use to haul trash off, take camping, or other miscellaneous items. My 2.5RS coupe is not a practical vehicle for hauling large items. She has an 04 Accord that can haul some larger items than my RS. The years I would like to stick to are 97-01. She cannot drive manual and I will not let her learn on my RS. She wouldn't mind learning so we are both cool with an auto or a 5 speed. I realize that the phase 2 EJ22 is in these things. Mileage is not an object either as long as it is in good mechanical upkeep and not rusted out. Color preference would be for the Blue ridge pearl two tone or the acadia green two-tone. Main question is: What is USMB's dealings/experiences with this model of OBS?

Will one of them be sufficient or will I need to use two to space my o2 sensor back?

Thanks man. Looking like I will give this a try before I order some high dollar sensor.

Bump. Code cleared on Saturday, back today.

Wow, very nice.

Cool link, thanks. Might just end up doing that. I guess I will put it on the 02 sensor after the cat, correct?

Well I have a hand-held auto scanner that I bought in 2005 to clear codes on my old 97 Tacoma. I cannot seem to get it to read codes on my Impreza, it just errors out. I hate letting them guys at the auto parts store touch this thing. Luckily last time I was there, I just asked the guy to delete the code, he told me he didn't know how and just handed it to me. Guess I am going to give my mechanic a call tomorrow.

Well that is some good news. There was a big recall back in the day where Subaru was replacing a ton of front oxygen sensors under the WXW80 campaign. Found this on Nasioc archives: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-470959.html

Connie, good to hear from you. When people run unequal length headers on these things, they put a spacer on the rear 02 sensor to get it out of the stream so it fools the ECU into thinking its running within tolerance. I get about 27-28 mpg with a mixture of both city, and interstate driving. The higher octane seemed to clear it up the other day. I have put about 1500-2000 miles on it since then. Don't know if it matters or not. The weather here has changed quite a bit lately, some days it sunny, other days really cool and drizzle. Another thing while I was thinking of it. The entire exhaust portion was off the car in July when I had a clutch put in. It just seems improbable that it all of a sudden decided to act up.

Month ago I got this P0420 code when I was getting on the interstate (Was getting on it pretty hard). Went to Advance and had the code cleared the next day. CEL description said it was dealing with catalyst insufficiency. Stopped by shell that day, filled up with 93 octane and never had the code come back. Today on my way home from work I got the check engine light again. Two days ago I filled up with 87 octane ethanol blended fuel. I checked the maintenance history on my car and it shows the cat replaced before along with the recall for the front 02 sensor. I am running factory headers with an STi catback. Car has 112k. Could the crappy gas have something to do with it? Anything I can run in the car to maybe clear up some crap in the cat?

5 year old thread, little out of date.

This is in my town:

98's have a different style headlight than that of 99-01s. Here is what they look like unmodified (My car): The ones I posted that had the HID's had the housings blacked out. At the very least you could change out the headlights and get a set of high quality bulbs. They say going yellow on fog lights helps in inclement driving conditions. That is assuming you have the optional fog lights in your OBS.

Another car that we in America will never see. Not a fan of the doors either.

Man, that's not fair.

99-01 lights will bolt in and look great with HIDs. http://i39.tinypic.com/24fbiud.jpg

Best bet would be just to find a set of steel wheels and throw a set of snow tires on there.

Haha, I've read that as well. Its still weird seeing that reverse lockout ring in a Legacy.

Yeah give it a test. I've seen some crazy things caused by a bad alternator before.

Have your alternator checked at the auto parts store for starts.

Is your alternator in good shape? What about the battery?

Since you are going through a lot of hazardous conditions. I would recommend putting the factory intake box back on. That is your very best bet. If that is outside of the question. Subaru's SPT has a short ram intake system for your car. It can be ordered at the dealer parts counter and they may just have one in stock. http://www.driveperformancesubaru.com/version3_1/upgrades.asp

I drove one back in July. I really liked it and I'm a manual transmission person! Go drive one, you might just enjoy it.