idosubaru

OBD II scanner is the way to go. They're only $30 on ebay or have them read free at various national chains like Advanced Auto Parts, Autozone, etc. Since all cars since 1997 are OBDII though the $30 versions on ebay pay for themselves easily. As for torque bind, that's well documented here, do some searching. You can run it in FWD just fine. If you're running it with torque bind you're putting all sorts of strain on components through out your transmission and drivetrain. Install the FWD fuse immediately. If you have permanent torque bind you can even remove the rear half of the driveshaft so you're only in FWD. this will protect your trans and axles.

It has little to do with the trans and a lot to do with driving. If you're very gentle with it, it won't matter. If you're launching, racing and beating it it won't hold up.

Yes. Which ones are leaking? The rear or the side bearing cap retainers? Both are covered here. The rear is easy. The sides require marking and reinstalling the plates exactly as they are right now since they are critical to maintaining proper gear clearances in the front diff. The side seals might look like they pull right out but they do not, the large cover needs to be threaded off. Easy enough, just mark it and count the number of turns when removing and reinstall the same way.

no need to find top dead center. just line up the drivers side cam and flywheel/flexplate mark, install timing belt. turn over motor and do the same on the passengers side. drivers and pasesngers sides are 180 degrees off. if your belt broke, make sure there's no oil leak or one of the pulleys isn't seized.

Let's see 10+ years old and PA - you might have rust to deal with. If you replace the sensor, hit it with penetrating oil now and every couple days before you get the part right where it meets the exhaust. Then hopefully it frees up well. You'll need a big wrench - it's either 22 or 24mm to get it out. Probably best to get a 6 point assuming you have plenty of degrees to turn it, but mine is actually a 12 point wrench and it's always worked. In rare cases of bad rust I've used a pipe/monkey wrench to get them out. Don't unscrew it too fast if it's hard to turn. Turn it, then go check your email or make lunch, come back and turn some more. If it's tight this allows it to cool down and not heat up, expand, and gouge the nuts out of the threads.

My opinion is that doing the anti-fouler trick first is a great fit for some people and situations. I'm not a "one size fits all fan". Start cheapest and move you're way up. An unnecessary $150 does not help you out at all. If $10 fixes it, then in my opinion anything more is a waste of money in some cases and for some people. If the extra $100+ spent gains you nothing then I personally wouldn't care and wouldn't care if someone else cared. It's kind of like a pissing contest in those terms The 0420 error code is such a PITA and an annoyance. For the shear fact that it causes discussions like this, is hard to diagnose and is so sensitive. Now - I say that and I've got brand new Subaru OEM spark plugs in my cars for my own reasons, similar to Nippers - so I agree with him in theory, I just apply it a bit differently. I'm going to have them for a very long time (most likely) and will probably recoupe the costs anyway in gas mileage over time.

I don't forsee any issues with it, but seems like an odd questions for purchasing a new car. A test drive will let you know if it's sufficient for you. Some of the late OBW's (09/10) have a shaking issue at highway speeds. Shouldn't be an issue if you're buying one now but might want to check those having the issue on subaruoutback.org - there's an entire lengthy thread devoted to the issue. And test drive one at highway speeds and definitely test drive the one you're going to purchase.

they are rather benign really, simple to replace. probably the easiest oil leak to cure.

nope, you can use front XT6 hubs and struts just fine. AWD XT6's are all air suspension but you know that or have a fWD with coil overs.

Was the coolant system burped? Very typical issue on these as the coolant system needs to be bled on this motor. Search for bleeding, burping, burp, etc and you'll likely fix your problem. How long did you drive it with the leaking hose? You may have overheated it or run it hot enough to blow the gasket too. It's more likely that you just have a bubble in the system, happens all the time, but overheating is not good for any engine ever made - much less one that's 20+ years old.

In general the ECU shouldn't matter you'll just be bolting the intake manifold to an EJ18 or EJ22 - computer won't matter. Once the intake and wiring is all set up - you're done. You can bolt whatever EJ18 or Ej22 long block to it you want (within certain year ranges and parameters). EJ18 and EJ22 can handle light boost very well, so no need to even swap anything if you do it right. But yes you can swap heads across EJ vehicles.

You shouldn't have anything to worry about. You shouldn't have to touch that vehicle until 105,000 miles when your timing belt is due. I wouldn't replace anything until that time unless it's something obvious like brake pads. The only maintenance i'd probably do is air filter. Your best bet is to ask here for service advice so you're not putting more than necessary into the car. What exactly are you getting done now, valve cover gaskets cost like 20-30 bucks and don't take all that long to install. Maybe you're actually getting something else done? This should be an easy 150,000-200,000 mile car. Heck most of us on here are doing that with our older and higher mileage vehicles. I bought my 02 with 135,000 miles and did a few preventative maintenance things on it and plan on another 100,000 miles out of it. Much easier to get higher mileage out of a Subaru than other makes, but i won't point fingers.

actually i'm almost positive someone asked about this like last year, might want to find that thread.

since EA82's are interchangeable then as long as you have something that allows an EJ to bolt to and EA82 trans i can't think of why it shouldn't work.

good point, it's the underneath that leaks the most.

i wouldn't put much stock in that explanation or chalk it up to miscommunication. if it was due to temp's, then all of them would be doing the same thing or ones in canada would have more problems, but they're not. and - the engines don't really run hot, they are thermostatically controlled like any other motor - 185 degrees i believe - out there and certainly don't generate near the heat of the turbo motors in the forester and WRX which aren't really any more prone to valve cover leaks than anything else at your age/mileage. so - the temp explanation doesn't hold water. valve cover gaskets tend to leak on most engines - but not this early and low mileage. 8-10,000 miles a year is low. if it's sitting for long periods of time, or has in the past, or is racking up a lot of city miles, that doesn't do any favors to certain components like brakes and gaskets/seals on any engine.

yeah right i forgot to mention but i did the same thing Gloyale did - used an EJ18 block but everything else was EJ22 - intake, wiring, etc.

from what i recall EA82 seats are interchangeable. most EJ stuff is interchangeable, though there are some variations through the years. are you talking between EA82 or wanting to swap from EA82 to EJ? EJ stuff usually doesn't bolt right in to an EA82 but can be made to work. some EJ stuff will make you sit a good bit higher in the car if you fit them into an EA82. haven't spent much time in other EA stuff but in an XT it gets tight if you're tall.

pretty sure the belts are the same. look them up online, subaru, ebay and see if 96-99 are the same. i've seen the newer style tensioner on 1997's, so that 1998 year seems a little off to me. i did two just last year that had the new style tensioner a 1997 Impreza OBS and 1997 Legacy L sedan, both 2.2 liters though.

first step is to determine the problem. sounds to me like you just have a coolant leak and nothing is wrong with the headgasket. water pump, hoses, gaskets, etc. if it's the headgasket then yes i'd get another lower mileage motor. if it's just a leak then have the engine properly fixed. thing is - any engine you drop in there should have new timing gear, seals, water pump, gaskets etc or you have a chance of this having next year too with your new motor that has 10+ year old parts on it.

i'm not sure what you're asking, you have an EJ18 motor, what exactly is your question? the EJ18 is nearly identical to the EJ22. same block, heads and cams and intakes are all interchangeable, internals are probably all the same, etc. same motor just bored out a little bigger. same timing belts, timing gear, coil pack, spark plugs, etc..... the Ej22 went through a few changes over the years since it was available longer so be careful how you ask and what you ask...some questions will have different answers depending what you're trying to do and what year EJ22's you're talking about. the OLDER 1.8 liter EA82's are also 1.8 liter motors but are completely different, not similar in anyway (except the PCV valve ). those are the ones with 2 timing belts.

Actually you might get lucky here. It's the opposite - the older style two piece tensioners are far more reliable than the newer style. The newer style has issues, I hate them because of it. Totally annoying going to a less reliable design right around when you start introducing interference engines. Anyway - you can actually swap the old and new style tensioners if you have the bracket they bolt too. If you have the old engine you're golden, swap the whole bracket and tensioner onto the new engine. I'm a bit confused though - you have an EJ25 with an old style tensioner on it, a 1997? Every 1997 i've seen has had the new style tensioner. Wonder if yours was previously worked on/replaced sometime in it's past?

Standard EA82 rear LSD clutch type. I was hoping to avoid the additive, i realize it doesn't matter functionally i'm just being dumb about it.

The EJ25 has head gasket issues. Mileage and maintenance does not matter, they have a known issue (search subaru headgasket on google or here to see the results). With that in mind it is generally, and it includes some assumptions, considered a good idea to go with Subaru on this who has had a few years of headaches and redesign from the whole situation. In the same way that Subaru does not make tires or cast metal for parts - Subaru does not make head gaskets. They would be outsourced to a company that makes gaskets. Maybe it's fel pro and maybe that's why you're seeing the stamp. Or maybe there's another reason. But even then, that doesn't always mean the aftermarket supplied parts are the same as the OEM supplied parts. There's nothing forcing a company to supply the same part if they can't cut costs or quality control in some way. So they might spec out something to OEM...but when making their own for the aftermarket they don't have to meet any specifications, could label some cost-inneffective and supply a slightly different part to the after market. Or even if they are the same, they can essentially filter through QC testing the higher rated runs to the OEM and steer the rest to aftermarket. Just and example, there's all sorts of ways or scenarios possible to make sure the OEM is getting the higher quality runs. Might mean a difference, might not. In the older engines the FelPro are actually better because they don't require a retorque and experience has proven they hold very well. I, and others, have had Fel Pro (and other aftermarkets) seals leak. I've never had a gasket leak, but seals that leak and not only that - actually don't fit well has been experienced by a number of folks. Not really the end of the world, but good to know. Confusing huh? Post a pic of that fuji log! I'm typically Subaru only on the EJ head gaskets due to the extent of the issue, but if you got a good hunch it's the same, roll with it. I probably would, but I just have no need to buy aftermarket parts the Subaru ones are fine with me price wise.

Did you check and see if the crank/oil pump/cams are rotating smoothly? My first guess would be something is seized. I would assume you checked all pulleys before installing a new timing belt, so they should all be good right? the belt will slip awhile and the car will be driveable for quite a few miles on a seized pulley as the belt just slides around it, I doubt a pulley is breaking a belt right away. Did you install a belt and rotate the engine over by hand a few times? You installed the belt correctly (just making sure, don't know if you've ever done EA82 stuff before?)