themoneypit

ok, so i see them listed all over ebay.. they all claim they have less than 60k miles, and most have warranty for 90 days. im prob going to need a 2.2 or 2.5 for my 97 OBW. one auction said that in japan it is mandatory that they remove the engines before 65k.?. if this is true, why is that?? anyone here have good/bad luck with one of these motors?

the ad says "engine, ecu, axles, intercooler, everything you need to swap into your legacy or impreza..." but yeah im thinking itd end up more project than what i want to get into... just saw it and have a few beers in me LOL so... seemed good at the moment, would be AWESOME to have a 280hp twin turbo in the ole OBW.. talk about a sleeper!!!!

ok, so i found someone selling a complete ej20tt swap for a legacy. how much re-wiring and what not would be involved here. comes with ecu, would this be a somewhat plug and play with the ecu? let me know, i might go buy it ASAP!! my car is a 97OBW 5spd 2.5 right now

cool!! good to know gary. if it comes to that route, ill know what to look for. if for some reason, i got one w/o egr, could i put the computer for that car into mine and avoid CEL?? just curious

ill be sure and post my results here whether good or bad... as of now, i "gutted" the t-stat (cut the two metal sides and removed spring, and guts of t-stat so all was left was a round circle with a hole in the center) ive put about 150 miles on the car thus far with no overheating or coolant being forced out of the overflow bottle. you can still see bubbles in the overflow, but the system doesnt build enough pressure to force the coolant out, just the gasses. so that in itself is a temp fix for one of these so your not out of a car right away, or cant afford the fix. i doubt ill have enough heat once winter sets in, but its mid 60's today here in CT, so i cant really test that yet.

LOVE THE SARCASM... dude, im trying to be optimistic here.. trust me, im NOT getting my hopes up, but you never know unless you try. as far as getting your money back from them, it says send them a quote from a mechanic saying your car has a bad HG dated after your purchase of the solvent, and they will refund your money. so worst case, im out 10 bux for shipping, and really no time at all since you just put it in and let the thing run for an hour in your driveway.. anyways, whatever... ill give it a shot, and post my results here. like i said, it never hurts to try.

you must be french, because your the idiot... if you actually READ their website, it says it will also stop gas bubbling in the coolant (click on the FAQ link on their home page).. plus if it doesnt work, then who cares, they say they will refund your money.. for 50 bux, ill try it, if it doesnt work OFW, if it does, great i just saved myself anywhere from 1200-2000 on a HG job. besides, if it doesnt work, i will drop a 2.2l in the car and be done with this POS 2.5l... trust me im skeptical about it too.. ive seen what other fibrous stop leaks have done to engine coolant ports.. it clogs them solid causing more problems.. i bought this car as a winter car, and basically got duped by the seller because it ran fine on test drive, and 4-5 times driving after.. so if i can get away with this stuff lasting thru the winter then im happy.. if it does work thou, how nice would it be for EVERYONE on here that has this same problem but in this economy cant afford to have the job done.

if you read the stuff on their website, its a clear liquid, no fibrous materials in there... says its a chemical reaction that seals the leak.. im gonna try it. for 50 bux, and "guaranteed to work or money back" its cheaper than doing the 2.2l swap....

http://www.steelseal.com/ has anyone tried this stuff on one of these 2.5l phase I motors? according to their website, it is a chemical reaction that "cures the problem" and will NOT CLOG your cooling system. even says it works for backpressure bubbling in the coolant.?. just wondering if i should give it a shot b4 doing a motor swap or HG job. i know the other crap will clog the system, ive seen it first hand. but this looks... promising? if their claims are true

garys right, im in CT. how many miles and such on your legacy? does the motor need anything? its an automatic, i assume, with the egr system? let me know, im interested.. where are you on the east coast?

i just bought the car.. so i have no idea how bad it was overheated. on test drive no problems. few rides after purchase and getting it home, no prob.. then BANG.. over heats. so i think ill just go the swap route. im hoping to find a good 95 automatic motor that i wont have to change Y-pipes or anything, just plug n play basically from what ive read. ill put a new clutch in while im there. as those are not interference motors, i wont even sweat the t-belts or anything unless theres visible leaking from the front seals (in which case i prob wouldnt buy it). im thinking this will be my best bet. if i spend 6-700 on motor and clutch kit and do the labor myself, itll not only be quicker, but more cost efficient (especially in the long run) but yes i am tempted to register and drive it to the ground whille i look for the 2.2l i need for it

ok, so the more i think about this, the more im leaning towards a 2.2l swap... question is, what should i do for a clutch? order one for the 2.2l or get one for the 2.5l. can i use my flywheel on the 2.2l automatic motor, or do i have to get a different one? or is it all the same clutch/flywheel etc...

i know i know... he says he does atleast one a week!! so if that is true, he should be able to bang them out in no time.. i guess i was kind of hoping he would give me a break since i had him do a ton of work on my first xt6 (hence the username "themoneypit") but hindsight, thinking back to that car, the guy was a complete tool.. he pulled the motor to do a clutch and it wouldnt run right when he put it back together.. charged me a small fortune for the job too. ended up figuring out the problem on subaruxt.com and told him how to fix it i love these forums, theyre the best... i wish u were closer to me, id prob have you do them

that would be ideal to find one totalled in the azz end. but id be happy to just find something. theres a used 2.5l on craigslist for 300, but who knows how many miles, and if the HGs are shot on that one too... there were also a couple 2.2s on there i inquired about. hopefully ill hear something back from one of these... the "subaru specialist" also told me, i have a 2.2 completely rebuilt that i could sell you for $2500.... i think i agree with you that hes been sniffing the parts cleaner or something... ive delt with the guy b4, he thinks everything he has is "gold" and worth a fortune. he was a xt fanatic, and those parts are hard to find for an xt, so i had to deal with him on those, but c'mon 2500 for a freakin 2.2l subaru engine, theyre a dime a dozen now that im looking in that direction.. for gits and shiggles im going to call my local dealer monday and see what they charge for the HG job.

im trying to... i just went to our local "subaru specialist" and he quoted me 1750 to do the HGs and that doesnt include new t-belt and other goodies on the front of the motor. he claims it is 24 hours labor to do the job..... im pretty sure i can get it done cheaper/or the same at the dealer??? so that is definitly OUT OF THE QUESTION!! id rather put collision on it and stuff it into a tree at that rate.. i figure i could find a rotted out legacy with a 2.2 in it and get it cheap. that way i could trouble shoot b4 i pull it and make sure its good to go if i decide not to total this one

ok, thanks. anyone have a low mileage one for sale???

which 96-98's had exhaust manifolds? auto/standard? or was it just a crap shoot when you bought one?

im not knocking the engine, i love the power and all that my OBW has. i just think that given subarus prior engines and all, that this motor IMHO is crap. ive owned more subarus than i have had underwear, and never had a bad HG on any of them. im talking from 79 being my oldest wagon, to 20 or so early 80's wagons/hatches (still have one with a plow on it ), atleast a dozen xt6's, a 90 loyale rs, few early legacys with 2.2s etc.. ive read alot about these 2.5s now that i have one (shouldve done it b4 i bought it LOL), and the fact that subaru wont admit fault to the phase I motor, and offers a "conditioner" (which is just a stopleak in a bottle) for the phase II motor is absolutely ridiculous. but hey, whatre u gonna do right. that is why i said the motors are crap, because ill tell you now, if i spend 1500-2000 for a HG job, and in 40k miles they go again, id prob just put the thing into a tree and collect the ins on it. how much difference in performance from a 2.2l to a 2.5l is there? will i have a slug if i put a 2.2 in her?

wow you guys are quick... or im slow LOL.. i just started a new thread for the swap info i was looking for, and you already posted here (thanks gary).. i see a 97 legacy with 80k on NEW motor (not rebuilt) on craigslist. i may try and scoop up that whole car if it has an egr. i HATE check engine lights, drives me crazy, so ill have to make sure it has the egr.

ok, so anyone following my other post will see the reason for this one. i bought a 97 OBW 5spd and basically got hosed b-cuz it had a bad HG or HGs. so if i were to swap in a 2.2l what years are an exact fit? and does the donor car have to be auto/standard/ or any inparticular thing i should need to know. i know ill need a Y-pipe from the 2.2l, other than that though i have no clue what years interchange without having to change ECMs and stuff. thanks in advance for the input!!

I know i should just have it fixed, but cant afford a 2k bill rite now!! SO if i was to swap a 2.2l into this 97 OBW 5spd, what years are an exact fit? does the donor car have to be auto or manual? this is prob the route i will go, as reading all the HG failures, and re-failures etc... id rather put a bulletproof 2.2l in her. as of now, ive put over 100 miles on it w/o the t-stat w/o any overheating or bubbling out of the overflow bottle. i know its not good for the motor, but hey these motors are no good anyways atleast from what ive read thus far....

hey gary.. now that the tstat is removed, the car runs in the cold basically. itll get to temp if it sits and idles, but while driving it, its barely above the C on the guage. also, i dont think the system will build pressure with it out, so hopefully itll be ok.

i first thought it was a bad thermostat. lower hose wouldnt get hot, and radiator cap was never hot either. i replaced it, same results. to be honest, i just bought the car recently. ran fine on test drive, temp guage read normal, below half, after driving for a couple days, i smelled antifreeze when i parked it. popped the hood and saw it shooting out of the little hole in the top front of the resevoir. after reading several posts on here about the phase I 2.5l, it has all the signs of the HG being bad.. car is very clean, no rust, 131k on it. but i dont have any idea if/how bad it was ever overheated by P/O. i bought it as a winter car, because i dont want to drive my super clean xt6 thru the salt, and my avalanche has a big block in it, so gas mileage in that kills me. i think i made a huge mistake thou!!

ok, so my 97 OBW has blown headgaskets, i know big surprise huh!! so anyway, i read somewhere on here about removing the thermostat and you can drive it like that. so i removed it, and wondering how long i can go like this. it runs in the cold all the time, unless parked idling, then it will reach normal temp range. im no longer blowing all the coolant out of the resevoir bottle, however it still bubbles in there. i just cant see spending a ton of money to have the headgasket job done. and kind of hoping for a quick fix. im in CT, so winter is around the corner. it seems to have decent heat rite now with the t-stat out, is it going to be enough once winter sets in thou? anyone in or near CT that does these headgasket jobs cheap?

UM whats with those mudflaps???