idosubaru

completely interchangeable. only a couple things to note: if you want the check engine light to stay off you need to make sure they both have EGR or both *don't* have EGR. if you don't have emissions testing and dont' care about a check engine light though it doesn't matter either way - installs and runs fine, i've done it (and am still driving one for the past 60,000 miles that way). Subaru changed the bell housing bolt pattern from 4 bolts to 8 in 1998. BUT you can still interchange them just fine since the 4 bolt pattern lines up with 4 of the 8 in the newer style set up. just something to be aware of - it's a difference, but it doesn't matter. other than that 97's and 98's are easily interchangeable. if you don't overheat or run low on oil an EJ18 and EJ22 are unlikely ever to need replaced honestly but for $100 it's cheap at least if you want it even just for parts. i'd put the $100 into a good timing belt kit with pulleys/tensioner and new hoses, seals for the engine - then you got another 60,000 reliable miles. EJ22's and EJ18's make 300,000 miles almost without blinking if you keep them from overheating or running low on oil.

it doesn't matter on non-turbo engines. change it frequently and don't run it low. you aren't going to reach oil brand induced issues in this motor. that's the beauty of this discussion, no one oil is going to get you to 300,000 miles when another brand could not...so everyone is right. pick however/whatever you want. 200,000 and 300,000 miles are rather easy to get out of a subaru - oil choice is not the way to maximize the practicality of that.

radiatorbarn.com last EJ25 rad i bought new from them was like $80 shipped to my door. capacity is a non-issue.

+1. brushes for the power steering motor (yes it's electric) are $20 or so. subaruxt.com has more XT6 specific information and members.

used. they're too easy to replace to even consider replacing with a new one. they fail so rarely that used is a fine option - you are unlikely to ever need to replace it again. in the event that you did have to replace it again (highly unlikely) - you'd still be money ahead. if something has a high opportunity cost in terms of time that's one thing but these are so easy to replace and rarely fail that new would never cross my mind.

no clue. it's not the first time i've seen multiple studs shearing - but never seen/heard of 4 shearing off at once though (5 lug XT6). i was euporic that i wasn't stranded and had to deal with that debacle at 2a!

odd symptoms for this motor, it usually has other associated symptoms - have the headgaskets ever been replaced (common issue for this motor)? when it overheats - do you have heat in the cabin area or does it get cold? any recent work? if the coolant isn't properly bled they can overheat. about a gallon-ish of coolant dumps out when replacing the tstat so be ready. from the hose side when you pull that off then another smaller gush when you pull the stat out, goes everywhere, be ready. if you replace the tstat - be sure to bleed the coolant properly and be prepared for another overheat event right after the replacement since air easily gets trapped in these cars. some of the radiators have a plastic type screw on the top passengers side of the radiator. loosen that and keep adding coolant until air bubbles stop coming out, then tigthen screw, finish filling. otherwise read the other threads about bleeding or burping the system. you'll need that after replacing the tstat.

i don't recall, i only know that i've done it before, twice actually. i assume i would have looked at it from a rotational/force stand point and made an educated guess which would be best, like you said, but i never heard any noises and i have always assumed from then and repairing it properly afterwards that it never moved. here is how i stumbled on this: all but one lug nut sheared off at 2am 250 miles from Atlanta, where I was living at the time. i always carried tools back then. i knocked out the sheared off studs. then i borrowed one caliper bolt from each side and one lug nut from each rear wheel (same thread) giving me two bolt/nut combos to replace the sheared off lugs - for a total of three including the one remaining lug that didn't shear off. they "barely" fit since they're shorter than the studs but they crabbed enough threads to work. worked fine, no braking issues at all. i recall tightening the one remaining caliper a bit to "compensate" - whatever that means. LOL

dave - the main difference is that on Phase II's the intakes are interchangeable unlike the earlier Phase I EJ22/EJ25 swaps. still need the exhaust manifold - same dual port Ej25 and single port EJ22 difference. sometimes Phase II's have differing timing trigger marks on the sprockets. to be sure you can always keep the crank sprockets and cam sprockets on the vehicle - move them from the original motor to "new" motor. you can look at/count the trigger marks on the circumference/back and compare to see if they are different. it's rare that this comes up so i can't recall and haven't figured out what exactly this difference comes from but it's easy to work around if you ever do see it.

i'm surprised it caused any issues - i've driven with one bolt instead of two in the caliper before, it doesn't move at all if the remaining bolt is tight. i drove hundreds of miles from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA like that at normal highway speeds with no issue.

agreed. i would drain the oil and see if you can fish it out through the drain plug hole - see it with a light/etc. if you can borrow/find/rent a borescope that would be sweet. last resort if it's an auto you can pull the axle stubs out and have a peak. more work but

to the person with EA81 - don't know, i haven't done those. to the EA82 guy - they're easy to do in the car as well, take your pick based on your personal preference and tools/space/etc. it's much nicer to do in the car with air tools - i just zip all the bolts...being careful of course with it. turning all the bolts by hand is easier out of the car.

are you positive it wasn't there before the HG job? is it piston slap? is it louder at start up then gets quieter as it warms? or does it get louder as it gets warm? if it's piston slap then just ignore it, it has no bearing on longevity and requires replacing the piston to hopefully resolve, Subaru has updated pistons for this issue i believe. is it the fuel injector? maybe you could unplug that and see if the ticking disappears?

that can be helpful but by this age there's quite a wide variance in underhood condition. some are still nearly new looking under the hood, but others look grungy and filthy underneath. the color of the coolant in the overflow tank is telling sometimes but overall is subjective for a variety of reasons.

generally not cost effective to get into the lower bearings/short block of a subaru. there are usually far better and more cost effective options for most people.

yes and no. check relevant places for feedback online like he mentioned, the BBB is also generally available. reporting is helpful to gauge some things. it's also a place for overtly meticulous, OCD, obsessive, untrained, uninformed, unknowledgeable, or high maintenance people to vent and unleash their frustration, so it's not without hang ups. there are plenty of bad mechanics - but there are far more bad customers.

already mentioned but make sure it's nothing simple as you plan for a headgasket repair.

sounds like you got it nailed down to the tank but i would still make absolutely certain it's not the filler pipe - they are notoriously problematic. they fail far more often than tanks and are very easy to repair.

if i'm hearing this right - yes make sure the inner sliding surfaces are good and you'll be fine. the face that touches the pads are always rusted here, just ignore that. clean it up a bit and good to go.

is this an EA82? they are REALLY easy to do in the car, i actually prefer doing them in the car. i don't pull the motor unless there's a compelling reason to do so. i even do the 6 cylinder motors in the car which are more work - more valve cover, cam carrier, and head bolts - times two for each side - lots more bolts and i still don't pull the motor on those either. the 4 cylinders are really simple. the most annoying part of headgasket jobs is just cleaning up all the mating surfaces, valve covers, cam carriers, heads, block surface, etc. that's my least favorite part of the job. a 10mm ratcheting wrench is about the only trick/tool you need and it's only for 2 bolts - the lower rear valve cover bolts on each side. that tool is wonderful there. get Subaru intake manifold gaskets, the aftermarkets can be flimsy cardbboard like junk. i typically use Fel Pro headgaskets - other headgaskets require the headbolts to be retorqued which is annoying. others have recently mentioned an alternative to retorquing that involves torquing the bolts then letting the engine sit overnight before going through a retorque process. you could ask or find that thread if you want and use something other than the fel pro head gaskets.

subaru master cylinders and brake boosters very rarely fail and the master cylinder is easy to replace, so i never replace those as preventative maintenance. i've actually never seen a brake booster failure or replaced one.

i don't even know how many i've pulled. not much to it, pretty much like any other engine pull on a subaru. if it's an automatic make certain you know how to seat the torque converter - it has 2 or 3 stop points before it's fully seated. not having it fully seated will trash the trans. a/c can swing out the way to the drivers side/battery area, no need to disconnect it. you can unbolt them from the heads and remove the entire intake manifold as an assembly, you don't have to disassemble the intake runners. they're also easy to do in the vehicle as well if you don't want to go through the trouble of pulling it. you'll want a 10mm ratcheting wrench for the lower rear valve cover bolts, after that there's plenty of room to work. particularly if you have air tools to zip all the headbolts out with. but don't bother if you have a bad back, too much leaning over. both ways have their advantages and disadvantages so neither is "easier" or faster in every situation. for me - it's usually faster to do them in the car so that's what i do on these. but i've done a bunch and it is really annoying to work bending over the engine bay so there's plenty of hate to be had that way too. i prefer subaru intake manifold gaskets and Fel Pro headgaskets (for this motor, not all subarus) subaruxt.com is an XT6 specific forum if you ever need parts, etc.

nice hit, that's an interesting one. never heard of that before. have you tried it more than once? flat ground or on a hill? when you put it in park do you: 1. hold the brake pedal in 2. pull up on the ebrake 3. then put it in park ???? that's how it should be done but many folks just throw it in park and then put the brake on. one way severly loads the parking pawl mechanism (the later) and the other does not. i would try the proper way and see if it still does it, this should tell us if it's related to the trans or not.

low fluid levels can cause sounds, i've heard it before. chirping or clicking like you said. but - it's probably something else. the rear emergency brake pads are separate from the disc brake pads and can cause noises too as rust builds up. fairly common , wire brush the rotors or have them turned.

EJ18 sounds perfect. did i mention EJ18 sounds perfect? 1997 i believe was technically the last year for the EJ18 - but they are hard to find particularly later models. ebay, craigslist, autotrader allow you to search wide areas if he's up for traveling for one, i've done that before and it helps to get the vehicle you want. another option is to find an impreza, like an OBS or sedan with EJ22 and swap an EJ18 into it. it's a plug and play swap. you bolt the EJ22 intake manifold on top of the EJ18 and you're done. you would widen your vehicle selections. might even get a cheap vehicle if you find one with a blown motor. or sell the EJ22 to recoup costs. EJ18 demand is almost zero so they're cheap and easy to find. i got mine with 80,000 miles and a 6 month warrant for $150 and had a friend offer me one too, but for $150 it was simpler to get the local one.