idosubaru

the 95 Legacy MT doesn't have an EGR valve and there's no easy work around for it. If you saved your 96 Intake manifold you *might* be able to tap into the exhaust pipe to get the EGR pipes refitted to your non-EGR engine. In other words - tap into the exhaust - attach EGR pipes - which attach to your 1996 Intake manifold - which bolts right up and plugs right in (just like it used to). But it's going to take some custom pipe work (not that big of a deal with the right tools and equipment - simple actually - but troublesome for most at home mechanics). Good luck this is just one daunting issue to deal with. I think you're saying retained the automatic? If you had the manual trans then you can get around it, but not with the auto.

+1 to all of that. i order online a good bit. but i also get stuff locally as needed and that option is prone to fewer issues. fairly sure i've had glitches with all the popular online places at least once. nothing that would make me not buy from them again, but i'm not easily worried about stuff like that and time is rarely an issue for me. the dealer doesn't accidentally overcharge, give me the wrong part, not ship everything, delay shipping, etc, all things i've had happen with the online vendors. if anything happens at a dealer it's far easier to resolve. if i'm in a time constraint, dealer is the least riskiest option. but i still buy online all the time, it's well worth it and the well known places on here are easy to deal with.

the turbo stuff is annoying to get off regardless if your'e pulling the engine or not. if you stand the extra bending over and reaching into the engine bay then doing it with the engine in the car is my preference. it is annoying working like that though, so i can totally understand folks not liking that method at all, but it's easy to do in the car. i'm doing an XT6 head gasket right now, engine in the car. everything else being equal (experience and "fastness") leaving it in the car should be quicker. someone who says they can "do an engine pull or install in 30 minutes" can also remove a head faster than the average person. so yeah, it can easily be done in the car. but turbo's plain suck to work on in my opinion. use the fel pro permatorque head gaskets so you don't have to retorque.

Exactly what I suspected, I wasn't just making this up: There's quite a few differences across subaru motors. The good thing is this particular motor fairs well and can run a very long time if you just keep adding oil/water. It doesn't over heat unless it runs low (unlike some other Subaru engines). That she kept filling it up is a good sign and it probably doesn't need anything other than the heads milled, cheap insurance to do a big job like this right. Good luck, sounds like you got the basic idea down.

Subaru requires the gaskets be installed dry. I would suggest following Subaru procedures rather than inserting other procedures not required. This all of course assumes they didn't abuse the car. It's highly unlikely that this just recently started, I would guess it's been going on for quite some time since it's now leaking oil, like years based on my experience. These typically start seeping very slowly out the back side of the head to block mating area, slow drips...then get worse over time. They start as coolant only leaks and can stay that way for years, then progress to oil leaking too. So that's why I'm suspicious of a lengthy leak. All that to say - it's been leaking for a long time, if it's also been run low on coolant and overheated then all bets are off on the overall condition of the engine. But new anything won't fix that - so you're back to a typical repair anyway. Subaru redesigned the headgaskets due to this propensity to leak, so best to go with their gaskets and procedures...which experience across countless boards, mechanics, and hobbists like you find here also reveals success. Good luck. There are some really good threads, links, websites, and such referencing parts, prices, and pictures of the process. Try and find those to get you started.

Only you know what your time is worth, but looks like junk. A quick scan of ebay or an online forum might clue you in to a part or two that's easy and worth selling outright before scrapping it.

Subaru offered a 100,000 mile extended head gasket warranty on SOHC engines from 2000-2002 - the 99 forester may have been included since it had that SOHC engine a year before the OBW's did. Too late now it sounds like but had your neighbor looked into this earlier it might have been on Subaru's tab. Save your money on the head bolts and do both sides. You do not replace the headbolts on Subaru engines. Look up "Torque to Yield headbolts" online and read about those if you want more information on why and the differences between head bolts. Yes, definitely use the Subaru head gasket. Find an online Subaru vendor and buy from there, it's much cheaper that way than the dealer. Sometimes the local dealers will match the online pricing (that's what I do most of the time), or give you the local jobber price they're giving to all the local shops. All you have to do is ask.

+1

+1 i've done this a bunch of times as well. when the cars were first sold - the key code is typically recorded. if that step was skipped then they won't be able to find the information but more times than not they can cut a key with just your VIN code. sometimes they will ask for proof of ownership - like the title - to prove they're making the key for the actual owner. but every time i've had it done they just cut the key.

Yep you got it right, you need a new water pump. Personally if you want another 50,000 miles or so out of this car i'd buy the $60 ebay kits that have all new timing belts, timing pulleys, and tensioners. that's a smoking deal and cheap preventative maintenance. i do that for all cars when i get them. miles - the water pump can be done without removing the timing belts? i didn't know that, i've always removed the timing belts? but i actually do far more XT6's than EA stuff. i would also reseal the front of the engine but if it's not using much oil or leaking then you don't need to. it would be a couple more hours work to reseal the oil pump, replace the crank and cam seals, etc. if you have a leak then now is the time to fix it.

i haven't heard of "just the right side" problem you refer to. can you provide some links or where you saw that information? I would have replaced the entire knuckle and hub the second time around, something might be out of tolerance and prematurely wearing the bearings. i'd get an entire used knuckle assembly and swap it out. lots of hubs from 2001-2007 will interchange with yours.

88 XT6 Manual 4WD(). 2" lift modded to retain air suspension up front with temporary coil over conversion in the rear until I finish reassembling the rear air struts with high grade adhesive sealant. 2005 Forester XT Turbo Wheels. Canadian height button installed, not yet operational. Custom built hitch receiver. 3.9 LSD parts in garage disassembled ready for cleaning and reassembly. Pic's here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101434

EGR won't matter in your case, if you get an EJ22 with EGR you just plug the EGR hole, i've done it before. you'll retain your intake manifold and bolt it to the new engine. plugging an EGR hole is much simpler than making one, that's why it's harder to go the other way. you'll need a Phase II EJ22 and it should be a directly plug and play swap. so 1999+ EJ22.

I've never seen or heard of an FPR failure or seen mention of it online until now for EJ stuff. they fail on the older ones and anything *can* fail so it's possible but rare on EJ's.

yeah the internal gears hardly matter at all, you won't even notice it. the final drive is what matters since the front diff is integrated into the trans so it needs to match the rear diff.

here's the same question and feedback from it: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109100

Valve cover gaskets are much nicer with engine out and they're cheap and prone to leak being this old. Reseal oil pump, tighten rear backing plate screws of oil pump with locktite, timing pulleys, cam seals. Thermostat should be Subaru.

You guys are actually using these things? I never thought anyone was actually using them, never seen them mentioned before. I've always wondered who and for what these things are being used for since I've never needed one. I see them listed on Rockauto all the time. Is there any chance of installing the seal deep enough that it's not in contact with the gouged portion but not blocking anything? JB weld would not be a good fit for this application. I would bet a chunk of change Gloyale wouldn't even consider it.

yeah like 1990-2000+ almost any Subaru Legacy/Impreza/Forester transmission is interchangeable fairly easily. There's a few changes over the years but still interchangeable easily. The biggest hump is the final drive ratio is probably different. I'm guessing but the impreza might be 3.9 and the Legacy could be 4.11. The easy way around it is just to get a matching rear diff and swap that too. Or verify gear ratios, but it's quite annoying verifying that since Subaru was kind of scatter-brained about final drive ratios, it's not as simple as asking what year/model has the gear ratio's you need - it's much more convoluted than that:rolleyes: The one significant difference might also be clutch type - quite a few Legacy's have hydraulic clutch starting around that year and the Impreza probably won't, it'll be cable clutch. Pretty sure those systems are interchangeable, but might require a few extra steps to fit your cable style cltuch components from the impreza onto a hydraulic clutch equipped legacy - the trans are still identical (keeping gear ratio notes above in mind).

There's quite a bit of information on here about doing this, lots of people have done it. The simplest way is to just swap the entire rear hubs out, then it's a very simple bolt on affair. Get the entire rear hub with the ebrake cables still attached as they are different. After that, just remove and install.

I would predict what you need to do and add at least 25%...cut out, rebuild, restore more than you think you need to. A board member brought his RX to my place for some turbo/intercooler fabbing, the car collapsed due to severe rust in the rear, car just sat right on the rear tires, it was crazy.

i answered that: and that: i would not attempt to swap the wiring harness. You don't say what year EJ22 but it doesn't much matter, it's really simple (assuming it's a 1998 or earlier Ej22 which i'm sure it is): EJ18's have EGR so an EJ22 with EGR will make it exactly the same, though you can remove the EGR or use an EJ22 without EGR (which I've done) if you or your state don't mind the check engine light. If the EJ22 has single port heads then you'll need single port exhaust headers. That's everything you need to know (and more) to swap your EJ22.

it's my impression that any SOHC EJ25 will work just fine. retain your intake manifold. 99+ Forester 00+ Legacy or Outback Wagon Any Impreza with SOHC EJ25 Not sure of the cut off, but at the very least up to 2003 is fine.

this is much simpler than boring blocks and swapping pistons. just get an EJ22 block, they are readily available, and swap the entire block. of course that's over here, i don't know what availability is like down there. bolt the EJ18 intake manifold right on top of the EJ22 - bolts right up, plug and play, straight forward and simple. EJ18 and EJ22 engines can handle a small amount of boost very well, that may be simpler for some folks verses rebuilding an engine block.

Without knowing prior maintenance then +1 to all that nipper said. And i'll add reseal the oil pump and tighten the rear backing plate screws with thread locker.