johnceggleston

there's a procedure for checking to see if front and rear diffs match. BE VERY CAREFUL. put one side of the car on jack stands. (2 wheels off the ground) unplug the wire harness to the trans. (locks the wheels in 4WD) start the car and put it in neutral. (wheels should spin freely) mark the bottom of the front and rear wheels with tape or chalk. turn either the front or rear wheels by hand several turns. the tape mark should end up in the same position on both wheels. if they don't, the differentials do not match. don't forget to plug in the wiring harness after you put the car back on the ground.

sually there is a part number on the bell housing at the starter. a TZ102.... number? a dealer, if no one else, can tell you what it came out of.

on a side note, the 97 gt auto has the same engine and trans as the outback, but it is quicker and sportier. they accomplish this with the smaller legacy L size tires. you might consider trying this before spending a lot of money on the trans swap. unless the manual is what you want any way. the auto with smaller tires will not be the same as the manual with regular tires, but there will be a difference. one of the reasons there is not a large difference in gas mileage between the legacy 2.2L and the outback 2.5L, even though there is a different final drive ratio, is because, the tire sizes are different, and they compensate for that ratio change. (about 8% i think)

glad you found what you need. but i wouldn't spend money on both. either get the used shaft or have yours repaired, doing both will be wasteful. these don't go bad very often. if you want some insurance, save your bad one, un-repaired, you can always spend 70$ to have it repaired if you need it. my 0.02 worth.

should bolt right in, no problem. the only possible is the front y-pipe. the exhaust ports may be different. the 95 is dual port exhaust, i do can't remember what the 97-98 2.2L is. if different, you'll need the y-pipe. some one else will know. the trans have the same final drive ratio, 4.11, it's a perfect match.

this works, no problem.

FWIW, on an auto trans if you remove the front section of shaft, the AT fluid will run out. i don't know if manuals are the same. put the shaft back in? borrow another outback to pull it. i searched on car-part.com and was surprised at how few were available. i guess they don't go bad very often. sorry for your trouble and the hijack.

thanks, that's a difference i can understand.

by lower do you mean that the drive hangs down below the car more or what.??

this does not make sense. it may be correct, but it does not make sense. the only difference in the outback auto and the legacy L auto is the ring gear on the front diff, the housings are the same. the obw is not significantly longer than the leg L, just slightly different bumper size. and poeple have swapped 4.44 (outback) trans with rear diff into legacy L (4.11) cars and vice versa. the 4.11 rear diff in the leg L auto goes in the outback manual, so the rear diffs are the same length. so where's the difference???

i don't know where you are going to store this engine, but critters LOVE the leftover anti freeze. you might rinse it off. i wouldn't cover it or wrap it up, that just makes the critters think it's a great new place for acorn storage. i used foil backed hvac tape to close all of the openings and hose ends, which was very sticky and took some time to clean off but it sealed well. that tape is expensive, but i had it already. a heavy tin foil might work just as well. critters could still eat it but why would they.

if you push the key all the way in with a thin screwdriver you may be able to turn it. these may help http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=642438&postcount=6 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=721115&postcount=6 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=397614&postcount=8 read the links for more info. the upper right corner of each has a link the the complete thread. removing the broken key is going to be difficult, i think, even after you remove the keyway from the cylinder or the whole ignition assembly from the column. turning it sideways down may help, but you still have to grab the key and pull it out. i don't think it will just fall out, but maybe. locksmiths must do this all the time, in the car?. if you want to do this yourself, remove the plastic surrounding the ignition switch. then if you can remove just the keyway from the cylinder that will be easiest, but the key has to turn a little to do this. removing the whole assembly is a pain because the bolts do not have hex heads they are round dome shaped things with nothing to grab on to. call a locksmith and find out the cost before you disassemble this thing. you may get into it and find you still need a locksmith. it may be easy for him. years ago i locked my keys in my datsun truck at the car wash with the engine running. i called the locksmith, he pick the door lock almost faster than i could unlock it with a key. he charged me 21$, 1$ for unlocking it, 20$ for being stupid. this was before 1985. i'm smarter now.

there's a prety good chance you can turn the ignition with a screwdriver or the like with the broken part of the key in the keyway. if so drive to a locksmith, ideally one who knows subarus. they can remove the keyway pretty easily with the key in it. and then remove the key and remake. if you can't get the ignition to turn, then maybe an onsite service call from a locksmith. that will probably be expensive. if you want info on removing the whole ignition assembly, let me know or do a search. it's not too bad, but lots more work than removing the ignition keyway with the key in it. you can also search for info to do that. but i think a lock smith can do it in 10 - 15 min. or less. (there's a pin on the back side of the keyway you press in when the key is turned. you have to remove the plastic, a pain, on the steering column to see it. a lock smith can probably do it with the right tool and not remove the plastic.) then extract the key and remake.

slow down, there are lots and lots of used drive shafts around and you may only need the front section with the carrier bearing. ask here : http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37 and look here: www.car-part.com also a good drive shaft shop can replace your universals for much less than a new shaft. good luck.

cars relatively close to you, 95 - 98 subaru, 2500 or less. there are lots of others, which i excluded , with more miles, more rust, cost more money, farther away, older, need repairs. www.crazedlist.org you wil need the firefox web browser with the 'web developer' 'add on' to do an area wide search. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/847381202.html http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/cto/844602584.html http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/839632972.html http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/845427629.html rust good luck, john

97 outback auto...........27031AC060 97 outback 5spd...........27031AC070 97 legacy auto...........27031AC130 97 legacy 5spd...........27031AC140 i can't believe legacy and outback are different, but apparently they are. i'm also surprised that manual and auto are different, but that at least makes sense, the trans are different. there have been no reports of drive shaft problems when swapping a outback trans into a legacy, or vice versa. so maybe the difference is in weight or the thickness of the steel. and some have changed auto trans for manual. maybe one ofthem will chime in.

i think he needs the 4eat out of a 2.2L legacy, not 2.5L car. the 2.5L engine wasn't available in the us in 95MY. his trans # is TZ102ZAAAA, he can use any 2.2L trans 95 to 98. as long as it has 4 letters on the end, not a 2 and 3 letters, the final drive will match his 4.11 rear diff. but you can increase the number of possible trans from which to pick, by getting the matching rear diff with it. (this would include ones ending with a 2 and 3 letters) the final drive may be different, but the front and rear diffs will match. the ones with a 2 and 3 letters have a 1:4.44 final drive ratio. these are in all 2.5L cars 96 - 98 and beyond (?).

the rust would be a deal breaker for me, but i'm sure others in the northeast would vote differently. i'd rather buy a good body with a bad engine for 500 - 1000$ and then repair or swap in the engine i wanted 900 - 1500$.

as i understand it, back in the mid 90s california required higher emmision standards and longer timing belt intervals. (what they actually required may be different but the t-belt intervals was a result.) the 95MY 2.2L NON-california car had a 60k interval, the california car had a 105k interval. at some point in the US they changed all of the intervals to 105k. the 60k belt actually cost more and it's in stock at my local auto zone, you have to order the 105k belt which is cheaper. go figure.

for that price i would expect it to have a new timing belt.

thanks for the tips. the top access was so tight during removal, it seemed to be too tight. but going back together it's the onlt way to go. so i'll just have to make it work. there is no way in he11 taht i could ever make a living doing this kind of work!!!!!!!!! it's a good thing i enjoy it. thanks again. john

so i finally got the 2.5 out and the 2.2 in on my 97GT swap. the hardest things coming out were the driver side lower bell housing nut, had to remove the steering to rack universal to have room to get it out; and the bolts connecting the torque converter to the flex plate. i ended up pulling the whole thing forward until they cleared the cross member and then unbolting them. so my question is how in the world do i get them back in and torqued to spec???? obviously i have to "seat" the torque converter before i slide the engine in, but now i'm stuck with no access. how do you do it????? i made one mistake in the process, i removed the steering rack because of a torn boot, and i was so excited to get the new engine in, i forgot to reinstall the rack while the engine was out. it would have been sooo easy to get the rack in and the steering linkage connected with the wheels & sterring wheel straight. oh well, it came out with the engine in i guess it can go back while the engine is in. any help on the flex plate bolts would be great. thanks, john PS: seating the torque converter is really easy as long as you know you have to seat it the second/third time. many thanks to mnwolftrack for his great how to!! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81925&highlight=seat+torque+converter

i think i'm gonna go with bucky on this one. i don't think her photo shop skills are good enough to fake that picture. i really like the engineered storage inside the spare. do you think that tray would fit in my outback???

you just have to weigh the cost of the repair against the potential miles you can get out of the engine. 1000$ for a 2.2L engine swap, (parts and labor) is probably a safer bet than 1200 - 1500$ on a 2.5L engine with 164k. the labor difference is the gasket job. the engine R & R is the same for both. the gasket & t-belt parts may be the same as the 2.2L engine cost, with the 2.5 you 'will' do the timing belt and related parts since a failure wil ruin the engine, and you don't want to have to go back in for 100k. with the 'right' 2.2L you "could" just stick it in, a failed timing belt will only cost you a tow more than doing it now. but by doing it now, you should get 100k trouble free miles.

what he said. mechanics who know subarus will suggest either a head gasket job or an engine swap. they already know about the head gasket issue with the 2.5L engine and the life expectancy of the engine after the repair. when you tell him "ok, the hel with it", i bet he offers you 500$ for the car. then he can fix it, sell it and make some money. find a subaru shop. get a second opinion.