idosubaru

indeed, that's easy since the EJ22 manifolds bolt right up to the EJ18 too. that's how i did my swap. Ej18 long block with EJ22 manifold.

be really careful, rockauto often lists parts that aren't compatible with what you've selected as you "drill down". not saying that's the case here, but nearly ever other online parts place does a much better job than rockauto of listing parts. i'd cross reference with thepartsbin.com or ebay, etc.

nice hit. i've seen old gen new rebuilt racks on ebay really cheap before like $30, but not sure i've ever seen a manual rack as i've never looked for one. might be worth a shot though to check current and past auctions to see if they ever show up.

spend the effort traveling to get what you want. the right engine, trans, model, lack of rust, not beat, lower mileage, etc. put your effort there searching. favor an outback over a forester is my opinion. foresters are a little smaller in the back. they do ride nice but i prefer outbacks. go test drive one of each to see which you like but i'd recommend getting the extra space and value of the outback. i've bought late 98ish era outbacks and legacy's for $2k or less and a 2000 forester for $2,500, none of which need trans or engine work. it's really hard to make a recommendation for a car you're going to put some work into. easy to get great deals, but you're at the mercy of the market and what/how much work you're willing to do. mostly things that vary wildly. shawns recommendation is fantastic and would easily be in your price range, well under actually if you buy something needing some work - like a wheel bearing or clutch or something. the 96 outbacks are rare though and the only OBW's with an EJ22 (and it would a non-interference engine too - the only OBW in that class as well). there's really no way to verify longevity on an EJ25 with blown headgaskets. one i bought this summer they were replaced at 30,000 miles and the engine locked up at 56,000. locked up EJ25's are quite common, most folks suggest the headgaskets issues are the precursor to those failures which are generally rare for subaru's. hope for an honest seller and fewer number of previous owners, either way you're sort of making a judgment call. or buy one with a blown motor and then install a non-interference 95 or 96 EJ22 in it. easy plug and play swap and you get what you want. then you can look for a newer one with a few more options and trimmings. you're good up to 1999 for the easy swap.

i would like to see that. EJ18's are easy to install knock sensors in, the hole and threads are there and tapped.

an external grinding like rotors? snow/debris/wheels? jack up the front and rotate them by hand to see if it grinds. that you mention acceleration suggests to me it's axles. how about if you coast down a long grade on a hill?

that could be your problem. what kind of axles? aftermarket axles are generally terrible. i installed my 2" lift....also with brand new axles which worked fine before the lift....same thing, vibration on acceleration after the lift. installed low mileage MWE axles and it's been fine for over a year with a good many miles on it.

Yep you're right. On EA82's you reuse the head bolts. Completely pointless to buy new head bolts. What you want to do on those is get the Fel Pro permatorque headgaskets to save yourself the retorque required on all the others. Bump up the final torque value 5-10 pounds. That's what most of the folks well experienced with EA/ER engines do.

post in the proper forum - "old generation" probably for a brat. a mod may move it sometimes to the proper forum. describe the issue in the title, "help" for a title doesn't help you or anyone else. there's an edit feature so you could actually update the title of your original post. as for the clutch, is it a hard time always getting it in 4th gear, will it go in to gear if you double clutch it? is the shifter sloppy? have you checked the fluid or changed it? a synthetic fluid might help smooth things out a bit. synchro's are probably sloppy? and for your parts needs: update your location - at least what state your in, that's helps folks decide if it's even worth discussing large parts like wheels/fenders/etc. there's also a parts wanted forum, you could post a separate thread there for brat parts indicating exactly what you're looking for.

bump for the fluid flush question, you were logged onto this thread while i editted that in, so probably missed it. not sure if it would help but if the fluid has never been flushed might be worth a shot to do it now?

i'm sure you heard of car-parts.com right? i've never heard of one failing, but surely it's possible. has the fluid ever been flushed? in the mountains - no cable, no internet, no cell service, address is not locatable via GPS or google, etc. one road on my daily drive doesn't get plowed and retains snow for long periods of time. power goes out regularly (for 9 days once last year), be 2 or 3 days before any plowing in a big storm. welcome to rural WV, ready to move?

here's an EJ rack into an EA vehicle thread. it actually looks totally do-able. the one main issue they have is cutting holes for the lines, but you're going the opposite way so that's not even an issue for you as the holes are already there and you won't need them any more. the only other issue they had was the angle of the EJ rack input is steeper, doesn't seem like they had any issues working around that though and again you'd be going the opposite way - which means it might make it simpler or harder but either way should be easy to work around. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=118167&highlight=steering+rack you're serious, you asked this question over a year ago! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=106833&highlight=steering+rack

Abnormal Valve Relay. Seems like it's in the ABS block/unit up front? found a few hits on google with Subaru ABS 51 code, here's one on NASIOC that a guy says he posted the testing procedure for that code, but I didn't wait for the picture to load because I'm on dial up right now: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33169851

in the bottom left hand corner of the current screen you'll see a similar threads area - in one of those Josh (Legacy777) mentions that this is often asked on nasioc and suggests that's a good place to look for this info. seems to me there was a discussion last year about this and it was on here.

a plus to draining is anything in the pan or on the magnetic drain plug can actually come out with it. those can't happen with a flush...though there's no reason to think those are "necessary" either. so sort of a choice really. i've switched to expensive synthetics before and while i think they're great and will continue to use them from time to time in my daily drivers because of their reputation, i've never noticed a difference on something that was previously working just fine. the original fluids the thing was designed to use are quite good too, particularly when changed appropriately which it sounds like you're considering doing - so i think either is a good call, the actual changing it part is what's most important though.

clear them and see which one comes back first?

Since you say the legacy is a bit warn, I'd go with the RX trans. I prefer those older RX and XT6 FT4WD trans where you can manually lock the transmission when you want. Every time I'm driving the steep, switch back snow covered, unmaintained back roads on my daily commute the XT6's give me more confidence. But I think the differences are small enough that I wouldn't let that be the determining factor actually. I'd go with the best condition trans....or focus on the gearing you may or may not need, which is beyond my experience to comment on. It'll be the overall gear ratio that matters, not "just" 3.7 verses 3.9. converting the LSD to whatever gear ratio you want is easy, there's a right up for that. and yes the RX axle slides right onto the legacy trans.

Are you sure it needs a new rear differential? Subaru rear differential failures are extremely rare, I wouldn't believe someone coming to me until I saw it. If it has binding, that is a common issue and is often mistakenly attributed to the rear diff - so make sure you're not doing a job you don't need to do. I've see the rear nuts rusted to the point they are impossible to remove. In those cases it's nice to have a torch and burn the bushings out so you can remove the diff.....but then you got no bushing to reinstall the new one into - so not sure if that's replaceable or not. otherwise rear diffs are rather simple. 2 nuts in the rear, one up above, 4 12mm nuts for the drivehsaft and the axles and out it comes.

+1 to what Rooster said - keep it simple. Don't try to fix issues you don't have with stuff you don't need. The best thing for your trans is transmission fluid. Additives, conditioners, etc are band aids, avoid them. There's a few instances when they are very helpful - I would use them only in those instances as a last resort, not as preventative maintenance or "just in case". Right now it sounds like you actually don't need anything once you get the switch working properly. But a fluid change would be a good idea. The binding was probably caused by poor maintenance over the life of the car at some point - lack of fluid changes, improper towing or tire tread not match, etc.

yeah those EGR ports really are simple, they're just tapped into the exhaust stream. they're not really all that precise and the metal tubing that threads into it has plenty of flex. it just needs to see the exhaust stream. i'd just do it at home with a drill and be done with it, it's aluminum and there's nothing remotely complicated about it.

that's it. or cut the wire and duct tape it to ground when you want FWD. yeah i've installed a few rocker switches and they end up being kind of annoying if they stick out too far, easily bumped and what not. my hindsight is about even with your intuition. leaving thursday night hopefully missing it.

not sure why you couldn't find it searching, it's all over the place. including here: good lay out comparison here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=93074 either is a huge jump over the EA81, seems like both would be awesome. many folks have done the swaps, i'd personally value their experiences over just hp and engine comparisons. lots of threads about EJ swaps.

excellent, glad you like it, you'll be pleasantly surprised. it's definitely a great option. i've done it to perfectly working units. it's easily reversible too it's so simple but my guess is you'll like it this way like i would. my 1992 Legacy FSM is showing TCU pin #2 Blk-Red. I think that would be a black wire with red stripe. It's way too big and the diagram I have shows that circuit WAY across the page from the pin out....i had to trace it like 5 times to make sure I got it right, but point is I'd post a snap shot of it but it's too big. Test it first - the FWD light should come on so test that it does before completing the connections. as you already found out the air suspension systems are momentary switches. been awhile since i saw a 1st gen but later models have "empty" plastic covers where buttons would go under the instrument cluster for additional options like fog lights, heated seats, etc. you can pop in an extra button there and use that if those early gen's have those. 93 and 98 are going to be similar in some regards but i would not expect wire colors to be the same and some other inconsistencies. good luck, hope it works out for you. headed to westminster end of this week, looking forward to it.

another option would be to familiarize yourself with what the newest headgaskets look like externally and see if it has them or any sign of them being previously replaced. if you know where the vehicle was serviced sometimes they will tell you. I've had two Subaru dealers give me a service history of a vehicle over the phone, they've been very helpful - one was the one in Annapolis, MD, the other in PA - both were dealers I've never been too and have no relationship with. then plan on a coolant flush with subaru's coolant conditioner added (which is required per Subaru). not sure if you mean MY or not but subaru's headgasket warranty was available on 2000-2002 models and there are issues beyond those years as well so the "issue" as you talk about it existed in more than just 2000 models. still helpful to look into it like you're doing, but i'd seek more than that too. i've pulled more engines than i remember can i can't ever recall seeing the VIN on them, but i wouldn't necessarily be looking or paying attention either. if i were home i've got a few i could look at but i'm not.

are you absolutely sure where the leak is coming from? often other leaks tend to work their way down towards the same area regardless of the source. don't look at where oil is ending up, but where it is originating from. Subaru rear main seals very rarely leak, it's so rare i'm doubtful that's your issue. Of course it's possible it is just a seal, but I would have thought if you have an oil leak significant enough to yank a motor and attempt a fix it would have been quite obvious that it was the rear main seal the first time this was attempted. maybe you need to replace the PCV valve - if it's stuck maybe there's too much pressure in the crankcase and it's blowing out the weakest link? doubt it, but PCV valves are a cheap and easy thing to replace at least once on a car.