AdventureSubaru

Blast from the past. This car is coming back to me, but not under the greatest of circumstances. Sold it to a local kid (Well, early 20s) last June. He was excited to take this car to great new adventures. Got a letter from the local PD yesterday. He had lost control of it on a back road, flipped it over and abandoned it. He had never registered it in his name, so it still came back as ours. We had the option of paying tow and storage fees or it was just going to the local crusher. The tow service/storage lot was kind enough to let me in after hours and let me see it. Sad car. Interior is all dirty and full of random junk. Body is done, but the stance of the wheels suggests it should be driveable. They said they would work with me on the price as the towing and storage was way more than the car was worth. Asked me what it was worth to me. I said $300. He figured the local dismantler wouldn't give any better than that and agreed. Said if I could find a key for it, he could get it out of the lot and I could pick it up. I found the spare in the same place I hid it a few years ago. Connected the battery and vroom! Familiar sound. So I'll be picking it up today or tomorrow. Will post pictures of the sad but indestructible adventure car. It would be tube frame and off road buggy if I had more space, but I'm going to part it out and pull a few mementos off. At least it can live on by keeping other Subes going. Anyone interested in parts, I'll start a thread after I go over it a little more.

Metal in trans fluid= time for a new transmission. I wouldn't mess with the bearing. if 4th wont stay in, it's probably not worth the gamble of doing the bearing swap and installing again only to have it die in 10,000 miles. Swapping a trans is not a bad job if you don't mind getting dirty. Here's a good write up of the job. If you know your clutch is good, then leave it on the flywheel. If it's getting up there in miles, this is a great time to replace it. Exedy brand seems preferred. http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t128163-diy-clutch-replacement-pictorial.html I would edit this thread as well to say that flywheel and clutch fork dust boot are optional. Everything else except the exhaust gaskets will come with a clutch kit. The gaskets can be reused if they are in good shape. But they are pretty cheap on rockauto etc. If you still have the original seperator plate on the back of the motor, this is a great time to replace that as it will undoubtedly be leaking some oil by now. There's a dealer upgrade stainless steel version that fixes the issue. Use car-part.com and craigslist as parts sources and probably put up a "wanted" ad in the marketplace section here. Your car should accept any 1990-1999 Impreza or legacy manual trans with the same final drive ratio. (3.90 if memory serves) There's a chart that lists all the codes you can find with a search on here. Generally all legacies that are non outback or GT and imprezas that are not RS will have that same final drive. I have a good one from my old 97 OBS that I could sell you if shipping is feasible. Good used transmissions can be had for about $300. + $150ish for a clutch kit and some gear oil etc. can have you back on the road for less than $500 if you do the work yourself. Expect to probably pay that much again in labor at a decent shop for the job if you're not going to do it yourself.

Most is the same across the 90s cars. You can use rockauto.com and see which part numbers match from year to year and model to model. If you don't find anything locally, I have an alternator from a 95 Impreza that had an EJ18 which should be a match. Can send it for $25 + shipping. Or any of use stateside who have access to the right one could do similarly.

Welcome. I'm just north of you in Santa Cruz area. If the issue is a head gasket, look in the coolant overflow/reservoir the next time it's running hot. If there are bubbles coming out of the hose, it's head gasket leakage. If not, it doesn't entirely rule it out, but is far less likely. Thermostat is a good place to start. Radiator is not a bad idea either.

Can you get a video or sound clip? Is it louder on tighter turns? Check power steering fluid levels? Likely unrelated.

Listen for the fuel pump. Pull a plug and check for spark. try a shot of starter fluid down the intake to see if it's fuel related. The ka-chug can be timing. I'll second the question of mileage and last timing set change? Pull the timing cover on the drivers side and inspect if the belt is ok. can skip a tooth or two and not start.

Again, without rotating myself I can't say for sure. Usually #2 is closer since the tensioner will bring it back a bit as the belt tightens. Have you turned it over by hand yet?

Looks good from what I can tell from the pics but there's only so much that you can see in the pics. Crank it over by hand. Two revolutions of the crank sprocket equals one full turn for the cams. Then make sure it still lines up. I turn it over 2 full cam revolutions. If it's off you will see it after that much. Also, I usually take a screwdriver and pry the tensioner down gently to make sure it has flexed out and is holding the belt well so it wont jump.

x2. Used springs are fine. Swaybar brackets are very optional. The rear swaybar can be reattached easily after the lift is done in stock form. KYB are great. Monroe is a good brand and pretty cheap now on RockAuto. Front and rear struts are different. Left and right are only different due to the orientation of the brake line clip. You can mix and match right and left if you're willing to be creative with some zip ties or similar.

The intakes cannot swap over (Different bolt pattern etc.) unless you or someone fabs up an adapter plate - which then creates clearance issues for the hood. Best bet for a 98 outback is to replace with a 1990-98 Ej22. Much more reliable motor than the DOHC EJ25s. 1995 was the golden year as it will be OBD2 and dual port exhaust. A 96-98 EJ22 will work with a matching single port exhaust Y pipe. 90-94s work with a 95-98 Intake manifold to go OBD2. (Sometimes an additional EGR bypass or delete if the check engine light is relevant for smog check etc. in your state.

Read up on the thread bratman18 shared. PM me if you'd like for any additional info. Did this lift on my old 97 Impreza and had a great trail vehicle. About a 4 hour job if the car isn't too rusty. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/125873-adventure-subaru-lifted-1997-impreza-outback-lots-of-pics/?hl=%2B1997+%2Blifted+%2Bimpreza there;s my build thread to get some more before and after perspective. You can go bigger with a body lift but the time, cost and hassle get much bigger.

Get dirty. Climb under there and check while the car is running. (or not if it's a big leak) Either you missed tightening on your thermostat gasket, or it's a failure on that water pump hose or the lower rad hose.

One bolt is fine. Just make sure it's good and snug. Did this exact swap on a 99 about 20,000 miles ago. You'll be fine.

general consensus on here is to use turbo model head gaskets for them. And I always thought interference followed the heads and not the block. Technically any 1990-04 EJ block will work. I would be looking for 2000+ to keep it simple. I believe the head gaskets are the same for both phase 2 Ej22 and EJ25

Rather unlikely that they are compatible. 99 Impreza would be EJ22 Phase II. 99 Outbacks were usually phase 1. Check your motor and see if it's phase 1 (head bolts are outside the valve covers on phase 1 EJ22) or if it originally came with the DOHC Ej25 its a phase 1. Swapping phase 2 into a phase 1 requires a lot of work around that usually makes it much easier to source a motor somewhere else.

I was looking at these for a friends car. Came across reviews on amazon for a variety of makes and models. Seems they look fine and ride fine so initial responses were good but a number of reviews had them failing and sometimes bending inside of 20,000-30,000 miles. Probably best to start with Monroe and work up from there.

I've swapped a few motors now between manual and auto and vice versa. The timing belt guard is something I consider optional. I at least wouldn't limit the motor search by manual or auto. If you're concerned about it, just swap oil pumps. To my knowledge there has never been a case in which timing was trashed for lack of that guard.

Varies depending on how you are driving. 20-30 miles of highway has been good for mine.

Ok. And everything was running ok before this work was done? If timing is good, check for spark next. Pull a spark plug, reattach to the plug wire and have someone crank it while you look for spark. 97 impreza would still have a black fusible link under the fuse box. Check that as well.

Nice refresh to a good faithful car. Save that 4x4 stuff if it's in good shape. Becoming a rarity on the east coast, so even if you don't use it, someone will be wanting it out there. Or stash it for a rainy day when you get the itch to do some wrenching.

You can confirm that the timing marks all still line up? If the tensioner is weak it can jump a tooth or two and not start.

Spun with belt off was probably just a slip on one of the cams since they are under pressure. Valves wont bend from that unless someone tried starting the car or something

RockAuto lists the 1.6 as an option in their catalog. The SACHs clutch kit part number for 1998 is SACHS Part # 3000684001

Yeah, the swaybar is the closer, thinner diameter one that connects to the control arm. Cause an alignment issue? yes, but small is my guess. If the tire is not wearing and you aren't feeling a difference in driving, I'd put it on the list for eventually. Eventually when you find a good one in a junk yard or someone is parting one out on here, I'd do the job. But would not feel rushed to do it. In the meantime, i'd start hitting the necessary bolts with some PB blaster so they aren't a bear to deal with when you finally replace the arm.

Should work fine. Never done it myself (yet) but I wouldn't hesitate.