Numbchux

My understanding, is that there is no JDM SOHC EJ25 (or at least, they're very rare). There is a 2.0l engine that is VERY similar, and can be swapped in place, certainly for the non-VVT variant. We bought 10 or so JDM engines a year at the Subaru dealership I worked at, non-VVT EJ201s and first-gen EZ30Ds were both pretty cheap. There definitely is a high demand for EJ253s in the US. Call a junkyard and tell them you're looking for one, they probably won't even have to log into their computer to know that they'll be hard to find (they're out there, but the supply/demand ratio in the normal used parts channels drives the price up a LOT).

Yep, try to wait to touch the throttle until the clutch is fully engaged. I've ridden in cars several times where the driver is clearly dragging the clutch into the next gear....it drives me insane. I almost always do that from a stop, too. Feathering the clutch with the engine at idle until it's engaged, and then throttle. I probably stall it once a week in my Outback (gearing and weight make it easier in my Celica). Last week I felt like an idiot because I stalled it at least once a day, then I discovered I had a sticking brake....

90-94 and 95-99 are different body styles. No body parts will work, and very little interior. There are lots and lots of little mechanical changes, but at the same time, there are a lot of parts that will work. It's not an ideal parts car, but for the right price, if you've got the space, could be totally worth it. The '95-'96 are OBDII, which means a lot of electrical differences. 96 has single exhaust ports on the heads, whereas the 92 and 95 have dual. Should be the same brakes, suspension, axles. Assuming they're both AWD, drivetrain parts could be swapped, but diffs are likely a different ratio (so you'd have to swap transmission and differential as a pair). If it's not a total rust bucket, and is AWD, I'd fix it (I bought a pretty rusty '00 Outback last spring with 313k on it and a badly failing clutch. Put a clutch in it, and I'm at almost 325k now). Unless you have a hoist and a transmission jack, I DEFINITELY recommend pulling the engine.

Yes, it's completely based on the Outback. The differences are pretty minor. Just like the Brat, it has a longer overhang past the back wheels, so a longer overall length. But the wheelbase is the same as the Outback. Suspension (different spring rates for a slightly taller ride), brakes, etc. Never an H6 option, though (I'd love to find a flooded one, and gut it down to bare metal and swap Outback VDC interior, wiring and drivetrain into one). The Baja did carry on after the BE/BH Outback was replaced, and so the Baja got some of the changes that happened in 05-06, mainly the turbo engine option and immobilizer.

Baja is built in the US, though. So my understanding is the chicken tax wouldn't apply.

You'll probably want something like +35 offset. I had 17x8+38s on my Loyale (with a 5-lug swap, of course), and it was a perfect fit. I ran 215/45r17s (which are about 1/2" shorter diameter than 205/60r15) and was lowered a couple inches. You can DEFINITELY go bigger.

"desirable" They're so different, it's not really comparable. The Brat is more rugged, simple, and utilitarian (larger bed, true 4WD with low range, EA81 engine). The Baja is more refined, comfortable, and modern. About as you'd expect for 2 vehicles 25-30 years apart. They're both quite sought-after. I have a rusted out POS of a brat, and I've had a couple people come knock on my door and ask me if I'd sell it (and because I've watched for them for sale, too, I've said no). And my wife wants a Baja something fierce, so I've been watching for one of those, and they command huge value. 300k miles, headgaskets pouring, slipping transmission, and considerable rust (tough, because they have even more plastic on the sides that the Outbacks on which they are based)? I'll let it go for $3k.

The leather driver seat in our '04 Outback VDC was very badly cracked when we bought it. I assumed I'd have to buy another seat... I bought some Lexol cleaner and conditioner (the only brand in stock at Wal-Mart at the time that had separate cleaner/conditioner products). It rejuvenated the leather considerably, and it still looks pretty good (doesn't look like new, cracks are still visible, but far less evident, and haven't gotten any worse) 4 years and ~70k miles later. Now, it's the only product I've ever used, but I still have the same bottle, and use it regularly on that Outback and our conversion van. And will probably buy the same again when this is gone.

Baja was '02-'06, and Brat was '70s-'88 (I think, I might be off a year or so here or there, also that's in the US market, Brat was made longer in other countries under different names). Yes, they're very different. Both only 4 cylinders. Both were available with a 4-cyl turbo for a couple years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRAT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Baja

This is the correct diagnostic method, to see if the TCU is telling the transfer solenoid to activate. Even though you've changed the transmission, I'd still bet it's the solenoid and/or clutches. This was such a common failure, when I worked at a Subaru dealer, we stocked all that stuff (Duty C solenoid, clutches, and all gaskets).

As mentioned, you don't need the XT6 crossmember. And to my knowledge, aftermarket clutch kits no longer offer an XT6-specific option. I'm not terribly sure what your clutch options with the EA81 trans are, I thought the Nissan throwout allows you to run an EA82 clutch, which should be a bit better than the EA81. But I haven't played with EA81s....so take a big grain of salt I would definitely recommend the SJR adapter plate. He does a good job machining, though I've done several flywheel modifications myself. If your Impreza is an automatic, you'll have an easy pattern with the little spacer on the flexplate (otherwise, get on a local Subaru facebook group, and/or the classifieds on here, and you might be able to get one for cheap). A high-speed cutting bit on a dremel does very well (I think I bought 3 of them, but probably could have done it with one). The center hole will center it perfectly on the snout of the engine, and orientation no longer matters. Just ream them out until you get all 8 bolts in. Unless your other Brat is a turbo, it won't have an adequate fuel pump either. You'll need a fairly modest fuel-injection pump. Far easiest to get something designed to be mounted inline. I've used stock EA82 replacement ones, I used one for some old Ford station wagon once. If I were doing it now, I'd get on Summit racing or similar and buy a universal inline one. Yep, EJ ECU has fan control outputs, just wire it to a relay, and that to your fan, you'll be golden.

I couldn't have said it better myself. LEDs have a smaller output point than a halogen filament, whereas HID is a larger point. Completely different challenges, and the findings with one source are irrelevant to the other. Thanks for backing me up.

Fantastic article about HIDs. Pretty "awesome" how it's full of assumption that LEDs are exactly the same, even though they aren't. Kind of discredits the entire article..... We've done this before, and I'm not going to get into it again. I'm anal about headlights, and have used LED retrofits with fantastic results. They can work wonderfully. I will concede that if the bulb isn't made correctly, it won't work right, and because it is a bit different, it's possible that results will vary with different lenses.

I didn't really see that when I worked in Subaru parts (I left last summer). Certainly not the normal wear items. Yes, occasionally someone would be looking for something odd that wasn't available anymore... But yea, OEMs don't generally have much available after about 20-25 years (I can't believe how much Toyota has for my '91 and '87, and Ford can't even look up my '94).

Yea, an engine uses the smallest amount of fuel at idle. So if your 440 uses 2-4 lb/hr, the EA71 probably uses about .2 lb/hr. BUT, if they say it can handle it, than I wouldn't worry about it. No, I don't know of your valve question. I have zero hands-on experience with stuff older than EA81s (and even that, just barely). Yea, the fuel system is relatively simple. I don't know those kits at all, but converting it to a high pressure system is relatively straight forward. Just make sure everything's rated for high pressure, and you have an adequate return.... Thanks for following up after calling them. It's good info. Assuming you end up making the conversion, start a new thread with some information on your setup and I'll link it in the FAQ

Yes, that's how fuel injection works. The ECU opens the injectors for varying amounts of time (the flow rate of the injector and pressure behind it determines the volume of fuel that passes through in that time) depending how much fuel the engine needs for that revolution. A programmable ECU can further be adjusted to accommodate different engine sizes and other variables (like forced induction). The question is if the ECU and Injectors are capable of accurately opening for a short enough time to supply a small enough amount of fuel to run that efficiently. I wouldn't bet either way, but it's enough of a question that I'd want an answer before I plopped down over a grand. On the top of the page, is this text "ASK OUR EXPERTS: 1-866-464-6553". I bet a person could call that, and ask if the Sniper EFI 2300 can control a 1.6l 4-cyl making about 75hp. And they'd have a real quick answer for you.

Yes, Subaru mechanics lift from the pinch welds. So you're lifting with a scissors jack on the pinch weld, and setting on a stand? Yuck, that sounds miserable. I've been using one of those ~$75 aluminum jacks for 15 years. They're SO much easier to work with, and really not difficult to move around and/or store. On the newer multilink cars (yours is one of those), I straddle the 2 bolts for the subframe brace (the 2 bolts pictured, not the one holding the plastic on) with the saddle of the stand.

Mechanically, easy. Electronically.....well, as they say, "if you have to ask." AFAIK, all the 5EAT cars had immobilizers, which means the TCU is looking for a CAN signal from other modules, which will be virtually impossible to make happy outside the car for which it was designed. Probably would require a standalone auto trans controller (which I've never seen done on a Subaru transmission, those controllers generally are not designed to control AWD as well). And quite a bit of custom programming. 4EAT is a decent trans. I don't like the standard AWD system, but there are models with the VTD on the 4EAT.

This Coolant flows through the IAC and Throttle body to prevent icing. Almost every manufacturer does this (some through the EGR valve, as well), yet in real world situations, they very rarely ice up (here in Northern MN, we see some of the coldest temperatures that a car might have to deal with, and I've bypassed this system many times).

This, SPDT. I used a pushbutton shifter from a PT4WD Loyale to control the center diff lock on an RX FT4WD transmission, and it's a very simple circuit. SPDT switch provides power to one of 2 solenoids by the LH strut tower.

It's certainly possible. It all comes down to how fast the injector actuation is, and how quick the ECU processor is. That pump and injectors are certainly considerable overkill, but that doesn't mean it can't work on a smaller engine. But that probably is the only big hurdle. Might be able to shoot a quick message to Holley and see if they think that hardware would work on an engine this small or if they can supply smaller injectors. Probably a quick answer for someone that knows.

That will regulate the fuel pressure going to the injectors. The problem comes with the fact that it has 2 100lb/hr injectors, when you turn down the duty cycle on those enough for a 1.6l engine, they will not have very much resolution (how much is dependent on the processing power of that little ECU). https://fuelinjectorclinic.com/flow-calculator Punching some quick numbers (entering 2 cylinders, as it seems to be calculating it based on one injector per cylinder), assuming you make about 75hp at the crank, You should be running about 20lb/hr injectors, but that kit comes with 100lb/hr units. If the Injectors can be replaced with smaller ones, it would probably work very well.

Very good question, and sounds like a great project. I've seen one of those Holley kits used on a domestic V8 and it seems like a really cool option. I have not seen one used on a Subaru. As such, I'd recommend starting a new thread in this section, it'll get more visibility there. EDIT: just noticed that you already did, I got a notification of a new post here and got ahead of myself. Carry on.

Then you'll have to get a 2 port one and a pair of splitters. Same function, but much easier to find.

The control arms and steering rack have to go down with the diff, so it's generally easier to use the stock crossmember there, and then build pads for the motor mounts above that. IIRC, I don't think 4" is enough to safely clear the front diff under the transmission.