idosubaru

and Shawn's nifty axle pin punch/roll pin holder combo tool.

great, thanks. parts database doesn't interchange 95's and 96's, must be why, good call. i would have assumed them the same.

nice work, can you google the part number on the relay? if it's a common relay you might even find it on amazon or ebay, subaru uses relays common to other models sometimes.

i bypass the radiator completely to keep it simple. i like one hose and 4 clamps rather than more hoses and more clamps. technically speaking it should be done like nipper said but i don't worry about it.

did you google the ball joint part numbers to make sure it's right? the pinch bolts are out of the "new" knuckles? you are right to tread cautiously spreading them, they can crack. note - there's no need for the ball joint removal method to replace axles on a subaru. hardly need to mention it since you're living it right now but that's the hard way. only need to remove the top strut mount bolt and loosen the lower one. remove that *one* bolt and you can replace the axle, it's very easy. those bolts never are stuck, frozen, or rusted. you have to mark the head orientation so that you can retain your alignment, but that takes about 7 seconds. is the ball joint removal method common on other vehicles or something? i can't picture why anyone would do it that way...maybe if you don't ever have rust/corrosion issues, but even then you can't get any easier than one bolt that is never seized even in the rust belt.

oh wow, yeah i remember that part now. it's completely gone, guess my friends that borrowed the car just left it there. hmmmm.... that looks more complicated than i care to recreate - i'll probably just try and buy one. thanks for the pictures, those are *perfect* for this question!!

commonly done in rear diff conversions, usually to get the right gear ratio, not for the LSD otherwise you could just bolt them up and go.

exactly, that's the odd ball axle people use for certain older gen conversions. exactly.

edit...

thanks - right on i see what's happening now. the bumper does have a beam going across it just for the bumper cover, and mine is missing that. in the picture above it's Item #3 is pointing directly to the small bar I need. is that welded or bolted on? Subaru's website skips this part so I can't find a part number: Item #7 here is in the picture but not the parts and numbers below it: http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_9/body_equipment_exterior/front_bumper/illustration_1/

here is a picture....front bumper beam with no holes for the bumper cover to attach too?

great thanks, will compare later. i don't see anything obvious there...weird. my car has that bumper beam and cover....but the cover has holes which line up with nothing....scratching my head, i'm obviously missing something, need to find out if it's physically or all mentally! i'll try to snap a picture later.

the KYB's are really popular on other subaru forums so i went with them on my outback. they're fine. i got them for $60 and $61 each either using online discounts at advance auto parts or something like that (for one) and the other off ebay.

my car was in an accident (i wasn't in the car) and I have nothing to attach my front bumper cover too (which is still somehow intact though it got ripped off). the bumper beam and all is there and unscathed and i have the front bumper cover. but the holes on the top of the bumper cover have nothing to line up with in the bumper beam - so i'm assuming there's a part missing there for the bumper cover to attach to. i've even repaired a few wrecked legacy's and just can't picture what is supposed to be there. anyone got a pic?

almost any newer generation subaru stuff will interchange with what you have. you'll need to be more specific. you are limited to brake caliper sizes by your wheels. some subaru brakes won't fit under 15" steel wheels, some wont' fit under 15" aluminum wheels, and some won't fit under 16" wheels....just depends, but they'll all essentially bolt up just fine to your impreza stuff - any legacy, impreza, forester, OBW from the 90's and most 2000's stuff too. axles are essentially the same story - you can use any impreza, legacy, forester, OBW axles they are all the same. with the exception of 1993 FWD impreza axles, those have a different spline count. other than that any 1990-2000 axle will work. even the new style axles around 2001+ will work if you knock the outer tone rings off first. suspension is the same - pretty much all interchangeable with some variants here and there. you'll need to get more specific when you're ready.

+1 i always get the EA82 kits for these (or used to before they all rusted away over here). probably volume related, some folks (like GD) are doing gobs of Subaru work - they're seeing dozens or hundreds of different subaru's and can see failure rates that most people would never see just doing a few things here and there. "lifetime guarantee" can mean little - even the opposite of what most people assume. some lifetime warranty items are the worst - they produce or rebuild to the lowest possible bar and therefore save money - making it easier for them to offer a lifetime warranty (doesn't cost them much) - and they're typically selling to people who won't likely have a return or bother - older cars, higher mileage, cars with issues, people working on other folks cars...etc. i've never heard of a lifetime on a water pump but in alternator and starter world it generally means it's a low grade product. keep that in mind when alt/starter shopping.

i wouldn't install the heat shield, over time they start coming apart and rattling - it's very common and annoying. they get removed all the time. not sure which pipe you mean. depends what condition they're in but seized/sheared off fasteners is the only hard part to the job. everything else is easy. have some high quality rust penetrant available - like YIELD or Liquid Wrench is available at most auto stores. Soak them ahead of time if you can. be prepared to need new bolts/nuts depending.... have soapy water for any exhaust hangers - turns a 7 minute knuckle buster into 7 seconds of ease. Subaru exhaust manifold gaskets are much better than aftermarkets if you need to replace those. often times they are easy to weld back together. OEM Subaru exhaust pipe is easy to weld and such highly quality it's worth the effort to keep the original parts. it's particularly worth it considering that aftermarket exhaust parts usually only last a couple years...well here in the snow/rust belt anyway. and OEM parts are insanely expensive. heck, email me pictures of yours when you get it off and i might buy it from you!

they didn't. dealerships don't replace those parts, at most maybe they replaced one thing but i doubt it. the 97 2.2 should be a 60,000 mile timing belt i think so at least you won't be waiting too long to get to it anyway. the later models are 100k and 200k is a long time to expect out of those pulleys - they can make it but there are enough failures that it's not worth trying IMO. easy job, cheap ebay timing kit = good insurance. sounds like that's exactly what happened. subaru starters very rarely fail, actually i don't even know that i've ever replaced one. i know i haven't replaced any newer stuff - maybe some older gen 1980's subaru's. yes and no. that statement is "more" true for newer models...like 2001 or something that got the newer outer boots with more convolutions in them - they last a really long time. and foresters and Outbacks have higher ground clearance than an impreza/OBS so that inner boot is strained more on those vehicles- so it would be "more" true for his vehicle than yours as well. but - it would still hold some water for you as the inners boots are closer to the exhaust. in general - yours having the older style outer boot - if you go to replace the axle boots i would have both replaced. on those newer axles i don't even replace the outer boot, they fail so rarely. i actually install newer style axles in vehicles like yours because of those beefier outer boots - they last longer. i would guess you could even get that style boot and put it on your axle, but i haven't tried it yet, i've only swapped entire axles between the two.

welcome! i lived in atlanta for 9 years. probably enjoy georgia more than atlanta but i'm a huge fan of that state! great vehicle. not hard to get 200,000 miles with very little maintenance...actually 300,000 wouldn't even be that eye opening - but most folks don't drive enough to get there. at the current rate that would be 50 years? LOL few years ago a friend needed a reliable high mileage capable car - i got him a 97 impreza (he lives in Atlanta!). got it with 80,000 miles and it's got like 200,000 on it now and he's replaced an axle and Duty C solenoid, that's it. i keep trying to get him to go for 300k but he's hesitant! another friend needed a car up here and i got him a 97 legacy (same motor/trans as 97 impreza) a few years ago. same story - he just posted a photo on facebook with 223,000 miles now with few issues. change transmission fluid, rotate tires frequently and keep them matching at all times. this protects the 4WD components. change the front diff gear oil. rear wouldn't be a bad idea but truthfully the rear diffs really don't fail on these. i'd replace the timing belt components - more info on that below. keep the stock axles at all costs - just reboot them if the boots break. aftermarket axles are not high quality and the OEM subaru axles are very robust, easily capable of lasting the life of the car if you keep them booted and greased. *** Non-issue for you! the 2.2's do not have headgasket issues. If it stays full of oil and never overheats the motor will last as long as you care to maintain it and outlast all sorts of other things on the car. excellent motor, one of Subaru's best. 200,000 is a cake walk. the downside is that in 1997 the 2.2 went to an interference design so if the timing belt breaks you'll have bent valves. i would have recommended replacing the timing belt tensioner and pulleys with the belt - i wouldn't want 15+ year old pulleys and that new style (less reliable) tensioner in there. ebay timing belt kits are $150-$200 and include all new pulleys and tensioner. it's actually an easy job to do just the timing belt only - I can do them in under an hour. personally i'd pull the belt and install all new pulleys and tensioner at some point. sometimes they can go bad. be careful when rebooting or replacing an axle - it's easy to loose grease or get contaminates in the wheel bearings when the axle is out. i know folks who replace the wheel seal when they remove an axle to protect the bearings, i haven't gone that far yet. you'll like this thing. alternator, power steering pump, or a/c compressor only takes 15-30 minutes to replace. these are really easy to work on. use forums like this and ask for tips and when you're doing a job ask whether to use aftermarket or Subaru OEM - some parts are way better one way or the other, just depends. let us guide you to an easy 200,000 miles! brake, power steering, a/c systems generally have few issues and the ones they have are easy and cheap to fix. engine and trans are equally adept at high mileage with little work - follow guidelines i listed above. the multi-starter replacement thing is not normal. i would guess the original starter may have been good, was misdiagnosed sometime around one of the battery failures and the replacement starters just aren't as high quality as the original factory ones.

new or used? were the headgaskets ever replaced? often means it was previously overheated or run low on oil at some point in it's life. with the external oil leaks of the 05+ EJ25's a low oil situation could occur at any point in it's life, even low mileage. then again stuff happens and a quarter million miles is not that bad - it would get you to the moon!

those joints are often stiff when new, they loosen up once they start moving. sounds normal to me. beware though non-Subaru or non-MWE axles have high rates of issues. still plenty of good axles, but no surprise for issues out of the box.

i have had the wheel off - i can't visually see anything, nothing seems loose or shaky. i have now noticed that it will ocassionally "thunk" or "rattle" when i hit a bump. oddly it won't do it on large bumps every time...it's like it has to hit just right. i'll pull the wheel and look at brakes and axles.

if you ever need to replace, getting one from out west or down south is awesome. no rust.

well done, excellent work. you now how variable timing right...move that tab a degree or two... odd they wouldn't weld it. i'd weld that. it's not structural, it's seeing vibrations and getting worked but weld it up and it's not going anywhere? i'm not good at welding, have a cheap welder, and i could get that to work just fine.

wow, you're not kidding, what a smoking deal. how can they sell them so cheap? is this a close out where you'll never see these prices again? nice score and glad it ended up being as nice as the photos.