idosubaru

:lol:no joke forget that! this was on an XT6 so this might be different but pay close attention to how it attaches to the pedal assembly before you remove the old one. i removed it all and reattachment wasn't nearly as obvious as i thought it would be. it was years ago so i can't recall what was confusing but there seemed like multiple ways to position/route a bracket, bolt, etc.

cars101 has dimensions. 95 will be the same as any other wagon up to 99 so you can compare that way if cars101 has late 90's dimensions? i have glanced at measurements before and the OBW's gain like an inch here or there. we did a similar jump - though our 96 Lsi (same specs as 95) is a sedan and not a wagon but their dimensions are the same except for rear cargo stuff. still have the LSi and now an 02 H6 OBW (same spec's as 01). the OBW is larger but it's nothing to write home about. you'd have to have a very specific need or OCD or picky to get an OBW for the "increased room". the car seats for the kids are hardly noticeable difference, if anything they seem to "fit" better in the older LSi just because of seat angle/etc - whatever inch or so gain is in the OBW is hardly noticeable to us.

you can remove the solenoids from the rear strut so you don't have to leave the entire strut in the trunk. you can make a fitting to manually inflate the tops of the strut with a standard air hose/tire inflator. i believe the adapters i've seen though were standard threads, not metric, but they still worked. if you don't feel like tinkering to make that fitting, i would give the air compressor 12 volts and see if it actually works. if it does then open the solenoids for each front strut. once they are filled, just disconnect the solenoid at each strut so it can't open and they aren't likely to deflate. basically - get the struts filled and completely disconnect them from the system. they'll hold as long as the bags aren't leaking, oring on the strut line isn't leaking, and the solenoid spring isn't weak.

good advice - cash is king with private sellers. if it's a dealer it'll depend. some like cash some don't. they have pre-canned lines and explanations for making sure you don't feel to powerful with green stuff like (off the top of my head): "......we would prefer to maintain relationships with loyal buyers who will consider our loan options." or flat out "we make less money when people pay cash over our financing products....."

forester, impreza, legacy, OBW isn't going to matter. it just needs to be an EJ25 of the right phase. (impreza's had EJ22's until early 00's - 01 JCE says). actually installing an EJ22 isn't hard either, it's bolt in and plug and play with one minor swap of some timing components, but sounds like you want simple. that's what i would go with. few folks have done stuff this new so there's not a huge bundle of info or experience. ebay and car-parts.com are helpful for year interchange info.

sounds totally normal. what were you expecting? other than my XT6's which read at about 1/3 - all the other subaru's i've owned do that - legacy's, impreza's, foresters, OBW, 4 clinder, 6 cylinder...etc.

for future reference it's possible to drive without using the clutch. it's a bit nutty but it'll get you home. i had mine break 700 miles away and some kind folks on here told me how to do it, it was awesome. you have to start the car in gear since it won't go in first when started. after that you rev match each gear and it'll shift. had some awesome atlanta traffic to navigate like that, but it bought me the time i needed and i didn't have to sit or wait around.

any gear oil of the appropriate weight is fine, so you're golden.

it's an easy job as far as mechanics go the only hard part is rust....which is a brick wall sometimes. the top strut mount bolt (of the two) affects alignment, so mark it and reinstall the bolt (not the nut) in the same orientation so you don't need to get a realignment. i use a chisel and mark a notch in the bolt head and strut body, use whatever way you like. by "swap out hubs" do you mean the entire knuckle assembly (often referred to as a hub) or do you mean just swapping the hub - meaning a bearing job too? you can swap entire knuckles. newer subaru's...mid-late 90's have enough wheel bearing issues that i wouldn't consider them an upgrade. i believe GD, and others, feel the first gen bearings are actually more robust. you can order hubs from out west or the south so they're not so rusty. that's what i do. ends up being a win-win situation anyway. you can usually find it cheaper so shipping doesn't matter, no rust, and it arrives on my doorstep. if yours is ABS you'll want ABS equipped hubs.

if you're taking the head gasket off and talking about reusing it, i'd get another one. not worth the few dollar risk for such a big job to me.

i have no idea but would like to know as well. i've wondered the same thing. the GT's do get 16" verses the L's having 14" if that makes a difference. every L or brighton model i've driven is a swaying machine and not as nice to drive in the twisty mountain roads. the GT's are much nicer. so i guess there's a difference in suspension, or the L's don't age as well, or anecdotal?

oh good, nice work. unfortunately that's not a straight forward swap though. if you have the complete vehicles you can entertain the idea of a complete engine swap - meaning wiring harness, ECU, splicing a few wires, etc. doubt it's worth it though but i don't know what you're after.

The GT's ride really nice, the L's and brightons float around turns and I'm not a fan either. There's a price difference between those models and like you said it's worth it in my opinion. The difference in handling you're describing is likely model based - L verses GT, not year based. The L models are notably sub par when compared to the GT models, they handle much nicer.

The 01 is a far better (more reliable) motor. I wouldn't even look at the 98 unless it has proof the headgaskets were done and done right. 01 would have better resale too later if all things are equal.

not going to happen if you're in the US. there's a lot of complications to that swap. the 99 OBW EJ25 is a Phase I DOHC. the 99 EJ22 is a Phase II SOHC EJ22. those two engines are not easy swaps in this case. Had the DOHC EJ25 been a Phase II (offered in the Forester and RS in 1999) or the EJ22 been a Phase I EJ22 (1998 and earlier) this would have been easy - plug and play. What you could do is make sure that your 99 is a Phase I - meaning DOHC or dual overhead cam - easily distinguished by the double cam circles on top of each other on the left and right timing belt covers. And make sure your 99 EJ22 is a Phase II - there's probably a few ways the only one that's coming to me right now is that the spark plugs come through the valve cover gaskets verses out of the "top" of the engine (head) so to speak. I doubt the changes actually happens between Dec 31 and Jan 1st. I've always wondered how that works but I'm betting there's some bleed in either direction so best to make sure.

sounds like you're golden - use the XT6 axles with your XT6 trans and hubs. match the axles to the hubs. you can use EJ axles and hubs with the XT6 trans, though 93 FWD impreza's shouldn't fit on the trans? odd though you said you were able to install one side of the impreza axles? 93 FWD impreza shouldn't fit on an XT6 trans i don't think, those are the odd ball spline counts?

hopefully the $600 doesn't mean there's something wrong with it. good score. that's a good one to get, they are capable of reliably making really high miles if you can keep up on maintenance. at that age and mileage i'd replace all the timing components. pulleys are devoid of grease by this age/milegae. i usually replace one if not all the pulleys on 90's era soobs. ebay kits are about the only reasonably priced option available, they include all new pulleys. but i'd want another reliable 60,000 miles out of it. this is an interference motor, if the belt breaks it'll bend valves. drive in slow tight circles on pavement to check for torque bind. braking feeling is bad. fluids are a given.

what control arms, struts, and hubs did you use? brat - so EA81 i presume? shouldn't be an auto/manual difference. unless i'm forgetting one all manual and auto trans subaru axles are interchangeable. i never pay attention to AT/MT for axles. interesting that you can install one side, is the trans rocking and taking up the slack for the one side to fit? i recall some other threads about axles being too long but my mind is faint at the moment. i feel like someone even posted pictures. might be worth searching for if you don't figure this out quick. lift it to take up the extra 2"? :lol: got your PM - you can PM me a link to your thread next time if you want.

hopefully they actually tested the motor before replacing it but that's water under the bridge now. phase I EJ25's are easily repairable when they have bent valves, there's no piston damage. i think Phase II's are the same. as to the transmission there's nothing that should have caused the transmission any issues when the engine failed. engine stopping does not affect the transmission. it's quite common for an engine to throw a rod, lock up, lose a bearing, break a timing belt, lock up the cams...etc - any number of catastrophic failures that lock up the motor. that is irrelevant to the transmission. so davebugs could be right and they mis-installed the new engine and cracked the oil pump inside the transmission. if you don't properly seat the torque converter when reinstalling the engine that's what happens and it's only a 1/4" difference so there's no way to know visually speaking unless you're very familiar with the exact motor/trans you're working on. unfortunately that's not easily replaceable, most folks just replace the transmission. they should check for ATF pressure, if this guess is right then there won't be much/any fuild moving. for a better diagnosis let us know exactly what it's doing.

in my experience subaru's seem to have forgiving brakes and perform well with just about anything. i've seen cheaper pads perform poorly on other makes, but not really subaru's. not that they're "great" pads, or won't wear quickly, but nothing that big of a deal. i prefer ceramics and have used a few different varieties. there's a zillion different brake options. the adaptive ones from NAPA have new clips in them, i like that but they are expensive. clean the brake pad clips really well (or buy nicer pads that have new clips). and clean and grease the caliper slides. they sell brake caliper grease at the auto parts store. i would just buy the bottle of it as the packs are hardly adequate half the time. subaru brakes are easy, nothing special to it really: 1. remove wheel. 2. caliper takes 1 or 2 bolts (depending what style you have) to remove. 3. clean slides, regrease them. clean all the metal caliper bracket clips 4. press in caliper piston with a c-clamp (remove the brake fluid reservoir for this step - might be pointless for subaru's but a good practice to have as the fluid needs to go somewhere and if it's a sealed system the master cylinder seals can fail). install pads, caliper, and you're done. occasionally the brake pads are manufactured too big (regardless of what brand you buy) and need to be filed down. there are threads about that but it's fairly straight forward.

if you're talking about installing the assemblies, i would call that a one man job that's quicker with two. even when installing lift kits, pushing the limits and spacing and the strut has less room to fit with the extensions in place, i've always done it alone. i totally understand why having an extra hand would help and not trying to debate, just saying i wouldn't let that scare anyone from tackling this themselves. buying used strut assemblies is a nice way to make this job simple and cheap. but of course no way of knowing how long a used one will last.

not going to touch those links on super slow dial up but i'll check them out tomorrow, thanks! i have one already done in my garage that i haven't looked at in years, but i was never sure how it finally was secured in place. install the joint without one end cap - then press that end cap in place - but what prevents the pressed in cap from coming back out? does it have a clip of some sort - that goes inside of the ujoint then once it's pressed in place? i recall it having clips with it and assume that's how it worked. those joints are steep - like $30 each right?

whoops, vehicle helps. i just assumed the 92 in your user name was in reference to this vehicle. someone else will chime in since this is carbed right? so it's carbed - those are low pressure like 8psi or something, but i doubt it matters, i actually looked at the pic's this time. it has to go against gravity either way, just a matter of whether it's the feed side or pick up side...flipping it only alternates those i'd think.

right on. i have all the parts, non issue. comparisons are helpful and though one possible candidate was originally EJ25 it isn't now. good chance of picking up another EJ25 vehicle in the next year too and chances are it'll have a blown motor since those are easy to find.

CV joint sounds about right. if it's more noticeable around turns that is classic cv joint failure, though they can fail other ways too. my first guess would have been wheel bearing as you apparently tried to guess. did the noise return immediately after replacing it or was it gone for awhile?