idosubaru

Must: Timing belt, tensioners, and all 3 pulleys. Gates kits on rockauto or amazon are only $120, they are inordinate and unnecessary from Subaru. Second: Water pump, camp seals, crank seal, reseal the oil pump Water pumps rarely fail in that engine, the pulleys and tensioner are more likely to fail and shouldn't be skipped. Subaru dealers are the worst place to get this job done. Dealer prices are too high, they never replace all the pulleys because it's cost prohibitive. You get 2 new parts and then leave 3 with 100,000 miles on them still in there, and they do fail. Kind of a silly approach for an expensive job - one dealer I know charges $450, another $699 for the belt only. Too much money not to do it right. If you have a good non-dealer mechanic you trust, make sure they use a Gates kit (not a lower grade ebay kit) and a Subaru water pump gasket is a must - the aftermarket gaskets are flimsy cardboard material and the Subaru gaskets are robust stamped metal. Huge difference. The water pump gasket is the only thing that should be from Subaru on this job. And the thermostat if you replace that. But that's easily done at any time, it doesn't require timing belt removal so I don't include it on the list though it's often timed with the water pump since it has to be removed and coolant drained for water pump replacement.

a few folks have used the Kendall stuff - it's just one bottle, probably basically what he posted above pre-mixed, but that's what i've always used.

Typically you install a switch with simply two positions, it's been a couple years since I wired one but something like this, I've always used a DPDT switch (double pole, double throw): Position 1. "Locked" 4WD Position 2. normal AWD Position 1. nothing connected here - in this position, the wire isn't connected since it's not in Position 2 below. so power is cut to Duty C, "locking" it in 4WD. Position 2. simply attach the two ends of the Duty C wire you cut here - so that it completes the circuit as normal. then you get normal AWD That's how it's normally done for those that want to "lock" the 4WD themselves. Your case is a little different though - since you have torque bind so in position #2 you'd also want it in FWD - so actually I think it would be identical to every one else that's ever done it except you'll just leave the FWD fuse in place. Look up your Duty C wire in an FSM - at TCU under the dash above the gas pedal, silver metal box held in place with like 2 screws. Find the pin out for that one wire there, or in the engine bay at the transmission wiring harness.

i've got a complete sunroof track assembly for an 03 single pane style, if you want a non-rusty one to swap out.

i ran a metal rod under the ebrake/center console/dash or something. it didn't work perfect and was tight due to bends so it would hang and the rod would bend sometimes, etc, but it worked somewhat. i put only a matter of minutes into it and just used stuff i had lying around because it wasn't a daily driver or it was temporary until i fixed it - it was 10 years ago so i can't recall but i didn't spend much time on it. with a little effort it seems like it would be easy to get something more permament working.

Clean up, reboot, and you're done. I've had terribly vibrating broken boot axles work fine after cleaning, regreasing, rebooting.

it's really dirty so hard to tell where it's emanating from but it appears it could be above the oil sending unit. looks like oil pump or crank seal to me. that requires taking the timing belt off so if it's never been done the proper maintenance for reliability/longevity would be: 1. reseal the oil pump (2 orings and a shaft seal) 2. replace crank seal 3. replace cam seals and two cam cap orings 4. replace the timing components - belt, tensioners, pulley - the kits are only $60 - $100 online for everything. takes a couple hours and is rather easy to do. do that and you've got a reliable 50,000 miles coming from it.

the 90-94 legacy's are beastly robust animals. if you like practical cars that run forever and are amazingly reliable and cheap to run 100,000+ miles, that's the car. most people just don't like that older gen/age, but they're the best legacy in those terms ever made by far. OBS running feel was probably like you said, not engine related but whoever treated the interior like that probably didn't treat other things well either...the engine, trans, fluid changes, dirt roads, etc. the OBS's are great little rides when they're nice, but a fullsize wagon is really a better vehicle for the additional space. the OBS is a little bit smaller and if yo'ure the type that will use and enjoy the hatch/wagon style, the extra space of a legacy wagon is worth it. we had an OBS and granted we had kids so that preempted this, but we travel, carry a lot of gear, hobbies, etc so the space just made sense for us.

you've done your research and know exactly what to do, so you're obviously capable and ready to dive in. Subaru's are not performance minded, well not the one you bought. they don't drive like camaro's and they don't perform like Beemers. trying to make one "faster" is a dead end street to me. if i'm going to modify something I want it to be actually fast. On NA subarus every mod is like "i think that made it faster....maybe". it's not forced induction, it's not a big engine, and Subaru doesn't design for 0-60 times. if you mean you want to play or have the "feel" of performance and enjoy tinkering and novelty without any quantifiable gains in 0-60 times, etc, then go for it and do whatever you want. net gains will be miniscule so it doesn't matter what you do, just dive into the projects that are the most fun for you.

do you mean you want to ditch the turbo entirely or make a franken-motor so you can use the cheaper NA engines? my turbo experience is very limited but i'll base some things on non-turbo experience and some things i know that would be "possible", though maybe problematic for some reason or another. if you mean ditch the turbo and just go with NA - if, as i suspect, the turbo's have associated sensors so that will lead to a check engine light without some workarounds. if there's a way to keep boost down to really low levels like 3 or 5 psi you could possibly run an NA engine with the existing turbo set up. that's probably the option i'd look into. find a smaller turbo or way to mitigate the boost levels. bolt the turbo heads (if they're good) to the NA block and use a thicker headgasket to loose some compression - cometic makes varying thickness headgaskets and would certainly know if this is possible or not...certainly, i think. lol. probably still want to mitigate boost on a build like this too. you might be able to even better yet use an EJ22 or some other block to lower compression in order to run the turbo still. or maybe your pistons are still good and can be installed in an NA block?

yep, like i said 99 Legacy and Outback kept the older EJ25 1996-1998 version. 99 Forester and Impreza RS get the new EJ25 - 2000-2004 version. so 1999 has two different EJ25's available. you'd be better off looking for "2000 Forester" parts in the future for plugs, wires, valve covers, spark plug tube gaskets, timing kits, etc. 99 will continue to be confusing for anything maintenance related.

woah - from the "cutest small town in america" or something like that!? I know the son of the owner of Satch's Auto Repair outside lewisburg and some other jokers from down there. good car - get a fresh coolant change and Subaru's Coolant Conditioner for $2.50 a bottle to mitigate headgasket issues on that engine. they have significant headgasket issues - but properly maintained and kept in check you may never have to repair them. 1. get fresh coolant in it 2. add that conditioner 3. repeat if you see signs of external leakage on the bottom of the heads - add two bottles and that should get it to stop. a complete timing belt kit is wise too for 100,000 mile reliabiliy and longevity. they're only $120 on amazon and rockauto for complete timing belt, tensioner, and all three pulleys.

No, that's the wrong gasket. A true 1999 Forester is the later model EJ25 which would be for 2000+ EJ25's (and 99 Foresters and 99 Impreza RS's). Some places may not correctly list it since it's an oddball change in 1999 where different models used different headgaskets for the same EJ25 engine (though they are different EJ25 2.5 liters). Basically you're looking for a 2000-2004 EJ25 headgasket - just ignore that 1999 year and try to search using a 2000 Forester. If yours is actually a 1998 Forester then it would use that gasket you listed above.

Not easily. It doesn't bolt up and would require some work to deal with the bellhousing issue. I'd just get an XT6 or EA82 turbo transmission and keep it simple. Lots of those will work - FT4WD, PT4WD, dual range, etc. Non turbo transmissions will work too, the front axle spline count will differ though, but if you get the proper spline count up front (which is easily done) you can even use non-turbo EA82 engines which are a dime a dozen. I've got one you could have for $50 if you were closer. post here first - someone probably has one, like me but closer. or www.car-part.com good luck and enjoy! those XT6 engines run forever if you don't run them low on oil or overheat them, very reliable and robust engines. join us at subaruxt.com if you do or have any XT specific questions.

those are minor issues. the rack boot does need replaced immediately. they crack, contaminate the sealing surfaces of the rack and pinion and cause the steering rack to start leaking. replace the rack with a used one, new are pricey and I wouldn't trust them to be as robust as the original Subaru units anyway. i generally avoid this recommendation and cringe when i see/hear it but since you'll be trashing the rack anyway, add some stop leak to it if it's leaking. got nothing to loose if you're trashing the rack.

Spark plug tube seals, they leak all the time and your mileage is fairly common for that issue. Replace the valve cover gaskets and spark plug tube gaskets at the same time. It's a very easy job and cheap parts. $150 tops. Do it now as it will cause ignition degradation over time as oil gets on the spark plugs.

If you have: A. nominally torque bind (normal driving conditions) and B. FWD with the fuse installed then wiring in a switch would allow you to flip between A (torque bind which is "locked" 4WD) and B - FWD. The Duty C solenoid is not going to burn out. many people have driven for years with it and no one has ever had one burn out. maybe you'll get unlikely but highly doubtful. If it does "burn out" and you end up "locked" in 4WD and the FWD fuse doesn't work - then simply remove the rear half of the drive shaft and you've got FWD. No big deal.

i think an 86 wagon is an EA82?

that floor separation is weird. i've fixed a bunch of wrecked subarus and have never seen that. doesn't look like a big deal to me just to get it back on the road for a daily driver. replace a fender and some suspension, bang some stuff back into shape and you're back in business. it's hard to tell how much suspension is banged up of course but i wouldn't throw it away at first sight. www.car-part.com

www.car-part.com sometimes you can try spacing the lower latch out by removing it and putting washers under it to space it a little bit. crawl in the trunk with a flash light and try to figure out what's going on. they're quite annoying to figure out in my experience. seems like they should catch..and they don't.

yes and no. i've used the kits to seal complete systems but it's not ideal and might want to tweak it. and i'm sure kits vary, i've bought a number of kits over the years that populate my A/C tool kit/boxes. the compressor orings are always an easy fit. the condensor is usually fine. after that they get smaller and trickier. note - the "actual size" drawings depicted on the back of some packages aren't accurate. the tiny orings through the system are much harder to match. the ID will be right but not the thickness or the OD will be right but not he thickness or the thickness is right but not ID. end up stretching one really thin to fit or having a loose one that you hope seals. the old orings have always been in good shape that i've pulled so i don't know if there was a net gain in replacing them with incorrect sizes. if i wanted to do one right for the long haul i'd probably plan on matching the compressor and mic'ing the rest or just mic them all. they're usually in great shape and should be easy to measure unlike the compressor orings which are often compromised.

replace the bad wheel bearing, the other side could easily last the life of the vehicle. i generally recommend avoiding dealers, but in this case subaru has a special tool that allows them to replace the bearing on the vehicle, so it may reduce risk of damaging ball joints, tie rods, and affecting alignment if you get it done at a place that is equipped to do that. in the rust belt, those items are often damaged during the process without care or good tools. anyone can do it and they should be equipped and ready for rust but never know. sometimes swapping in a used entire knuckle assembly is a cheaper option, $25-$50 and you're done. but if you're paying labor it's not a good option.

matching exact model or even brand is unnecessary. get the right size and you're golden. 1. get your tires close 2. change the fluid and see if it goes away - if the FWD fuse works then the clutches may free up with some fluid changes and matching tires you can run it indefinitely with the FWD fuse, don't worry about it. if the torque bind doesn't go away a simple fix would be to install a switch for the FWD fuse - one position of the switch would be FWD - the other position would be "locked" 4WD. or replace the clutches in the rear extension housing to get it back to nominal operation.

ignore (or delete is - mods?) this post, he posted it in the right forum here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/145954-impreza-door-interchange/

pretty sure the doors interchange - some may have power door locks and others do not - and the handles may diff in those cases? don't know. www.car-part.com