idosubaru

Make sure it's diagnosed properly - i would not trust a random persons diagnosis. $450 - $700 for a timing belt job from Subaru. Add $50 as water pump costs much more than timing belt. $100 labor: water pump requires a bit more labor and coolant once timing belt is removed New totals are: $600 - $850 Ideally you install a complete timing belt kit - particularly if it's an interference engine. Gates kits on amazon are only $115. Timing belt on your car can be done in an hour....say 2 hours since yo'ure int he rust belt, HA! Add another hour for the water pump 3 hours at 80/hour labor and you could conceivably find someone under $400 if you shopped around.

how would we describe it's chances with uberoo's use? !

doesn't matter. install new one and other best one up front. if there's significant tread wear difference then rotate the other three tires and leave the front one up front until it wears down to match the other three. then rotate as normal. due to the open diff nature of the front and rear there's also the idea that one mis-matched tire up front can't do any damage anyway....so to that end it doesn't really matter what you do. although if you have a rear LSD (probably not) you don't want the rear two mismatched.

vehicle, year, mileage? a small leak probably isn't ominous but it sure could be so hard to say. the smaller the leak/loss of coolant the less concerned i'd be about driving it to a shop. no coolant pooling on top the block - under alternator, power steering, a/c?

sounds reasonable. get something auto fluids resistant. to extend your question - can it simply be a series of spacers for each bolt hole that are independent of one another? rather than a complete one piece plate? granted there's no surface area to take the loading, the bolts would have to do it all and you'd have to cover the gap to seal it. sounds risky...

Ohio isn't a very Subaru rich state, that might have something to do with it, don't know.

I'd want a Subaru person to look at it to check for external headgasket leaks and torque bind. Those are two subaru/engine specific issues. Very odd for a Subaru dealer to sell a 195,000 vehicle that old? They usually only sell things $15k+ and under 60,000 miles. Very odd everywhere I've lived.

if you have kids i'd get the larger outback wagon. usually you need more room as family needs grow, not less. most people buy a car for their needs "right now" and then need something else soon. if you want a car to last 5-10 years and have kids - get big now. you don't have to worry about controlling itself. the VDC models are only H6's in 2001-2004 and you can easily disable it - just push the button or pull the fuse for the system. no big deal. 4 cylinder and 2004 or earlier don't have the Vehicle Dynamic Control. Forget what models had VDC in 2005+ as they started i think eventually adding it to other vehicles but nonetheless i would assume you can still pull a fuse or sensor or disconnect the computer if it doesn't hose the CANBUS.

if you replace headgaskets i'd get Subaru headgaskets as well. EJ engines are less tolerant of aftermarkets than older EA engines.

I would just run the 1995 as is without even disassembling it. It doesn't sound like there's any reason to pull the heads. Bolt up the intake manifold with wiring harness, refresh notable components/seals/gaskets and you're done. I'd get Subaru intake manifold gaskets (aftermarkets can be flimsy thin), thermostat, and metal separator plate. The Subaru exhaust manifold gaskets are superior too though sometimes the aftermarkets are OEM-like as well. $35 shipped for the ECU. $40 and i'll include a complete intake manifold wiring harness with it for an EJ22 that may work on the 1995. I think it's a non-EGR harness, i'm not home now to check. PM me

i wouldn't use the block with the seized water pump. how long was it driven without coolant moving? you need: 2 headgasket, 2 intake manifold gasket, 2 exhaust manifold gasket, valve cover gasket/grommet set, metal rear separator plate (uses gasket maker in a tube - no gasket) *** maybe the two coolant bypass orings on top the engine block - you say it's "partially" disassembled, i have no idea what that means but if there are gaskets involved they may need replaced...like throttle body, IACV...etc. for a proper front end reseal behind the timing belt: 1 crank seal, 1 oil pump oring, 2 cam seals, 2 cam cap orings. the last cheap craiglist special EJ engine a friend bought had rod knock shortly after he installed it. i would look for signs of running low on oil (cut open oil filter if still attached, pull and look inside oil pan for debris) or coolant (melted timing belt covers, knock sensor, other plastics). I don't think ECu matters much. i would use a later 1995+ ECU. i have one or two extras i could sell you, but honestly Subaru ECU failure is nearly unheard of, i wouldn't bother.

lug nuts loosening and front axle/control arm bending are really easy repairs if someone who knows what they're doing does it right. get used parts from www.car-part.com or Harry's in PA. 1990-1994 impreza or legacy's are hands down the best in terms of reliability and inexpensive high miles. problem is they're not easy to find in the rust belt in good condition. 1995-1998's with the EJ22 are nearly as good. 2.5 liter engines have significant headgasket issues - and many with issues hit the used market so it's buyer-beware. 1996-1998 (& 1999 Legacy/OBW) Ej25's are subaru's worst engine, i'd avoid those. they all have "electronics" - so you'll have to define what you mean by that. carbureted subaru's were done in the 1980's but if you're a noob to carbs you don't want those high maintenance finnicky junk anyway.

check and change fluids as said and never let them run low. filters are not replaced on these. the screw on type filters are like $30 and considered life-time, by this age i think it not a bad idea to replace them but it's not called for by Subaru. the internal screen filters don't touch those unless you have a leak or something and the pan has to come off anyway.

What he said - do valve cover gaskets and plugs at the same time. Replace the oil cooler gasket and those two hoses if they need it at the same time to just be done with the two common leakage points. Checking the valve clearance while covers are off would be a great idea too. Unlikely to be out but it's a big deal if one of the exhaust valves is too tight.

very thorough work, good job. sorry to ask a dumb question but you're checking the radiator and not the a/c condenser right? it also looks like a radiator, so just checking. did you try running the hose in one side and note how fast it came out the other? did it seem clogged or flowed well?

they all ship now, i have no idea how many parts i've had shipped from junkyards on there. probably be fine - i'm sure most are good. first review i found showed 3 failed starters, but other reviews look better.

sound suspicious. i wasn't able to clearly pinpoint the clogged radiator like that. mine had so much heat everywhere and blowing around from the fans my infrared temp gun was useless and the hand method wasn't telling me anything either for some reason. maybe the bad spots just weren't accessible or something. but if you're seeing a notable difference that's fairly suspicious! Subaru radiators on the main land are routinely around $100 and can be ordered online where you enter TRT41 in the discount code of Advance Auto parts and get $40 off $100 - so they're $60 bucks. A legacy one just two weeks ago was $99 so with a jug of windshield washer fluid just to hit that $100 mark. So $60 for radiator. i don't remember any hills on Oahu? are you hitting the kava before posting?! ha ha

auto store electrical parts are often low grade compared to OEM - alternators, starters, and fuel pumps i try to avoid at all costs. "Life Time Warranty" is a scary term on these. after typing this, i searched for "tough one starter reviews" and found plenty of failed starters. of course "at home" diagnosis and repair is often suspect so who knows if/what that means, but i'm not surprised. there's not much to a starter when compared to the pump and alt, so maybe not a big deal. how about a low mileage used one? www.car-part.com or one of the fine parter-outers on here or another subaru forum? they fail so rarely i never bothered keeping them when parting out, there is zero demand. i would guess there's no significant difference between "new" aftermarket and a low mileage used OEM in terms of reliability and longevity. that being said, of the three items i would be much less concerned about a starter.

it's normal for the A/C to shut off when engine temps get too hot. they all do that. i'm uncertain of hose temps. the one clogged radiator did the same thing for me - over heated on hills. it also only overheated during the day when ti was hot and not at all at night when it was cool. does yours have that distinction? you could try and test it in place, it just got water every where for me and i wanted to directly compare with another one lying on the ground.

yes - mark it to install in the same orientation. And - also count the number of turns to reinstall. be "pulling" outward when removing so you know it breaks free (corrosion/age/heat cycling/etc) when it's done and you're not counting turns without backing it out. it's very roughly 6 or 7 turns I think to give you an order of magnitude to look for. i made it i think 16,000 miles before destroying my front diff by not counting properly. "wait....was it 5 or 6 turns..."? also - the seals are directional so make sure you get the correct side.

sure, die grinder, etc. i meant grind the SHIM itself! ha ha, my bad on the typo. yes, i've done it. grind the back side of it, that doesn't touch the cam lobe. correct - these valves typically go many miles without issues, most people never have the valves adjusted and issues are rare. tight exhaust valves are the ominous variety of symptoms here obviously.

1996-2009 all EJ25's have headgasket issues. 2010 is supposed to have seen updates to the block and gasket which is significantly different. Subaru has claimed "updates" multiple times in the near 20 year existence of the EJ25, so it may be dubious to trust but the changes are significant and therefore 2010-2011's may be the "best" EJ25's. i wouldn't call it permanently fixed until the new FB engines prove themselves - 2011+ forester and 2012+ outback/legacy.

good research and testing already, well done, you don't give yourself enough credit. a clogged radiator generally has very specific symtpoms - not random. So it'll overheat uphill or only in the day and not at night - it's notably cooling load depending. the only test i've done is to pull the radiator and run hose water through it - it will flow notably less than a non-clogged one. but without another radiator around to compare it too that may be an abmiguous thing to determine. look for bubbles in the overflow tank - even right after you turn the car off, check it multiple times - is there a slow source of bubbles in the plastic overflow tank? original headgaskets on that engine usually fail externally - they start seeping and progressively get worse externally. internal failure of OEM original headgasket is very rare. but of course prior overheating if significant enough can cause any symptom if it's bad enough. you did the proper check - the block tester will tell if exhaust gases are pushing into the coolant. usually only a symptom of older 90's subaru engines or non-OEM headgaskets or frequent overheats of the kind of engine in your car. That it had only water in it suggests something more ominous or maybe that's common there where it never gets below freezing? that engine also requires a bottle of Subaru Coolant Conditioner. with only water it may not have the conditioner and i dont' know if the conditioner "requires" coolant to work properly...probably not? either way - if you get it fixed be sure to add a bottle, $2.50 at the dealer (well everything is more expensive in Hawaii so maybe a bit more).

check for bent valves (leak down test or install timing belt and compression test or just run it) may get lucky, but don't count on it - they usually bend valves. used heads is the easiest solution. 1999-2001 EJ22's are the only EJ22 heads that will work. (available on 1999 legacy and 1999-2001 impreza) i think you can also use 1999 Forester EJ25 and 2000-2004 EJ25 heads if you swap the exhaust manifold to dual port - otherwise the valves/heads are the same. unfortunately the 99's are annoying, the 1998 heads are unbelievably easy to swap, 6 bolts per side and no valve cover/cam stuffs to remove. super easy...but not your 1999.

well first - CLAP CLAP - round of applause for getting them out of there! those shim over buckets are no fun! better yet - grind your existing valves. grind the "back side" the side that's not touching the cam lobes so you don't have to worry about that face in terms of hardening or wear.