idosubaru

no sweat, that's why the LOL's were there. how dare you only give advice to noobs! i hadn't mentioned some things you brought up and driving in H is way-bad, so understood and thanks for posting. looks like i'm going to try and test the rad and check for an aftermarket Tstat......but i've done a lot EJ25's it's hard for me not to think HG, HG, HG, HG.....

Could you please describe your symptoms before you replaced the aftermarket thermostat? What problems did it cause and how? Your current issue could be the radiator cap - it controls the flow between the overflow tank and radiator. It's cheap anyway and probably good preventative maintenance on a 10+ year old vehicle so I often just replace them. They're rated by PSI and most stores should have one for yours. EJ engines are notoriously hard to bleed so if the cooling system has been opened or low for any reason it could have an air bubble somewhere in it. They cause random overheating. Nose up and lots of squeezing of the radiator hoses helps, though I haven't had this issue on the Phase II stuff yet and the older stuff had a bleeder screw that helped so not sure of any more specifics than that. You can search for the term "burping" here and find lots of info on it because it's fairly common. I had one 97 legacy that kept running hot after i did the water pump and it took forever to get all the air out. My buddy has been driving that car for 60,000 miles over the past 3 years now. Your engine is supposed to have a Subaru coolant conditioner added to it - Subaru sells it specifically for this engine.

i would imagine they're set up exactly the same, it's cost-prohibitive to design completely different systems without a compelling reason. are you positive it's a special fitting? maybe it only looks like it is? Subaru's for decades have always been just rubber and metal hoses with only clamps holding it all together. if it really isn't a hose and typical clamp you should post a picture, doesnt' sound familiar. if rust and stuff is bad sometimes it's simpler to just replace it all. i typically just run new hose straight from the trans to the radiator, or an aftermarket cooler ($30 at the parts store, get the smallest one). bypassing all the metal lines and such, makes it simpler to install and fewer clamps/joints that way too. that might be the easiest way to do it yourself - just get the aftermarket cooler and run all new line, bypassing all the old hoses, radiator, everything. then all you need to do is slide the new hose over the inlet/outlets at the trans side.

have you seen bad Soob radiators? never seen one yet, except rotted, external issues. it was hard for me to consider that on a 2000, but it guess it's over a decade old now. thanks for the heads up. i like local jokers too, but the radiator guy is terribly inconvenient from work/home. maybe the guy i got this car for can run it over there.

can't use the existing parts to make that slug huh, what a cool idea? cutting the wire does exactly what you said - removes TCU involvement in the control of the rear transfer clutches so you can control it (with a switch) or just leave it "locked" - at this point it's not electrical at all - isn't it all mechanical or hydraulic too possibly?. but i realize that's not what you're after and i'd like to see your welding skills put to good use! you can also have the TCU involved as little as possible - by which i mean not at all - by unplugging it. defaults to 3rd gear and "locked" transfer clutches. driving around in 3rd gear is awesome. i haven't done it to one of these yet, but i would not recommend it in an EA82!!

i'm looking for suggestions on what those might be. probably should check for an aftermarket tstat but i'm doubtful a cap or tstat would be this predictable. i'm thinking it's internal - heads or block but would like to rule out a clogged radiator - is there a way to test that? they probably never added the subaru goop. thanks, i forgot to mention both fans come on and the water pump was replaced. not interested in a headgasket/engine lashing! most folks here know that. the point isn't that i drove it like that. i wanted to make the point that it consistently rises, not just runs hotter than normal. because i can see the external ridges and i've lost count of how many head gaskets i've replaced, so i'm fairly comfortable with this stuff.

2000 Forester, auto, 148,000 miles picked up for a friend. Bought it sight unseen don't know much about the car. I bought the car needing a rear wheel bearing and check engine light was on - Oxygen sensor. Head gaskets were replaced very recently, appear to be Subaru, and the heads are all shiny - so i assume they were milled. Driven it some around town and idled forever and holds steady all the time. When driving under load - heavy spirited driving, or up a long steep grade - the temperature rises and will go all the way up. Probably now that it's 90+ outside it's beginning to show. Very predictable, does the same exact thing every time. Turning on the heat helps. Crap headgasket job? Radiator clogged? p/s hose feels hot, though i don't know how hot. Can i test radiator hose temps, I have a temp gun.

if you're doing an EJ swap then a FWD EJ trans might save you from messing with an adapter plate. i've gotten two EJ FWD trans, one for $150 and the other was free from someone i had never met before, there's not much demand for them so they're not worth much. you'll mostly be looking at 90-95 impreza/legacy's for a FWD MT.

Phase II engine? since you can do the labor i'd install new Subaru headgaskets. i would have the heads milled unless you have some heavy reason not too, it's not that expensive to just have them machined usually. where have you heard that? you won't hear that on here and this board is comprised of more Subaru specific experience than probably any Subaru dealer, there's even some subaru mechanics on here. the main reason to use Subaru is they redesigned it and success rate is really high, like pretty much 100% if the job is done right. in this case there's no reason TO use the fel pro's. one reason you may have heard that, or see it here, is that the Fel Pro gaskets are a good fit for some Subaru motors. but not on this engine. MDJC has had i believe 3 fel-pro's fail on this motor.

copy that, i was thinking rear pipe. i bought a $80 cat off ebay last year for a 97 legacy, brand new, and that's what's rusted really bad. it's still working and hasn't fallen apart yet but man did it rust quick.

I bought a cheap one last summer for a friends legacy and it's unbelievably rusted after only one year. Doesn't look any different than the original stuff that's still on there. This is tough spot for older subaru's. cheap stuff doesn't last but the high price from Subaru is a tough bullet to bite too. an exhaust shop that will weld in new pipe for $50-$100.

bolt spacing between XT6 and EJ calipers is different isn't it? it was last i checked as EJ calipers i had wouldn't fit on XT6 hubs - so how'd they pull that off? looks close from thre photo's though?

3 gears, pops out....is there any reason you're not considering getting another transmission? used trans are cheap, other alternatives aren't worth it typically.

so far no one has been able to install a non-EGR EJ into an EJ25 without getting the check engine light. all of the "easy" stuff doesn't work. swapping ECU's won't work. i installed a non-EGR engine, non-EGR ECU and still get the code. so the ECU's are just interchangeable between the two. so i cut the EGR wiring so the ECU can't "see it" and installed a non-EGR ECU and it still gives me the codes. no one here was able to explain that or offer suggestions (you can read my threads about it) someone else spliced in a resistor to "mimic" the EGR and that didn't work for various reasons. find a solution and i'll pay you for it! LOL. so yeah, there's no easy way around it, you're going to have a check engine light if you install a non-EGR engine into your EGR equipped vehicle. didn't stop me from doing it, i don't care. but i keep my car fairly well maintained so i'm not too worried about check engine lights. if the car ever runs bad i'll check it and i can check it periodically too. code readers are $30 on ebay and well worth it.

i'm kind of confused about this too i'm wondering if anyone has pictures? my friends is falling apart. when i check Subaru's opposed forces site it shows a part that's "welded" or not flanged or something, i was confused by it.

if it's an auto then your EJ22 has EGR and will plug and play and bolt right in, it's hardly any different than swapping another EJ225 in place. if it's a manual then you won't have EGR on that EJ22. you can still install it and just not have EGR like i did you'll just have a check engine light. doesn't matter in my state so i ignore it. the EJ22 is a fantastic motor, it is far more reliable than the EJ25, i'd stick with it. the timing belt kits on ebay are like $60 instead of $200 too for all new timing belt pulleys and the belt. and it's non interference.

this is all covered and i answered your PM's already about it but EJ22 is interference in 1997 and up. 1997 and up, not 1996, that is incorrect if you saw it somewhere else. price range is an important point, you can get yourself into an H6 as well, that's what i did to avoid the EJ25. but that's a higher price point than earlier EJ22's. on older cars you're still going to have oil leaks to contend with. not a big deal but typically what i do is completely redo the entire thing when i get it - valve cover gaskets, timing belt kit, water pump, cam seals, reseal oil pump, etc. you can entertain the idea of just replacing wet/leaking seals but i do it all considering the age. do that and you've got a reliable vehicle for a very long time in the early EJ22's. ebay timing kits are cheap too for the early stuff like $60 for an entire set of belt and pulleys.

O2 was my first guess. O2 sensors look different on different subaru's, there are various 1 to 5 wire styles. Sounds like you're sure so I can't think of what it is. I just did a 99 EJ swap and there's nothing in that area electrical that I disconnected. Sort of looks like the master cylinder plug but that's the wrong side. How many wires does it have? Did you check everything non-engine related - like cruise control - a/c components, etc back there? Maybe it was a connection that wasn't necessary to unplug for removal? Or put it all back together and see if it fires up?

that sounds normal then. check that CEl and see what it is. Trans uses TPS input from the engine so it's unlikely the CEL is related but could be. sometimes folks confuse trans performance and actual engine issues, hard to tell if it's really acting strange.

are you saying you want to buy a turbo engine just for the heads? Or are you looking to do something different? If you're worried about "cracks" in your EA82 heads, don't be. There are cracks that are normal and expected and cracks that are not. We can explain if you don't understand. Turbo heads have oil lines/fittings so you'll have to plug those if you're going to use them.

If this is what I'm thinking it is this is peculiar to 2000+ outbacks. Many folks won't be familiar with it. You're talking about a really high pitched squealing noise right? It has nothing to do with your engine or trans and probably only occurs during high cross winds - but that might vary. It's something to do with the gutter in front of your windscreen i believe. It sounds really bad, metallic and too high pitched, but ends up just being bad vibrations. I forget the actual issue or how it's corrected but i've read about it. The gusset noise he's talking about is wind noise from the side view mirror/front door glass area. But it's not nearly as high mitched.

Don't bother trying to check flatness yourself. A machine shop should be doing the head surface but i've successfully skipped the step a few times for various reasons and none have come back to haunt me. Actually the first one I ever did like that was years ago and the owner is a board member still driving the car. Subaru is known to skip the step as well.

don't bother with the "filter", it's not even a filter. it's only a screen. first step with trans issues is always replacing the fluid. i've seen so many cars with the original trans fluid it's not even funny. it does sound like yours is experiencing failure but good to check to be sure. does your transmission light AT or TEMP or whatever it is, blink 16 times at initial start up?

no that's ridiculous, hyped up verbage to increase sales probably. but this is a really good issue to know about when purchasing. the EJ25 has head gasket issues and in Subaru terms is one of their worst motors reliability wise for me (keeping in mind some of their motors are extremely reliable so it's all relative). but there's plenty on the road that have never had them replaced too. they are supposed to have a conditioner (Subaru supplied) added with every coolant change. it's common enough that it's not that hard to find one with the headgaskets already replaced, that's my recommendation when looking for one. but it's certainly not a "sure thing" that they'll fail. i just don't recommend paying top dollar for one that has original headgaskets. if you get a good deal then so what if you have to do them, if you do a complete timing belt job and all you'll be good for another easy 100,000 miles which can cheaply and reliably be done so it's still a good deal. another important point the 2000+ Ej25 headgaskets are less hassle compared to the older models which can leave you stranded. these essentially start with very fine external leaks on the rear of the engine and gradually get worse. you can almost drive them indefinitely if you keep adding coolant (or in some cases oil). they don't overheat or leak into the combustion chamber. i'm selling a 2000 Forester with all new head gaskets, timing belt, etc speaking of sales tactics.

yes you can convert from a 4WD to a 2WD trans, unless i'm missing something you don't need to do anything to do that swap like mentioned above. i did it to my current daily driver legacy in my sig. remove 4WD trans, install 2WD trans, nothing to it. it was easy even on my TCU controlled trans, your non-TCU trans should be a straight swap. just remove the driveshaft to the rear. leave the rear diff, axles, and hubs. or you can remove those if you'd like.