idosubaru

knock sensor has caused those kinds of driveability problems before. i would start there and would give that a much higher probability of fixing the running issue, but of course there's no guarantee.

Actually someone has not figured this out yet. Sounds like you're doing good with it though to make it this far. You figured out the pin for the manual designation pin to the ECU can you check the circuit out for the neutral switch?

pulling the motor takes longer. if you have a bad working environment, can't bend over the engine bay (bad back, knees, etc), then pulling the motor might be your best bet. by the time you pull the motor you can already have one of the heads off. otherwise this job is way faster in the car, there's nothing slow about doing it in the car if you have a ratcheting wrench (10mm) for the valve cover gaskets. the easiest way to make a dent in time is to have air tools available. zipping out all those cam carrier bolts and head bolts is much nicer with air tools. use Fel-Pro permatorque head gaskets only.

I called and it looks like those numbers that Abe posted are correct for the air suspension. I'll have them by next week. thanks abe.

my bad, i didn't mean little difference technically so much as time commitment. build an adapter plate and swapping a cross member seemed roughly comparable in terms of time. now as for cutting...yeah that sucks, i thought it was only the XT6 engine that required that. cutting a frame rail would deter myself.

if the forester has had the head gaskets replaced, i would definitely go that route. the best 2.5 liter to own is one that has already had the head gaskets properly replaced. other than that it's a toss up, just depends how you like to roll. newer is nice as it'll have less rust and less minor issues - like stuck cracking, breaking, alternator, calipers, newer fluids all the way around, etc. but the older EJ engines are great motors. it's just that all the hoses and gaskets are now getting 15+ years old and then there's always maintenance history to contend with. it's a good idea to get a clue on how well maintained it was and how many owners it's had. good maintenance and fewer owners means a lot.

there's little difference between the XT Turbo swap and the EJ (correct - impreza/legacy engines) swap. either way you have to swap the wiring and computer. EJ swap will require an adapter plate to be made since the bellhousings are different. but that's been done a zillion times and they can be bought or made. and other than that they drop right in, engine mounts line up and all that jazz. the EJ engines are far more reliable and probably give you as much or more power than an XT. the old turbo motors are not a good fit without almost rebuilding them entirely. heads are prone to cracking, not a great platform design to begin with, headgaskets often blow, all the coolant, hoses, gaskets, radiators..entire cooling system should be replaced by now due to the extra stress and heat of a turbo. and oil supply lines, etc, just not worth it really. the EJ engines are even good for low boost if you wanted to turbo or supercharge it. swaps are covered in detail here and have been done by multiple folks, so you'll have all the resources you need either way you go.

1996-1998 EJ25 = easiest interchange. have you considered repairing the head gasket? replacing the engine with a used one on this vehicle is actually a really bad idea. this engine is notorious for headgasket issues, that hurts you in two ways: 1. the engines are really expensive (due to high demand) 2. the chances of another head gasket problem (or piston slap, or rod knock) on a used engine are considerable. Not worth the high prices no matter where the engine is coming from or the mileage. If you're looking for an EJ22 swap, all of that information is already covered, just make friends with the search button.

well that's fantastic abe, good to hear you're progressing so well!!! thanks for the scans, that definitely seems to indicate it's for the air struts!?!!?!? thoroughly confused now :confused:

Okay, the Subaru sites all say "Excluding air suspension" and the ones I had at home I *thought* looked slightly different. Though it does seem dumb to design them completely different from a manufacturing stand point. But the only parts listing we have at Subaruxt.com does seem to *suggest* (but it isn't specific - it doesn't differentiate non-air and air, only lists one set of part numbers, but *shows* an air strut in the picture, but doesn't show any bushings - though they are in the "price list". sound confusing? it is! it *suggests* they are: 21029GA020 21029GA030

The air struts and non-air struts have different part numbers. Was this an air strut? *** Edit *** Looks like this is a non-air suspension part number. I can't seem to find the air suspension numbers. Thanks for checking abe!

it's really easy to get to - remove wheel, remove plastic cover. it's REALLY simple.

XT or XT6 rear top air strut bushing part numbers. I'm not finding them online, anyone?

nice hit, glad you figured it all out and learned it yourself, that's awesome!

woah, you're nuts!! (you'll fit right in!). indeed looks like good work and those are some great welds you obviously are good. my wife lived in Santiago, Chile for a few years so i've been there before. she's traveled most of the country all the way down to Torres Del Pines (you'll have to excuse my spanish as I don't really know any!). Looks like you're out in the middle of nowhere, would have loved to visit that kind of area while I was there. Santiago is HUGE and not many folks had cars (though I was hanging with all college students), much less any Subaru's, although I did walk past a Subaru dealer.

sometimes a refill with the system sealant stuff lasts the life of the vehicle. most common leakage point is the line fitting that bolts to the a/c compressor. attached with one bolt. replace the orings under there. for other possible orings and leakage points, just follow the lines like a maze and each fitting has an oring. don't sweat opening the system for a quick oring swap, just unbolt, swap orings, and recharge. you won't have any issues doing that. the recharging devices will only hook up to one of the two ports, so charging is a no-brainer. i'm a bit confused - you don't know where the A/C components are and need a picture, but know about schrader valves and seem well versed? something isn't adding up.

good luck, stinks they're such reliable motors but so hard to find due to age.

try this on for size - i've never replaced one in the 30 or so subarus i've owned and let me tell you i end up replacing a lot of motors...oh wait, i've never had a problem. actually i've never replaced one and put hundreds of thousands of miles on subaru's with no ill effect. replacing them is way over rated.

just search USMB for info like that and disregard the incorrect gates info. your engine is an interference engine.

yeah i thought about welding....for 2 seconds. i forgot to mention it's still on the car. i'll look for fuel repair stuff or JB weld if that's not available. probably very similar to each other anyway. low stress, low heat, should be simple.

If the axle has ever been replaced then that points to the axle even more. Aftermarket store bought axles are junk. Get an old original Subaru axle and reboot it or buy one from MWE.

Maybe you don't need an engine? You just need headgaskets? The cracks between the valve seats are common and do not indicate a problem. Nearly every subaru with that motor on the road today is driving around with those same cracks. Those are not "cracked heads". Now -you do need to make sure the exhaust ports don't have cracks in them, those are terminal (or need fixed). A machine shop can pressure test the heads to make sure they're good and repair anything that needs repaired. If they aren't familiar with Subaru heads just tell them to ignore the cracks between the valve seats. First of all by "newer" engine, you just mean a newer "XT engine" or do you mean like a 2000 Subaru engine? Two completely different questions. Also 1987 is a transition year for the XT - you'll want to find out exactly what you're dealing with first or you're going to hear conflicting information. To help determine, are your rear lights in the bumper or above it?

right on, who said anything about just rings? Ram performance (mentioned earlier) has a rebuilt EA71 long block for only $850. Might be worth checking their price for a straight up EA81: http://webhosting.web.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=560&linkpath=http://www.ramengines.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/partsforsale020.jpg.w560h420.jpg&target=tlx_picy73w&title=Rebuilt%20New%20EA71%20long%20block

1996 Legacy the fuel filler pipe is in decent shape but has a small pin hole in it. What say ye about repairing it? Doesn't look worth replacing to me. I've already wire brushed, treated, and painted it. Now to plug the hole?

the pistons and rods do not need to be replaced. of course they are checked and possibly machined (reground crank, etc), but in general there's a decent chance the only parts that are needed are main and rod bearings and piston rings. might want to check around for a few shops and find one that specializes in Subaru's? check with CCR? ask your local dealer who does their machine shop work? might want to check with RAM performance? they are willing to do straight auto engine builds last i checked. all they do is EA81 so it'd be a drop in the bucket for them. they are nice guys.