idosubaru

EJ engines went through significant changes around 2000, the SOHC stuff, so older stuff is not a good fit. easiest swap is a 2000+ EJ22 (and probably an EJ20, but we don't have those here so i'm not familiar with them). should not need to swap heads. buy EJ22 (or EJ20), drop motor into car, use your EJ25 intake manifold, bolt it up and you're golden. (in the older cars you can't swap intake manifolds because they are way different, in the US the later model manifolds are interchangeable - they should be there as well). my guess is a 2000+ SOHC EJ engine (EJ22 or EJ20) should be a perfect fit for you. but i'm not sure how to tell you if the manifold is interchangeable like they are here - be nice if you had something simple to look for. spark plugs in the side of the valve covers like the EJ25's, that might be the ticket? the only issue you'll run into is that you'll probably have to swap the EJ25 cam sprockets (just the timing gear) onto the new engine.

there's a number of thread on here about various online Subaru dealer vendors that folks like. 1stsubaruparts subarugenuineparts liberty subaru

Depends what you're after. You need another vehicle for something fast. Or a motor swap - EJ22T, EJ20T, H6, etc. Or you can even add a turbo kit to the EJ22, they take well to a few pounds of boost. But it has to been done right and well and in small doses, it's easy to blow your motor up with that stuff too. The legacy is a fantastic car and easily maintained to all sorts of mileages. Turbo motors take to modifications very well. You can easily add 100+ hp to a turbo motor. You can't do that with non-turbo motors. If you don't understand the physics and technicalities involved, I can't really sum it up for you not knowing turbo stuff that well, but you can go to how-stuff-works.com and learn all about automotive engines. If you just want to beef it up as an exercise to tickle your fancy, tell friends about, and give yourself a twitch here and there, then do whatever you want. It's wide open since there's really no way to make the car fast without ma$$ive modifications. Or, if you just like to tinker and play - then add the filter, get the ebay air intake tubes, play with the exhaust and call it a day. You won't gain much - 5-10 hp maybe, hardly enough to feel any difference except you'll probably have a heavier foot after doing the work!!:lol:

hmm...someone on the XT board recommend sikaflex too. mixed bag of opinions here, some think no way sealant will hold, some say it will. i'll give the sealant a try. if it doesn't work then so be it, i'll fix it the right way and make a lower extension. i just might save my best strut bushings though, i hear this sealant is rather impossible to work with once cured!

thanks PS, sounds awfully dangerous. precaution noted, thanks. two spring compressors, wow! i have air tools, why are those good, yo'ure the second person to mention that? just so you don't have to hold the thing yourself? i've heard of folks loosening the top bolts while on the car and then slowly lifting it up with a jack, i guess that's rather silly? not sure why you woudl do that, how would they get it back together anyway? i thought about using the 3 point hitch hydrualics on my Kubota but that's probably not a good idea.

great, thanks. i recall folks talking about all sorts of odds and ends, that must be when they're building their own struts from pieces or something or combining stuff for XT6 air suspension conversions to coil over. i always thought there seemed to be like cups and washers and stuff that be installed in the wrong order or upside down. apparently it's simpler than i thought, thanks!

Okay thanks again. Im familiar with removing struts - like i said i've done it many dozens of times. It's the disassembly of the struts themselves I'm concerned about - getting it right and the "seating" and "perches" i'm not familiar with. I have the FSM, I'll take a peak before I dig in.

"max life" or "average" here is a fruitless discussion. There is no average - almost every mile mark sees head gasket failures and some see none. You have the much better EJ25 anyway, so this is all pointless in my opinion. Yours being the SOHC even if it does start to fail it's not the annoying leave-you-stranded kind of failures like hte older DOHC failures, so I would leave it. It will give you plenty of warning, won't leave you stranded, and is rather benign. I wouldn't replace a SOHC as preventative maintenance. Once they start to leak, it's a very slow seap and causes no problem as long as you refill the coolant if it gets low. they don't overheat unless they run out of coolant, unlike the older ones which overheat randomly, without warning, and when full of coolant. They're doable in the car, but annoying. Bending over all the time and reaching and lack of room makes it no fun.

Yah, really easy. One bolt, 10mm, replace sensor, done.

Clarify - I'm totally down with removing them, done that countless times. Wondering about specifically taking one apart to replace the mounts. I'm not sure what all is in there I've just heard folks talk about it before and it seems like there's lots of little parts and stuff. Don't mind painting them at all, no biggie. Hopefully I get it right.

the only easy swaps are the EJ18/EJ20/EJ25 non-turbo engines. While I can't speak of Euro-differences, the only thing you need to look out for is the EGR valve (your EJ25 probably has one, make sure the replacement has one). Or you can ignore it, I hate EGR and remove them, but you get a check engine light which you might not like or it might not even be legal. Also there are two exhaust set ups - single port or dual port heads ont he engine. Doesn't matter though as the exhaust manifolds are interchangeable. If your new engine has single port, just get the manifold for it as well, it'll bolt right up to your car. THose are the two major differences in US cars, but they are both easily addressable. H6 and turbo motors are completely different in all sorts of ways. Huge job to swap those.

Front 96 Legacy struts. Other than needing the coil spring compressor what do I need to know about these things, having never done it before? Is there any special way to align or seat the coils, etc? Parts going to fall out, to keep in order?

i'd probably try and get my hands on an entire 4EAT wiring harness or at the very least the TCU input plugs if you're cool with doing some wiring. actually the speedo should work itself out, that's part of the trans and is cable driver to the instrument cluster. so that feed should be simple. engine side stuff then should be TPS and RPM.

repair is a great option, repeat failures do happen but they are rare. if you repair it make sure it's done right - heads checked, surfaced, and tested. and use only the Subaru headgasket and follow proper un-torquing and torquing procedures. keep everything clean and do it right and chances are good the engine will outlast how long you have the vehicle. EJ22 is the only drop in candidate that simple and straight forward.

EJ22's do not blow head gaskets. What will cause them to fail is the previous maintenance and condition of the car. If it's ever been overheated or run hot chances of head gasket failure escalate significantly. In general I would never touch EJ18 or EJ22 head gaskets unless there was some very compelling reason too. I don't see that in this case.

don't think the loyale had it. XT6, XT, and some GL-10's. but yeah I know you can essentially even swap new gen 4EAT's into old gen stuff by swapping the harness and matching final drives.

if it's accessible and just a matter of localized damage, repair the tank. if it's just average rust and probably in other areas, you can remove it and have it repaired as well, or just replace it. there are shops that specialize in cleaning and repairing gas tanks.

that's a great price, i'd buy it too if it had a 6 month warranty and i needed one. the yards are showing 01 is it's own beats. 02 is it's own beast and 03/04 are interchangeable. i'm not sure why, i would guess they're all the same keeping the VDC issue in mind. make sure they're both drive by wire and have the same speed sensor set up - i'm almost positive they do.

havent' seen old school drums in a long time, many have two threads holes - i believe they're 8mx1.25 threaded holes. Tons of bolts all over the car fit it. But thread a bolt in there and it pushes the drum off. Yeah, the problem is there's a small "ridge" of rusty non-smooth area of metal that has to pull over the shoes.

define "easily fit". what? EJ25's blow headgaskets, are you sure :lol::lol::lol: just kidding. saw one for sale today (as usual). you can put whatever you want in there - you could fit a huge diesel motor in there and call it "easy" if you're a diesel mechanic. in general the turbo motors are not a plug-and-play swap, you'll be doing wiring harness, ECu stuff. the EJ22 swap is straight forward and simple in terms of plug and play, no electrical mojo to work with. this is all US info, i'm not sure what (if any) differences there may be in Europe.

hey, how did you know i listen to classical music?fortunately my hearing is bad enough it probably doesn't matter then.

Not much special about it. Follow your owners manual recommendations based on climate and usage in there. If you don't have one, get one off ebay or something. 80w-90 or something close to that is fine, I recommend synthetic but regular is fine as well. The front diff is really easy. It's like changing your oil, but easier because there's no filter. Drain fluid, refill through dipstick - roughly 1.7 quarts. Rear is 0.8 quarts or something like that and a more annoying but not hard.

Doubtful they are the same as the other stuff. H6 Compressors in WA: $60 1-800-422-5621 $65 1-888-829-1263 $85 1-800-551-4489

really easy - just about any 1993-2005-ish Subaru stereo is plug and play except the SVX. the Impreza WRX double DIN 6 dash in disc changers are nice. 6 CD's, tape deck for easy i-pod or phone input, and readily available. be very careful with the really late model stuff though, Subaru did change the pin-outs in some late models...that's why i put "2005-ish".

will you post a picture of your 01 OB and offer advice on how you installed it into you 06? is your 01 with AUX a single CD or changer, tape, both? i'll buy an OB radio if i can find one that has the AUX port. your experience is anecdotal as it's VERY rare to find a subaru with an AUX port, i've never even seen one but i've only owned like 50 subaru's and worked on countless more:lol:.! if the mcintosh system isn't much more than a radio i'll get a newer one with AUX port.