idosubaru

what he just said, buy whatever is cheapest/simplest to exchange when it fails and pack it with good grease. buy two of them so you have a back up. it's worth the effort to try to find used OEM axles. if you really want an OEM axle, i would at least put a good offer on some local forums and see if you find one, particularly if your local market is small enough that shipping those fat hogs isn't problematic!

my first concern is finding out why the price is so low. Maybe it’s just the current crisis and they’re just dumping some vehicles to keep volume up? 2016 I think is right around the time they worked through some CVT and oil consumption learning curves. I think you’re good on those but I forget the exact years they mitigated those issues. They updated the weak sauce EPA driven oil control rings rings and CVT around 2016/2017 and I prefer recommending those years. use heavier weight oil than the 0W the factory and manual require. Subaru chains are great. No maintenance and they’re not problematic on that engine. 142k isn’t bad. I usually get them around 120-140 and run them another 20-150k Struts could be tired. Brake and front diff fluids should be changed if you can’t verify they’ve been done recently. Check rust. Rear Exhaust is the easiest place to look. If it’s all rusty and you keep cars awhile I’d proceed cautiously. Yes it’s a 2016 but I saw a 2014 over a year ago that looked atrocious at all the rear exhaust flanges and hangers

I’m the wrong person to ask. the immobilizer and CANBUS. aftermarket controllers are a work around but I don’t think they cover all aspects of every swap depending which way you’re going.

“replacing broken spring washer” - was that the one for the warn cam lobe? wonder if something happened to that area? Was there any rust there like the engine had say for a long time in outdoor weather or with water/coolant in various places due to a blown headgasket? it seems like it potentially had a blown head gasket when you got it ? I wonder if it sat with water in it at some point and rusted certain areas inside the cam tower? Can’t really access them from the oil pan like other engines. Usually cut the oil filter open and check for any debris is the way to go. Thats great, you ran the engine and are very familiar with it, so carry on as you were. I was wondering if this was a guess or someone unfamiliar with Subarus suggesting it. Ive never heard of a warn Subaru cam in a but I’m not a shop so I’m not tearing down a few a month either.

I’m unfamiliar with the 2005+ transition to CANBUS except to say that exists and renders engine swaps nearly impossible, maybe transmissions are more forgiving. Compare trans side harness pin outs in the FSM. Those years are easily found for free online.

the sunroof seals leak and they're not available anywhere, or are $$$$ from Subaru, swapping the entire sunroof assembly is the easiest fix. last one I replaced was $75 from a yard. i would have guessed them to be different - you could do a car-part.com lookup for both vehicles and see if any of the others shop up as cross listing for it, or use a Subaru online company to look the part up and see which models is works with.

There are no comprehensice charts. Hopefully someone knows but I’ve never heard of anyone swapping between 00-04 and later ATs you could compare FSM wiring harnesses pin outs for the TCU or trans harness. I wouldn’t make much about the EJ25 and EJ253 designations. “EJ25” is used ubiquitously to refer to various flavors of 1996-2011 EJ25s I have my doubts about 2007 CANBUS accepting an earlier model

Sometime the grille needs to stay with the bumper. Verify the grille or keep it if you keep the bumper. +1 to fog lights. Purely aesthetic or to keep up with the neighbors.

No, if by “lock in place” you mean do they require a special tool or procedure to remove. Do you have the FSM?

They are not torque to yield. Reuse them If they’re not damaged. Clean bolt holes well and lube the head bolts and you’re done. If you’re staying NA then converting to studs will offer no advantage. If you’re building some other than NA that’s out of my skillset and experience.

You’ll probably need to run it to see if it’s still leaking. or check the items mentioned above for signs of front engine seals of OP switch. I didn’t think it had an oil cooler but just checking. with engine swaps frequently in those years due to HGs and people just adding them, it wouldnt be a surprise to have one. Oil filters leak if the oil filter seal is compromised or double stacked because the previous one stuck to the engine and wasn’t noticed before the new oil filter was installed.

Subarus are fairly simple, straight forward and no special tools needed. loosen inner tie rod to outer tie rod lock but with a large wrench or plumbers wrench. Do this first so you’re not trying to loosen it from a floppy disconnected outer tie rod Remove outer tie rod nut and tie rod from knuckle. If you’re in a rust prone area or maybe just age related - they can be very hard to pound through the knuckle. Don’t go easy on it. I’ve had the thread ends smashed and mushroomed out when they finally come through. If you can put the wheel of the car on the wheel/jack stand so the strut isn’t absorbing the pounding. If you have a torch use it Remove inner tie rod boot clamp - the small one and just leave it dangling on the tie rod. unscrew outer tie rod from inner. There’s flat spots to use on the tie rods, one is 13mm and the other 14mm maybe, WAG. Or use a plumbers pipe wrench - excellent for this. remove inner tie rod boot clamps/holding springs and remove boot. get a wrench back there and remove the tie rod. There isn’t much space but they’ll come out with regular wrenches and tools. install in reverse, paying attention to order. inner tie rod, boot, boot clamps, then locking nut, then outer. Assemble in that order since the Boot and clamp can’t go past the locking nut.

Those are fog lights. There’s so many of them and they’re so old, very little is hard to find. Are you looking for parts to sell or keep? The answer may differ depending what you’re trying to do. Leather and in particular black leather interior Seats: power drivers side, heated, heated mirrors - VDCs do, I forget if GTs have those in that gen. Cars101 would delineate that. Similarly I don’t think GTs have them but the tweeter speakers on the front doors. Dual cup holder center console. Center console rear seat fold down cup holders, they’re often broken. Front and rear head rests. Headlights but they’re nothing special, only due to yellowing/fading, having an extra set to polish and have ready to swap. Wiper motor linkages with good bushings. There’s an easy DIY fix from auto parts stores but keeping a good OEM set for personal use isn’t a terrible idea. Front door gussets if they’re not noisy.

what up thesid, hope you're thawing out well.

yes you can swap the heads. you'll need a single port exhaust manifold and can just block off the EGR valve and ignore the check engine light (it's benign in that case) or reroute vacuum lines to get rid of it. did you look at the 97 heads or are using online information for EGR determination? this is mostly pointless since it doesn't matter, but 97 is a weird year with EGR and timing tensioner - I'd expect that one to be non-EGR but I also wouldn't be surprised if you got an odd EGR one in 1997. i would just get 95 heads and keep it all simple. i think you can use 91-94 heads as well. pistons changed in 1997 making it interference but i haven't messed with 90's EJ's much in the last 5 years as they all rust away here and some of the details are foggy. warn camshafts - says who and why? they shouldn't be the first thing to be wearing out in that vehicle. i'd wonder if the main or rod bearings are about to let loose if the cams are actually warn. i'd cut open the oil filter and see what kind of debris it's collecting or get UOA to see if there's bearing material present before opening it up.