idosubaru

If another car kills your back that bad I wouldn't be so eager to fly and drive back an otherwise unknown vehicle. The first car can easily be repaired and run another 100,000 miles as far as I can see. That looks benign. I've rebuilt totaled/salvage Subarus before, just picked up paperwork to do another one today. Yours looks simple. getting it back to perfect - well that's another story - but that car could easily go another 100,000 reliable safe miles without issue for not much money in repairs.

i have that same car, unsure where that is. if the lights aren't physically working on the instrument cluster - then that seems like a blown fuse? a relay wont' cause multiple lights not to work i don't think? which indicator lights aren't working.? as to the relay: in addition to the fuse locations Dave mentioned under the hood, down below the dash, above the drivers left foot is another set of relays. there's a couple silver/gray colored relays there, one is the A/C relay, I forget what the others are. You don't think it's just bad contacts in the housing of the unit you replaced the bulb in? Ocassionally breaks will occur in the wiring harness of the rear hatch where the wires come through the body and go into the rear hatch - bending over the years will fatigue, crack, and break the. this is true of lots of cars, not just this one, i've fixed a few Subarus like that and a friends Nissan. if a fuse flew - that might be the cause.

something is messed up internally inside the transmission. remove the rear extension housing from the transmission and replace the broken/inoperative bits - hub, clutch pack components to further diagnose: 1. is the driveshaft installed? 2. is the transmission light flashing 16 times when the car is first started. 3. if yes - then read those codes - it's telling you part of the problem 4. any check engine light? 5. disconnect the transmission electrical connector - the transmission will then run mechnically/manually with no electronics and that includes "locked" 4WD. does it now have 4WD? if not - then like i said earlier it's hosed internally. but i don't suspect the 4WD will work then either because it sounds like it's simply broken

1 Crank seal and 2 cam seals Cam cap orings Oil pump shaft seal Oil pump gasket Oil pump oring Water pump gasket - from subaru - the aftermarkets are flimsy thin Springs for the timing tensioners might not be a bad idea if they're reasonable and available I would buy crank and cam seals from subaru. i've had aftermarkets work fine, but i've had them be notably off dimensionally/not fit well/leak too. Someone years ago even measured OEM and aftermarket EA82 seals and posted pictures of them mic'ing them and the differences, others had this issue as well

+1 vacuum lines are often the cause of this. scan for OBDII codes

for the swap - the top of the strut - bolt spacing/fitment - and the bottom strut mount bolts are identical - so it's all the same. if you can swap a coil over - you can swap air suspension to coil over. 1. remove air strut 2. install conventional strut it's that easy - there's nothing to it.

just convert it to regular coil over struts. the bag/coil difference doesn't matter - the chassis of the car is identical in both. if you want to - yes you can manually inflate each strut. i've got two different styles: 1. with a couple adapters you can thread right onto the strut where the hose threads onto it. remove hose and screw on adapter - and then thread a schrader valve into that. that's sort of ideal because that's direct and doens't utiliize the old air hose/oring at the strut. 2. they make T-connectors that splice into air hose line - these would be the simplest as you don't have to measure/figure out thread size/adapters needed. but if you splice the T connector between the solenoid and strut into the air line hose you need: A. the solenoid to remain closed (easy disconnect it) and to know the solenoid doesn't leak - they do leak sometimes as they age - there's just a spring inside of it that can get weak and allow internal bleeding. B. the air line fitting oring at the solenoid needs to not be leaking (soapy bubbles will verify or just install a new oring - a standard sized oring at any auto parts store with fit - some 1/8" variety. C. same thing on the strut side of the air line - the oring there neeeds to not be leaking.

email me yahoo and my username here and i can dropbox a couple FSM's to you.

Get a factory service manual - detailed step by step. Skim it and ask any questions. 2003 transmissions (even H6's) are exactly the same are removing the 4EAT from my 1980's XT6's. There's almost no appreciable difference at all - exhaust, mounts, bellhousing bolts, TC bolts, starter, driveshaft, CV's. Main tricky parts are: 1. rusty exhaust bolts - the exhaust manifolds - make sure you use 6 point sockets and don't strip the nuts. Or be prepared to cut them off with a dremel. Converter flange bolts - they'll shear off or cut them. 2. tilting the engine/transmission so the trans comes out - the bellhousing will want to hit the transmission tunnel of the chassis without sufficient angle pulling off the lower end studs. front of engine needs pushed up so the rear of the trans will rotate down and angle out without the fat bellhousing hitting the trans tunnel. only tricky because there's no set measurements, it's not hard in and of itself. if you've pulled an engine/trans before - then you already know/get this. 1. drain gear oil and ATF from trans and disconnect ATF lines at trans (ATF will want to pour out when you pull the driveshaft out the rear). 2. remove front wheels, inner CV roll pins, top strut mount bolts (mark head location for reinstall/alignment), and loosen the lower strut mount bolt so you can pull on steering knuckle to pull axle off trans stub (no need to remove the axle or axle nut) 3. remove exhaust under trans 4. remove bellhousing bolts, pitch stopper (dogbone), and starter, disconnect transmission electrical connector. (pulling axles first gives easier access to those lower annoying 14mm nuts *Make sure you get all the bolts - look on the donor trans for each bolt location and verify you removed it - it's easy to miss one on these "8 bolt" bellhousings. 5. remove engine mount nuts - 14mm 6. support trans (floor jack, straps, chain through engine bay) - and remove trans mounts 7. disconnect neutral safety switch cable/connector - the shifting mechanism on the passengers side front of the trans and the rear O2 sensor - i think it connects to the rear passengers side of the trans if it's still attached. 8. tilt trans back and pull it out.

Ah, got it. That's 8" plus whatever clearance the car already has - good working room. Do you think you'll use a floor jack or engine lift to hold it and lower it (and lift the new one back in)? They're awkward, unstable and hard to work with under a car. If the trans is on a floor jack then total height is floor jack + transmission bellhousing and the trans won't roll off the jack because of the trans tunnel. If you have an engine lift you can snake a chain through the engine bay to the trans to hold it's weight and use that to lower it.

hose engine off with water (properly/carefully protect ignitino/electrical stuff). so the water evaporates and leaves you a dry engine to look at. refill with coolant start engine and watch it idle with the hood open until you find the leak rev engine with throttle body if needed

8" seems low - bellhousings are taller than that and you'll need to get it out from under the car. could maybe drop it - then jack with floor jack to get trans out and new one slid under - then back to the ramps for install. but 8" seems low. Would it be wonky pulling the axles up on ramps? I think i pulled a transmission once without removing the axles or loosening the steering knuckle bolts to allow more room. Just knocked the pins out and tried to push trans around to get them to slide off the stubs - it was a pain the backside on a 2003 H6 automatic i did - axles kept hanging up, wouldn't come off without the perfect angle - back but not too far, left/right but not too far, then once removed - catching on stuff, and had to wiggle trans left and right. i wouldn't likely try it again but it can be done.

it's really annoying working under the car - you'll hate it if you like staying clean, proper, and have bad knees, back, crawling, leaning over aren't your style and get rust and dirt in your eyes. other than that - the trans can come out really quick that way if rusty exhaust doesn't hose you. remove exhaust, ATF hoses, rear driveshaft, axles, engine to trans bolt/dogbone, TC bolts, disconnect trans wiring connector. tilt engine/trans back, unbolt trans and out it comes.

That's my guess 01-03, 01's are suspect for that issue too though. I haven't commited Phase II autos to memory, Phase II, 1 sensor verses 2 speed sensors, Duty C changes in 2003...forester/legacy differences...gets confusing in my eyes. I usually just google it and try to find one person that's done the exact years i'm looking at....but obviously you're trying to start with what you can search for. I think you can use even later trans...03-04 with the reversed Duty C if you address the signal reversal - CNYDave knows that issue...

almost 20 year old radiator - could easily be that or the head gasket eating EJ25. 1. if the radiator has a physical crack in it - then that's obviously the starting point - you have verifiable evidence. 2. oil/coolant mixing - if you can confirm oil and coolant in the oil pan - that's an egregious sign. if #1 then fixing it and selling it is an option since you don't like the car. if #2 then yeah moving on might be a good fit. you can also EJ22 swap that car for cheap and run it another 100,000 inexpensively/reliably. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/153118-ej22-or-ej18-swap-into-ej25d-dohc-vehicle/

probably - i've seen a brand new belt with only a few months on it break after having a fair amount of oil on it from a leaking crank seal. it was a lot - like covered in parts - not just drops. there's a small chance it was just a "bad new belt" of course but i've never seen/heard of a new belt breaking so i think it's more likely the oil degraded the materials.

parts wanted forum here? They're probably a standard 10mm head M6x1.00 thread/pitch bolt. Just need to know the length and grade and you can: A. buy them from any supplier of bolts B. use another Subaru water pump bolt, or others, from EA81....maybe EA82/ER27's?

Drivers side cam sprocket has triggers for the cam sensor, crank sprocket has triggers for the crank sensor. Subaru used two different style trigger marks for those engines (this isn't always the case - but for those it is). The vehicle (namely the ECU) needs the correct trigger marks. so your options are: 1. verify the trigger marks are the same - count the teeth on the crank sprocket - only requires removing the timing belt cover, not a big deal. 2. guess and hope it's correct and swap later if the car doesn't run. 3. verify when/where those different triggers are used - since you presumably have both vehicles to work with you could check the cam/crank sprocket part numbers ***with Subaru*** ***using the VIN*** of each vehicle to see if they're the same. i think it's a manual and automatic difference - but i could be wrong. at this point I find it best to physically check myself. 4. just swap them - that's the 100% repeatable/easy method. That list shows new timing belt, tensioner, and pulleys, so there's no need for the belt to come off on that one. check the part numbers i mentioned with Subaru/VIN.

This is a simple/inexpensive option: 32mm axle nut, then just standard 12mm, 14mm, 17mm sockets and wrenches. Mark top strut mount bolt for alignment. Busting the ball joint and tie rod boots are the most common additional costs when removing the hub, if you can get those parts with the used hub or carefully remove them, that's ideal.

GD says C3 bearings here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/120774-front-wheel-knocking-and-grinding/?p=1018767 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/137473-wheel-bearing-advice/?hl=%2Bwheel+%2Bbearing

Can you ignore it? It's benign to run it like that indefinitely, it doesn't matter - the first one I ever did years and 100,000+ miles ago is still motoring along just fine If i couldn't ignore it - I'd look into the work around that works on older swaps. I've drilled and tapped the front of the engine with a right angle drill or drill attachment and a drill bit sheared off to a very short length - seems like there might be room for that here?

does the ABS light ever come on? if so - read the codes. it's really easy - ground one pin found under the dash - just above the gas pedal. plug in pin to the right connector and the ABS light will flash the code ont he dash. search for directions online if you ever get an ABS light on the intsrument cluster. certain years around mid-1990's have an issue with the ABS hydraulic unit relay i think it is. they usually buzz while the car is off and drain the battery. i'm not sure this applies to 97 impreza's but i wonder if they can also freak out while driving?

if you swap the drivers side cam sprocket and the crank sprocket - yes. since the timing belts are way over due (or sat for awhile/questionable in a used engine ) they should be replaced anyway and this is zero additional work - or one extra bolt for the cam sprocket. if the sprockets are the same - then they don't need changed and it's plug and play. but it's so easy that shouldn't be a game changer. they both need to be EGR as well.

Does a cheap EJ25 in what is typically a high priced Subaru area sound suspect - headgasket or previously overheated? Check out some of the EJ swap threads.

Why would you replace them? Is there a compelling reason to question the engine? I don't think most people consider prevantative headgasket replacements, particularly on an engine that isn't known to have headgasket issues - though time isn't helping that. I would base it on engine history - the more comfortable you are it's had few overheating events/good maintenance/driving environment, the more likely I'd leave them. EA82's are cake to do in the engine bay without pulling - particularly if you don't mind leaning over the fenders (don't have bad backs, knees, physical restraints), and have air tools. You can have a head off in like an hour on those things. So easy, no way I'd waste time pulling an engine for a headgasket job on EA82's. But sure - if you don't mind doing it - then why not? We are certainly a very DIY crowd that would applaud a little extra wrenching too.