AdventureSubaru

It's been done, but it is a lot of work. To swap you would need trans, cross members maybe, flywheel, clutch, pedal assembly, clutch cable and probably TCU. Best to have a parts car so depending on the price, it may be viable. More often than not, it's better to just buy a 5 speed. The ATs are pretty solid so unless yours is on it's way out, I'd just put up with it. The AT has some definite benefits over the manual for off road and traffic. But I'm also one who prefers the feel and control of a manual.

Sounds like a good deal and all simple fixes. Put off all other work until you do your timing belt/pulleys. http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t154453-diy-sohc-timing-belt-change-w-pics.html (Writeup makes the job simple. I used it to do my first few timing jobs. it's a long list of steps, but each step by itself is quite simple. It's the only part of the maintenance listed that if neglected will lead to very large failure. If pulley/sprocket or belt goes, you will be stranded and either in need of valve job/new heads/head gaskets etc. or in the market for a new motor. Save yourself headache later and give yourself peace of mind to drive your car without a blowup and get it done SOON. Belts and pulleys have failed around 110k. If yours is original it is living on borrowed time. All else looks great! I love the OBS. Great package on a great platform.

Looks like a nice car! Motors from 2000-2004 are options for you. I think 02, 03 and 04 are direct bolt in. There's a little modification required to fit an 00-01 motor but not extensive. Not sure if emissions are a big deal in MA or not, but the car will physically run fine without EGR but will throw a check engine code. There are ways of getting around this. Your exhaust is dual port so any Y pipe from 90-95 legacy/Impreza will match as well as 96-99 with the 2.5 motor and any 2000-2004. You have lots of options for exhaust. You may be able to take some measurements and cut a spacer to put in to mount the starter to the engine. I'm not 100% on how easy swapping a bellhousing is. Someone who's done it before will probably shed some light on that to make it weather proof.

A common mistake is to line up the crank sprocket arrow on the front of the sprocket instead of the timing mark line on the back of it. Be sure it's the line and not the arrow.

If you could get the 04 forester strut/spring combo you'd probably notice a difference. Outback < gen1 Forester < gen2 forester as far as the combo size. If this happens, be sure to take some good measurements and before/after pics to see what lift it yields.

Revisit your timing marks. Luckily, the 93 motor is non interference. Get all the timing marks lined up right, make sure your tensioner is working properly. Test it first by rotating the cam until all the marks line up again. If they eventually realign, you should be good to go.

My 5MT died in about the same way as yours - but at 270,000+ miles. They are durable transmissions but there are a lot of factors that can contribute to their life expectancy. Driving style/history are huge. Aggressive drivers can expect to see transmissions fail. Weight and towing will add wear and tear as well. I think the 5mt tends to last a little longer in an impreza vs. legacy/outback simply because one is a bigger/heavier car that fits more/heavier stuff and over time puts more strain on the trans. Do your homework on the new trans. If it was well taken care of and not abused, 100k is nothing for these transmissions. If you can get some burning smell from it (gear oil stinks anyway) or if you find metal shavings in the oil/on the drain plug, that's a warning. Make sure you put the right gear oil in there in the right amounts. My best guess is that it was just luck of the draw. Stuff breaks and that's just the way cars are over time. The last trans lasted 20k. This trans may last 20k or 200k but for the few hundred bucks and few hours it takes to do the swap, it usually pays off in the long run. Swap in a used trans and drive. It's worth it way more often than not.

Just the gasket. Never seen RTV on there.

Double check your marks. Count the teeth. Remain patient. You'll get there. Did similarly on a SOHC 2.5 last year. Retrace your steps. Just in case you weren't already aware, don't go by the arrow on the crankshaft, go for the line.

Gates kits are reportedly pretty good, but the 2.5 has a different belt than the 2.2 so that particular kit would not work. Good deal though!

Pretty sure this has been done before... can't remember where I saw it though.

Most of us use free photo hosting like Photobucket.com and paste the image link here. Works pretty well. The later 80s wagons can clear pretty good size tires without a lift and are good trail vehicles. RX body kits can be fitted on them for street style. Roof racks, fog lights, brush bars etc. This thread -> http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122906-the-awesome-older-generation-picture-thread/ should have plenty of inspiration in it. I like to go to local pick N pulls and such with an open mind. over time you can find some neat factory and aftermarket upgrades on the cheap.

Welcome to the board! post up some pics! Depends on your preference. I've seen some nice looking, low to the ground street cars. There are some great examples that are rigged for trails, camping, off roading etc. What are you hoping to use the car for the most? And congrats! These 80s cars are very dependable and easy to work on. And usually quite inexpensive on repairs when they are needed. You picked a great first car.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/118004-the-unofficial-how-to-lift-your-impreza-thread/ Everything you need to know and more is in that thread. non outback Legacy wont provide any lift. Outback or Forester will give you about 3 inches.

98 forester still have the black fusible link? I'm calling link or fuse somewhere. In the engine fuse box, look for a 3 inch black wire. if you've got it, you may have your problem. When wires cross, it will fry and you will have a no-start. I have had this happen on two Subarus. Both because I was a dolt and installed a battery backwards in the dark. if your car is too modern for fusible links, start checking/swapping fuses. I bet your answer is in there and not bad parts. We already know that wires got crossed, so chances are the fuses or links did exactly what they were supposed to do and blew up before more important things did.

if you've done water pumps before, you should be able to handle this job. It's a bit of a list of steps, but no one step is really difficult. http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t154453-diy-sohc-timing-belt-change-w-pics.html Here's a detailed pictorial writeup of the timing job. Just remove the water pump and install the new one before putting the timing belt on again. What year is your car?

Water pump is just to the left of the drivers side cylinder head. A leak here would probably be coming out behind the plastic timing belt covers. You may be able to get a peek at it by pulling the drivers side timing cover and shining a flashlight down there. Usually you want to follow your leak to the highest point to find the source. If you confirm that it's the water pump, depending on how recently you've done your timing belt, now is a good time. Full timing kits are between $150 and $200. and can be done in a couple hours if it's your first time. There are some good writeups I can point you to if you want to do it yourself and save some $$$. If your timing stuff is pretty new, a water pump with gasket can be ordered from rock auto for around $30. plus shipping. Same process as timing belt.

Yeah, replace it and go. Michelin is a pretty good brand. 5000 miles would not make enough difference to matter.

The tranny on our 2000 made it to 300,000 miles. As a general rule, they are very durable. Those motors usually needed head gaskets at some point after 100,000 miles but once done well, will usually outlast the car. I guess the factory head gaskets were not that great. At 110k the car is due for a timing belt if it hasn't been done yet. Gates kits on ebay are good and inexpensive. I'm a big fan of these cars. They are a strong 2nd place to the reliability of the 90s EJ22 cars - which is pretty darn good.

The dual port continued in the 2.5 DOHC motors of the 90s but they were known for frequent head gasket issues. I think the Ej22 motor switched to mechanical lifters the same year that it went to single port exhaust. Generally the 90-96 motors are considered the most reliable since they are non interference. What's wrong with your current motor?

If it's what I suspect, it's a small fix. These cars were known for an issue called "delayed forward engagement" it got bad in the 2000 and 2001 cars but was corrected by an additive called trans-X Read up on here. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/84847-fixed-trany-delayed-forward-engagement/ It's a $8. fix that usually lasts a year or more before repeating the process. Happened on our 2000 Outback and was fixed by trans X.

There's one on Ebay right now for $55. http://www.ebay.com/itm/86-SUBARU-PASSENGER-TRAILER-HITCH-151670-/160676275231?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item25690d641f&vxp=mtr

Yep. Same block. Intake will match. 98 Motor is single port exhaust though, so you would want a matching y pipe. Also, there became options for EGR vs. Non EGR in those later years. You would just need to plug the back of the head if the 98 motor were EGR. There's a specific oil pug somewhere that threads right in.

And I'll second the vote for an Outback Wagon / legacy wagon. All the space of a medium SUV and the gas mileage of a car. I think in general, the 2000+ variety had headgasket issues as a bit of a factory defect. Fix it right the first time and then drive and drive.

Used to live in Southeast PA. Got a few choices if you're willing to drive around. BIG U-Pull-its are E-Z Pull & Save in New Ringgold and Harry's U-pull-it in Hazleton Medium are Harrys Allentown and Pennsburg locations and A-Z U Pull it in Hamburg. Subies are popular in the Philly area and most of south and east PA, so there should be some cars being parted on craigslist regularly.